AGWA Learning

Year 12 Perspectives Packers’ Prize Winner Sheds light on an ugly truth

tanya.sticca@artgallery.wa.gov.au — Fri, 10 Jul 2020 02:16:58 +0000

Year 12 Perspectives Packers’ Prize Winner Sheds light on an ugly truth

Monkey bars by Adelina Holil conveys a powerful message about child labour.

tanya.sticca@a… Fri 10/07/2020 - 10:16am

3 April 2018

It wasn’t until Adelina Holil joined Young Mercies, a school group dedicated to raising awareness on issues associated with ethical trading, that she began to learn the ugly truth behind child labour and sweatshops.

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Moved by the stories she heard, Adelina focused her energy on creating a powerful piece of work to make consumers question their decisions when it came to the consumption of items created in these sweatshops.

Monkey bars reveal the dark secrets of child exploitation behind the production of our clothing. I want to people to think about where their clothing came from and who made them. I constructed a paradox of the children forced to work by placing them in playful poses on a clothes rack depicting what they should be doing: playing.

Adelina Holil

“The designs of the clothes, the chains, ropes and graffiti, symbolise how these children are forced to be slaves and the hardships they endure. The placement of the hangers imitates monkey bars; symbolising a childhood memory they may never have.”

Adelina Holil winner of the Year 12 Perspectives Packers’ Prize.

Its originality, the narrative and technical execution did not go unnoticed by the Gallery with Adelina being awarded the 2017 Year 12 Perspectives Packers’ Prize for her work.

Under the guidance of art teacher and mentor Denise Fitzgerald, Monkey bars took eight months to complete.

“Denise provided guidance throughout the whole process, sharing ideas and showing me where areas of my work could be improved. I definitely think I’ve become a better artist through her.”

Denise has taught art at Mercedes College for almost seven years and believes in challenging her students to find meaning in all their work.

I challenge my students to consider using materials to add meaning to their artwork and to create visually dynamic compositions.

Adelina worked extremely hard to apply this advice in the planning of her artwork and we are all extremely proud of her achievement.

Denise Fitzgerald

Art Teacher, Mercedes College

Adelina’s work is on display at the Year 12 Perspectives exhibition currently showing at the Gallery until 16 July 2018.

FOR SCHOOLS

We encourage schools who are planning a self-guided visit to Year 12 Perspectives to book in, the information allows us to manage groups and numbers each day and to notify you of anything that might affect your visit.

All school bookings for self-guided tours of Perspectives: educate@artgallery.wa.gov.au

Study Day: How to be original when nothing is?
10am-3pm, Tuesday 24 April
Teachers $45 | Students $20

Suitable for Teachers and Students Years 9-11 | Limited places

Study Day is an opportunity for students and their teachers to gain valuable insight into strategies for communicating original ideas in their Year 12 works. The day will include curator insights and tour, expert panel discussion, a practical workshop for students and Professional Development session for teachers, and creative strategies for managing stress.

All enquiries: educate@artgallery.wa.gov.au

Year 12 Perspectives

AGWA Learning

Packers' Prize

Adelina Holil

Western Australian art

AGWA

Card Text

It wasn’t until Adelina Holil joined Young Mercies, a school group dedicated to raising awareness on issues associated with ethical trading, that she began to learn the ugly truth behind child labour and sweatshops.

Pulse Perspectives and Hatched alumni’s art journey

tanya.sticca@artgallery.wa.gov.au — Tue, 07 Jul 2020 02:22:08 +0000

Pulse Perspectives and Hatched alumni’s art journey

Artist and Pulse Perspectives and Hatched alumni, Ben Bannan.

tanya.sticca@a… Tue 07/07/2020 - 10:22am

5 June 2019

Ben Bannan knows a thing or two about how to carve a successful path in Western Australia’s arts industry having been selected as a Pulse Perspectives artist in 2014 and Hatched 2018. We recently chatted to Ben about his inspirational art journey.

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What do you remember about your experience in the Pulse Perspectives exhibition? Did you take away new ideas, advice that has helped you get to where you are now?

I remember being really excited that both of my year 12 works had been accepted into the exhibition. At that time Year 12 Perspectives seemed like the biggest possible opportunity and more than anything I was excited that my work could be viewed by such a large audience. I think being in the exhibition helped give me some confidence to study contemporary art at a tertiary level.

What influenced you to go down the artistic path and who would you say has had the most profound impact on your choices so far?

Art was always something I did for joy and comfort growing up. From doing art for leisure to pursuing a career in the arts there have been different people and mentors along the way that have impacted me. I had very supportive art teachers in high school who nurtured my enthusiasm and then when I went to University, I had lecturers that really encouraged me to take risks. Most recently in February, I finished an internship at PICA with Eugenio Viola and Charlotte Hickson. This was a particularly formative experience for me, and they are both people who have helped expand the way I think about my arts practice and other ways of engaging with the arts professionally.

What advice can you give the artists in Pulse Perspectives this year in relation to how to forge ahead with their artistic career? What are the challenges they may face?

I’d really encourage anyone wanting to forge a career in the arts to engage with artist-run-spaces in Perth such as Cool Change Contemporary, Paper Mountain and The Lobby to name a few. These are the spaces where peers are showing, making and supporting local and national art and supporting them gives artists the opportunity to really engage with and become part of the arts community. Pursuing a career in the arts can often be really frustrating when you often encounter people who might not understand your choices or dismiss the industry. I think these encounters are important in challenging your goals, but they also become a lot easier to answer and justify when you feel like you’re making the decision alongside a large number of really amazing, talented and driven people.

You exhibited in Hatched 2018. How does this experience different to what you went through with Perspectives?

I exhibited in Hatched 2018. Graduating from art school was very different from graduating from year 12. High school focuses on developing two singular works or ‘final pieces’ that are meant to encapsulate everything you know and have learnt up until that point. My experience in art school was much more about developing ways of working and interests that could develop into bodies of work and sustain a practice. Therefore, my Hatched experience included much more of focus on working with PICA to customize my project for the exhibition in a way that best fitted my work within the constraints of a large group show. It was really my first experience with gallery practices and protocols and it was exciting to be a part of that process.

Any exciting news/projects you would like to share with our subscribers?

I currently have some work in an exhibition called looking now anyone here with Brent Harrison and Wade Taylor at Paper Mountain, as well as a collaborative work with Penny Coss at Mundaring Arts Centre as part of their 40th-anniversary exhibition Continuity and Change: Future.

Pulse Perspectives exhibition is showing at AGWA until 22 July.

Following your visit to Pulse Perspectives, vote for your favourite piece of work in the Act-Belong-Commit People’s Choice Award.

Western Australian art

AGWA

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Ben Bannan knows a thing or two about how to carve a successful path in Western Australia’s arts industry having been selected as a Pulse Perspectives artist in 2014 and Hatched 2018.

Gathering a FLOCK of artists at AGWA

tanya.sticca@artgallery.wa.gov.au — Tue, 07 Jul 2020 01:55:56 +0000

Gathering a FLOCK of artists at AGWA

“Seedpods and Pastels” – A workshop from artist Esther McDowell/Yabini Kickett. Photograph by Elizabeth Pedler.

tanya.sticca@a… Tue 07/07/2020 - 9:55am

30 July 2019

FLOCK is a monthly forum created by, and for, Perth independent artists as a regular space to gather, connect and engage with each other’s creative practices. This month, FLOCK took place at AGWA’s Education Studio, featuring Esther McDowell/Yabini Kickett, who recently launched her 6-month Artist Activation project at AGWA. AGWA is delighted to support this unique and important venture for Perth’s arts community. Read on for the FLOCK team’s reflections on the event.

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Esther/Yabini McDowell demonstrating her charcoal-based works in AGWA’s Education Studio. Photograph by Elizabeth Pedler.

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FLOCK #12

It was a warm, friendly event, with some familiar faces and many newcomers. Awaiting the delayed arrival of an Auslan Interpreter created a unique opportunity for awareness of and collective tending to accessibility. The two deaf artists Peter Blockey and Geoff Scott were greeted with enthusiasm and presence by all attendees, and Daisy Sanders transcribed in writing everything that was spoken as the workshop commenced. This was enough to proceed with a welcoming sense of cohesion and care until the Auslan interpreter could assist with full integration and exchange.

Supported by an energetic attention in the room, Esther McDowell began by introducing her arts practice. She described the influence of family and country on her work, and how her use of materials is informed by knowledge of species and botanical influences. Participants were quickly absorbed in a process of drawing with charcoal and eucalyptus oil, creating rich and intricate pattered landscapes, and still-life images of the banksias Esther had brought in.

Photograph by Elizabeth Pedler.

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A break after the workshop allowed artists to enjoy food together and forge new connections while chatting about their various, notably diverse practices.

Daisy Sanders opened the facilitated conversation by describing her experiences of and questions about the environment. She described her various endeavours to grasp the complex, interdependent life ecology of our earth, and how that informs her way of making, living and being as an artist. The participants were invited to think through provocations and were divided into pairs, then larger groups, to allow for extended, open-space discussion. Though the topic Artists and The Earth was broad, the discussion coalesced around questions of sustainability and inter-connectedness. The discussion ended on a note of quiet contemplation: each artist left with a question to carry with them into their arts practice, and a new way of considering the relationship they have with the earth. The presence and insight of Nyoongar artist Esther McDowell highlighted the need for more perceptive exchange, shared understanding and language in this space, and thus the importance of more questioning together, and deep listening.

The swarm of faces – friendly, tired, inquiring, joyous – revealed a FLOCK of invigorated and grateful Perth artists, who gathered themselves and were soon gone into the cool winter night. It was another exciting and fulfilling occasion, which once again had ignited rich conversations, curiosities, moments of inspiration and support numbering far more than usual for a short event.

We want to thank the Art Gallery of WA for their generous support in making FLOCK #12 possible, Esther McDowell for her workshop, and Daisy Sanders for leading the discussion. FLOCK is a monthly event by, and for independent artists living in (or visiting) Perth. It emphasises the bringing together of artists across all career stages and disciplines, to meet through activated creative practice and conversation. The FLOCK ecology is flexible and open-hearted, with an ‘all-welcome’ approach that promotes (by example) best practice, collective strength and celebration of Perth’s artistic vitality. Gathering artists together frequently, in a variety of local arts venues should be inevitable, but feels rare and radical. FLOCK creates a regular space for artists to meet, explore, wonder and inspire together, and to cultivate inherent valuing of how this can evolve our West Australian arts and emergent cultural life.

Elizabeth Pedler and Daisy Sanders

The next FLOCK event is supported by the Blue Room Theatre and will take place on Thursday 1 August at the State Theatre Centre from 5.30-8.30pm. Find more details, and register, at the Eventbrite page.

AGWA Learning

Esther McDowell/Yabini Kickett

Artist Activation

FLOCK

Western Australian art

AGWA

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FLOCK is a monthly forum created by, and for, Perth independent artists as a regular space to gather, connect and engage with each other’s creative practices.

AGWA Gently

tanya.sticca@artgallery.wa.gov.au — Mon, 11 May 2020 03:30:53 +0000

AGWA Gently

tanya.sticca@a… Mon 11/05/2020 - 11:30am

29 April 2020

AGWA Gently

is a creative play project for young children (and for all of us needing gentle ways of being with the world).

s l o w p l a y
s h a r e d l a u g h t e r
d r a w i n g b r e a t h
q u i e t c o l l a b o r a t i o n s
d e e p l i s t e n i n g
l e a r n i n g s o f t l y

small ideas for BIG IMAGINATIONS

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AGWA Gently was born in a moment of overwhelm as an artist, educator and parent navigating the early days of COVID-19. In my role as Manager of Learning and Creativity Research at the Art Gallery of Western Australia, like many, I felt an enormous pressure to respond, to create online content and to transition much of what the gallery offers in immediate, face to face experiences to remote online resources and digital workshops. I found myself grappling with questions:

How do we now offer children opportunities for slow connected practice, embodied presence and contemplative moments without immediate live arts experiences in the Gallery’s shared communal spaces? How can we bring the sensorial open-ended explorations that are central to AGWA Learning into a digital world, while also offering a visual online pause that might provide a moment of rest in a fast-growing world of content, content, and ever more content?

Lilly Blue

AGWA Manager of Learning and Creativity Research

AGWA Gently aims to offer creative inspirations and ideas that might spark children and families to leave their screens and play with the world for a while.* The suggestions are heartfelt, while knowing that for some families this time might not be gentle at all, that there is enormous loss for some, and time to play is a luxury for many. Our hope is that for those families who are spending time online, these thoughts, words and images might act as a breath.

Each week a new idea will be posted on Art Gallery of WA Facebook and Instagram pages, with an invitation for you to share your creations with us via #agwagently, or in the comments on Facebook. The activities are grouped loosely into themes that offer gentle explorations into the elements and principles of art and design, and some additional sensorial and poetic frames. The ideas are really invitations to carve pockets of time in the day to slow down and tune in to sounds, textures, colours, shadows, shapes and rhythms. There are no downloads or videos to watch. No links to follow, No worksheets to complete. Each idea draws on a simple invitation for genuine connection, presence, listening and play. Even if the ideas don’t lead to actual play, the images and words might allow for a moment of quiet wonder. A reminder to breathe, to feel, to listen, and to go gently with the world.

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As an artist and educator my role is to create environments where the natural energetic states of children can thrive unencumbered, they can follow beyond innate curiosity and learn to trust their existing embodied knowledges. The physical experience of shared experimentation, collaboration, and open-ended conversations lead not only to unexpected creative outcomes but also emotional experiences that impact learning. These are not things that translate easily to online spaces. They are subtle, nuanced and improvised ways of navigating the complex dynamics of groups and curating environments that are conducive to experimentation and discovery. They rely on the development of relationships, real connections and the opportunity to be together.

So, at a time when we cannot gather in real time and space, we go slowly into this digital world reaching though screens to the spaces where children are actually living and playing. We offer a few small seeds that might spark some shared discoveries in being with the world, a reminder that less can be more, and an invitation to slow down and go gently for a few moments.

Take care in these new days.

Warmly,

Lilly Blue

Learning and Creativity Research

* This work is born of many years research and practice, the methodologies drawn from an ongoing collaboration with Dr Jo Pollitt beginning with BIG Kids Magazine, and more recently a partnership with ECU School of Education, Conversations with Rain, exploring young children’s innate relationship with the environment as a way of revisioning climate futures.

AGWA Learning

AGWA Gently

Conversations with Rain

Lilly Blue

Children and Families

Lilly Blue, AGWA Learning and Creativity Research Manager

image

Card Text

AGWA Gently is a creative play project for young children (and for all of us needing gentle ways of being with the world right now).

small ideas for BIG IMAGINATIONS