South Artists in Conversation @ City Library

AUSTRALIA
South Artists in Conversation @ City Library
City Library, 253 Flinders Lane, Melbourne,
6.00-7.30pm, Monday 9th July 2007

The South Project, supported by the Centre for Adult Education, is delighted to present two artists in conversation at the City Library this July; Claudia del Fierro (Chile) & Clifford Charles (South Africa). Both artists will describe their creative processes and the experience of international residencies & cultural exchange.

Highly regarded Chilean artist, Claudia del Fierro, is currently completing an artist residency at RMIT in partnership with the South Project. While in Melbourne, Claudia has considered migrant voices, cultural transliteration, language, and identity, drawing on one-on-one interviews and ongoing collaborations with a diverse group of people now resident in Australia. Her residency will culminate in an exhibition from Monday 2nd to Friday 20th July at RMIT’s Project Space/Spare Room, The Sweet Promise.

Clifford Charles is a renowned South Africa artist, writer and community activist, currently in residence at Monash University in partnership with the South Project. Clifford’s residency is driven by explorative research into communities in transition, with specific references to the impact of globalisation, memory & migration. Clifford is engaging with diverse audiences during his residency, from working with young people in Melbourne’s inner suburbs (through workshops at ArtPlay as part of the South Kids program) and collaborative art projects with young local artists, to art talks sharing the South African experience.

Claudia & Clifford reflect on the South Project and the experience of creating art in another city of the south:

Claudia del Fierro: In my experience as an artist in Chile I find that there are not enough spaces where exchange among artists of the Southern Hemisphere takes place. I think the South Project is a potential space for reflection on the production of art in a post-colonial era, as well as a possible forum for a discussion on the sustainability of art that does not need to look at the north for making itself valid.

Being outside of my home country has given me a bigger perspective on my practice, it has made me question my strategies and it has been a chance to get to know a different art circuit. I would have not been able to access Melbourne without this residency. Since my residency takes place in a university campus, I also have been able to understand a bit about art education in this context and how it relates to the way art is produced here.

Clifford Charles: South Africa, like most countries of the South, has immediate issues to redress. Therein lies the importance of the South Project’s shared experience; connecting networks of communities for exchange & the chance to debate the localism of their parallel histories.

Travelling to other cities of the south as part of the South Project provides a reflective distance from one’s own city while at the same time exposing one’s work to new audiences, making local issues global concerns.

These artist talks will be immediately followed by the launch of the latest Artlink magazine issue at nearby Brunetti City Square.