Regional Victoria's newest cultural destination officially opened in Creswick today. Located at RACV Goldfields Resort, ArtHouse is a new building housing exhibitions, workshops, and artist residencies.
Open to RACV Members, the public and guests of RACV Goldfields Resort, ArtHouse will create memorable experiences by producing unique exhibitions and workshops for all to participate in.
ArtHouse's opening will feature an exhibition by significant emerging Melbourne artist Casey Jeffery.
Casey will produce a site-specific installation responding to the built environment and historic industries of Creswick including Creswick Woollen Mills.
Through this investigation Casey will create new paintings, and a mural on the walls of the ArtHouse celebrating the landscape, industry and history of the area.
The texture and design of the World's Largest Picnic Rug, on display at Creswick Woollen Mills, provided inspiration for Casey's practice of rendering the folds and flow of fabrics into her work.
"Textiles are a worm-hole of possibilities. For me they are familiar and personal representations of memory and sentimentality. Painting the movement of fabrics suspends the action or the moment for endless contemplation," said Ms Jeffery.
RACV Head of Visual Arts, Mardi Nowak, said RACV is committed to opportunities for visitors to be captivated by arts experiences in everyday life.
"RACV is proud to share ArtHouse and Casey's exhibition at RACV Goldfields Resort. Her project is a wonderful example of how art can shine a light on the histories and industries of regional areas and what makes them unique. RACV has a long and proud history of collaborating with Australian artists and values the role art plays in connecting communities," Ms Nowak said.
Casey is a realist painter who completed her Bachelor of Fine Art (First Class Honours) at The Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, in 2018. Jeffery was the recipient of The John Vickery Scholarship and the Fiona Myer Award and in 2019 undertook a The Macfarlane Fund Residency in Kyneton and made a new body of work responding to this town.
Much of Jeffery's work is a homage to Australian domestic ornamentation, depicting what can seem the mundane and humble exteriors found on suburban streets. Stripes feature predominantly in many works, often belonging to the familiar striped fabrics of exterior window awnings, with new work capturing fabric moments from the interior. Jeffery celebrates the post-war, yellow brick houses found across regional Victoria and suburban Melbourne with a nostalgic tenderness that offers a nuanced reading of Australian domesticity and suburban life.
The exhibition will be open 7 days a week (9:00am to 4:30pm) from October 8 to December 11.
