Art and Community

Communities around several regional galleries, including Maitland’s, were invited to participate in a large-scale collaborative creative project during 2020, the result of which is now touring New South Wales.

Two Maitland-based community groups, Mai-Wel, which provides disability support services, and Inside Out, an inclusive artist collective, participated in an exciting creative collaboration during 2020, alongside community members from Grafton, Bathurst and Albury. The resulting large-scale sculpture was exhibited at MRAG in January.

The Adaptation project was a series of online creative workshops led by Goldberg Aberline Studio during the peak of social distancing, which used drawing, music, movement and a sense of fun to encourage participants to find their ‘happy place’ and vibrant creative release.

Small-scale works produced from these workshops were then adapted into large collages – often merging four or five artist’s work together to create one cohesive whole.

Workshop participants with Matthew and Maurice from GAS enjoying the Adaptation sculpture on display at MRAG, Free Art January 2021.

These collages were then shaped into soft sculptural forms and integrated into a giant inflatable sculpture – an expressive, complex organic structure which viewers can experience by walking through and around, taking in colourful textile patterns as they explore. The sculpture is a burst of colour and curiosity, as though strange but happy plant life has taken root and risen up from the bleakness of COVID lockdown.

Other community groups involved in the project were those connected with the regional galleries of Grafton and Bathurst, as well as Albury City Cultural Activation. The sculpture was to have been launched at Sculpture by the Sea in Sydney in 2020, but as it was cancelled due to COVID, its debut showing was in Maitland, before touring on to be exhibited in other participating regions.

Local artist Denise Duffy, the Special Projects Mentor at Mai-Wel, an NDISregistered organisation providing support to people with a disability throughout the Hunter, says of the experience:

it was a fantastic opportunity [which] complimented our approaches to art making here at Mai-Wel, ensuring art is for everyone, bringing joy and creative response to the world around us.

She explains that MaiWel’s vision is to deliver vibrant services that “provide opportunities for people with a disability to achieve their dreams and goals through inclusion, partnerships and embracing community.”

Inside Out, the other Maitland-based participant, is an inclusive group of emerging and established artists who live or work in and around the Maitland region, and who meet at MRAG on a monthly basis. The group was formed through a professional development initiative led by Octapod and supported by Accessible Arts and is now an independent entity.

An Adaptation workshop for teens (16+) and adults was held on-site at MRAG as part of the Free Art January program, led by Maurice and Matthew from Goldberg Aberline Studio.

Words: Sally Denmead

Matthew Aberline and Maurice Goldberg of Goldberg Aberline Studio (GAS)

Matthew Aberline and Maurice Goldberg of Goldberg Aberline Studio (GAS) create immersive public art experiences, deeply engaging with the communities and clients they work with and guided by their motto ‘Art + Happy’. Matthew was previously a feature film and live performance designer, and Maurice an architect and corporate leader.

Working with almost 100 artists in NSW communities was a highlight of 2020 for GAS. It helped inspire us to push the boundaries of our creative process in new and exciting ways.