Stories of our making: contemporary prints from Australia

This month Adjunct Associate Professor Jan Davis and Travis Paterson, Southern Cross University visual arts graduate and 2009 John and Sheilagh Kaske Memorial Fellow, will head off to the UK with big boxes of art slung over their shoulders.

They will be taking 'Stories of our making: contemporary prints from Australia' to the IMPACT 6 International Printmaking Conference at the University of the West of England, Bristol.

The exhibition has been curated by Jan and Travis and will be shown in the UK between September 14 and 20 before returning to Australia for exhibition at the Tweed River Gallery in Murwillumbah from late November to the end of January 2010.

Southern Cross University Vice Chancellor Professor Peter Lee will officially open the exhibition at the Tweed River Gallery on Friday, December 11 at 6pm.

¿Curating the exhibition has been a collaborative effort between Travis and me,¿ Jan said. ¿We relied on the professional skills that Travis developed as an intern at the Tweed River Gallery during his undergraduate degree and more recently, as the assistant coordinator at Southern Cross University¿s next Art Gallery.

¿With my years of practise as a printmaker and academic, we were able to put together an exhibition that broadly tells the story of contemporary printmaking practice in Australia.

¿The conference will draw about 350 academics, artists, art students and curators from the UK, Europe, America and Australia. 'Stories of our making' is a terrific opportunity for Southern Cross University to include the work of our staff and graduates (a number of whom already possess international and national reputations), as part of a broader Australian representation.

¿Included among the 20 artists in the exhibition are some of Australia¿s leading printmakers and selected staff and graduates of Southern Cross University.

¿The exhibition includes the work of SCU staff Leonie Lane, Darren Bryant, Christine Willcocks and myself, and graduates Anita Lord, Samuel Tupou and Joanna Kambourian. The SCU library has generously lent 'Under the act', an artists¿ book by Judy Watson, from its collection for inclusion in the exhibition.¿

The exhibition and accompanying catalogue has been made possible by the generous support of the Gordon Darling Foundation and Southern Cross University.

Photo: Travis Paterson packs works for the UK exhibition under the watchful eye of Jan Davis and SCU printmaking lecturer Darren Bryant, one of the artists included in the show.

Updated: 10 September 2009