Present / Place
PRESENT / PLACE is a proposed reciprocal creative exchange connecting artists and communities in Australia and South Africa through contemporary portraiture. Through artist-led projects in each location and a shared digital exhibition space, PRESENT / PLACE will explore how people represent themselves, their experiences and their relationship to place.
About the project
Developed and curated by Present Ascendants, PRESENT / PLACE proposes to bring artists in Australia and South Africa together through a shared creative framework exploring portraiture, identity, representation and place. Each artist will develop a locally grounded project shaped by their own creative practice and community. Participating artists will connect through online dialogue and practice exchange, sharing approaches, processes and experiences as their projects develop. The resulting works and creative processes will be brought together through a curated online exhibition, allowing work created in different geographic and cultural contexts to be encountered alongside one another while respecting the particular context of each artist and community.
The story
Portraiture is more than an image of a person. It can communicate how we see ourselves, how we choose to be represented and the people, experiences and places that shape us. PRESENT / PLACE asks: Who are you? What has shaped you? What does this place mean to you? How do you choose to represent yourself? Artists and participants in Australia and South Africa will be invited to respond to these questions from their own positions and through their own creative approaches. Across the proposed exchange, participating artists will meet virtually to share practices, ideas and experiences. Creative activity will take place locally in each community, while the digital platform will create an additional space for artists, participants and audiences to encounter work and perspectives from the other location. PRESENT / PLACE seeks to create connection across distance without suggesting that the experiences of each place are the same.
People & artists
Contributor information coming soon.
Outcomes
PRESENT / PLACE aims to create artist-led creative projects in Australia and South Africa, reciprocal practice exchange between participating artists, and a curated online exhibition bringing together the resulting works and perspectives. The project aims to create opportunities for community participation, support artists to develop international relationships and exchange creative practices, and build new connections between artists, communities and cultural organisations across Australia and South Africa. As a pilot exchange, PRESENT / PLACE is intended to establish a model for future Present Ascendants collaborations connecting artists and communities across different places through local participation, creative exchange and digital connection.