We wish to pay our respects to the traditional owners and custodians of the lands and waters on which we operate, the Ngunawal, Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples. We acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded and this land always has been and always will be Aboriginal land.
31ST MARCH - 17TH APRIL
NESTINGS
Alexander Sarsfield, Megan Kamei, Jessica Tanto and Ashley Lavoynne
Nestings collates understandings of our universal need and desire for comfort. Influenced by multicultural and personal experiences, as well as the shared difficulties in reaching a COVID normal, this exhibition explores how one may use materials, social and habitual rituals to evoke feelings of safety, warmth, and familiarity. Alexander Sarsfield, Jessica Tanto, Ashley Lavoynne Silaen and Megan Kamei’s works compare these domestic tendencies to consider the diversity of what home comfort can be.
Opening Night: Thursday March 31st 5:30pm-7:30pm
The artists acknowledge that this exhibition takes place on Ngunnawal, Ngunawal and Ngambri Country, and that First Nations have never ceded sovereignty. We also acknowledge and pay our respects to the creative practices formed by First Nation peoples that have been undermined and undervalued since colonisation.
PUBLIC PROGRAMS (Pink text is linked to event information)
Comfort Object Clinic with Jessica Tanto
April 1st - 10:30-12:30
1:30-3:30 (1 person per session)
Most of us had a comfort object as a child (and some of us still do now!). Upon years of cuddling, comfort objects usually become slightly deformed. This phenomenon is best described by my friend who said their object became “emotionally comfy, but not physically comfortable”.
I am opening a comfort object clinic and looking for 2 patients to receive free a treatment for their comfort object. We will be chatting to reflect upon your relationship with the object, and what would be the best alterations to make to your object. Where possible, we will be using sewing equipment to make those decided alterations to your comfort object together.
If you have and still use a comfort object, you can apply to receive the free treatment via this link: https://forms.gle/rW6NvXn2NED4WHJ86 .With their owners, two objects will be selected to receive the treatment with Doctor Jessica Tanto
Reconnecting with childhood comfort: Reflection and letter writing workshop with Jessica Tanto
April 2nd 1-3pm
Many people had comfort object as a child (blanket, doll, etc). What happened to our relationship with them when we grew up?
This workshop is a space to reconnect and reflect upon our relationship with our childhood comfort.
The workshop is divided into 3 parts. We will first recall our childhood comfort object via a visualization exercise. Then, we will reflect and discuss our modes of obtaining comfort as a child versus now. Lastly, we will write a letter individually to our childhood comfort object.
This letter does not need to be textual. It can be anything that you wish to express using a pen/pencil and paper.
This workshop been conducted previously in Connections Arts Space and the participants expressed that the workshop helped them regain the experience and sense of comfort they had long forgotten.
Observational Drawing with Alex Sarsfield
2nd Apr 2022, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Come join Alex for a relaxed morning of short playful drawing exercises. Getting comfy in the gallery, we will use the space, work and each other as subjects to experiment with shape, colour, perspective and more. No artistic experience or ability is required and all drawing materials will be provided (but feel free to bring your own!).
The session has a limit of 10 participants and is an LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC positive space.
Tickets are pay what you feel.
ARTIST TALK WITH @jessicatanto , @lavoynn.e , @turtledrawings_
April 13th 6:30pm-7:30pm
Join Jessica, Ash and Megan for an online talk about their practices and work in the Nestings exhibition. There will be an opportunity to talk with the artists at the end of the session and ask any questions.
SLUMBER PARTY: MEDITATIVE BEDTIME SENSORY EXPLORATION WITH JESSICA TANTO
April 14th 8:00pm-9:30pm
We spend about one-third of our life sleeping. Although we sleep (hopefully) every day, we often perform our pre-sleep habits on auto-pilot without awareness of how it contributes to our sleep.
This workshop invites its participants to examine aspects of their pre-sleep habits through two parts. First, we will discuss an object that provides us physical and emotional comfort to sleep. Afterwards, Jessica will facilitate an experimental guided meditation session to bring awareness to our body’s sensory and emotional connection to the sleeping props* used.
Dresscode: Comfy sleep clothes/pyjamas!
Materials to bring: Any items you usually use to have a safe and comfortable sleep
*Sleeping props: objects that an individual typically uses to go to sleep like a bed, mat, sleeping bag, pillow, bolster, blanket.
link will be posted here https://linktr.ee/tributaryprojects (link also in bio)
Curated by Alexander Sarsfield
Tributary Projects Organiser: Isabelle Sheppard
Installation Team: Alexander Sarsfield, Isabelle Sheppard, Megan Kamei, Wang Xiang, Ashley Lavoynne Silaen and Sam Andrews
Public Programs: Jessica Tanto
