A physical theatre company, new recording label, local artist space, national pastel painting event, community sewing project and several visual artists based on the Sunshine Coast will receive support from the Foundation’s Gifted program in its second year.

Foundation Chair Professor Jennifer Radbourne announced the seven diverse local artists’ projects at a special event and private viewing of Sunshine Coast artist Joseph Daws’ latest exhibition, Resolution, at Jan Manton Gallery, Brisbane on Saturday 13 November.

Pictured from left Tricia Taylor, Pastel Society of Australia, Libby Derham, Priscila Da Cunha, D.I.V.E. Theatre Collective, Jennifer Radbourne, Foundation Chair, Sunshine Coast artist Joseph Daws, Jan Manton, Shaye Hardisty, Ketakii Jewson Brown and Bianca Tainsh.

The Gifted program invests in talented artists to ensure their success and the artistic prosperity of the Sunshine Coast.

“We are delighted to be able to invest in our region’s gifted local artists with contributions from our generous donors,” Professor Radbourne said.

“Gifted artists are those who show talent and natural ability – they are creative, innovative, imaginative and inventive, giving us, the viewer, the gift of pleasure, awe, surprise and inspiration.

“The ‘gift’ by donors is willingly given to celebrate the creative work, the artists and our cultural identity,” she said.

The recipients are:

• Sunshine Coast contemporary physical theatre company, D.I.V.E. Theatre Collective will develop and present Caprichos, a multimodal and immersive theatrical event inspired by the series of satirical etchings by Francisco de Goya, at the Old Ambulance Station, Nambour in May 2022.
• Louise King, Cello Dreaming, will record and produce REINVENTIONS, the first in a series of new music video productions under her new production company and recording label, Dreaming Productions. The music will be the world premiere of REINVENTIONS, a re-scoring of the most popular work by one of Australia’s leading composers, Elena Kats-Chernin transcribed for flute and cello duo.
• The Pastel Society of Australia Inc will present the second Australian Pastel Expo on the Sunshine Coast in August-September 2022, featuring 21 artist tutors, including six from overseas.
• Vibrant art space Stevens Street Gallery, Yandina will undertake the Exposure Project, to provide local artists with much needed exposure and connect them with audiences.
• Award-winning contemporary watercolour painter Libby Derham will develop a new ground-breaking body of work, Birdsong Cymatics (Visualising Birdsong through Cymatics and Watercolour) in collaboration with sound artist Dr Leah Barclay, University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) and Kabi Kabi Elder, Lyndon Davis.
• Local visual artist Bianca Tainsh will create an art film and produce an ambitious body of works (sculpture, painting, digital media and texts) for a Queensland-wide exhibition tour to extend the A Topography for Reflection collaborative project.
• Local sewing artist Shaye Hardisty and photographer Ketakii Jewson Brown will undertake the Sunshine Coat project, which will see the design and construction of seven to 10 coats that share visual stories of our unique experiences in this region.

The Gifted program was launched in November 2020 and its inaugural investment supported seven recipient projects, 126 artists, seven performances and events, three research and creative development activities and three audio-visual products.

Donations can be made to the GIFTED! campaign on the website, or by direct deposit – contact the Executive Officer for details.

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