Open Borders (Regional Events Series)

SFA is currently working on a collaborative presentation of a state-wide series of regionally based, interconnected, 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

An extract from the curatorial brief written for project is below:

• 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:

• Stage 4.1: Regional Events Series Launch and Promotion (June – July 2022)
• Stage 4.2: Regional Events Series (August 2022 – May 2023)
• Stage 4.3 Regional Events Evaluation (June – July 2023)
• Stage 5: John Curtin Gallery survey (September – November 2023)

Participating organisations

1. Kimberley
   1. Goolari Media (Broome)
   2. Waringarri Aboriginal Arts (Kunnunura)
2. Pilbara
   1. The Junction Co (Port Hedland)
3. Gascoyne
   1. Creality (Carnarvon)
4. Midwest
   1. North Midlands Project (Carnamah)
   2. Gardiner St Art Collective (Moora)
   3. Geraldton Regional Art Gallery (Geraldton)
5. Goldfields/Esperance
   1. Tjuma Pulka Media (Kalgoorlie)
   2. Artgold (Kalgoorlie)
   3. Cannery Arts Centre (Esperance)
   4. Rave About Arts (Ravensthorpe)
   5. Creative Corner (Margaret River)
6. Wheatbelt
   1. Lake Grace Artists (Lace Grace)
   2. Arts Narrogin (Narrogin)
7. Great Southern
   1. Denmark Arts (Denmark) 
8.  South West
   1. Creative Corner (Margaret River)
   2. Southern Forest Arts (Northcliffe)
9. Peel
   1. Lost Eden Creative (Dwellingup)

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

For more information visit our Project Page here

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