A new art exhibition, Create/Respond, explores collaboration within the contemporary art practices of 11 University of Southern Queensland Visual Arts lecturers, David Akenson, Beata Batorowicz, Peta Berghofer, Linda Clark, Kyle Jenkins, Rhi Johnson, Alexandra Lawson, Amber Manteufel, Alice Rigby, Alex Stalling and David Usher at Crows Nest Gallery from October 8 to November 9, 2025.
This project challenges conventional notions of ownership and creative boundaries, inviting reflection on how individual and collective creativity intersect, overlap, and transform.
Starting with a blank canvas, each artist initiated a visual conversation - making marks, gestures, images, or compositions - deliberately leaving space for others to engage.
These works were exchanged, with participants responding directly to the evolving visual field presented to them, each sheet passing through multiple hands, accumulating layers of aesthetic decisions, intuitive reactions, and conceptual interplay.
The result is a series of works both individual and collective, with traces of each artist visible across the layers - an archive of marks, gestures, and ephemeral dialogue between creative voices.
"Collaboration is risky business; it demands a level of trust and the ability to not overthink every move," David Usher explained.
