North Queensland artists are encouraged to join Umbrella for this opportunity to learn about the work of Sonia Leber and David Chesworth. Sonia and David live and work in Naarm/Melbourne and are known for their distinctive video, sound and architecture-based installations that are audible as much as visible. Leber and Chesworth’s works are speculative and archaeological. They often involve communities and elaborate on research in places undergoing social, technological or local geological transformation. Their works emerge from the real but exist significantly in the realm of the imaginary; hinting at unseen forces and non-human perspectives. Sonia and David will draw on aspects of their expansive international career to provide important professional development advice to artists, with a particular focus on their past works and creative process.

Sonia and David’s work has been the subject of solo and group exhibitions at National Gallery of Victoria; Casino Luxembourg Forum d'art Contemporain, Luxembourg; TarraWarra Museum of Art, Healesville; Messums Wiltshire, UK; Fondation Fiminco, Paris; UNSW Galleries, Sydney; annex M, Megaron, Athens; Galeria Labirynt, Lublin, Poland; Index, Stockholm; Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne; Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne; Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne; Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne; Venice Biennale; and Biennale of Sydney.

This event will take place during their month-long residency in May as they create their new, highly detailed soundscape, Shapes of Listening. A site specific response to the landscape, sounds and people of Gurambilbarra and Thul Gari Wadja (Townsville). The residency is part of a co-commission between PUNQ (Pop Up North Queensland) and AFCM (Australian Festival of Chamber Music) and will be on display at Dancenorth from 26 July – 11 August 2024. A full project history can be found at www.leberandchesworth.com.  

This event is free and bookings are not required. 

Umbrella’s Creative Industries sessions focus on art development, artist tool-kit expansion and critical art world discussions. The Artist’s Journey is a new series of discussions presented by artists for artists, revealing diverse pathways to success in the contemporary visual arts sector.