What Wendy Found: The story of the 1969 outback 'Australian Folklore Expedition' with Martie Lowenstein

Join Martie Lowenstein as she presents a lecture on her 2023 National Folk Fellowship research about Wendy Lowenstein's significant contribution to the development of the folk movement in Australia and her year-long oral history collecting trip in 1969.

Entry is free to this event but bookings are essential.

The talk will be available to view live online via the Library's Facebook and YouTube pages. You do not need to book a ticket to watch the event online.

Martie Lowenstein is the 2023 National Folk Fellow, supported by the National Library of Australia and the National Folk festival.

About Martie Lowenstein's Fellowship research

Martie Lowenstein's project utilises a mixture of film and staged presentation to tell a story. It begins with a film documentary compiled from Library's archives covering Wendy Lowenstein’s founding contribution to the folk movement and covers the family’s year-long oral history collecting trip in 1969 – ‘The Australian Folklore Expedition’. This production records and celebrates the early folk revival in Australia including a collection of Australian folk songs from performers from the 1950-60's and archival material in the Library depicting the First National Folk Festival in 1967. This film production will become part of the Library's archives.

About Martie Lowenstein

Martie Lowenstein grew up immersed in Australian bush music, has sung in a number of Melbourne choirs and now leads several community singing groups. She is the daughter of Wendy Lowenstein, a pioneering Australian Oral Historian whose collection of interviews of everyday people from 1966 -1997 covers over 800 life stories. Martie also teaches regular courses which cover 200 years of everyday life throughout Australian history, illustrated by Australian folk songs, poems and real-life stories.

About the National Folk Fellowship

The annual National Folk Fellowship is offered jointly by the National Library of Australia and the National Folk Festival. Since 2004 the National Folk Fellowship has supported established and emerging folk practitioners to further their work using the Library’s collections, including musicians, singers, dancers, poets, performance artists and performers.

Image credit: 1969 Australian Folklore Expedition, courtesy of Martie Lowenstein.