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Emma Rani Hodges, Stories Hold these Souls Together for Longer than earth will keep the vessel of my body, 2022.

AT THE NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL

Artist Emma Rani Hodges has spent the past few weeks carefully shaping artworks, made by members of the community over the last months, into a large-scale art installation in Central Park, for the National Folk Festival. We can’t wait to see how it comes together.

Festival attendees are invited to take part in this special project and contribute to the art installation during a free two-part workshop on Friday 15 April, 2022.

Part A: Body Tracing:

Friday 15 April, 10.00 AM   11:10 AM 

Designated Festival workshop/craft area 

Part B: Embellish and Install

Friday 15 April, 2:30pm – 4:30pm 

In situ within the artwork installation in Central Park 

Workshop description: 

In this two-part workshop participants will work collaboratively to tell stories through use of textiles. The workshop is an invitation to create and deepen connections, as such, people of all ages and abilities are invited to participate. 

During the first part of the workshop participants will trace their bodies onto fabric, the outline will function as a departure point. From here the body can be embellished, filled with lyrics, stories, poetry, painted on or decorated. Through this process of internal mapping, we create an archive. Participants will be invited to contemplate how art can assist us to remember moments, people, cultures, and places once they’re gone. 

During the second half of the workshop participants will be invited to install their contribution within the larger artwork and share their ideas with the group. During this time, we’ll also put the final embellishments on the artwork and refine the stories we’re telling.  

“Stories hold these souls together for longer than earth will keep the vessel of my body’ is an artwork made with love, love of diverse kinds and love that is tangible. Craft and art circles are a community action that transcends time and culture. They’ve continuously brought people together to share stories, give warnings, find common interests, and take care of each other. The accumulation of these actions is what builds community.” 

Who should attend: 

The artist encourages intergenerational participation. We invite participants to bring a friend or family member along to share in the making of the work and be a part of generational storytelling. Suitable for people aged 14 years and above.  

Images: Day 1 of install, National Folk Festival

FREE WORKSHOPS AT TAC

Tuggeranong Arts Centre, Woden Arts and visual artist Emma Rani Hodges invite the community to be part of the making of a large-scale artwork for installation at the National Folk Festival and TAC’s gallery program.

Come along and take part in Free workshops at Tuggeranong Arts Centre between 10am and 4pm on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th March and 10am and 4pm on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th March 2022. You can spend an hour with us or stay as long for the day!

Hodges describes their vision for the project, the making process, and the opportunity for connection through creativity as follows:

‘Stories hold these souls together for longer than earth will keep the vessel of my body’ is an artwork made with love; love of diverse kinds and love that is tangible. Craft and art circles are a community action that transcends time and culture. They’ve continuously brought people together to share stories, give warnings, find common interests, and take care of each other. The accumulation of these actions is what builds community.’

The creation of this artwork will take place over multiple weeks on the traditional lands of the Ngunnawal, Ngunawal and Ngambri peoples. It is an invitation to create and deepen connections. Anybody is welcome to participate.

The vision is to create a meeting place under the shelter of 23 trees in Central Park, EPIC, during the National Folk Festival. Within this space, Ngunnawal Elders and Folk Elders will host a yarning circle and human library experience.

The space we’ll create together will be composed of fabric, twine, wool and thread which has been donated by the Canberra community. It is up to us as a collective to find a direction, to create banners, pompoms, woven segments; and to do this while sharing stories. Participants will be able to explore methods of embedding their stories within the fabric we’ve been given and together we’ll create a visual archive of our lived experiences.

Would you like to be part of this wonderful community arts project?

You may attend one or more of the following free workshops at Tuggeranong Arts Centre. Participants can spend an hour with us or stay as long as they like.

Free workshop at Tuggeranong Arts Centre:

10am – 4pm, Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 March 2022

10am – 4pm, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 March 2022

Bookings are encouraged.

Who should attend?

The artist encourages intergenerational participation. We invite participants to bring a friend or family member along to share in the making of the work and be a part of generational storytelling. Or make a new friend at the workshop and share stories! 

Feel free to bring a picnic to enjoy on the grass by Lake Tuggeranong, in the Arts Centre’s outdoor area. Tea and coffee will be available. Please wear comfortable, sun-safe clothes and shoes suitable for working outside. TAC encourages registrations but welcomes walk-in attendance at all workshops.

Festival workshops

The National Folk Festival takes place over Easter, from the 14th – 18th April, at Exhibition Park in Canberra. Details about workshops being held during the festival will be announced in the festival program.

Artists’ Bio

Emma Rani Hodges’s work explores their mixed Thai, Chinese and Australian heritage through a post-colonial and feminist framework with a focus on family and the personal as political. Working in the language of expanded painting, their work draws on personal narratives and inserts marginalised voices into the dominant discourse of monocultural Australia. Fluctuating between image, text and object, Hodges’s work resists easy categorisation. They combine incongruous material (painting, textiles, and found materials) to assert that their multiethnic identity can exist as a cohesive unified whole and challenges the view that individuals of mixed heritage are ‘caught between two worlds’..

We need your support

Tuggeranong Community Arts Association is a community-based not-for-profit organisation with a 25-year history. We pride ourselves in supporting your local arts community. We embrace personal expression and diversity. We have a focus on participation and accessibility and helping to shape a sense of pride in the local community. You can help us by joining us in promoting community art and supporting local artists.

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