Come on the Scene

Carly Preston on Connex

Look out for Carly Preston next time you catch a train. As part of the Moving Galleries’ 2009 Transformation exhibition Preston’s work Paper Wall 2008 will be appearing on Connex trains for the next 6 months. Launched on Wednesday 17 July, at Flinders Street Station, the exhibition showcases art projects that have transformed everyday spaces in and around Melbourne.

Artists and poets attended the opening event and were able to view their work on the walls of the carriages. Rob Hudson, Parliamentary Secretary for the Arts officially opened the exhibition which can be viewed online: http://movinggalleries.org

“More than 350,000 people everyday have the opportunity to enjoy these works. The average journey time is around half an hour so there should be ample opportunity to peruse some poetry, reflect on some art, and consider its meaning” said Bruce Hughes, Connex Deputy Chairman.

 

Jessie Doring, Moving Galleries Project Manager said, “The exhibition is a celebration of the collaborative process between Victoria’s artists, the arts organisations and festivals, such as Next Wave, who work to platform artists and, of course, the photographers who have worked to document the projects.”

 

 

 

 

Image details from top:

Carly Preston with her work at the Transformation launch

Image courtesy NEXT WAVE

Paper Wall 2008

Photography by the artist and Jeremy Dilion

Location Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

 

MEET THE CURATOR: TAMARA MARWOOD

 

FRIENDS MORNING COFFEE @ SHEPP
Date: Wednesday 6 May 2009
Time: 10:00am
Venue: Shepparton Art Gallery
Bookings: T: +61 3 5832 9861 / E: art.gallery@shepparton.vic.gov.au

Join co-curator of Come on the Scene, Tamara Marwood, for an intriguing tour of this Next Wave and NETS Victoria touring exhibition.

Hear the fascinating stories behind the artworks and find out how this new generation of regional artists foster a sense of community and connectedness through their practices.


IMAGE:
Carly PRESTON
Paper Wall
2008
linocut
Installation view, as part of the 2008 Next Wave Festival
Photographer: Jeremy Dillon
Courtesy of the artist and Next Wave

Q+A: TAMARA MARWOOD

Co-curator, Tamara Marwood, recently spoke to NETS Victoria about the inspirations behind Come on the Scene and how this touring exhibition evolved.

NETS Victoria: So, how did you come up with the name Come on the Scene?

Tamara Marwood: Myself and Jeff Khan have always aspired to be rock'n'roll stars, just like the great Australian band, Magic Dirt. But then we realised that we really stunk as stars, but were OK as curators and that a lot of art is just like pop and rock culture - rough and ready, made in a garage, and mixing things up.

NV: What themes are explored in this touring exhibition?

TM: Trevor Flinn's larger than life Puma watching homemade music clips really sums this show up. It's about artists checking out and reinventing "how things are in regional communities". What I mean is the new, exciting and challenging isn't just in the cities. Come on the Scene is young regional artists blowing up Australia's regional mythologies.

The myth of the Grampians Puma becomes a rock'n'roll star; decorative bowls become paste-up wallpaper; a handmade quilt into an experiment on truth and lies; the internet becomes a world-wide confessional and coffee tables reveal the unspoken between farmers - fathers and sons.

NV: How were the artists chosen?

TM: The Come on the Scene artists were selected as they are extraordinary young regional artists turning regional communities into stages for really wonderful artistic experiments and activities. Like Ellen Coyle's Foma (little white lies), which is a brave social experiment that both covers up and also exposes the lies we all create to help us sail smoothly in day to day life.

  
IMAGE: The lovely Tamara Marwood, Co-curator of Come on the Scene

 

NV: What attracted you to their projects?

TM: My relationship is a bit like a mummy with these projects. I was involved seeing these projects as infant ideas on paper, initally for the Next Wave festival and then working for nearly two years, witnessing the works evolve and grow... Until they left home, and now they are touring all by themselves around Victoria.

NV: As you've mentioned, some of the works were presented in Melbourne at the 2008 Next Wave festival so why was it important to tour this exhibition?

TM: It made sense to take the works back out of the city and into the regions where the work was first created.

NV: What do you hope visitors will take away with them after seeing Come on the Scene?

TM: Working regionally as a young artist is a tough gig - you need lots of guts, determination and a fearless belief in yourself. I hope that people coming to check out Come on the Scene come away with a sense of this and play with their own regional culture.

GIVEAWAY: COME ON THE SCENE CATALOGUES

We love the Come on the Scene catalogue so much we want to share it with you.

 

Here's your chance to check out the new generation of Australia's hottest artists before Come on the Scene hits your town.

 

Be one of the first of five people to email us and you'll also be able to hug your very own souvenir Come on the Scene catalogue - crammed with artworks, stories, good vibes and even interviews with the artists themselves.

 

All you need to do is:

• Type in the subject heading: I WANNA COME ON THE SCENE
• Answer this question: Which Australian band wrote a song called Come on the Scene?
• Include your name and postal address 
• Email us at: info@netsvictoria.org

Go on... Get your fingers dirty... Start typing your answer now and come on the scene.

 

GRAB YOURSELF A COME ON THE SCENE SOUVENIR

 

For just $6 you can grab your very own piece of Come on the Scene.

 

This beautifully illustrated companion publication to the Next Wave and NETS Victoria touring exhibition is jam-packed with great artworks and cool reading. Co-curator Tamara Marwood writes about how these five young regional artists have overcome the tyranny of distance in sustaining their practices while each of the artists have been interviewed by members of their local community. There's also newly-created artists' pages and a dazzling selection of works that have been reproduced for your enjoyment. Stylishly designed by Dylan Fowler, this 48 page publication was produced with the generous support of the Gordon Darling Foundation.

 

Each publication is available for sale through individual host galleries or by contacting NETS Victoria.

 

Spanning 10 months, Come on the Scene will travel exclusively to five of the best public galleries this year:

Warrnambool Art Gallery

14 February - 29 March 2009

 

Shepparton Art Gallery

11 April - 31 May 2009

 

Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery

12 June - 19 July 2009

 

Latrobe Regional Gallery

1 August - 11 October 2009

 

Horsham Regional Art Gallery

27 October - 20 December 2009

 

 

WELCOME

Next Wave and NETS Victoria are thrilled to present Come on the Scene, an exhibition which takes in some dazzling new works by five young regional artists from Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia: Ellen Coyle, Trevor Flinn, Carly Preston, Roderick Sprigg and Pip Stafford.

Featuring multimedia, sculpture, printmaking, performance, textile and installation works, Come on the Scene examines relationships, identity, communication, mythology and popular culture. These dynamic works provide a fresh perspective on regional Australia and the role of art in fostering a new sense of community and connectedness.

Arising from Next Wave’s inaugural regional program, each artist represented in Come on the Scene developed an ambitious, large-scale new project, which was included in the 2008 Next Wave Festival. With the support of NETS Victoria, the artists have now redeveloped their work into a touring exhibition that takes the works back into regional Australia, to the communities and towns from which they originated.

IMAGE:
Trevor FLINN
The Puma, the Stranger and the Mountain
2008
still from DVD (detail)
Courtesy the artist