First published September 18
HOBART, 18 September 2017 – To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Salamanca Arts Centre’s receiving the keys to their heritage ‘home’ in 1977, SAC has commissioned curators Elizabeth Woods and Kevin Leong to develop the 2017 Major Exhibition Proof of Life.
Part of an ongoing project developed by the curators, The Homesickness Project deals with the concept of homesickness as taken broadly as a longing for one’s ‘true home’. It initiates conversations that not only prompt nostalgia and sentimental reflections but can also hold important clues to the essential qualities of home; qualities necessary for individuals to feel at home within their surrounding environment, whether this be domestic, vocational, social, cultural, political, geographical or spiritual.
The 11 exhibiting artists have responded with six new and three existing works that identify a wide range of persistent humanising tendencies, including the ability to project cause and effect into the future, the acceptance of ‘the other’, the sustenance of community, and the imperative for cultural life and non-violent resistance through protest and activism.
Works are based on participatory processes that arose from community involvement and partnerships, live art events and responses to the theme of the exhibition, developed during the Proof of Life: Studio Sessions, part of the 2017 Ten Days on the Island Festival. The results take the form of videos, photographs, posters and colouring books, and 3D works. The major work, is Marking Marks, by Woods and Leong, a set of interviews with Tasmanian arts ‘elders’ discussing the time context within which the Salamanca Arts Centre was established.
Artists: Jim Everett – puralia meenamatta, Lisa Garland, Leigh Hobba, Daphne Keramidas, LPG (Laura Purcell & Paul Gazzola), Dalibor Martinis, James Newitt, Tamas Oszvald, Elizabeth Woods & Kevin Leong.
EXHIBITION DATES / TIMES:
Saturday 23 September – Saturday 14 October
10:00am – 4:00pm Monday –Saturday (closed Sundays)
EXHIBITION VENUE: Long Gallery, Salamanca Arts Centre
OFFICIAL OPENING:
Friday 22 September @ 5.30pm, to be opened by Chief Justice Alan Blow
Natasha Newman Coordinator of Marketing and Communications Salamanca Arts Centre
