A group of First Nations and culturally diverse artists are embracing their differences through shared stories in Bankstown Arts Centre’s latest major exhibition.
A group of First Nations and culturally diverse artists are embracing their differences through shared stories in Bankstown Arts Centre’s latest major exhibition.
Curated by esteemed First Nations creatives, Coby Edgar and Jason Wing, as well as Bankstown Arts Centre Director Rachael Kiang, the 3rd Bankstown Biennale explores concepts of cultural connections, common ground and co-existence through the lenses of 17 different artists.
The theme that weaves the Biennale together, Same Same / Different, is a common phrase used at the Top End of Australia by Asian and First Nations people to describe similarities while acknowledging differences.
Mayor Bilal El-Hayek said it is a fitting theme that highlights the rich cultural tapestry of Canterbury-Bankstown.
“We’re a City made up of 129 different nationalities with around 200 languages spoken, who embrace each other’s differences and live together in harmony,” Mayor El-Hayek said.
“It’s fantastic to see so many prominent artists from across the country come together to showcase their multiracial stories in an exhibition that pays homage to the First Nations origins of our City.”
Multidisciplinary spatial artist, Kien Situ of Chinese-Vietnamese heritage, will be an artist-in-residence at Padstow during the exhibition and said he is interested in creating work that is site-specific.
“I was born in Marrickville and spent time in Canterbury-Bankstown with my family growing up. These memories are opaque fragments – forms I’m eager to interrogate and reimagine,” Situ said.
Situ’s work is composed of Chinese Mo Ink combined with architectural materials like concrete and gypsum to explore the interrelationships between matter and identity, or ancient philosophy and contemporary cultural existence. His most recent works incorporate incense ash, as material that embodies an accumulation of time.
“The resulting material hybridisation is reflective of my lived experience defined by displacement, dislocation, de-contextualisation, 'de-creation' and ultimately a reimagination of matter, space, heritage and culture in contemporary society.”
The 3rd Bankstown Biennale runs until 1 February 2025 and is part of the Sydney Festival in January. The community is invited to participate in events starting Saturday 7 December and 14 December and leading to a dedicated month full of creative activities in January including an Art Up Late series.
For more information, visit cb.city/Biennale
This project is proudly funded by the NSW Government through Create NSW.