ReCollection Artists – ReCollection Exhibition (2017-2018)

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About the Project

Taking their inspiration from two books of early European history and using the resources of heritage collections in Rockhampton, artists Clare Ford, Belinda McGrath, Peta Lloyd, Derek Lamb and Michelle Black created works centred on printing techniques that experimented with media and theme.

When and Where 

Work on the project commended on the 2nd January 2018 and was completed by the 13th May 2018. The final works were exhibited as a themed collection in the Capricornia Printmakers studio in the Walter Reid Cultural Centre, followed by an exhibition in the Merilyn Luck Gallery at Rockhampton Art Gallery from the 30th of June to the 26th of August 2018.

Facts, Figures and Statistics

 Number of attendees at exhibitions:  

  141 at the Walter Reid Cultural Centre (96 at Opening, 45 across the weeks) 
 1276 at the Rockhampton Art Gallery (av. 22 per day x 58 days)

 Number of participants: 

  9 artists, 4 string quartet performers

 Number of artists/cultural workers employed:

  10

 Number of people employed in other paid positions: 

  0

 Number of volunteers engaged:

  3 plus family members

 Type of sectors partnered with:

  Heritage sector through Rockhampton and District Historical Society

 Percentage of survey respondents answering 'good'
 or 'excellent' to the question:
  Overall, how would you rate this activity?
 (response options - excellent, good, average, poor, very poor) 

  95% (total of 27 respondents)

 
RADF Funding

$13,500

Outcomes Identified by Grant Recipient/s
  1. All artists created a body of new works for sale.
  2. The artists all received good publicity resulting in sale of 19 works across all artists.
  3. Other than limited local commissions this is the first time the ReCollection artists have made artwork for which they have been paid by a funding body. This may sound insignificant but the imprimatur of the Rockhampton Regional Council and the opportunity provided by Rockhampton Art Gallery to hang in the Merilyn Luck Gallery isn’t just a fantastic thing for the artists’ CVs, it also has a profound effect on their psychology. The government (RRC) paying an artist to make art means they and their work is valued by society as a whole. It is an act of faith in the artists that also confers the imprimatur of social power.
Reflections and Learnings
  1. This style of creation-funded, collaboratively developed and exhibited work is both inspirational to the artists and very cost effective to produce. Paying artists also creates a sense of mutual obligation to experiment and excel.
  2. Having some income to create work was an incredible bonus. Paying the artists to make work actually only defrays some of their costs but it is a very good morale booster. Of course it could be made better by fully funding the creation process for artists as part of future RADF grants.
  3. Using the studio as an exhibition space is cost effective and brings the WRCC alive.
  4. Holding the exhibition during Beef Week made little, if any, difference to audience numbers despite the distribution of 10,000 flyers around the city and city hotels. What did was promotion in QANTAS in-flight magazine and partnering with the resources of the RAG to assist with marketing especially video shorts.
Audience Feedback / Artist Comments

“It was a joy to take in the amazing talent and creative imagination of the clever printmakers" - Julie Curran

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