Our inaugural artist exchange program with Incheon Art Platform, South Korea provides the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for artists residing in Western Australia and South Korea to take part in a 3-month exchange program.
This year one WA artist will be selected to travel to Incheon to live and work at Incheon Art Platform for 3 months from September to November 2023. The exchange includes:
- Return airfare between Perth and Incheon (transfers included).
- $6000 to support studio costs and living expenses.
- Independent living quarters and studio with shared kitchen and workshop facilities.
- The opportunity to present your work in a 3-day open studio event late October, with support from IAP.
Incheon Art Platform (IAP) is a cultural and artistic complex built in Haean-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon as part of the Revitalization Project of the Old City Centre. The renovated historic port buildings form a creative hub that is IAP; a multi-faceted contemporary arts organisation that hosts National and International artists in a diverse artist in residence program across all forms of creative practice.
For more information, visit our residency page and Incheon Art Platform.
To be eligible you must be an artist whose primary place of residence and work is located within Western Australia.
EXCHANGE PROGRAM – APPLY NOW
Applications must be received by 11:59PM AWST July 9.
Applicants will be notified by July 18.
Please note applications for the FAC and IAP exchange will only be accepted through the online form.
The winter sessions will not have a bar so please bring your own non-alcoholic beverages and snacks.
CONTACT US
Should you wish to discuss your application, or you require assistance completing your application (written, video or audio) please contact our team at residencies@fremantle.wa.gov.au
Fremantle Arts Centre is thrilled to let our choir lovers know that we will continue to run FAC Yeah! throughout winter.
Beginning 7th June at the usual time of 7:00pm – 8:30pm, our community choir will be held fortnightly on Wednesday evenings at Sullivan Hall in White Gum Valley. Local music powerhouse, Natalie Gillespie will continue to lead you in song. Following winter, the choir will return to our beautiful gardens in October.
Pay what you can
To enable our beloved FAC Yeah! to run year-round, we have introduced a pay-what-you-can model to contribute to choir costs. We ask you to “pay what you can” at the door – as a guide we would suggest a contribution of $5. Donations will be accepted by card only! If you are not in a position to pay – we won’t ask you to – everyone will always be welcome at FAC Yeah!
Sullivan Hall Venue Information
2 Nannine Ave, White Gum Valley
Parking is available onsite.
The winter sessions will not have a bar so please bring your own non-alcoholic beverages and snacks.
Fremantle Arts Centre (FAC) announces the 2023 return of Revealed: New and Emerging WA Aboriginal Artists. Opening 5 May and running till 23 July, Revealed features a spectacular floor-to-ceiling display of more than 200 works by over 100 Aboriginal artists from remote, regional and metropolitan WA.
This year, artistic storytelling spills off the canvas into a range of diverse mediums, with vibrant paintings hanging alongside animation, printmaking, textiles, sculpture, photographic and multimedia works—each one revealing unique narratives of Country, culture and regional life.
According to FAC Director Anna Reece, “A cornerstone of the arts calendar, this nationally significant exhibition and art market provides a snapshot of the tremendous scale and diversity of First Nations art practice across multiple language and cultural groups in WA.”
“Revealed is an incredible opportunity for the community to experience the richness and vitality of Aboriginal art practice and to immerse themselves in the many First Nations stories, both ancient and contemporary, that make this place we call Western Australia so special.”
“We are grateful to the State Government of WA, through the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries for their continued support which enables artists, communities, and audiences to collectively celebrate Western Australian Aboriginal culture.”
Artists were selected from a panel of industry experts including Nyoongar artist Sharyn Egan, Palyku author and curator Jessyca Hutchens, Bardi artist Ron Bradfield, and Nhanda and Nyoongar curator Glenn Iseger-Pilkington. The exhibition features 98 artists from 29 Aboriginal art centres across Western Australia, plus 18 independent artists.
According to FAC Curator Glenn Iseger-Pilkington, “From the upper reaches of the Kimberley to the desert plains of the Ngaanyatjarra Lands, Revealed brings the extraordinary artistic output from all corners of our state here to Walyalup (Fremantle)—showcasing Aboriginal art making in all of its diversity and complexity.”
“It is an absolute joy to see our galleries brought to life with the colours, textures and stories of Western Australia with works by artists at all stages of their careers, many of whom are seeing their works hung in a gallery for the first time, and others who are pushing boundaries with exciting new ways of working.”
A gallery-wide First Nations takeover, the Revealed program this year includes the popular opening celebration on Friday 5 May. A free public event, it will feature an Indigenous-style BBQ, a performance by the “most remote rock n roll band in the world”, Desert Stars from the Tjuntjuntjara community.
Taking place in-person at Fremantle Arts Centre for the first time since 2019, the Revealed Aboriginal Art Market returns for one day only, on Saturday 5 May. With more than 30 stalls selling original First Nations artworks including painting, textiles, jewellery, ceramics and carved artefacts at a range of price points, there is something for every art lover or budding collector. And with 100% of sales returned to the artists, the market provides an ethical, direct avenue for purchasing art by WA Aboriginal artists, all in one place.
For interviews or further information please contact Media Officer Rosamund Brennan via rosamundb@fremantle.wa.gov.au or +61 (8) 9432 9565
Image: Stephanie Yukenbarri, Winpurpurla 2023, 91.4 x 61cm, acrylic on linen. Courtesy of Warlayirti Artists
Walyalup (Fremantle): Bazaar, WA’s most loved Christmas makers market, returns to FAC from Friday 2 – Sunday 4 December, featuring an extraordinary array of handcrafted homewares, fashion, textiles, jewellery and design from local makers.
Set over three days in FAC’s picturesque grounds, the annual shopping extravaganza presents the highest calibre of WA-designed wares, with 50 extraordinary makers selected from a highly competitive field of applicants.
From hand-dyed silk scarves to organic perfumes and handcrafted wooden kitchenware made right here in Fremantle, Bazaar is the perfect place to pick up quality one-of-a-kind gifts for your loved ones this Christmas.
While browsing the stalls under the beautiful plane trees in our Front Garden, visitors can soak up the vibrant festive spirit with workshops, live music and a smorgasbord of delicious food and refreshments from our food vendors, open all weekend.
Fremantle Arts Centre Director, Anna Reece, says,“A feast of craft and community that is bursting with creative pride, Bazaar is so much more than a market, but a chance for people to come together, to enjoy festive music, food and drinks and to savour this special time of year that is all about giving.”
“What sets Bazaar apart is our commitment to curating a line-up the highest quality local craftspeople, so visitors can explore WA’s best handmade products all in the one location, and rest assured they are purchasing premium, one-of-a-kind gifts that will be treasured for years to come.”
Among the incredible line-up of makers on the bill for 2022 are a Nagula Jarndu, a First Nation’s women’s art centre based in Broome who make colourful hand printed clothing, cushion covers, scarves and hats, as well as bright laser cut earrings in the shape of birds, turtles and crocodiles. For stunning handcrafted glassware, you can’t go past Nikked Glass, a local glass blower who creates a range of tumblers, vases, bowls, paper weights and more.
Creative Sistas is a joint stall featuring the paintings of Noongar artist Buffie Corunna and jewellery of Gooniyandi and Gija woman Camilla Sawford, and Elia Balms & Blends, owned by business and life partners Mia and Jane, make natural and eco-friendly body products including fragrances, soaps and deodorants. Lovers of luxury linen will enjoy the designs of Kristin Magrit, a sustainable and ethical womenswear brand offering high quality pieces made from natural fibres.
Continuing Fremantle Arts Centre’s commitment to nurturing the careers of emerging makers, the Bazaar Incubator program supports five craftspeople in the first five years of their practice to participate in the market with subsidised stallholder fees, mentoring and support.
This year’s Bazaar Incubators are Joshua Button Enterprises, a young Aboriginal artist from Broome who writes and illustrates children’s books, Sarah Pownall, who designs wheel-thrown porcelain homewares from her Bayswater studio, Kwongan Wax, known for her hand-dipped and poured beeswax candles, Smooth Ceramics, who creates a range of natural skincare balms packaged in locally handcrafted ceramic pots and Violet Clark Studio, a textile designer specialising in sleep and loungewear in fabrics inspired by Australian plants and flowers.
In the spirit of celebrating the handmade, Bazaar will feature a number of craft workshops where visitors can try their hand at making their own Christmas wreath from scratch or, for the kids, building and decorating clay Christmas ornaments.
There will also be festive performances by celebrated singer-songwriter Natalie Gillespie, carolling by our very own FAC Yeah! Community Choir and, of course, delicious festive bites and refreshments to enjoy from our food vendors.
2022 Stallholders
Andrea Osses Design
Annette Wiguna
Belen Berganza
Black & Dawson
Blue Lawn Designs
Braw Paper Co
Ceramics By Danica & Beste
Happy Lazuly
Claire Townsend Designs
Clay + Humans
Clay Cloth Metal
Creative Sistas
Convict
Dale’s Outback Pantry
Daniel(Ink.)
Deep Earth Ceramics
Elia Balms & Blends
Fleur Schell
Forrest Road Studios
Gather Ceramics
ijewellery
Jewellers & Metalsmiths
Group Of Australia (WA) Inc
Jody Pearl Studio
Joshua Button Enterprises
Kor By Lisa Gardner
Kristin Magrit
Kwongan Wax
The Silverren
Map Journal
Melting Pot Glass Studio
Nagtzaam
Nagula Jarndu
(Salwater Woman)
Native Needle
Nikked Glass
Prints By Bow
Patong – Alison Bullock
Pixel Cat
Sarah Pownall
Semblance
Smooth Ceramics
Susannah Kings–Lynne
Jewellery
Swalõ Ceramics
The Anjelms Project
Tony Docherty
Turner + Turner
Two Stories
Woven Stories Textiles
Violet Clark Studio
Yuniko Studio
Zinongo Studio
For interviews or further information please contact Media Officer Rosamund Brennan via rosamundb@fremantle.wa.gov.au or +61 (8) 9432 9565
Walyalup (Fremantle): A cinematic meditation on belonging in contemporary Australia, from enduring First Nations attachments to Country, to those borne of the colonial adventure or more recent diaspora, Other Horizons brings together three independent projects by nationally renowned artists Atong Atem, Hayley Millar Baker and Jasmine Togo-Brisby.
Opening on 3 February as part of Perth Festival, Other Horizons presents a richly layered collection of works offering nuance to discussions around sovereignty, migration and identity—from South Sea Islander artist Jasmine Togo-Brisby’s ambitious new installation representing a slave ship to Atong Atem’s opulent portraits of South Sudanese diaspora, and Gunditjmara and Djabwurrung artist Hayley Millar Baker’s filmic work exploring First Nations spirituality.
Commenting on the exhibition, which ties in with the Festival’s theme of Djinda (Stars), Fremantle Arts Centre Director Anna Reece said, “Humanity has long gazed up to the stars to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves. Exploring the shared skies, seas and stories that connect all Australians, Other Horizons is a powerful and poetic exhibition that speaks to a universal longing for home and the ways we carry home and culture within us.”
“We are honoured to have three of Australia’s most exciting contemporary artists exhibiting at Fremantle Arts Centre for the first time and as part of Perth Festival, with a number of new works among a bold showcase of sculpture, installation, photography and film. Through his exquisite curation Glenn Iseger-Pilkington brings to the surface narratives and ideas which are often rendered invisible in our national consciousness.”
Marking her Western Australian debut, South Sudanese artist Atong Atem is presenting Banksia, a solo exhibition revealing the complex experiences of African diaspora in Australia, from those who travelled, with the first fleet, to more recent migrations, such as those of the artist’s family. Originally commissioned by Rising Festival (Melbourne, 2021), the exhibition features the eponymous Banksia, an opulent filmic work which reflects on relationships to culture, exploring lesser-known history of Australia’s first African migrants as an entry point to a broader discussion around how migrant communities forge new belongings, while always carrying home, culture and kin within. Alongside Banksia, Atem is also showing a series of photographs, drawn from recent bodies of work, which explore the migrant experience from a non-Eurocentric lens and the roles that photographs play in maintaining connection to home and community from faraway places.
Abyss, a solo exhibition of recent works by Australian South Sea Islander artist Jasmine Togo-Brisby, explores South Sea Islander identity and history and interrogates plantation colonisation and slavery within the Australian and Pacific context. Alongside a significant body of existing works including sculpture, photographic and filmic works, Togo-Brisby will presents an ambitious new commission, As Above, So Below, taking over the art centre’s main gallery. Comprised of over 280 plaster-cast Vanuatuan Tamtam drums, which are said to bring forth the voices of ancestors when struck, the work references the painful history of blackbirding—the practice of kidnapping Pacific Islanders for coerced or forced labour on sugar and cotton plantations in Australia—while also highlighting the formation of new cultures and identities in the bellies of slave ships.
Nyctinasty, a recent filmic work by Gunditjmara and Djabwurrung artist Hayley Millar Baker, speaks to spaces between the physical, emotional and spiritual realms, the in-between spaces that First Nations people occupy simultaneously. In the Western Australian premiere of this filmic work, originally commissioned for Ceremony: The 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial (National Gallery of Australia, 2022), Millar-Baker centres female strength and power, employing horror film tropes and challenging notions of female psychosis through purposeful revealing of a strong, open and resilient protagonist, grounded in her own magic and ancestral connection, played by Millar Baker herself.
A series of public programs and events will accompany the exhibition, including Artists in Conversation: Hayley Millar Baker and Jasmine Togo-Brisby, Curator Tours with Glenn Iseger-Pilkington on 25 February, 9 March and 8 April, and a Tactile Tour for people with disabilities on 16 March. Designed especially for children and families, Djinda Waangkiny – The Stars Speak is a special engagement zone running for the duration of the exhibition where visitors can make their own constellations, write a wish, a dream or a memory, and learn more about the great expanse above us and the many different ways we connect to it.
Other Horizons opens at 6:30pm on Friday 3 February and runs daily till Sunday 23 April 2023. Entry is free.
For interviews or further information please contact Media Officer Rosamund Brennan via rosamundb@fremantle.wa.gov.au or +61 (8) 9432 9565
Image: Jasmine Togo-Brisby, Passage (detail) 2022, crows wings, stained wood, crows feathers, plexiglass and brass, 174 x 102 x 32cm. Photography by Jim Cullen
With Bazaar 2022 just around the corner, we’ve compiled this handy guide of need-to-know tips and tricks to ensure your day at the market is a successful one. Read on and get excited about WA’s favourite Christmas Makers’ Market, which returns to FAC from 2-4 December.
Entry
Entry is $2 per adult, kids under 12 are free (payable by card or cash).
Card payments A-Okay!
Each stallholder, our front gate and all food vendors are fully equipped with card facilities.
Entry is $2 per adult, kids under 12 are free (payable by card or cash).
Cash payments for products can be processed at reception. Fremantle Arts Centre gift vouchers can also be used at reception.
Parking
Please respect our neighbours and don’t park on the residential streets surrounding FAC. Limited free street parking is available on Finnerty, Ord and Vale Streets. Parking is also available at Fremantle Leisure Centre for a small fee.
Alternatively, take public transport. FAC is a short 10-minute walk from Fremantle train station with several bus routes stopping nearby. Head to the Transperth Journey Planner to find your best route.
ACROD Parking
Fremantle Arts Centre has recently added additional bays inside the precinct for ACROD pass holders. Access to these bays are via our top gate entrance off Finnerty Street and is controlled by Security on event days. Please present your ACROD pass to the security guard on the gate and if we have bays available, we will accommodate you.
BYO shopping bag
While some stallholders have bags available upon purchase, it’s a good idea to bring along your own shopping bag to ensure you get all your goodies home safe and sound.
Check the map!
We have large Bazaar maps positioned across the site to help you find what you might be looking for.
Gift Wrapping Available
Want your gifts beautifully wrapped? We can help! Gift wrapping is available by donation – head to our station in the Front Garden.
Search #FACBazaar on Instagram
Search the #FACBazaar hashtag for a sneak peek at all the amazing products you can expect to find at Bazaar and to follow stallholders you love.
We’d also love you to share your Bazaar experience with us. If you take any pics over the weekend be sure to tag us @fremantleartscentre and #FACBazaar.
Meet the makers
There’s nothing better than buying direct from makers and artisans. Take the time to chat with the people who have made the things you’re coveting. They’d love to tell you more about their range and how their products are made.
Food & Drink Offerings
There will be lots of yummy food to choose from to keep your energy up while you shop. Head to the food court area at the rear of the building to find a selection of delicious meals from an array of food vendors and a fully stocked bar (open from 5pm on Friday and 12pm Sat + Sun).
This year’s food vendors include: Little Loaf, La Paleta, Thien Kim Vietnamese, Pak Catering, Bunga Raya and My Gozleme.
We will also have a water station, so bring your refillable water bottle.
Workshops & Activities
Visitors will be able to get in on the making this year, with a range of craft workshops on offer. Adults can create their own Christmas wreath using native Australian flora with talented local florist Ellie Murray-Yong from Dirt Flora, and kids can create six festive clay Christmas ornaments with celebrated ceramicist and tutor Holly O’Meehan. Enrol now to secure your place!
City of Fremantle’s Buster the Fun Bus
Will be in the inner courtyard all weekend
Entertainment
Browsing the stalls will be made even more fun with the addition of live music throughout the weekend, including fun, festive tunes from DJ Pamika and acoustic sets from Willem Lieftink.
Be sure to pop in and check out MARAWAR-AK| From the West – a series of four exhibitions championing the creativity of Western Australian artists.
Leave your doggo at home
We love dogs but they’re not permitted within FAC grounds.
Treat yourself!
Go on, you deserve it.
Bazaar runs 5-9pm Fri 2 Dec and 9-5pm Sat 3 and Sun 4 Dec
Walyalup (Fremantle): As the Earth’s axis begins its cyclical tilt, ushering in the seasons of Kambarang, Birak and Bunuru, the southern half of the Western Australian coast is struck by cooling winds off the Indian ocean, tracing the topography of the land, carrying with it the many stories that connect us and catching the sails of those who leave, and those who anchor here.
It is this poetic seasonal marker which gave rise to Marawar-ak | From the West: Contemporary Art from Western Australia — a celebration of Western Australian art, our place in the world and the stories borne from this vast state.
Bringing together practitioners working across design, animation, sculpture, drawing and installation, Marawar-ak comprises four independent exhibitions including Still Watching by Anna Louise Richardson & Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, A Gift and a Shadow by Sally Bower, Backtrack by Katie Breckon and The Rin DinDai by Tyrown Waigana.
The exhibitions feature works of art that survey the lands we live upon, explore the ways we make meaning of the world and others that transport us to imaginary worlds. They present stories of regional and remote life, love, family, grief, choice, sacrifice, alongside works that map geography and memory.
According to Glenn Iseger-Pilkington, Curator Visual Arts, “While Fremantle Arts Centre always has our eyes on the national and international art stages, it’s crucial to us as an organisation that we celebrate Western Australian practice; that we nurture, support and amplify the voices of local artists, make meaningful investments in their careers and celebrate our unique histories and realities.”
“Marawar-ak|From the West is testament to this commitment, bringing together a diverse group of emerging and established artists, each with differing connections to Western Australia, to offer rich stories and experiences using their own unique visual languages and creative approaches.”
A collaborative exhibition by Anna Louise Richardson and Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, Still Watching will immerse Fremantle Arts Centre’s main gallery in a darkly psychological landscape that posits the questions who is watching and who is being watched?
Featuring Richardson’s finely detailed charcoal drawings and Abdullah’s striking sculptural installations, both depicting various domestic and wild animals, the exhibition embodies different experiences and perceptions of mutual observation in the natural world. Embracing the magical thinking of childhood, the artists articulate a personal lore, voicing their relationships with other creatures and the mythic qualities of the worlds we occupy.
A Gift and a Shadow by designer Sally Bower transforms the gallery into “an exhibition-come-agility-course, come-game show”, with soft sculpture, drawing, painting and provocation. Curated by FAC Exhibitions and Engagement Coordinator Emma Buswell, A Gift and A Shadow explores choice and consequence, the road less travelled and the absurdity of life, creating space to consider alternate understandings and interpretations of the world around us.
“Western Australia has a thriving community of designers and makers, but design often flies under the radar of major galleries and institutions,” says Emma Buswell. “A Gift and A Shadow sees the talents of Sally Bower celebrated in her first solo exhibition, a significant career milestone for this skilled designer and artist.”
Katie Breckon is an Aotearoa-born artist, educator and remote community arts worker whose practice explores the transient and transformative notion of home and questions one’s place in the natural world. In Backtrack, Breckon explores expanded drawing and mark-making practices through the lens of mapping personal and physical geographies.
Having lived, worked and travelled, as a visitor on Nyikina, Ngarinyin, and Worrorra Country in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia for a decade, Backtrack acts as an abstracted record of that time, retracing landmarks and mapping journeys in the creation of an archive that renders memory as an act of reflective catharsis.
Walyalup-based artist Tyrown Waigana explores sacrifice and reward and notions of the unexpected in The RinDin Dai a newly commissioned exhibition which plunges audiences into the world of the Hongels, an other-worldly species on their ceremonial day of the RinDin Dai.
Featuring animation, painting and sculpture, The RinDin Dai is Waigana’s first solo presentation at Fremantle Arts Centre, following his inclusion in group exhibitions at FAC including Hundreds & Thousands, A Forest of Hooks and Nails and Revealed: New and Emerging WA Aboriginal Artists.
A series of public programs and events will accompany the exhibition, including Artist Talks on Sat 5 Nov, Curator Tours on 26 Nov and 13 Jan, and a special panel discussion on Western Australian arts practice in Disclosure: Art Today in WA on 13 Dec.
Marawar-ak | From the West: Contemporary Art from Western Australia opens at 6:30pm on Fri 4 Nov and runs daily till Sun 22 Jan 2023. Entry is free.
For interviews or further information please contact Media Officer Rosamund Brennan via rosamundb@fremantle.wa.gov.au or +61 (8) 9432 9565
From indie darlings to Indigenous storytellers, queer electro pop to West Coast rock royalty, Fremantle Arts Centre’s Sunday Music season is back for summer—treating music lovers to our most culturally and musically diverse line-up in the program’s history.
This free weekly live music series returns on Sun 2 Oct, kicking off an epic 6-month summer season which sees musical talent from across Australia take the stage in Fremantle Arts Centre’s lush, shady Front Garden setting.
Fremantle Arts Centre’s Director Anna Reece commented, “Born of a love of community, creative exchange and connection, Sunday Music has become a staple in the Port City’s music scene, offering a tastemaking showcase of the most exciting acts.”
“Fremantle Arts Centre lives and breathes new music, and we are proud to support a program overflowing with talented music makers from across the creative spectrum which crosses various genres, identities and cultures, showcasing the unique and diverse community of voices that live and create within our state, and further afield.”
Among the highlights, on 12 February Melbourne-based nine-piece band Ausecuma Beats will grace the Sunday Music stage. Comprised of musicians from Senegal, Mali, Cuba and Guinea, the ensemble is known for fusing their diverse influences into complex rhythms which inspire your body to move, offering something incredibly danceable yet unmistakably unique.
Presented in association with Nannup Music Festival, on 5 March we’re joined by The Krui3ers, who hail from the Mowanjum Community in the Kimberley. Descendants of the renowned Mowanjum band Gulingi Nunga, the fourpiece band employ a high energy country rock style to tell stories of their Country and their old people.
Armed with their motto “the people must dance”, The Bambuseae Rhythm Section is sure to get the crowd moving on 19 February. This energetic six-piece act from Fremantle offer up retro-futuristic psych-funk with a dash of blues rock lyricism, and plenty of attitude to boot.
A visionary First Nations singer-songwriter and producer hailing from the Wardandi Bibbulmun tribe of the southwest of WA, Boox Kid is bringing his unique brand of electro pop to Sunday Music on 11 December. And on 22 January, Australian rock and roll legends Rob Snarksi & Lindy Morrison – of The Blackeyed Susans and The Go-Betweens – are joining forces to showcase their post-punk musical chops, in a show described as “not for the faint hearted, but for the romantic, the readers, the writers, the lovers and the lost.”
Also joining the line-up is Siobhan Cotchin (29 January), who’ll mesmerise audiences with her jangly luminous melodies, Natalie Gillespie (9 October), one of Perth’s most soulful singer/songwriters and the leader of FAC Yeah! Community Choir and Priscilla (11 December), a Boorloo based synth-pop duo, described by Purple Sneakers as “the electro-pop sound of the future”.
Sunday Music runs 2 October 2022 to 26 March 2023 from 2pm – 4pm in the Front Garden at Fremantle Arts Centre. This free, family friendly event has limited capacity, so we recommend guests arrive early and settle in for the afternoon. Bring a rug and picnic (no BYO alcohol) or enjoy tasty treats from the food vendors and bar on-site.
2022-23 Sunday Music Line-Up
2 October Queency + The Liquid Project
9 October Natalie Gillespie + Sgt Hulka
16 October Natasha Eldridge + Clive Morrison & The Lost Boys
23 October Drea + Princess Khanya
6 November De Cuba Son + TAB Family & Friends
13 November Catherine Traicos + Romy B
20 November Artemis Orchestra
27 November Lincoln Mackinnon + Dolce Blue
11 December Priscilla + Boox Kid
18 December Endeavourous + Odlaw
8 January Anna Schneider + Jocelyn’s Baby
15 January GIA COMO + Buckland
22 January Rob Snarski & Lindy Morrison
29 January Siobhan Cotchin + Mia June
5 February Mal de Mer + Heathcote Blue
12 February Music in Exile presents: Ausecuma Beats
19 February The Bambuseae Rhythm Section
5 March Nannup Festival presents: The Krui3ers + Nelson O’Reeri
12 March Big Orange + The Mackerels
19 March The Washing Line Economy + Jacob Wylde
26 March Web Rumors ex Machina + Timothy Nelson
For interviews or further information please contact Media Officer Rosamund Brennan via rosamundb@fremantle.wa.gov.au or +61 (8) 9432 9565
Opening on Friday 12 August, Tania Ferrier: Pop Porn explores the representation of women in the commodity culture of the 80s—challenging misogynistic gender ideals, giving voice to feminine authority and prompting deeper reflection on how far, or how little, we’ve come in the last forty years.
A City of Fremantle Art Collection exhibition curated by André Lipscombe and Tania Ferrier, Pop Porn features a survey of the artist’s internationally renowned Angry Underwear project alongside a series of new print works and animated videos created in residency at Fremantle Arts Centre in 2021.
Set against the socio-political climate of the #MeToo movement and the policing of women’s bodies with the over-turning of Roe v Wade, the exhibition builds on Tania’s decades-long feminist practice, offering a contemporary lens on issues including violence against women, consent, safety and beauty, as well as the impact of racial stereotypes in porn and mainstream media.
The exhibition will present nine Angry Underwear sets, bras and underwear featuring shark’s teeth and eyes, created after the artist witnessed the assault of ‘Angel’, a Latino stripper that she got to know while working at the Wild Fyre men’s club in New York in the 80s.
Aiming to call out sexual violence in the workplace, the work is an act of empathy for Tania, acknowledging her own experience of sexual assault in childhood. While the garments were banned by the club management, they later gained media attention when sold from a risqué ‘new wave’ fashion outlet and worn by cultural icons Madonna and Naomi Campbell.
“I am interested in creating art that engages people to contemplate the subject and possibly be awakened,” says Fremantle-based artist Tania Ferrier.
“We come to the Pop Porn exhibition bringing with us our own experiences; the relationship we have to our own bodies, to other’s bodies, our personal histories and our up-bringing. We all see differently. And that is ok.”
Tania’s new print and video series are a product of disassembling 1980’s Playboy centrefolds, in order to reframe her own attention to both the objectification of women’s bodies in mainstream porn and taboos about female sexual desire.
Utilising a surrealist, cut and paste imagery tactic, Pop Porn Calendar Series is comprised of twelve large-scale digital prints featuring scanned and processed collages sourced from original Playboy imagery.
Playboy Collage is a video work featuring a timelapse sequence of moving parts cut out from centrefolds which tumble, twirl and transmute like demi-gods across the screen. The resulting images are powerful and erotic, animating the commanding feminine energy embodied in Tania’s practice.
Presented and curated by the City of Fremantle Art Collection, the largest municipal art collection in Western Australia, Pop Porn typifies the collection’s commitment to presenting contemporary exhibitions which respond to pertinent historical moments.
“Humorous and empowering, Pop Porn prompts us to consider the broader cultural forces around the representations of women; the all-white, domesticised goddesses of the American dream which pervaded popular porn in the 80s, and continue to influence our notions of femininity and sexuality today,” said City of Fremantle Art Collection Curator André Lipscombe.
“By shaking up and subverting mainstream image culture, Tania grants women an active role in reimagining the banal ideals of beauty and desire found in pornography and mass media.”
Accompanying the exhibition is a comprehensive catalogue of texts by writers and artists including Tui Raven, Josephine Wilson, Dr Zoe Sofoulis and Noura Kevorkian, engaging with the themes of feminism, identity and the female body found in the exhibition and their own practices.
Tania Ferrier: Pop Porn opens 6:30pm, Friday 12 August alongside A Gentle Misinterpretation: Australian Artists and Chinoiserie and Jila Kujarra: Two Snakes Dreaming. The exhibitions are then open 10am – 5pm daily until Sunday 23 October.
A series of public programs will run in conjunction with the exhibition, including Artist Talk | Jila Kujarra: Two Snakes Dreaming + Tania Ferrier: Pop Porn on Saturday 13 August, and An Evening with the Collection with Tania Ferrier and invited guests, 6:30pm Thursday 22 September.
For interviews or further information please contact Media Officer Rosamund Brennan via rosamundb@fremantle.wa.gov.au or +61 (8) 9432 9565
Image: GoGo Girls, New York, 1991. Image courtesy M. Santo
A Boorloo-based visual artist and designer working across textiles and fashion, Mariaan Pugh has teamed up with Martu artist Desmond Taylor to create Jila Kujarra: Two Snakes Dreaming, an exciting cross-cultural collaboration which opens at 6:30pm on Fri 12 Aug.
Taylor and Pugh have worked together to transform Taylor’s Niminjarra paintings, usually seen on canvas or paper, into highly tactile textile works, animating the important Niminjarra Jukurrpa (Dreaming).
The exhibition is the realisation of a long-held vision Taylor, a prolific painter who works with Martumili Artists. It continues the practice of cultural and creative exchange driven by the arts centre in recent years, with the intent of sharing Martu art, language, culture and stories with new national and international audiences.
First of all, can you tell us a little bit about your practice?
Absolutely, so I studied Textiles at Curtin University and then did an Advanced Diploma of Fashion & Textile Design from North Metropolitan TAFE. I primarily work in rug making, embroidery, and weaving. I’m really interested in subverting these traditional textile techniques into more contemporary and unconventional formats. My work tends to be more light-hearted and playful in style, so I’m particularly drawn to vivid colour and motifs, and highly tactile surfaces. I have a studio in Subiaco where I spend a few days a week on my practice, and I also teach fashion & textiles at North Metropolitan TAFE and The Children’s School of Contemporary Art, which I really love.
Tell me, how did the collaboration with Desmond come about?
Erin Coates (former FAC special projects coordinator) worked with Desmond for Revealed in 2018, and during that process she discovered that he wanted to work with someone to make rugs, specifically a Western Australian artist. At this point, I had already been working with rugs for five years and it was really the focus of my art practice. So Erin put me in contact with Desmond and Martumili at the end of 2018, and that’s where it all started. I travelled to Newman to meet with him in 2019 and that’s when he told me the story of Niminjarra and showed me all his paintings and then kind of told me what he wanted.
Was that the first time you’d be up to Parrngurr, where Desmond lives? What was that experience like?
Yeah, it was the first time. It was so amazing. As soon as you get off the plane it’s almost like you have this filter over your eyes because everything is just covered in red dust. It’s absolutely beautiful. He was so lovely and generous with telling me his stories and about his paintings. I felt really honoured to be there and that he made the time to meet me. I’d really love to go back up there and share some of these rug-making techniques with the Martu community as well. He’s also come down to Perth twice during this project. He’s such a busy person but always makes time to catch up. There’s been a lot of phone calls between us as well texts back and forth as the work has developed.
It must be really rewarding to work on this creative project together, and to get to know each other during the process. What has your working relationship with Desmond been like?
It’s been such a joy and privilege to work with Desmond to expand his practice into a new medium. Our working relationship has been easy and natural. He really trusts me creatively and anything I suggest he’s happy for me to do. So I guess I’ve just tried to be really conscientious of staying true to the works as much as I can in terms of colour and patterning, and checking in with him as much as possible.
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- Desmond Taylor, Niminjarra (resting), 2020, gouache on paper, 51 x 66cm,
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- Desmond Taylor, Niminjarra, 2019, gouache on paper, 50 x 65cm
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- Mariaan Pugh, Niminjarra (home camp), 2021, assorted yarn, monks cloth
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- Mariaan Pugh, Niminjarra (nyurnma), 2021, assorted yarn, monks cloth
How do you actually go about translating Desmond’s paintings into rugs?
I always start with studying Desmond’s paintings and trying to get a feel for them. When I first started, I realised it’s quite hard to get the finer details of the paintings into the rugs, so I simplified them a bit first. Basically, I trace the outline of the paintings first to replicate them as best I can and then I transfer that onto the fabric where I do the tufting. For the first couple of ones, I was just drawing his paintings freehand, but then I started tracing them as I felt it’s a bit more conscientious doing it this way. Where I can, I colour match the yarn to the painting and create a colour palette for the rug, Desmond has also been happy for me to change colours where suitable. Then I begin the process of rug making, for these works I have used a rug hook, a punch needle and a manual tufting gun. I interchange these techniques depending on the design and to create variation in textures.
Why are you so drawn to rug making? What is it about the medium that you love?
I really love the practice of rug making. I’m a highly tactile person, and yarn is definitely the most tactile medium for me. I always use a wide range of colour and textures, rug making allows me to play and experiment with both of these. It’s so satisfying to see the design come to life, thread by thread. It can take upwards of a week just to complete one rug.
Jila Kujarra: Two Snakes Dreaming opens 6:30pm, Fri 12 Aug alongside A Gentle Misinterpretation: Australian Artists and Chinoiserie and Tania Ferrier: Pop Porn. The exhibitions are then open 10am – 5pm daily until Sunday 23 October.
