ART CLASS

ANGELICA MESITI

Angelica Mesiti’s videos are portraits that consider how communities are formed through shared movement and communication. The artist represented Australia at the 58th Venice Biennale with the threechannel video installation ASSEMBLY 2019, which was acquired for the national collection. Read Paris-based Mesiti’s essay about the importance of connection during a time of isolation on page 16. From virtual art classes to specially-commissioned activity sheets and live Instagram Q & As between curators and collection artists, the Gallery used innovative ways to educate and connect with audiences during lockdown. By Celeste Aldahn.

EVELYN ARALUEN

Evelyn Araluen is an award-winning poet, researcher and educator working with Indigenous literatures at the University of Sydney and represented by the Red Room Poetry organisation. She is a co-coordinator of Black Rhymes Aboriginal Poetry Night celebrating local First Nations voices in Redfern. Born, raised and writing on Dharug country, she is a descendant of the Bundjalung nation. Read Evelyn’s poem Stutter, a response to a work by Pixy Liao from The Body Electric, on page 18.

JANE ALBERT

Journalist Jane Albert has spent the past two decades writing about arts and culture for publications including The Weekend Australian, Good Weekend and Vogue Australia. Jane wrote Loans in Lockdown on page 34. “I had no idea the pandemic would effect so many artworks, worldwide,” she says. “And was fascinated (and relieved) to hear of the strict regulations in place to ensure they’re all being appropriately looked after until it’s safe for them to be returned.”

NOELLE FAULKNER

Noelle Faulkner interviewed Australian artists about how they were affected by COVID-19 for Creation in Isolation on page 24. Noelle specialises in writing “with a wider cultural lean” from art to music, travel, automotive and futurist ideas. “Galleries are a place of worship for me and artists have shaped the way I think about a lot of things,” she says. “The way art surpasses language to timelessly communicate and provoke ideas is a dragon I am forever chasing as a writer.”

Art IRL digital programs

Audiences enjoyed a glimpse into the life of artists and industry professionals, as Art IRL – the Gallery’s program for young audiences –hosted weekly intimate Q & A sessions live on Instagram. Led by the Gallery’s Teen Council, the in-conversations provided insights into career pathways while highlighting ideas at the heart of the national collection. Interviewees included artist Abdul Abdullah and Gallery curator Anja Loughhead. According to Teen Council representative Sophie: “Talking with professionals, especially young experts, is a very real way to demystify the industry.”

During the April school holidays, Art IRL also held Online Art Labs. These included AR Face Filters with digital artist Jess Herrington (above, inspired by Jess Johnson and Simon Ward’s immersive work of art Terminus) and a session with Wiradjuri-Scottish digital artist and illustrator April Phillips. Twenty participants joined the virtual classroom chaired by April and received a crash-course in digital art and creative critique.

Last month audiences from around Australia also tuned in as Art IRL went live with an after-hours digital event featuring a feed of music and performance by young creatives and a suite of free Online Art Labs inspired by the national collection.

Artist activity sheets

The Gallery commissioned a series of activity sheets in collaboration with artists from across the country. These sheets enabled audiences to create art from home during the lockdown with simple everyday materials. The innovative initiative – which will continue in the coming months – was developed by the Gallery’s Programs and Learning team who worked closely with artists including Daniel Boyd (above), Jenny Kee, Julie Rrap and Noŋgirrŋa Marawili.

The Gallery also created a new online suite of activities for 0-5 year olds. Art Family includes a set-by step instructional video and an associated activity sheet. This series is inspired by works in the collection by artists such as Andy Warhol, Cordula Ebatarinja, Grace Crowley, Sidney Nolan and Sonia Delaunay.

 Celeste Aldahn is Teen Programmer, Curatorial and Education

Follow: @nationalgallery.artirl @nationalgallery.learning nga.gov.au/learn/artfromhome

Left: AR face filters by Jess Jerrington inspired by Jess Johnson and Simon Ward’s Terminus Right: Artist Daniel Boyd and young creatives at work on his Artist Activity sheet. An interpretive response to Daniel Boyd’s Artist Activity