'Meet Me In Alice/Mparntwe' – A Solo Exhibition by Alyssa Powell-Ascura – Watch This Space X FELTspace Artist Exchange Program

Watch This Space (Alice Springs/Mparntwe, NT) and FELTspace (Adelaide/Tarndanya, SA) presents a collaborative exhibition, 'Meet Me in Alice/Mparntwe', a culmination of the ARI's Artist Exchange Program recipient Alyssa Powell-Ascura's residency on Arrernte Country.

'Meet Me in Alice/Mparntwe' is open to the public Wednesdays to Saturdays, with the exhibition running until December 12, 2024. 

Gallery Hours as follows:
Wednesdays to Thursdays 1pm to 4pm
Fridays 1pm to 7pm
Saturday 10am to 4pm 
or by appointment (please contact the artist or the gallery if you'd like to visit outside gallery hours).

The artist will be invigilating the gallery on Monday November 18 and Tuesday November 19, from 10.30am to 4pm. Free morning tea is available during 11am to 1pm during these two days.

If you would like a guided tour, please contact the artist or the gallery. (Groups of more than 6, or school aged children highly encouraged to do so.)

Artist Statement
During my three-week residency in Arrernte Country, Alice Springs, as part of WTS and FELTspace’s Artist Exchange Program, I had the great privilege of meeting and engaging directly with local communities. I was able to immerse myself in daily life, attended local events and was invited to simply hang out, connect and eat, which gave me a chance to hear people’s stories and foster relationships.

My time was spent not only learning about the migrant experiences that have shaped this region but also honouring the strong connection and reverence that Aboriginal people have with their country. Through these conversations and moments of shared understanding, I developed a deeper appreciation for the complexities of identity, history, and belonging in this landscape. My multidisciplinary practice, rooted in conceptual and socially engaged community-based works, seeks to extend beyond the confines of the museum, embracing  personal engagement with people and place.

I am so grateful for this residency opportunity, as I was able to continue my ongoing research on pre-colonial connections of Asia Pacific with Indigenous Australia, as well as learning more about parts of history that need to be highlighted to wider audiences. 

I was also able to experiment on creating with cyanotype, something I was really excited about. I enjoyed creating different variations of the sensitiser liquid, and although I could’ve made it simpler by following direct instructions – I wouldn’t have it any other way. The different shades of blue in ‘Cerulean Polyphony’ reflect this. I was also surprised to witness a few desert thunderstorms – it made art making with the sun a fun dance, allowing me to let go and work with the weather. 

I want to thank WTS for graciously hosting me and to FELTspace for holding this exhibition. Truly appreciated the level of support –– and openness, to showing previous works alongside new works, bridging stories together and giving space to experimental ways of art making. 

Thank you for acknowledging the transformative ways of process driven works.

My mind is buzzing with so many ideas on how to take these works further, and particularly looking forward to returning to Alice Springs in the future, continuing on building the connections I have made and learning more about this unique part of our continent.

The artist acknowledges that the works in the exhibition was developed in Arrernte and Kaurna Country and pays their respect to the Traditional Custodians of the land and waterways they live, work, play and create on. Always was, always will be.

૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა ______________________________


Alyssa Powell-Ascura
@apowellascura
www.roseandcitrus.com/aly/

Alyssa Powell-Ascura is an award winning emerging multi-hyphenated creative, or a “slashie”, as she calls herself. She is primarily known as a visual artist and a writer, working in the intersections of food, culture and identity. Projects that she is drawn to usually involves the community. As the first Delima Residency recipient (2023), she worked and lived in Malaysia for 3 months. Her first solo exhibition, ‘Halo-halo’(2024) won The City of Adelaide Award. If she’s not talking to the local Aunties and writing about food and culture, she can be found by the beach.


Watch This Space
@watchthisspace_ari
https://www.wts.org.au/

Watch This Space (WTS) is an artist-led organisation established in 1993, manifesting publicly as a vital collective resource in Mparntwe. It is a site for experimentation, artistic expression, critical conversation and making. It is a place to make show & participate in art that is in constant conversation. WTS believes that art’s definition has broad and soft boundaries, and that everyone is invited. It is an artist-run initiative, where artists like their galleries to also be dance floors, cinemas, zine fairs, basketball courts, libraries and language classes; the artists are often interested in recognising arts inherent connection to politics, play and experimentation.  


FELTspace
@feltspace
https://www.feltspace.org/

FELTspace is an artist-run initiative supporting, developing and presenting emerging, experimental, and diverse exhibitions and public programs. Our gallery is located at 12 Compton Street, Adelaide. Established in 2008 with an exhibition space at the heart of Adelaide's Central Market district, FELTspace has quickly become a centre for the emerging contemporary visual arts community. Remaining an important site for the development, exhibition and discussion of new work by emerging and recognised visual artists in South Australia. FELTspace has a focus on promoting emerging and early career artists, with opportunities for more established artists to show in a non-commercial and non-institutional space.