Five local photographers are enjoying an artist residency with a difference thanks to Sunshine Coast Council’s Creative Spaces program and mentoring from visual artist and writer, Aaron Chapman.
The Creative Spaces (In Residence) program was developed in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic causing loss of work for artists, including photographers, who have seen work, events, weddings and exhibitions cancelled.
The program will run from April to July and offer opportunities for artists from various art forms to explore their practice from home.
The five photographers taking part in the first month of the residency program are Katrina Ford, Cooper Brady, Warwick Gow, Timothy Birth and Joshua Woollett.
Over the course of the month the photographers will each spend one week creating a visual diary of their existence within their four walls, capturing home, everyday moments, themselves and mementos from life right now.
Sunshine Coast Council Team Leader Creative Development Megan Rowland said the assignment was designed to challenge photographers to make art at home and capture a moment in history.
“Whether the photographs portray people, artefacts, moments or self-portraits we’ll be capturing unique memories of this unprecedented time in history to share now and into the future,” Ms Rowland said.
You can follow the photographers’ journeys on council’s website and via the Creative Spaces Sunshine Coast Instagram page to see what our talented local photographers create.
Throughout the month, each photographer will receive online mentoring from well-known photographer Aaron Chapman.
“As the world enters a new reality of closed doors, bridges and runways, those wielding cameras are left wondering how we’ll expend our photographic energy if we’re not allowed outside. No more street photography. No more landscapes. No more pictures of people,” Mr Chapman said.
“Though opportunities to pursue these photographic forms may be limited in the coming days, weeks, months, let’s observe how this pandemic forces our creative hand by challenging ourselves to make pictures at home.”
Each photographer will receive a fee of $1000 to cover artist fees, documentation and licensing of their images for six months.
Aaron Chapman is a visual artist and writer based in South East Queensland. In 2019, Chapman was a Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize semi-finalist, and a finalist in the Australian Life Photography Competition at Art & About Sydney.
Expressions of Interest for upcoming Creative Spaces (In Residence) opportunities will be released each month.
