Touring exhibition makes Townsville debut

The inner lives of 13 contemporary artists living with intellectual disabilities are being laid bare with the TarraWarra Museum of Art’s exhibition Intimate Imaginaries making its Townsville premiere.

The exhibition, which launched at Pinnacles Gallery on Saturday, features historic and commissioned pieces from 13 Arts Project Australia artists: Fulli Andrinopoulos, Samraing Chea, Alan Constable, Wendy Dawson, Bronwyn Hack, Julian Martin, Chris O’Brien, Anthony Romagnano, Lisa Reid, Mark Smith, Cathy Staughton, Georgia Szmerling and Terry Williams.

Mr Smith said the exhibition was a stunning reflection of each artist’s vision and perspective.

“Everyone’s doing their own work with their own ideas, it’s a major melting pot of creativity. When you’re in a creative atmosphere your mind automatically joins in. And then it goes off in all different creative directions,” he said.

TarraWarra Museum of Art Curator Anthony Fitzpatrick said the exhibition came to fruition after he was invited to participate in Arts Project Australia’s guest curator program.

“I came up with the title Intimate Imaginaries as a way of finding a connection between the various artistic practices, but for me it also describes the studio environment,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.

“What underpins the prolific imaginative activity at Arts Project Australia, is a deep sense of intimacy that is shared amongst the artists, staff, board members and extends out to the artists’ families, collectors and the broader arts sector. It is a familiar, caring and supportive environment in which each of the studio artists has been supported to expand their creative horizons.

“The artists of Intimate Imaginaries invite us to experience the world anew - to reimagine it from different perspectives and to see things in another light.”

Deputy Mayor Suzy Batkovic said Council was delighted to welcome the unique exhibition to Townsville.

“Intimate Imaginaries is a fun and vibrant exhibition that is perfectly suited to being exhibited at Pinnacles Gallery,” Cr Batkovic said.

“I’d like to congratulate the artists, curator Anthony Fitzpatrick and the Townsville City Galleries staff on pulling together this exceptional exhibition.”

Intimate Imaginaries will run through to Sunday 4 October at Pinnacles Gallery. Entry is free.

The exhibition launched on Saturday and was followed by a floor talk with TarraWarra Museum of Art Curator Anthony Fitzpatrick and artist Mark Smith.

For more information, visit Council’s What’s On Townsville website.