A 5-day regenerative journey with Dhungala / Murray River and artist in residence, Andrea Shaw.

Andrea Shaw is a paint and textile artist based on Wadawarrung Country/ Victoria’s Surf Coast. Growing up on a bush property in Central Victoria, her childhood was shaped by trees, dams, and endless hours of making, an intuitive creativity that still drives her practice today.

Andrea’s work draws on observation, memory, and time spent in the landscape. Working from quick sketches made on walks, her paintings are playful, abstract responses to shifting forms in nature, blending colour, pattern and process in intuitive ways. Alongside her studio practice, Andrea facilitates creative workshops in community, disability, and mental health settings, adapting her approach to make art accessible, engaging, and meaningful for all participants. Read more about Andrea below.

About the journey:

This journey is one of reconnection —a deliberate return to our intrinsic place within nature's living systems. As paddles cut through water, rhythmically tracing the river's ancient path, participants begin to shed the illusion of separation, recognizing humanity not as an observer, but as an integral thread in the ecosystem's complex weave.

The journey unfolds like a conversation with the landscape, each bend of the river revealing layers of interconnection - the water itself as storyteller. Paddlers learn to listen—not just with ears, but with their entire being—to the subtle languages of water, wind, and wildlife.

Nights under open skies become an opportunity for a profound communion with the environment. The boundary between self and landscape blurs, as the sounds of rustling leaves, distant bird calls, and the river's gentle movement weave a complex tapestry of belonging. Each moment becomes an invitation to step beyond human-centric perspectives and recognize the intricate web of life that sustains and surrounds us.

This is not simply a journey across kilometers, but a passage through understanding—a slow, deliberate pilgrimage that allows participants to rediscover their fundamental connection to the natural world, each other and themselves.

Supported Place

We understand that life is tough for some at the moment and want to ensure that the trip is accessible for a wide range of participants. There is a fund to support those affected by cost of living pressures that would otherwise miss out. We have a small amount of fully and partially funded places.

Application for Supported Place

If you are financially going well, contributions to the fund can be made.

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What's included

Getting There

About the Artist

Why Up the Creek Artist in Residency?

I was drawn to this Artist-in-Residence opportunity as it offered the chance to step outside my studio and into nature, to undertake some much-needed deep listening and the chance to respond creatively to a new environment as a part of a collective, paddling up the river.

What one might expect on a trip with Andrea:

We will offer an invitation for participants to firstly slow down, observe, and connect to the river, allowing creativity to come from a place of presence. The trip we are crafting holds space for individual and collective storytelling, interwoven with conversation, and creative response. Finding a way of being, where art is inseparable from life, and where the act of paddling itself becomes a form of expression and restoration.