Regional Arts Triennial: Open Borders

SFA is currently working on the second iteration of the Regional Arts Triennial – a state wide series of regionally based exhibitions and performances held in mid to late 2022, culminating in a survey of contemporary regional art practice at John Curtin Gallery (Perth) in September-November 2023.

Project Title: Open Borders

Lead Curator
Lead Curator for the 2022/23 exhibition series is Annette Davis. Annette is based in Albany. Visit her website for more info about her practice.
https://www.annettedavisart.com/

• A border is a barrier which can be tangible or intangible. 
• Borders are used to keep things in and to keep things out.  They can be protective and they can prohibitive.
• Borders within the mind direct thought, assumptions and conclusions.
• Borders manage behaviour.
• Borders are often managed by regulations which require evidence of authorized movement across a border.
• Borders can be contravened, overturned and broken down.
• Borders can be the site of protest.
• Borders can be permeable and impermeable.
• A border might be a clear red line on a map but it can also be shifting and nebulous, with grey areas subject to change. 
• Over the past twelve months as the COVID-19 pandemic has spread, the presence of borders, and the fact that they can be closed and opened, has had innumerable impacts on our physical and psychological lives. 
• International borders have been closed, not only to people arriving but during some periods, to Australian citizens leaving the country.
• State borders are closed and re-opened as State governments choose how to manage the risk of the spread of COVID-19.  
• Regional borders within WA used to be accepted as a way of describing the different geographic areas of this huge state or of delineating government jurisdictions, but since 2020 they have at times become an enforceable barrier, restricting our daily lives in innumerable ways. Within regions, Indigenous communities have been protected by borders, and some towns have sought the protection of borders to keep COVID-19 out of their community.

Exhibition timeframe:

• Regional exhibitions/performance – mid to late 2022
• John Curtin Gallery survey: 2023

Participating organisations

1. Goolari Media (Broome)
2. Junction Co (Port Hedland)
3. Gascoyne in May (Carnarvon)
4. North Midlands Project (Carnamah) collaborating with Gardiner St Art Collective (Moora)
5. Creative Corner (Margaret River)
6. Denmark Arts (Denmark) collaborating with Mix Artist Albany (Albany) and Vancouver Arts Centre (Albany)
7. Rave About Arts (Ravensthorpe) collaborating with Lake Grace Artists (Lace Grace)
8. Waringarri Aboriginal Arts (Kunnunura)
9. Cannery Arts Centre (Esperance)
10. Tjuma Pulka Media (Kalgoorlie) collaborating with Artgold (Kalgoorlie)
11. Lost Eden Creative (Dwellingup)
12. Southern Forest Arts (Northcliffe)

Inclusion priority has been given to organisations within RAWA’s Regional Arts Network.

If your organisation is keen to be in the Triennial mix please get in touch with Fiona at Southern Forest Arts PRONTO.

Funding

In late Dec we discovered that Regional Arts WA’s second application to the federal RISE funding program to catalyse the inaugural Regional Arts Festival was unsuccessful. The Open Borders project was hopeful of RISE success as a potential means to help fund the regional exhibition series. In 2022 we will have to explore alternative options.

Curatorial Brief
Annette’s Curatorial Brief can be downloaded here.

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PHOTO CREDIT: AP Photo / Petros Giannakouris [Sourced from ‘The Nation’] A boy takes part in a protest by refugees at the northern Greek border station of Idomeni. 2019.