Print Stories: Narratives from Hong Kong
July 2023; Melbourne
Exhibition | SITE EIGHT Gallery, RMIT University,
Bowen Street, Melbourne, VIC
RMIT University School of Art Print Studio in collaboration with Art Horizon Printmaking Workshop presents four eminent Hong Kong artists: MA Kwai Shun, Sui Jane LIU, Cecilia HUI Long Wai and Avery LAU Hong Lam in a cultural exchange exhibition, Print Stories: Narratives from Hong Kong.
Print Stories: Narratives from Hong Kong highlights how inter-generational and cross-cultural collaboration can aid cooperation and understanding from afar. Using printmaking’s inherent qualities of reproducibility embedded with sameness and difference the four presenting artists have enabled multiple perspectives. Employing traditional and expanded modes of print imaging and making alongside drawing and sculpture these four artists talk to the past the present and possible futures.
Curated by Richard Harding and Wilson Yeung
Jizha Atelier 唧喳工坊 2023
March – May 2023; Melbourne
Workshops | Basement Theatre, Footscray Community Arts, 45 Moreland St, Footscray, VIC
Fringe Common Rooms, Trades Hall, Lvl 1. Cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts. Carlton VIC
Jizha Atelier is Melbourne’s pioneering creative professional development program for Chinese-speaking Australian artists, designed to propel their creative careers.
The project centres on three pivotal goals: creativity, connection, and capacity. Our creative mission is to break down barriers to social participation for Chinese-speaking Australian artists, allowing their distinctive narratives to flourish through various artistic mediums. Regarding connection, we aim to foster communication and awareness within the Chinese-speaking artist community, forge stronger ties with the local arts sector, and bridge the gap to the broader cultural landscape. In terms of capacity, our objective is to promote the circulation and transformation of resources and knowledge among Chinese-speaking Australian artists, empowering them to thrive in their artistic endeavours.
The 2023 Jizha Atelier was a resounding success, featuring six workshops that brought together over 50+ Chinese-speaking artists and industry experts for invaluable knowledge exchange. Building on this triumph, we are looking forward to launching the 2024 Jizha Atelier.
InterPlay
September – October 2022; Melbourne
Exhibition | Gabriel Gallery, Footscray Community Arts, 45 Moreland St, Footscray
Nomadic Collective Workshop | Garden Building, Level 6, Building 10, RMIT University
InterPlay is a playful and community-minded interactive art exhibition, invites audiences to experience art in a way that explores our environment, with themes of gender, time, space, memory and essentialism.
Originally slated for 2021, the InterPlay exhibition has been reimagined to address the profound impact of environmental and community crisis stemming from the COVID-19 outbreak on artists and art initiatives. This innovative showcase features works by four emerging Asian artists alongside a collection of experimental shorts previously screened at EFFA’s digital festivals in 2020 and 2021.
Audiences were invited to join us at a series of engaging free public events, including the Exhibition Opening Party, a Collaborative Collage Workshop, and artist’s chats.
This project is co-presented by Environmental Film Festival Australia (EFFA), Footscray Community Arts, and Curatorial Collective, with support from ARTISTS CO-OP and Mekong Cultural Hub.
Reclaiming Narratives: Melbourne artists respond to I Am Not A Virus
September 2021 – January 2022; Melbourne
Exhibition at RMIT INTERSECT Gallery, St Albans Community Centre, and Digital Fringe
Reclaiming Narratives: Melbourne artists respond to I Am Not A Virus highlights and focuses on the voice of Asian-Australian artists affected by the racism unleashed by the pandemic era from a Melbourne perspective. The project responds to the increase in racist attacks including verbal threats, physical intimidation, denial of services, workplace discrimination and being coughed and spat upon since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Melbourne project is an initiative of Diversity Arts Australia in partnership with the Asian Australian Alliance, Democracy in Colour and 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art with financial support from the Australia Council for the Arts, Creative Victoria, Create NSW, City of Sydney, City of Parramatta and Inner West Council.
Project supporters from Melbourne include RMIT Curatorial Collective, Fringe Festival, Creative Brimbank, Melbourne Fringe Festival, RMIT Contemporary Art and Social Transformation (CAST) research group, RMIT INTERSECT, and RMIT Student Life.
This exhibition was also curated as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival 2021 from 30 September to 17 October 2021.
Curatorial Ensemble 