A new exhibition at offers an insight into Brisbane’s energetic artist-run scene of the 1980s, a time of immense transformation.
Drawing on artworks, documentation and ephemera, ephemeral traces: Brisbane’s artist-run scene in the 1980s examines five spaces central to Brisbane’s artist-run scene from 1982 to 1988: One Flat, A Room, That Space, The Observatory and John Mills National.
Exhibition curator Peter Anderson said that, while the wrecking balls of development were poised to alter the face of Brisbane’s inner city, a vibrant artist culture was flourishing within.
“Cheap spaces in the Brisbane central business district in the 1980s were partly the result of the massive development underway in the lead-up to World EXPO 88,” Anderson said.
“For artists, pending demolition was both an opportunity and a threat.
“Short-term leases in temporary building spaces were taken up by artists who’d resisted the lure of the southern states and were trying to build a cultural scene in Brisbane worth staying for.
“Institutional support and funding for contemporary art was almost non-existent, so artists took matters into their own hands and a real do-it-yourself culture emerged.”
As the 2013 Siganto Foundation Research Fellow, Anderson studied the artist ephemera and archival materials held in Australian Library of Art which provided a research basis for the ephemeral traces exhibition.
“It’s the ephemera – the posters, invitations, magazines and photographic documentation – of exhibitions, performances and other events of this period that tells us so much more than individual artworks ever could,” Anderson said.
Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» Art Museum Director Dr Campbell Gray said the exhibition presented a counterpoint to Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» Art Museum’s 2012 exhibition , which focused on artists who left Queensland during the Bjelke-Petersen era.
“ephemeral traces shares the rich history of key artist-run spaces operating within a dynamic and changeable Brisbane landscape, and often against the odds,” Dr Gray said.
“The exhibition has also provided a vehicle for these artists to re-examine their own work, review their personal archives and revisit an often-overlooked moment in Brisbane’s cultural development.”
ephemeral traces opens on 2 April at Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» Art Museum and runs until 26 June.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
Public program: Saturday 9 April, 2pm to 3.30pm.
Curator Peter Anderson and artists Virginia Barratt, Brian Doherty, Jeanelle Hurst and
Jay Younger reflect on the Brisbane scene and its socio-cultural context.
Download images for print and web .
Media: Sonia Uranishi, +61 409 387 623, sonia@soniauranishicommunication.com or Sebastian Moody, +61 7 3346 8761, s.moody@uq.edu.au.
