Sunset Symphony in the Sunflowers, 2017


In July 2017, a collaborative team of farmers and artists presented Sunset Symphony in the Sunflowers at Simon Mattsson’s sugarcane farm in Marian. We hosted 220 people within a bespoke auditorium carved out of a dual crop of sugarcane and sunflowers. While enjoying local food and drinks, the audience experienced performances from the Mackay Youth Orchestra and Jazz Band, The Sakwolo Islander Dancers, and viewed the premiere screening of a locally-produced documentary about soil health.

Sunset Symphony in the Sunflowers demonstrated that diverse communities can be brought together through socially-engaged art events, to improve public understanding of the contribution of regenerative agriculture methods, and to encourage transformations in industrial monoculture farming practices.

Sunset Symphony in the Sunflowers was produced as an integral part of the project Sugar vs the Reef? by Lucas Ihlein and Kim Williams.



Project Team:
Kim Williams and Lucas Ihlein (artists), Simon and Sue Mattsson with Sophie and Luke (farmers), Kim Kleidon (media maker and MC), John Sweet (community activator), Sakwolo Islander Dancers and Mackay Youth Orchestra and Jazz Band (performers), Flow Motion Media (documentary production), and many more (full credits at the end of the video above).