Canberra Re-Seen 3 : Ambivalent Landscapes

How do you see Canberra? Through its people, buildings or suburban landscapes? Would you like to develop your own unique photographic vision of our city?

Join PhotoAccess and Canberra Museum and Gallery (CMAG) for Canberra Re-Seen 3 : Ambivalent Landscapes, a four-week photography workshop presented in conjunction with CMAG’s Seeing Canberra exhibition. In this hands-on, ‘learn-through-making’ experience, you’ll join Canberra-based documentary photographer David Hempenstall to explore the artistic legacy and inspiration of Ian North, whose Canberra Suite 1980-81 features in Seeing Canberra.

In his Canberra Suite 1980-81, North developed a distinctive perspective on Canberra’s suburbs, seeing the city as a matrix of roads, houses, fences and gardens, topped by bright blue skies and largely devoid of people. Recognising the city’s sense of open space, his work challenges any easy view of the planned cityscape as utopian. As North’s works featured in Seeing Canberra suggest, the artist’s formalist approach celebrates colour while also creating an emotionally disturbing – even dystopian – sense of absence and abandonment. Does his work suggest possibility and beauty, or a deserted ghost-city?

The workshop program will kick off with a curatorial tour of the Seeing Canberra exhibition and an opportunity to view North’s complete Canberra Suite. Your tutor, David, will share his own fascination and engagement with North’s approach to the cityscape, you’ll visit some perhaps lesser known city spaces and you’ll be supported to create your own body of work considering whether, or how, North’s vision of quiet, empty suburban spaces holds true today. If you’re interested in urban landscape and street photography, this is a wonderful opportunity to challenge and extend your existing practice.

At the conclusion of Ambivalent Landscapes, you’ll be invited to contribute some of your images to a culminating Canberra Re-Seen exhibition, to be shown in the PhotoAccess Huw Davies Gallery from 10 June – 10 July 2021 and featured in our Online Gallery.

Ambivalent Landscapes is the third instalment in Canberra Re-Seen, a three-part workshop series presented jointly by PhotoAccess and CMAG in celebration of the Seeing Canberra exhibition. In each of the Canberra Re-Seen workshops, a different expert tutor will support you to discover one of the ACT’s landmark photographers, create new work inspired by these diverse artists’ responses to the city and contribute to the PhotoAccess Canberra Re-Seen exhibition.

Explore the other workshops in the Canberra Re-Seen series: City of People and Secret Scenes.

If you would like to enrol in all three Canberra Re-Seen workshops, PhotoAccess would be pleased to offer you a 15% discount on the total cost of the three workshops. Please email us at [email protected] or call our office on 02 – 6295 7810 (Tues-Sat, 10am – 4pm) to take advantage of this offer.

This workshop is suitable for everybody with basic photography skills, but will also have lots to offer for more experienced photographers. Ages 16 +.

Canberra Re-Seen 3 : Ambivalent Landscapes will run over four consecutive Saturday afternoons, starting on 10 April and concluding on 01 May, 2021. Each session will run from 1 -4 pm.

In addition, Canberra Re-Seen I : Ambivalent Landscapes will include:

– A curatorial introduction and tour of CMAG’s Seeing Canberra exhibition and CMAG’s collection of Ian North’s works (to be scheduled in consultation with participants);

– A workshop session to select and curate work for the final Canberra Re-Seen exhibition (to be scheduled in consultation with participants).

We’ll let you know meet locations for each session in advance of the workshop start.

For Ambivalent Landscapes, it’s best for you to use your own camera equipment (digital or analogue), complete with charged batteries and memory card/s. However, if you’d like to talk to us about hiring some of our equipment for the workshop, please call us in the PhotoAccess office (02 6295 7810) well in advance of the first session.

At the conclusion of Ambivalent Landscapes, you’ll be invited to contribute some of your images to a PhotoAccess Huw Davies Gallery Canberra Re-Seen exhibition bringing together work from across the three workshops in the series. The exhibition will run from 10 June – 10 July 2021 and will also be featured in PhotoAccess’ Online Gallery.

Participants from the Canberra Re-Seen workshop series will meet in a single session to collaborate on curating and laying out the exhibition. This session will be led by PhotoAccess’ Engagement Officer, Wouter Van de Voorde, and will be scheduled for a date in May 2021.

Please note that you’ll be responsible for printing/producing, and if you choose, framing your own work for the exhibition. PhotoAccess will provide: the gallery space, hanging materials, installation support, marketing and promotion and a catered opening event, and the build of the digital exhibition.

Enrolments for this workshop close at 9am on Wednesday, 7 April 2021. PhotoAccess reserves the right to cancel the workshop if there are insufficient enrolments. If we have to cancel, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and you’ll receive a full refund. For late enrolments or queries, please email us at [email protected]

PhotoAccess will happily refund or transfer workshop fees up to 7 days prior to the start date of the workshop. If less than 7 days notice is given PhotoAccess will transfer fees to another workshop but will charge a transfer fee of either 25% of the workshop cost or $50, whichever is less. No refunds or transfers can be given once a workshop has started. Please see Terms and Conditions for further details.