Lisa Waup in conversation with Hannah Presley, co-presented by Willie Weston and Agency Projects

On Saturday, 25th May at 2pm, Willie Weston and Agency Projects present a conversation between mixed-cultural First Nations artist Lisa Waup and First Nations curator Hannah Presley. 

Born in Naarm (Melbourne), with Gunditjmara (VIC), Torres Strait Islander (QLD) and Italian heritage, Waup’s multidisciplinary practice encompasses weaving, experimental printmaking, photography, sculpture, fashion, and digital art. With a deep connection to the symbolic power of materials, her work reflects her personal experiences, family history, Country, and broader historical narratives.

Presley’s curatorial practice focuses on the development of creative projects with Aboriginal artists. She works closely with artists, learning about the techniques, history and community that inform their making to help guide her curatorial process. Hannah Presley is the Senior Curator, Museums and Collections at the University of Melbourne. From 2019-2021 Presley was curator of Indigenous art at the National Gallery of Victoria. Previous to this role, she was the inaugural Yalingwa curator at Australian Centre for Contemporary Art where she curated ‘A Lightness of Spirit is the Measure of Happiness’, and the First Nations Assistant Curator for Tracey Moffatt at the 57th Venice Biennale.

The conversation forms part of a presentation by Willie Weston and Agency Projects, showcasing the diverse opportunities afforded by embracing materiality through collaboration. In recent years the architecture and design sector has begun to embrace and foreground the perspectives and knowledge of First Peoples within our built environments. Since its inception in 2015, Willie Weston, a profit-for-purpose business working with First Nations artists to create products for interiors, has championed the translation of First Nations art and design onto a range of materials for use in interiors. Through long-term partnerships with artists to create textiles, wallcoverings and other products, and through strategic collaborations with like-minded brands, Willie Weston has built a reputation for sophisticated and sensitive translations of First Nations artworks and ethical remuneration models for artists.

For their latest collection, Willie Weston has translated three of Waup’s bold, contemporary artworks, and presents them here across a range of a range of interior surfaces: upholstery fabrics on furniture by Zenith and acoustic panelling through Autex Acoustics. The centrepiece, an original artwork by Lisa Waup, contextualises the design products and invites dialogue around Waup’s dynamic, diverse, and collaborative creative practice.

Willie Weston is run by two non-Indigenous women, Jessica Booth and Laetitia Prunetti. Their ambition is to celebrate the diversity of contemporary First Nations art practice and support its integration into our built environments. Agency Projects is a not-for-profit organisation that exists to celebrate First Nations culture through the facilitation of exhibitions, events, publications, residencies and experiences for audiences in Australia and abroad.

This event is presented on the lands of the Wurundjeri- Woi wurrung people, with support from Autex Acoustics and Zenith.