Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre will unveil five new exhibitions with a spectacular launch day on Saturday, October 7.
Running until November, the exhibitions will explore Australian identity, heritage, belief and community.
Exhibitions include Have you seen MY Emily?, an examination of Australia’s complex relationship with Aboriginal art and artists; Al Jaale’ah: locally global, which explores cross-cultural heritage in Australia; Faith, which commemorates Aboriginal rights activist Faith Bandler; community design showcase The Motion Room and Home Work, an interactive re-imagining of Western Sydney.
“Come join us for our marvellous launch day, and check out the latest season of exhibitions,’’ says Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre director Craig Donarski.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“These upcoming works focus on dissecting Australian identity: delving into multicultural heritage, navigating our relationships with Indigenous culture, and asking what it really means to be part of a community,” he says.[/social_quote]
Digital video work Have you seen MY Emily? is Indigenous artist Amala Groom’s direct retort to the oppressive undertones of a conversation with the wife of a former Prime Minister, where Groom was asked if she’d seen “my Emily [Kngwarreye painting].”
The work is an imagined extension of the conversation, as Groom unpacks Western perceptions of Aboriginal culture.
Faith showcases new works by the Left Field Project, a mentoring initiative supporting contemporary Aboriginal artists.
The exhibition features artists exhibiting alongside their own mentors as equals for the very first time, as they examine Faith as both a person and a concept.
Al Jaale’ah: locally global by Western Sydney artist Shireen Taweel is a contemporary take on pierced copper, referencing her Muslim Lebanese heritage.
Modernising the traditionally male art form, Taweel’s pierced patterns are sourced from her Liverpool school workshops for young Muslim women, where students created patterns representing their cross-cultural experiences.
The Motion Room is a long term project championing innovative design to address community issues across South West Sydney.
The exhibition showcases work from local female artists tackling food insecurity, transport, safety, digital connectivity and quality of public space, featuring designs including a foldable shopping trolley and portable safe space for Indigenous women.
Interactive exhibition Home Work invites kids and adults alike to contribute their personal experiences of Liverpool to create a walk-through “map”.
Audiences can craft miniature flags to mark their space on a large-scale literal map, or add their illustrated experiences directly to the exhibition’s display space. Building on CPAC’s exhibition Near x Far, it poses the question: what makes a place a home?
For tickets and further information visit www.casulapowerhouse.com/booknow
