“SLOW down and connect thoughtfully with places you might normally simply pass by” is the motto of “Regeneration Roadtrip”, a choose-your-adventure journey designed for travellers between Canberra and the far south coast which starts tomorrow (September 29).

Eight artists well known both here and at the coast have been working alongside local communities to create roadside ephemeral sculptures, artworks, stories, poetry, and music which will be featured along a “snake-map” route of more than 30 locations offering more than 50 experiences. Workshops are being held in Braidwood, Nelligen, Moruya, Wallaga Lake, Tathra, Quaama and Towamba.

Travellers down the Kings Highway can download a soundtrack of poetry by 25 commissioned poets and original music by Mikel Simic (Mikelangelo), revisit Pooh Corner and Nelligen, then look out for hidden installations along the Princes Highway at Mogo, Moruya and Tuross River.

Quiet stops are encouraged at destinations like Gulaga, Bermagui, Wallaga Lake, Cobargo, Quaama, Tanja and at community installations around Tathra, Wyndham and Towamba, all the way to Eden.

In the spirit of slowing down, travellers will be able to collect postcards and take a moment to leave reflections about their connection to local places at special post-boxes along the route.

The opening highlight, hosted by the whole “Regeneration Roadtrip” team will be “Mortal Coils and Walking Shadows,” (the title is taken from “Hamlet”) an exhibition of artworks by Judith Nangala Crispin and Stephen Harrison with live music by Simic, at Louise Morris’s Navigate Arts, 1140 Tathra Bermagui Road, Tanja, opening 6-8pm this Friday, September 30,.

Project artist Joan Cornish says: “When the 2019 Black Summer hit, so many of us in the region felt powerless and bereft about the destruction of the beautiful places we held dear. As a group of artists living between Canberra and the far south coast we came together to try to find a way to help voice the emerging tidal wave of feeling and give back to the communities which are hurting.”

“Regeneration Roadtrip,” September 29-October 9, accessible here