Artist in Residence Project

Denise's story

Denise is a quiet lady who enjoys crafts, shopping, cooking, completing word and jigsaw puzzles, and participating in other activities as the opportunities arise. When Diversity South requested expressions of interest for participants with the Artists in Residence Project, Denise was one of the first to respond.

The Artist in Residence Project was facilitated by artist, Tilly Jowle-Gill who designed and delivered a four-day art program to ten people with severe and complex disabilities over the course of two weeks. The art classes provided opportunities for experimentation with different mediums such as pencils, acrylic paints, oil pastels, and clay to identify their interests and provide an environment to participate in this activity. The overall aim of the project was to create artwork to the theme of ‘Water’ to submit individual’s creations into the Mandurah 9×5 Exhibition.

Denise attended four art classes during the first week of the project with other participants Shirley, Brooke, and Noeleen. The art program provided a staggered approach to using the different mediums by providing reference images of water (such as ocean landscapes, rivers, waterfalls, natural springs, and lakes), using visual art diaries to gather ideas, and practice techniques to create their final water-themed artwork onto 9×5 inch boards for the exhibition.

Denise attended the Mandurah 9×5 Exhibition opening night, along with her peers, where awards were presented for each category of the exhibition. Denise was surprised she was named the exhibition’s finalist in the People with Disability category. She was awarded with $1,500 for first prize of her artwork titled ‘waterfalls’.