My Own Private Universe - 2023 Access Creativity exhibition

Our 2023 Access Creativity exhibition celebrates creativity with artists of all abilities and features poetry from some of WA’s leading poets.

View the exhibition catalogue here to see artworks, artist bios and poems that respond to the artworks.

About the exhibition

Our 2023 Access Creativity exhibition brings the wider community together to showcase and celebrate the creative talent of artists living with disability.

The exhibition features a diverse range of extraordinary artworks by talented visual artists with complex needs. This mix of emerging and established artists are based across the South West, Great Southern and Perth. Each artwork will be displayed alongside associated poetry by local West Australian poets.

This will be Southern Forest Arts’ third year of hosting the Creative Connections exhibition. The theme for this year’s event is ‘My Private Universe’, which highlights how individuals have their own inner worlds of thoughts and feelings which are not often exposed to others.

Curated by Yael Harris (Artist & Poet) and supported by Vandana Selvakumaran (our young arts admin intern from UWA’s WIL program)

With thanks to Nulsen Disability Services, the PeopleKind Group and the Manjimup Community Op Shop for their generous donation.

Featured artists

Wooditchup/Margaret River: Ben White, Brooke McQueen, Joshua Kirschbaum-Mau
Manjimup: Christina Klaassen, Kerry Trease
Pemberton: Tayla Arnold
Northcliffe: Aimee Dickson
Albany: Ally J Croston, Niamh Bowman-Moore
Denmark: Samala Gosh
Boorloo/Perth: John Verjans, Tony Stanisheff
Walyalup/Fremantle: Greg Barr
Mandurah: Katrina Barber
Koombarnup/Bunbury: Creative Connections (Bunbury Regional Art Gallery)
Undalup/Busselton: Adelaide Moore
Kirup: Aden Beck

Featured poets

South West Poets

Andrew Malone
Bethany Chia
Chrissy Maddison
Gus Henderson
Karen Louise
Marissa Stern
Miranda Aitken
Nic Sinclair
Seren Rose

Perth poets

Coral Carter
Gary De Piazzi
Glen Phillips
Jaya Penelope
Maree Dawes
Rose van Son
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
Sunny Wignall
Virgina O’Keefe

About the Gallery

The Painted Tree Gallery is located at the Northcliffe Information & Visitor Centre

Open 9am to 4pm daily.

Closing Event

On Sunday October 22nd, between 12noon and 2pm we’re hosting a closing celebration. We’d love you to join us for a dance performance by Candance Dance Studio Bunbury, poetry recitals by participating WA poets, a guest speech by Jane Kelsbie MLA. The event commences with a light luncheon. Please RSVP here.