Information on successful 2008 applicants

In 2008 four South African artists were selected for the Residency program in Melbourne, Adele Oldfield, Nathani Luneburg, Sizwe Mabizela and Sidwell Rihlamvu. They spent a little over two and a half months in Melbourne living in the Monash studio apartments, on campus in the Faculty of Art and Design building and using the range of Faculty studio facilities. This placed them at the heart of the art, design, multimedia and architecture disciplines which make up Faculty degrees. They visited the Gippsland Centre for Art and Design, on the Gippsland regional campus, for several days, where they met with key local indigenous people and were welcomed with a traditional ceremony by the campus indigenous liaison officer.

The residencies resulted in a rich creative output of interesting and diverse work which was shown at the South African Studies conference at the State Library of Melbourne and in one of the Faculty of Art and Design galleries at the end of the Melbourne stay; the exhibition was opened by Di Johnston, former member of the Australian High Commission to South Africa and champion of South African art. The residency period enabled the artists to not just produce visual work under the influence of a different culture, but also to participate in the Melbourne art scene, attending exhibitions, going to openings, making contacts with galleries and other artists, as well as enjoying the cosmopolitan aspects of the city with its diverse multicultural qualities and strong emphasis on art. They also met with the South African High Commissioner and were invited to the High Commission. All the 2008 artists have kept in contact with Faculty staff and sent information on their various activities since the residency ended, including 2010 exhibitions in Melbourne.