Who chooses freedom for whom, in what space and during what time?
Rosie Dennis, Creative Director of Hobart Current, selected ten contemporary artists to help find the answer. Tasmanian artists Sinsa Mansell, Brigita Ozolins, James Newitt, Jacob Leary, Dexter Rosengrave and Nadege Philippe-Janon featured in this collection, which also spanned interstate and international talent including Uncle Wes Marne, Suryo Herlambang, Jagath Dheerasekara and Sarah Jane Pell creating new works in the mediums of film, installation, performance and visual art. The works commissioned for Liberty offered personal and vulnerable perspectives on the theme, challenging notions of agency and representation, surveillance and exile.
Throughout 2020, four of the Liberty artists led intensive education programs with Tasmanian high school students who researched and created their own projects on the theme.
Hobart Current is a major biennial program presented in partnership between the City of Hobart and TMAG, with Liberty its inaugural exhibition. Complementing the exhibition, the City of Hobart presented a series of activities in public spaces across the Hobart CBD, providing further opportunities to discover and explore the notion of Liberty.
Installation of Brigita Ozolin’s public artwork, MY VOICE, for Hobart Current: Liberty exhibition, still and moving images by Craig Garth
ARTWORKS
Liberty Talks
Hobart Current: Liberty Creative Director Rosie Dennis led this roundtable discussion with the ten artists featured in this dynamic contemporary art project. Liberty Talks was a unique opportunity to hear all ten artists speak about their work and the process of reflecting deeply on the concept of ‘liberty’ as they created art in a year like no other.
Featured were Tasmanian artists Sinsa Mansell, Brigita Ozolins, James Newitt, Jacob Leary, Dexter Rosengrave and Nadège Philippe-Janon as well as interstate and international artists Uncle Wes Marne, Suryo Herlambang, Jagath Dheerasekara and Sarah Jane Pell. Working across the mediums of film, installation, performance and visual art, the works commissioned for Hobart Current: Liberty offered personal and vulnerable perspectives on the theme, challenging notions of agency and representation, surveillance and exile.
Date: Saturday 13 March 2021
Time: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Location: Central Gallery
Public Programs
Complementing the inaugural Hobart Current: Liberty, the City of Hobart hosted a program of diverse community activities, providing opportunities to discover and explore the notion of ‘liberty’ .
Education
In 2020, a selection of Hobart Current: Liberty artists and Tasmanian high school students embarked on a series of creative exchanges. The aim of this was to make contemporary artists and their processes accessible and available to students.
