The Riddoch Art Gallery, in partnership with Bordertown’s Walkway Gallery will present Telling Tales, an artist-led, community project, capturing stories from the Limestone Coast region.
“From adversity springs inspiration and the decision to postpone a number of exhibitions has led Limestone Coast galleries to explore new projects,” City of Mount Gambier Arts and Culture Development Officer Serena Wong said.
The project is open now until 18 September 2020 with local artist Jo Fife and former Mount Gambier artist Sera Waters calling on all current and past residents of the Limestone Coast to contribute a small embroidered patch that captures experiences and knowledge of the region.
These patches will be sent back to the Riddoch Art Gallery where the artists will go through each one and put them all together, to create one work with many voices, to capture a different but important story.
– City of Mount Gambier Arts and Culture Development Officer Serena Wong
The project is suitable for both beginner and experienced stitchers and provides an opportunity for anyone with links to the region to share insights, knowledge, family histories, regional species, weather events, mysteries, or general tales.
“Sera and Jo both have a multitude of experience in making work that looks specifically at their history.
Having both grown up in the region, it is a perfect opportunity to have them working together and exploring the quirky tales that make where we live so special and unique,” Ms Wong said.
“I am fascinated by little known histories and insights people and communities have about the places they live,” artist Sera Waters said.
“History books don’t reflect this kind of insider knowledge so with the Telling Tales project, we hope to celebrate local community tales, a richer version of this region.”
The finished artwork will be exhibited alongside the Country Arts SA touring exhibition Sera Waters: Domestic Arts at both the Riddoch Art Gallery and the Walkway Gallery in 2021.
“While we may be at different ends of the Limestone Coast, we are connected by our location and Telling Tales is a unique way for us to come together, capture and immortalise those wonderfully tall tales in a beautiful artwork for the region,” Walkway Gallery Director Naomi Fallon said.
With the COVID-19 pandemic presenting unique challenges on many levels, communities around the world are coming together to share ideas, experiment and develop creative ways to connect with each other.
“I am really excited to be working on this community art project, especially as we find ourselves looking at alternatives to connect with our community during the pandemic and I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s stories in stitch,” artist Jo Fife said.
