An Intro to Ranch Pressing: Discussing Collective Mothering + Hidden Door Journal

[PANEL]
3.30pm–4.30pm, Sunday
Presented by Ranch Pressing

Taking the form of a two-part discussion and Q&A, this talk will introduce the practice of Ranch Pressing, highlighting two recent publishing projects from the independent small press operating on unceded Waddawurrung country.

The first half will be in conversation with curator Dr Amber Smith, launching the essay collection Collective Mothering. In a time marked by ecological crisis, climate change, global conflict, and the instability of late-stage capitalism, matrilineal and maternal models of care offer vital, alternative ways of imagining continuity, resilience, and collective well-being. They provide a blueprint for rethinking relationships – not only between people, but also with the environment and future generations. They also propose systems and ways of being that sit outside of capitalism, consumerism, and Western models of thinking. Collective Mothering raises and discusses these ideas, proposing potential models for connecting communities by creating sites for dialogue, companionship, sharing, and ultimately collective care.

The program will then switch to a panel discussion on the concept, design, and production of Hidden Door Journal, a new series of experimental sound journals by Ranch Pressing and Hidden Door records. The panel will be led by co-editors Lewis Gittus, Sarah Walker, and Sarah Jones.

Sound bleeds from the depths of ancient wells, from the pages of books, and from the body’s interior; inviting us into the shadows, towards the very entrails of being where we might dig amongst what history has endeavoured to keep hidden. From its dominion of the non-visible, sound speaks of impossible worlds. — Hidden Door Journal