THE four First Nations artists chosen to undertake a residency at McClelland Gallery in Langwarrin have been announced.
The successful applicants for the residency were Robert Fielding, Amala Groom, Caleb Nichols-Mansell, and Steaphan Paton.
McClelland Gallery revealed plans for its first ever “Bunurong Fieldwork Residency” for First Nations artists last year. The four artists will live at the studio cottage for six to twelve weeks developing public artwork.
McClelland Gallery director Lisa Byrne said that the program would help address a shortage of “First Nations cultural markers” on the Mornington Peninsula.
“The residency program will provide the First Nations artists with the time, space, skills and connections required to develop and realise public artworks,” Byrne said. “Each artist-in-residence will engage with the local Bunurong community via McClelland’s First Nations education and public programs manager and the registered Aboriginal Party, the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, in the development of a public artwork that will lead to broader community understanding of the culture and history of the Bunurong people.
“We plan to realise one of the four major public artwork proposals developed through the residency, with support from public and private sectors to a value of up to $1.5 million. The work will be fabricated and installed by 2025 at a culturally significant site on the Peninsula Link freeway to mark and celebrate the Bunurong People’s local presence, culture and heritage.”
Selection panel member Tina Baum said that the residency “is an important two-fold opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists to not only engage with the local Mayone-Bulluk clan in Bunurong Country but also to develop their skills and understanding of public arts.”
The inaugural residency is being delivered with the support of the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, Service Stream, and the Australia Council for the Arts.