South Project

Last updated

The South Project was a program of events originating in Melbourne designed to explore potential cultural connections between countries of the South [1]

Contents

Origins

The idea for the South Project emerged in the aftermath of the 1999 Melbourne Visual Arts Biennial. While the biennial was designed to be an ongoing feature of Melbourne's visual arts calendar, lack of support from participating countries meant it was unable to continue. Consideration was given to the model of Brisbane's Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, which used a regional focus to gain profile. The concept of a southern focus emerged through a series of meetings held over 2001–2002 at the Australian Centre, University of Melbourne.

The Director of Craft Victoria, Kevin Murray, developed the South Project in 2003 with support of the Australia Council's Visual Arts Craft Strategy and Myer Foundation. The idea was first introduced with the "Between You and Me" symposium on 18 March 2003, which featured stories about Australian craft practitioners working with traditional communities in Ernabella, Tiwi Islands, East Timor and Gujarat. On 2 April 2003, the Myer Foundation hosted a meeting of the directors of Victorian visual arts organisations at Cranlana to discuss the possibility of a major international festival focusing on the South. By late 2003, project officers Hannah Matthews and Christobel Harvey were appointed. Magdalena Morena became general manager in 2004.

Major elements

Melbourne Gathering 2004

South 1: A New Conversation (1–4 July 2004, University of Melbourne) was a unique gathering of artists from more than 16 countries brought together to discuss what it means to live in the south. The opening keynote was given by Mbulelo Mzamane. [2] There were 48 presentations designed to cover the breadth of southern cultural activity, including shared histories of struggle and displacement, current programs of cultural development and ideas for future collaborations across the latitude. These presentations were complemented by workshops, project clusters, performances, readings, walks and a welcoming bonfire hosted by members of the local Indigenous community.

To complement the event, at Craft Victoria the exhibition of Cross Pollination, curated by Anna Davern and Vicki Mason, displayed works by Australian and New Zealand jewellers inspired by botany.

Wellington Gathering 2005

'Between Earth and Sky' in Wellington was hosted by Te Papa Museum 19–21 October 2005. It began with a traditional Pōwhiri followed by talks and workshops featuring Maori, Pakeha, Australian Aboriginal and foreign speakers. "With the theme 'between sky and earth' – ways of making a place in a placeless world- the content of the gathering included a heady mix of indigenous, environmental and socially oriented art production." [3]

Santiago Gathering 2006

The South American gathering 'Crossing Horizons' was held in Chile 1 – 4 October 2006 and hosted by the Centro Cultural Estacion Mapocho. It included talks at the Universidad de Chile, workshop at the Consejo Nacional de la Cultura in Valparaiso, residencies at Galeria Metropolitana and a performance by Domenico de Clario at the Pablo Neruda house La Sebastina. The two exhibitions were Trans Versa curated by Zara Stanhope and Danae Mossman, involving thirteen artists at three venues. And Make the Common Precious curated by Kevin Murray that make the link between 'poor craft' in Australia and the celebration of the ordinary in the poetry of Pablo Neruda.

Johannesburg Gathering 2007

The African gathering was held in Johannesburg 18–21 October 2007 at the Hector Pieterson Museum in Soweto. It was opened by William Kentridge. A Festival of the South was presented by the Mbuisa Makhubu Primary School (previously Belle Primary) in Orlando West, featuring results of residencies by Australian artists Sara Thorn, Maree Clarke and Emma Davies. There were also workshops at the Crafts Council of South Africa and African Theatre.

Common Goods: Cultures Meet through Craft

Common Goods was an exhibition for the 2006 Commonwealth Games at the Melbourne Museum involving residencies in host institutions around Victoria. Artisans were invited from Commonwealth countries, including Ahmed Nimad (Maldives) Audrey Boyle (New Zealand), Lewis Dick (Mauritius), Hlengiwe Dube (South Africa), Mary Farrugia (Malta), Niki Hastings-McFall (New Zealand), Zakir Hussain (India), Te Atiwei Ririnui (New Zealand), Margarita Sampson (Norfolk Island), Chandraguptha Thenuwara (Sri Lanka) and Julie Tipene-O'Toole (New Zealand). Each was partnered with a local host artists including Kerri Ann Abbott, Jennifer Bartholomew, Lorraine Connelly-Northey, Lucy Irvine, Wendy Lugg, Mark McDean and David Ray. Their collaborations were then exhibited at Melbourne Museum. According to Wulan Dirgantoro, "As many of these artists are no longer entirely dependent on traditional materials to produce their objects, this exhibition presents a challenge for viewers to see the complexity and breadth of 'world craft' outside the notion of exoticism and 'fourth world' façade." [4]

South Artists in Residence

Institutions in Australia, Brazil, Fiji New Zealand and South Africa hosted artists as part of a residency program designed to facilitate exchange. The artists who participated include:

South Kids

The South Project included a number of schools that hosted a specially made kit that explored connections across the south. This included the story of Susu, an emu that wanted to fly like an eagle. This story was designed as an allegory of the way people of the South often wish they lived in the North. Children were encouraged to come up with solutions for the emu, as well as provide information about the flightless birds in their own country.

Participating schools included:

Legacy

The South Project continued as a Craft Victoria project until December 2007, when it became an independent association under Director Magdalena Moreno. As an independent organisation, South Project hosted further gatherings in Melbourne and Yogyakarta. It closed down in 2013.

The following are initiatives emerging out of the South Project:

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shepparton</span> City in Victoria, Australia

Shepparton is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately 181 kilometres (112 mi) north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton, including the adjacent town of Mooroopna, was 53,841.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colac, Victoria</span> City in Victoria, Australia

Colac is a small city in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnegie, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Carnegie is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 12 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district, on the railway line between Caulfield and Oakleigh, located within the City of Glen Eira local government area. Carnegie recorded a population of 17,909 at the 2021 census.

Thomas Mokopu Mofolo is considered the greatest Basotho author. He wrote mostly in the Sesotho language, but his most popular book, Chaka, has been translated into English and other languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robinvale</span> Town in Victoria, Australia

Robinvale is a town on the south bank of the Murray River in north western Victoria, Australia. It is connected by a bridge to Euston on the other side of the river in New South Wales. At the 2021 census, Robinvale had a population of 3,740, however a population study conducted by the Rural City of Swan Hill that was undertaken in 2019 identified Robinvale had an estimated population of between 7,000 in November and 8,800 in March each year.

KwaThema is a township south-west of Springs in the district of Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, South Africa. It was established in 1951 when Africans were forcibly removed from Payneville because it was considered by the apartheid government to be too close to a white town. The new township's layout was designed along modernist principles and became a model for many subsequent townships, although the envisaged social facilities were not implemented. The typical South African township house, the 51/9, was one of the plans developed for KwaThema. A black local authority with municipal status was established in 1984. In 1985 KwaThema experienced violent unrest and right-wing vigilante activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gisborne, Victoria</span> Town in Victoria, Australia

Gisborne is a town in the Macedon Ranges, located about 54 kilometres (34 mi) north-west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the largest town in the Macedon Ranges Shire, with a population of 14,432 as of June 2021 in the Gisborne district region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swan Hill</span> City in Victoria, Australia

Swan Hill is a city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia on the Murray Valley Highway and on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River. At 2021 census, Swan Hill had a population of 11,508.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby union in Australia</span>

Rugby union in Australia has a history of organised competition dating back to the late 1860s. Although traditionally most popular in Australia's rugby football strongholds of New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT, it is played throughout the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moama</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Moama is a town in the Riverina district of southern New South Wales, Australia, in the Murray River Council local government area. The town is directly across the Murray River from the larger town of Echuca in the neighbouring state of Victoria, to which it is connected by a bridge. At the 2016 census, Moama had a population of 5,620.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria (state)</span> Southeastern state of Australia

Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state, with a land area of 227,444 km2 (87,817 sq mi); the second-most-populated state, with a population of over 6.7 million; and the most densely populated state in Australia. Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north and South Australia to the west and is bounded by the Bass Strait to the south, the Great Australian Bight portion of the Southern Ocean to the southwest, and the Tasman Sea to the southeast. The state encompasses a range of climates and geographical features from its temperate coastal and central regions to the Victorian Alps in the northeast and the semi-arid northwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuit Blanche</span> Annual night-time art festival in various cities

Nuit Blanche is an annual all-night or night-time arts festival of a city. A Nuit Blanche typically has museums, private and public art galleries, and other cultural institutions open and free of charge, with the centre of the city itself being turned into a de facto art gallery, providing space for art installations, performances, themed social gatherings, and other activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela Irving</span> Australian sculptor (born 1960)

Pamela Irving is an Australian visual artist specialising in bronze, ceramic and mosaic sculptures as well as printmaking and copper etchings. In addition to her extensive art work, Irving has lectured in art and ceramics at Monash University, the Melbourne College of Advanced Education, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and the Chisholm Institute of Technology. She also worked as an art critic for the Geelong Advertiser and was a councillor on the Craft Council of Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish Community Council of Victoria</span>

The Jewish Community Council of Victoria Inc (JCCV) is the main representative body for Victorian Jewry, representing 52 Jewish community organisations and over 60,000 Victorian Jews. The JCCV's mission is to represent the Victorian Jewish community, the largest Jewish community in Australia, and deal with matters that affect its status, welfare and interests. The JCCV was established in 1938 as the Victorian Jewish Advisory Board. It has been known as the Jewish Community Council of Victoria since 1989 and became incorporated in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Ollis</span> Australian artist and painter (born 1951)

Bernard Ollis OAM is a British-Australian artist, painter and advocate for arts education. He lives and works in Sydney and Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethel Spowers</span> Australian artist (1890–1947)

Ethel Louise Spowers was an Australian artist associated with the Grosvenor School of Modern Art in London. She was especially known for her linocuts, which are included in the collections of major Australian and British Art Galleries. She was also a founder of the Contemporary Art Society, promoting modern art in Australia.

There is a Japanese community residing in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It includes expatriates, other temporary residents, and Japanese Australians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kushana Bush</span> New Zealand artist (born 1983)

Kushana Bush is a New Zealand artist based in Dunedin. She is best known for her paintings which typically blend historic and contemporary styles. Bush has won several awards for her works and has held international exhibitions.

Elizabeth Gower is an Australian abstract artist who lives and works in Melbourne. She is best known for her work in paper and mixed-media monochrome and coloured collages, drawn from her sustained practice of collecting urban detritus.

References

  1. ↑ Gardner, Anthony, ed. 2013. Mapping South: Journeys in South-South Cultural Relations. Melbourne: South Project.
  2. ↑ Mbulelo, Mzamane. 2004. "Beyond Mythification: Constituting a Southern Identity.” Southern Perspectives. http://www.southernperspectives.net/beyond-mythification-constituting-a-southern-identity-by-mbulelo-vizikhungo
  3. ↑ Clarke, Jacquie. 2006. "The South Project 2 in Wellington | The Big Idea | Te Aria Nui." The Big Idea – Te Aria Nui. 27 October. http://www.thebigidea.co.nz/node/28008.
  4. ↑ Dirgantoro, Wulan. 2006. "Common Goods: Cultures meet through craft' Craft Australia. "Cultures meet through craft in Common Goods - 29 April 2006". Archived from the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.