Teachers are invited to attend a special viewing of the Gallery's latest exhibition New Sacred. Enjoy wine and refreshments whilst hearing from exhibiting contemporary artists Marikit Santiago and Shireen Taweel. The evening will also provide the opportunity to discover how Gallery staff can help you plan a rewarding and enjoyable visit to the Gallery with your students. This event is suitable for pre-school, primary and secondary teachers.

New Sacred has been developed as a partnership between Parramatta Artists Studios and Mosman Art Gallery in response to critical discourses in contemporary Australian art practices concerning storytelling through ritual, cultural traditions, narratives and folklore.

Free event but bookings are essential.

For more information about this event please contact Jane Gillespie on j.gillespie@mosman.nsw.gov.au / 9978 4186 or Anita Toft a.toft@mosman.nsw.gov.au / 9978 4185.

Marikit Santiago
Marikit Santiago lives and works in Western Sydney where her practice investigates a personal conflict of cultural plurality at the conjunction of Filipino ethnicity and Australian nationality, representing simultaneous and conflicting sensations of acceptance and rejection. The techniques and materiality of Santiago’s works speak to historical and contemporary Filipino popular culture, literature, mythology, religion, politics, and military legacies. Santiago received the Dean's Award for Academic Excellence at the completion of Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours Class I) in 2011 and in 2013 received the Australian Postgraduate Award for her candidature in Masters of Fine Art at UNSW Art & Design. Since 2015 Santiago has held solo exhibitions at AirSpace Projects (2015, 2016), ADSpace (2017), Verge Gallery (2018) and Firstdraft (2018) in Sydney. In 2016, she was selected as finalist for the Archibald Prize and was an artist-in-residence at Parramatta Artists Studios in 2017.

Shireen Taweel
Shireen Taweel’s practice is inherently cross-cultural, drawing on her Middle Eastern heritage to inform a contemporary approach to metallurgy. Referencing the Islamic Decorative Arts, Taweel employs progressive technical applications to create forms which sit in the space between jewellery, sculpture and architecture. Shifting traditional techniques and perceptions of sacred objects, Taweel creates space for a contemporary practice which echoes tradition and cultural heritage and opens a dialogue between shared histories and communities of fluid identities. Taweel is currently in-residence at Parramatta Artists Studios. Her recent solo shows include al jaale'ah: locally global at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre (2017); fractured//fluid terrains at SEVENTH Gallery, Melbourne (2017); translated roots at Verge Gallery, Sydney (2017); tomorrow, InshAllah at 55 Sydenham RD Marrickville, Sydney (2016); rhythms of the ritualistic at Gaffa Gallery, Sydney (2016); and promised denial at 146 ArtSpace, Hobart (2016). Recently Taweel was awarded the Arts and Culture Medal from Multicultural NSW (2018) and an Australia Council Grant (2017).

Image:  Shireen Taweel, tomorrow, InshAllah series, 2016-2017
pierced copper, Image by Dean Beletich