Image: Pru La Motte’s home/studio, the Wombattery, on land of the Kaurna people. Artworks left to right: Ann Newmarch, Pru La Motte, Arthur Boyd
A Way of Being is an intimate retrospective of art and craft work by Pru La Motte
Pru La Motte (1928-2020) was an intrepid South Australian feminist artist and craftswoman. This retrospective brings together her creative works from the 1960s to the 2000s. The exhibition in the row cottage where Pru lived and worked for twenty years provides a unique opportunity to view her works together with those she collected, from the large coiled vessels made in the late 1960s displayed in the courtyard, to the textiles, woven clothing and wall hangings in the dining room. A new experimental digital archive from work produced in the 1970s will be projected in the library, while Pru’s numerous large pastel drawings and oil paintings hang in the lounge. Along the corridors of the terrace and scattered throughout the house will be a display of Australian art from Pru’s personal collection. This includes original works by well-known South Australians Barbara Hanrahan, Jo Caddy, Bill Salmon, Brian Seidel, Milton Moon and Ann Newmarch.
Funded by the City Adelaide Cultural Grants Program and the Department of the Premiere and Cabinet Arts South Australia.
A Way of Being a Retrospective Exhibition: https://vimeo.com/587330339
2007 – 2015 DIRECTOR
CRITICAL PATH, CHOREOGRAPHIC RESEARCH CENTRE, SYDNEY
As Director of Critical Path, Australia’s leading centre for choreographic research and development, Sydney, Margie’s program was dedicated to the instigation of innovative platforms for choreographers and interdisciplinary artists. In 2013 Medlin was nominated for an Arts Asia Award for her work with Attakkalari Center for Movement Arts, Bangalore and in 2014 she received an artistic leadership award from the Australia Council of the Arts.
2007 – 2015 CURATION
Projects
Facilitator: Monsoon Australia, Critical Path and Kobalt Works
1 – 14 November. Location: Sydney and Nowra, NSW Australia.
Monsoon is a transcultural, multidisciplinary research and performance platform for Asian and European artists initiated by German choreographer Arco Renz (Artistic Director, Kobalt Works, Belgium).
Critical Path will host a Monsoon residency, working with nine artists from Europe, Asia, and Australia. Co-curated and co-facilitated by Arco Renz, David Pledger and Margie Medlin, Monsoon will explore artistic material through a dramaturgical input, using a round-robin format to maximise cross-cultural engagement. The project seeks to engage artists, as well as cultural operators and organisations with the values of serious artistic exploration in an interdisciplinary and cosmopolitan arts context.
Co-curated with Arco Renz and David Pledger
Co-Curator: Interchange Festival, Critical Path
13 – 15 November Location: The Drill Hall, Sydney, Australia
The interchange festival celebrates intercultural exchange over three evenings. This weekend of presentations offers opportunities for dialogue between our local and visiting artists and offers audiences the chance to engage with intercultural work at the development stage.
Co-curated with Annalouise Paul
http://criticalpath.org.au/program/interchange-festival/
2014 IMPROVISATIONAL PRACTICES
Critical Path & Immediations Art Media and Event, Deakin University.
https://improvisation2014.wordpress.com/
2013 SEAM2013, AUTHORSHIP, CURATION & AUDIENCE
Critical Path & Design Arts and Building, University of Technology Sydney.
Co-curated with Benedict Anderson and Paul Gazzola
https://seam2013.wordpress.com/
2011 SEAM2011, SPACING MOVEMENTS OUTSIDE IN
Critical Path & Design Arts and Building, University of Technology Sydney.
Co-curated with Benedict Anderson
http://ccdpresearch.com/research/seam2011-spacing-movements-inside-out/
2010 SEAM2010, AGENCY & ACTION
Critical Path & School of Communications, University of Western Sydney.
Co-curated with Garth Paine
http://www.activatedspace.com/ASblog/?p=966
2009 SEAM2009, SPATIAL PHRASES
Critical Path & Design Arts and Building, University of Technology Sydney.
Co-curated with Benedict Anderson and Samantha Spurr