SYDNEY.- With restrictions on public gatherings set to be rolled back on Monday 1 June 2020, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre are reopening their doors to the public with two exciting exhibitions from diverse artists.

The two exhibitions include Adaptation featuring compelling works from artists living with disability or chronic illness; and A Familiar Place I’ve Never Seen which turns dreams into artworks using Persian calligraphy and photography.

“In these uncertain times, art becomes an even more important aspect of how we can connect with one another. We’re thrilled to be in a position to open back up to the public and welcome them back, in limited numbers, to experience these two fantastic exhibition,” said CPAC Director Craig Donarski.

ADAPTATION
In Adaptation, audiences are invited to witness artists who have adapted their artistic expression to the challenges and new potentials of working with their body. While some of these artists make artworks about their conditions, others have adapted their art making to better suit a lived experience with disability or chronic illness.

Artists featured include Ohni Blu, Bruno Booth, Marion Conrow, Pat Larter, Prue Stevenson, Nell Syme and Louise Zhang.

A FAMILIAR PLACE I’VE NEVER SEEN
Artists Jomakhan Jafari and Danny Kennedy have interviewed Western Sydney residents about their dreams, and have collaborated to interpret the dreams using Persian calligraphy and photography. Each dream ‘interpretation’ is accompanied by excerpts of the interviews, moving statements by the interviewees about their dreams. One of the statements starts with “I dreamt I was an educated man.”

Western Sydney is the most multi-cultural area of Sydney with large percentages of the population born overseas (over 40% in Liverpool). In dreams different places, times, cultures and ideas alternate and converge, suggesting that beyond the physical dichotomy of “here” and “there”, “then” and “now”.