Common Knowledge and Learning Curves expands on Keg de Souza’s interest in the ways we teach and learn, exploring common knowledge held by communities and maintained across generations. Curated and developed by Artspace, Sydney, and presented in partnership with Griffith University Art Museum, the exhibition uses architectural and educational theories to explore radical pedagogy and break down traditional modes of education.
Bright and playful, the exhibition space encourages visitor interaction, using familiar classroom tropes such as chalkboards, uniforms, and Venetian blinds to transform the gallery into a school about schools. Drawing on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s colour theory adopted by Rudolf Steiner in his classroom design, de Souza explores how space and bold colour can transform the ways we approach learning. Enlarged building blocks suggest designs by the founder of kindergarten Friedrich Fröbel, and a library wraps around the gallery walls. The various structures include places for private reading and reflection and intimate conversation as well as areas for open discussion and play.
A major part of the exhibition is an extensive program of public programs, especially curated by each venue to concentrate on local communities and issues. Griffith University Art Museum’s program, curated by Carrie McCarthy, includes the following events:
| EVENT |
| Exhibition Opening and Artist Talk |
| Panel Discussion. Artist as Educator: Examining Relationships Between Art Practice & Learning in Gallery Contexts. Artists: Judy Watson, Dale Harding, Paul Bai. Chair: Shannon Brett. |
| Panel Discussion. Art Inspiring Change. Artists: Gordon Hookey, Sha Sarwari, Courtney Coombs. Chair: Hamish Sawyer |
| Children’s Workshop. Draw Your Story Comic Drawing. Facilitator: Rob Corless |
| Panel Discussion: Bridging the Gap: Transitioning from adolescence to adulthood with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Speakers: Trevor Beasley – Transition & Complex Case Management Officer, Mackenzie Special School; James Cifuentes – Network Manager, The I CAN Network; Cheryl Mangan – Manager Research Translation, Autism CRC; Helen Whelan – Founder & CEO, Code Blue for Autism. Chair: Professor Jacqueline Roberts, Autism Centre of Excellence. |
| Life Drawing with Abbey McCulloch |
| Queer College of Art in Conversation with Signe Boman: It’s Time We Talk. |
| Listening to Country: Exploring the Value of Acoustic Ecology with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women in Prison. Facilitators: Drs Sarah Woodland, Leah Barclay, Bianca Beetson and Vicki Saunders. |
| Weaving Workshop: Kim Ah Sam |
| Reading Group. Participatory Art & Pedagogic Projects. |
| Seed Planting Workshop facilitated by James Blyth, Sun & Soil, in conjunction with Jane Street Community Garden |
| Blaklash Artist Talk: Shared Connections and Artistic Exchange. In this special event co-hosted by Blaklash Projects, join Jo-Anne Driessens from Gold Coast City Council and the organiser of the South Stradbroke Island Indigenous Artist Camp, in conversation with the 2019 Mentor Gordon Hookey, and participating artists Sonja Carmichael and Will Probert. |
| Young Activists Workshop. Facilitator: Deborah Eddy. |
| Life Drawing with Robert Andrew. |
| Children’s Workshop. Smartphone Street Photography. Facilitator: Carol Ha. |
| Children’s Workshop. Iranian Rug Storytelling. |
| Children’s Map Making Workshop. Mapping your Environment. Facilitator: Lucinda Wolber. |
| NAIDOC Week Children’s Workshop: Badge Making. Facilitator: Shannon Brett. |
| NAIDOC Week Weaving with Reclaimed Materials: Ronda Sharpe. |
Griffith University Exhibition Partners: Griffith University Art Museum, Queensland College of Art, School of Architecture, School of Education, Autism Centre of Excellence, GUMURRII Student Support Centre and the Yunus Centre.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Keg de Souza is an Australian artist working between the disciplines of architecture, food, film, mapping and dialogical projects. Informed by her architectural training and experience living and working in radical spaces through squatting and organising, de Souza’s practice explores spatial politics and the built environment, often resulting in site- and situation-specific projects that emphasise reciprocity and knowledge exchange. She has been self-publishing her own artist’s books and zines for over 15 years and is represented by Brooklyn Artist Alliance, NY.
Recent exhibitions include the 20th Biennale of Sydney, The future is already here — it’s just not evenly distributed, 2016, curated by Stephanie Rosenthal; Setouchi Triennale, Japan, 2016; Temporary Spaces, Edible Places: Vancouver and Preservation, Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver; and Temporary Spaces, Edible Places: New York, AC Institute, New York, 2015; Temporary Spaces, Edible Places: London, Delfina Foundation, London; Temporary Spaces, Edible Place: Scotland, Atlas Arts, Isle of Skye; If There’s Something Strange In Your Neighbourhood, Ratmakan Kampung, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 2014; 5th Auckland Triennial; 15th Jakarta Biennale; and Vertical Villages; 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney, 2013. In 2013, she received a Creative Australia Fellowship from the Australia Council for the Arts.
De Souza has undertaken numerous residencies including Burrard Marina Field House Residency, Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver; Greene Street Studio, Australia Council, New York; Asialink Residency, KUNCI Cultural Studies Centre, Yogyakarta, Indonesia; The Public Domain Residency, Delfina Foundation, London; ATLAS Arts Residency, Isle of Skye; Darling Foundry Residency, Montréal; Chicago Residency, Australia Council and Asialink Residency; Indonesian Visual Art Archive, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
CULTURAL FLANERIE 