Contemporary Art Spaces Mandurah (CASM) has celebrated a record-breaking 2019 building on the creative capacity of the community.
Five artists were housed at the gallery last year in an effort to continue helping emerging contemporary artists create a body of work in a comfortable and engaging environment.
Sarah Robertson, Annette Nykiel and Jane Whelan immersed themselves in the program in 2019, setting a new standard of sharing a single studio space within the gallery.
Each artist worked independently during the week, then joined forces to collaborate on the Talking Place: Unfolding Conversations exhibition, held at the Alcoa Mandurah Art Gallery in May and June.
Alana Grant and Chelsea Turner made up the two other artists in residency in 2019.
A 'passing of the keys' ceremony was held in January to farewell outgoing artists and welcome the new residents.
Whelan is back in the studio until the end of March developing site-specific works for an up-and-coming exhibition.
She said she enjoyed the residency opportunity so much, she simply had to reapply for this year's program as a solo artist.
"Now as I work on site I am coming to the realisation that my subject is often not the object of focus but the sensory awareness of the space - the water and its response to the air around it," Whelan said.
Local emerging artist Amy Henderson will showcase her work from July to September and have conversations with the community to learn more about the contemporary topics people are interested in.
"Each subject has a story, as does each client, and I enjoy the opportunity to learn these stories and provide my own interpretation in art form," she said.
No stranger to Mandurah's creative community, Trev Blyth will finish off the year from October to December.
After a 12-month artist residency at CASM in 2017, followed by his first solo exhibition, Blyth took a break from his artwork practice last year but is dusting off his paint brushes to continue exploring his spiritual connection with nature, symbolism, mythology and the forces of the elements.
The 2020 residency artists, plus a youth artist to be announced in March, will have the opportunity to exhibit their works in a shared exhibition at CASM in 2021.
In an exciting first for CASM, 12 artists who have been part of the residency program over the years will return this year for the Transition exhibition, showcasing how the experience changed their art practices, methods and concepts.
For more information about the program or CASM, visit the City of Mandurah website.
