Weaving Cultures
An exhibition integrating Australian art with the woven art of East Timor
Dates for this exhibition will be confirmed in the coming months.
The concept
The Weaving Cultures exhibition aims to integrate Australian art with traditional cloth of East Timor known as Tais. These weavings are the traditional and ceremonial dress of the people of East Timor and play an important role in the preservation of East Timorese culture. Australia has long had links with East Timor and this exhibition hopes to show this bond as well as educate the public about Timorese history and culture.
This exhibition aims to highlight Tais as an art form and, by combining them with the work of Australian artists, help highlight the beauty of Tais weaving as well as show the work of local Australian artists.
The Weaving Cultures exhibition will be a traveling exhibition which will visit different communities throughout Victoria and the rest of the country. In each new place, local artists will be asked to participate in the exhibition with a long term view of these exhibitions touring the country at a later date.
Information for artists
We are inviting artists of any level from the Dandenong Ranges to participate in this exciting event by incorporating the East Timorese weaving into their own work. Participating artists will be provided with an appropriate piece of weaving to use in their work and art pieces can use any medium and be of any size.
In order to make this not only a visual experience, but also an educational one, we ask that works are created around four main themes. These themes are:
Women
Hope
War
Poverty
Community
Artists will be responsible for setting their own prices for their work.
As we are a not-for-profit organization, we ask that artists be willing to donate all or part of the proceeds from any works sold to ETWA. This would be greatly appreciated, as any money raised will help hand-weavers in East Timor and assist us in continuing this event in the future.
Artists also need to be aware that as this exhibition may tour in the future, we ask that works be loaned to ETWA until they are no longer needed. They will be photographed and placed in a catalogue on our website to encourage the public in purchasing work from previous exhibitions as well as create a means for members of the public to contact the artists involved.
Some examples of Tais weaving from East Timor appear below and information about the weaving process is available on our hand-weaving page. Please contact us to discuss sizes and colours of Tais you may wish to use in your work. Once this is decided an appropriate piece of Tais will be mailed to you.
Please note that if you receive a piece of Tais and do not submit a piece to the exhibition, arrangements must be made to return the Tais to ETWA.
Click here to view part of The Heru Ini Lafu Exhibition – ETWA’s first exhibition
The Heru Ini Lafu exhibition was ETWA’s first attempt at this concept. This exhibition, held in Melbourne at Fitzroy Gallery on the 2nd of December 2007, was extremely successful, with both artists and members of the public receiving the concept with excitement and passion.
To view some examples of the works by artists who integrated Tais into their work for this exhibition click here. Their artist statement appears alongside the photograph of their work.
If you would like to participate in this exciting and unique event please click here to download the Artists Participation Form and email it to exhibition@etwa.org.au or send by mail to PO Box 3079 Auburn 3123
If you would like to discuss the exhibition in general or your participation in it please contact Katheryn Philip on 9890 6751 or 0401 577 581 or exhibition@etwa.org.au