Material Measure a partnerED exhibition between Orange Regional Gallery and the CORRIDOR project
Image: Artist Heather Vallance - Material Measure exhibition - Orange Regional Gallery 2022
Context
During 2020-2021 The Corridor Project curated CORRIDOR AIR + PD-LAB a residency program based on environmentalism relative to the natural environment at the CORRIDOR project. Activity included professional development x18 sessions of digital talks, x12 artist-in-residency opportunities, for x12 regional Artists. Artists, writers, and curators collaborated expanding their artistic practice aligned to the themes of the Galari, Anthropogenic Biomes, Geomorphology and Herbarium. Orange Regional Gallery partnered with the CORRIDOR project throughout the residency program and selection process. Of the cohort x5 artists were chosen to exhibit at Orange Regional Gallery curated by Lucy Stranger. The exhibition built upon key ideas that were formed at the CORRIDOR AIR + PD Lab residency.
Artists selected for Exhibition - Material Measure
Artist selected included: Matt O’Brien, Stephan van der Merwe, Steven Cavanagh, Thomas Thorby-Lister and Heather Vallance.
Partnership between The Corridor Project and Orange Regional Gallery
The ongoing partnership between Orange Regional Gallery and the CORRIDOR project aims to support and strengthen the arts ecology of artists, art-spaces, artist-in-residence programs and institutions in the Central West of New South Wales. TCP support enabled artists with durational residency's, accommodation and studio space enabling new work for presentation at Orange Regional Gallery.
Images above illustrate artist-in-residence practice, testing and production of new work at the CORRIDOR project during 2021-2022 in preparation for the Material Measure exhibition 2022.
Testimonials
“The residency experience at the CORRIDOR project has increasingly redirected my art practice towards a strong union of process, activation and increased production of work.
It was a unique experience where support came from all contexts, sustained by the generosity of people and the realisation of the supportive nurturing aspect of the site itself.
My residency has left an indelible mark, it is evidenced in the change of my direction, in terms of my studio production and resultant works - it has all of the nuanced dynamics present.
It certainly has been a turning point and reaffirmed the motivations and drive for what I do.”
“The CORRIDOR project residency was something very special. Having access to soak up the environs of the countryside, the spaces, sounds, colours and wildlife. This allowed me to rest and think, sleep and play. I was able to let my imagination wander and experiment with different media and imagery, whilst responding to the things I saw whilst sitting or walking. TCP is a rich space for creativity and time to reflect, absorb, consider and listen. It is a safe place but also somewhere that you can be confronted by your ideas and possible uncertainties. I treasured the time I was able to spend at TCP through the residency and later for follow-up working and time out. It was important for my art practice which was at quite a turning point, and gave me the gentle push to see it move forward.”
“My residency at the CORRIDOR project has been an enriching and supportive experience. The chance to slow down, listen to my thoughts and be in conversation with the environment has been invaluable. I’ve made new site-specific work and witnessed a beautiful leap forward in my professional development and process. The creative partnership between the CORRIDOR project and Orange Regional Gallery is an exciting addition to the arts landscape in NSW Central West, bringing benefits to artists and the communities they nourish.”
“My experience at TCP has been a key period of support and development in my artistic career. My practice was given the necessary assistance through TCP to create a new body of site-responsive paintings, which were recently exhibited at Orange Regional Gallery. Without the support of a residency space, time to commit to the development of the methodologies, support by my collaborators (photographer and writing) and the incredible site at Wyangala I wouldn’t be able to progress in my professional artistic career as I have. The partnership of TCP and ORG has allowed the incredible artists working at TCP to take their conceptual workings into finalised artworks and present them to the region via an exhibition. It has been a humbling and amazing experience to work over the last two years with Phoebe and Lucy to bring this all together. As a young emerging artist I consider TCP and ORG to have provided me with an extremely important career moment in my professional artistic practice.”
Exhibition - Material measure -The changing environment of the Central West
Material Measure curated by Lucy Stranger presented at Orange Regional Gallery 30th July - 9th October 2022. Artists Matt O’Brien, Stephan van der Merwe, Steven Cavanagh, Thomas Thorby-Lister and Heather Vallance presented site-specific work developed during the 2020/2021 CORRIDOR AIR + PD-LAB artist-in-residency program at the CORRIDOR project. The multi-artform exhibition included painting, drawing, installation, performance and video work. The artists examined how art can connect to a place in concept, materiality and aesthetic, and how it can enable us to reimagine and understand the natural environment in the Central West of New South Wales. A partnership exhibition between Orange Regional Gallery and the CORRIDOR project. Public Program artist talk: HERE
Images above from opening night of Material Measure exhibition - Orange Regional Gallery - 2022.
Supported by
Supported by Orange Regional Gallery, Create NSW, Regional Arts NSW, and the CORRIDOR project - CORRIDOR PD LAB and artist-in-residency program, Dr Jordan Bailey curator - Herbarium, Mycology and Plant Pathology Department Orange NSW - Department of Primary Industries Orange