Fixing Time: Ornament Repair Ritual
Join visiting artists Grace Dewar and Sarah (Lewis) of Dolphin Milk for Ornament Repair Ritual.
Part storytelling, part séance for the sentimental, this free DIY ornament workshop invites you to bring along broken figurines, coastal souvenirs, or objects that once meant something (and maybe still do). Together, we’ll reassemble them into new objects of reverence—sculptural assemblages shaped by shared meaning and care.
This process of repair becomes a kind of ritual—an opportunity to explore the quiet energy of personal and communal mythologies, and the strange kinships we form with everyday things.
As we work with our hands, we’ll also work with memory, meaning, and imagination, reflecting on gentle prompts like:
- What kinds of memories or feelings do you think objects can carry?
- Do you think something mass-produced can still feel sacred or special?
- Have you ever fixed something and felt like it became more meaningful?
- How do you think small, caring acts—like mending something—might help us push back against harm or loss?
- What does repair mean to you? Can it be a kind of resistance?
When: Friday 9 May, 4.30 - 6.00pm
Where: Hervey Bay Hotel courtyard, 249 Charlton Espl, Hervey Bay Queensland 4655
Who: This workshop is for anyone interested in the supercharged power of *DIY*. No prior art making experience necessary. Ages 18 years+
What to bring: a broken figurine, souvenir or object for repair
What will be supplied: discussion and friendship, miscellaneous craft materials, small acts of magic.
Register 18+
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About the Artists
Dolphin Milk is an undefinable queer experience—part performance art, part punk outfit. A collaboration between Grace Dewar and Sarah (Lewis), Dolphin Milk live and work across Bundjalung (Northern Rivers) and Kombumerri (Gold Coast) countries.
Rooted in social architecture, friendship as art, and community care practices, their work assembles and reassembles everyday culture to explore the savagely benign. Through experimental installation, sound, video, and performance, Dolphin Milk embraces the absurd, the sacred, and the disposable—reframing contemporary life with a punk ethos of resistance and reinvention.
Dolphin Milk acknowledges the Butchulla and Kabi Kabi peoples of the Fraser Coast Region and shares a deep respect for their cultural and spiritual connection to country.
This workshop is part of a visiting artist residency, made possible through the Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF), a partnership between the Queensland Government and Fraser Coast Regional Council, with support from Hervey Bay Regional Gallery and Gatakers, Maryborough.
