Bright Exhibition curated by Pamela Debrincat presents work from Darren Aquilina, Emily Floyd, Megan Hunter, Prue Stevenson and Thomas Miller.

Exhibition dates:
10 October—12 December 2023
Launch Event:
21 October, 2—4pm

This month, ArtLife Studio artist and curator, Pamela Debrincat brings BRIGHT to Footscray Community Arts – an art exhibition that brings together five installations without a defined beginning or end.  

Inviting audiences to engage and interact with each work to contribute to its meaning, Bright emphasises our need for connection and closeness and rebuilds our capability to interact and participate in exhibitions. 

We sat down with Pamela to further explore her practice and the exciting exhibition set to run until 12 December 2023. 

Introduce yourself and your practice. 

My name is Pamela and I’m an artist and a curator. I make sculptures and drawings and am interested in colour, feeling and emotions. 

I’ve been making art for as long as I remember and love curating for the interaction with other artists, listening to their ideas and opinions excites me  

Bright invites audiences to engage with each work to contribute to its meaning. Tell us more about the exhibition and your curatorial process. 

I had a vision that this exhibition would bring people together and be interactive.  

I gave the artists some space and let them work with the title – BRIGHT. They worked towards the exhibition and we continued to meet up and talk about their works, and how the works engaged the viewer’s senses. We were thinking about how the work may make the audience feel their emotions. 

I made a diorama to visualise how the works may come together. I then worked with Ben Bannan the exhibition designer on the computer, and then it was amazing to see how it came to life in the gallery. It was hard work! 

The sense of touch is central to the exhibition. Why is it important for art as a medium to be participatory and inclusive? 

In most exhibitions, you can’t touch the works. But in BRIGHT, you can definitely touch the works. I want viewers to be able to connect with each piece – it’s another way to experience art from another perspective. 

What do you hope audiences leave BRIGHT feeling? 

I hope they feel relaxed, calm, joyful, and excited and would like to share the exhibition with others. 

Bright is an outcome of the ArtLife Studio Residency Program. How has being part of ArtLife impacted you as an artist? 

Having that connection with other artists, having the space to make work, and making good friends who are also artists, has inspired and supported me to become a curator. 

Now for some quick fire questions: 
How do you stay creatively inspired? 
Being active! 

Advice for anyone considering the Artlife Studio Program. 
Yes, do it!! 

A show recommendation for our community. 
Watch South Park! 

Bright Exhibition curated by Pamela Debrincat presents work from Darren Aquilina, Emily Floyd, Megan Hunter, Prue Stevenson and Thomas Miller. Read more here.

Exhibition dates: 10 October—12 December 2023

Image credit: Gianna Rizzo & Jeevika Rajagopal