Redland Art Gallery’s latest exhibition has connections far beyond Redlands Coast.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said artist Carol McGregor’s Response exhibition was part of a combined regional gallery program celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and culture.

“Through the rest of May and June, regional art galleries across South East Queensland North (SEQN) will come together for the first time with a series of First Nations exhibitions, experiences and events, under the title Connecting Stories,” Cr Williams said.

Redland Art Gallery director Emma Bain said McGregor’s exhibition Response, which opens Sunday (16 May, 2021), reflects on what was here, looked after and used as a resource before colonisation of the country, drawing on research she conducted with Quandamooka and other Aboriginal communities.

“Response is anchored by a possum skin cloak specific to Quandamooka Country and also includes a new series of sculptural works by McGregor,” she said.

Clay installation silent sounds (wurrgarrabil) (detail), 2021, by Carol McGregor part of the artists’s Response exhibition at Redland Art Gallery, Cleveland from 16 May. Image courtesy of the artist.

Aboriginal possum skin cloaks were a significant ancestral item: the inside of the skins were marked and ochred with personal and cultural designs, and maps of Country. Contemporary possum skin cloak making is a recent continuation of this practice. McGregor is of Wathaurung and Scottish descent and she is currently the Program Director, Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University.

Response continues at RAG, Cleveland until 18 July.

Connecting Stories is delivered by Creative Arts Alliance (CAA); as part of the Regional Arts Services Network (RASN) an initiative of the Queensland Government; in partnership with independent First Nations creative organisation Blaklash and members of the SEQN Galleries Network – Redland Art Gallery, Gympie Regional Gallery, Noosa Regional Gallery, Caloundra Regional Gallery, USC Art Gallery, Moreton Bay Regional Galleries and The Condensery (Somerset Regional Art Gallery).

Keisha Leon, Connecting Stories, 2020.
Image courtesy of the artist.

CAA manager Katie Edmiston encouraged locals and visitors to embrace the opportunity to get back out into the SEQN region and immerse themselves in the First Nations Connecting Stories program.

“As well as boasting stunning and diverse natural landscapes, our region is home to some of the best regional galleries in the state, all within a few hours drive from each other and Brisbane,” she said.

“Through Connecting Stories, audiences can experience exhibitions programs across nine gallery venues, visit public art sites, participate in arts tours, workshops and events as part of the program.”

For more details about Connecting Stories go to: connectingstories.net

For more details about Response at Redland Art Gallery go to: artgallery.redland.qld.gov.au

Redland Libraries are so pleased with the success of their first book club that they are making it easy for residents to start one of their own.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said Book Club sets were now available through Council’s libraries.

“The sets have been prepared so we can share the literary love and encourage residents to form their own book clubs which they can host in their homes,” Cr Williams said.

“Each set contains 10 copies of a book and a laminated sheet of questions to kickstart the discussion.

“There are already 19 sets ready to go, which can be reserved online and sent to your nearest Redland City Library for collection.”

The launch of the Book Club sets follows the success of the Redland Reads Book Club, which held its first meeting in August last year.

“The book club was formed in response to COVID-19 as a means of bringing our community back to our libraries, to get people talking and sharing experiences while focusing on the core library business – the reading of books,” Cr Williams said.

“It has proved to be a great way for people to meet, with people coming together and having a conversation and then leaving as friends.

“It fulfills a really strong need in our community. We talk about resilience and capacity building all the time and what is that if not helping people to help each other.”

The book club now has about 30 regular members who turn up to one of the monthly meetings at either Cleveland or Victoria Point Library and 99 followers on the club’s Facebook page.

“The online presence is an important aspect of the club as it means you can be part of the monthly book discussion from the comfort of your own home and at a time which suits you,” Cr Williams said.

Club member Diana Penson said she joined the club to keep mentally active and to meet new people who share a common interest in literature.

“As a lover of the classics, the books that have been selected for club members to critique are not ones I would normally have chosen to read,” she said.

“For this very reason I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to broaden my outlook and appreciate a range of young authors and their unique and fresh approaches to writing.

“Combined with the diversity of literary themes and styles, the sharing of individual experiences of, and reactions to, the books is what I value the most about being a member of the Redland Reads Book Club.”

For more information on the Book Club sets or Redland Reads Book Club, go to the Redland Libraries website or follow the club on Facebook.

The Redland Art Gallery (RAG) Red Box has returned to bring a special showcase of artworks to the Redlands Coast.

Redland Performing Arts Centre is the newest pop-up gallery venue after the program was put on hold last year due to COVID-19.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said its return celebrated visual arts within the Redlands Coast community by offering a free display space for individual artists, schools and community groups.

“The reboot of the Red Box program also signals an extension of the art program at Redland Performing Arts Centre (RPAC),” Cr Williams said.

“The RAG Red Box allows us to take art outside of the usual gallery walls and share some of the amazing work by artists from and connected to Redlands Coast.”

Expressions of interest are now open for artists who would like to exhibit in the RAG Red Box.

This first showcase features Brisbane-based artist Rachel Apelt’s collection of ecoprints, called Understory.

Understory by Rachel Apelt

Ms Apelt said the work explored a sense of place and how we build connection with local land, its water, diverse life forms and communities, often becoming passionate protectors of place.

“Understory includes 487 tiles from ecoprints on Parasol Leaf Tree (Macaranga tanarius) leaves,” Ms Apelt said.

“As I began collecting Macaranga leaves for Understory in February 2021, I found they sparked conversations and new connections.

“Women stopped and asked me about what I was doing. We’d have a chat about art, creek regeneration, urban foraging and then continue on our way with a lighter heart for the connection.

“Each batch of ecoprints had their own personality. Sometimes the paper emerged with a beautiful sienna hue, other times it came out almost purple, and in between, there were variations of brown and grey.

“Sometimes the leaves barely left an impression, other times they were rich with black tannin. I loved that the process was out of my control and was more like a dance of possibility. This always yields creative delight.”

‘Understory’ is on display in the RAG Red Box at RPAC and can be viewed during regular Box Office hours until 28 May. Admission is free.

Ms Apelt is also conducting a free ticketed floor talk and afternoon tea on Friday 21 May at 2pm.

For more information on the RAG Red Box, and to submit an expression of interest to exhibit in the space, visit http://artgallery.redland.qld.gov.au/redbox/

Image below: Understory by Rachel Apelt