The Influx of Influence - Artist Talk with Maggie Baxter, Octora and Louise Rippert

A conversation about working across cultures with Maggie Baxter, Octora and Louise Rippert

Join us for a dynamic panel discussion between artists Maggie Baxter, Octora and Louise Rippert, facilitated by PRICK! Curator, Helen Rayment.  

There is perhaps no better way to share culture than to share the making of art. Stitching and needlework can be found in all cultures across the globe— a meditative task that transcends national boundaries. In this discussion hear from three artists as they explore how their practice has been strengthened through cross-cultural engagement.   

Free, bookings essential.  

About the Speakers 
Maggie Baxter is an artist, writer, independent curator, and public art coordinator. Over the past decade her work has been based on text, real and invented, poetic messages of nothing, and concise commentary, sometimes using embroidery, stitch and thread. 
 
Octora reappraises her homeland’s colonial history from a gendered perspective, addressing the ongoing impact on the representation of women in present-day Indonesia. Her recent work has evolved from her on-going fascination with the unstable ground between image, official history and collective memory in her Indonesian homelands. 
 
Louise Rippert’s interest in intangible realms, informed by research into discoveries in neuroscience, Eastern philosophies and yoga practice informs her sensorially evocative practice. She treats translucent and reflective materials with time consuming and meditative processes such as hand stitching, embossing, stamping to create works filled with wonder. 

Image Credit: Maggie Baxter, No-Stro-Phe 1, 2018 (foreground) and No-Stro-Phe 4, 2018 (background) in PRICK! Needlework Now, RMIT Gallery, Melbourne, 2025. Photo by Christian Capurro.