Democracy is as much a process as a goal. On the International Day of Democracy, join Nikki Sullivan from the Centre of Democracy and Dr Madeleine Seys from the University of Adelaide for a conversation with textile artists Tal Fitzpatrick and Sera Waters to explore how creativity through craftivism can help us stay well, stay connected and stay actively engaged with the causes and communities we care about.
Tuesday 15 September, 6.30pm ACST
This free webinar will be broadcast online via Zoom.
For more about the Centre of Democracy, visit our website or find us on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter).
Panelists (clockwise from left)
Tal Fitzpatrick is an artist, researcher, craftivist and community development worker based in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia. In 2018 Tal completed a practice-led PhD research project titled ‘Craftivism as DIY Citizenship: The Practice of Making Change’ at the Victorian College of the Arts. Driven by the power of craft to solicit the sharing of stories Tal’s work looks to drive positive social change by engaging people in complex conversations. Along with collaborators such as Dr. Kate Just and Stephanie Dunlap, Tal has led several global participatory craftivism projects including the @covid19quilt project (2020) and the #UDHRquilt project (2016-2018).
Website: http://talfitzpatrick.com
Instagram: @talfitzpatrick Twitter: @talfitzpatrick
Sera Waters (R) is a South Australian artist, arts writer and academic living upon Kaurna Country. Waters was recently announced recipient of the 2020 Guildhouse Fellowship. Her art practice, characterised by a darkly stitched meticulousness, dwells within the gaps of Australian settler-colonial home-making histories, her own genealogical ghostscapes, and the potential within future traditions. In 2017 she was recipient of the inaugural ACE Open South Australian artist commission to develop her solo exhibition Domestic Arts. This exhibition will tour South Australian regional galleries from September 2020 with Country Arts SA. She is represented by Hugo Michell Gallery.
Website: https://serawaters.com.au/
Instagram: @serawaters
Nikki Sullivan is Manager of the History Trust of South Australia’s Centre of Democracy, and Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Humanities at the University of Adelaide. Prior to moving to Adelaide and shifting into the museum sector Nikki was Associate Professor of Critical and Cultural Studies at Macquarie University where she worked for over 20 years. She is the author of a number of books including Queering the Museum which was published by Routledge in 2019.
Dr Madeleine Seys is a researcher, writer, curator and textile artist living on Kaurna land in Adelaide, South Australia. She holds a PhD in literary studies and fashion history from The University of Adelaide. Madeleine is a Visiting Research Fellow and sessional lecturer in the Department of English and Creative Writing. Working in cloth, threads and words, Madeleine explores fashion and literary histories, materiality, and ephemeral objects as repositories of identity and memory. Her book Fashion and Narrative in Victorian Popular Literature: Double Threads was published by Routledge in 2018. Her research interests include Victorian literature, fashion and material cultures; gender and sexuality; and queer and decolonising curatorial practices.