The Diaspora Grows – A Microresidency by Visual and Public Artist Anis (Chile)

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Anis, a visual and public artist with an extensive trajectory in her home country Chile, visits Brisbane in late March to take part in a microresidency at BEMAC comprising workshops, talks and an exhibition at the Queensland Multicultural Centre.

With a distinctive style characterized by rich symbolism, symmetry, and neon tones, Anis has been active in urban painting since the age of 12 and has produced dozens of public artworks lining walls across Chile, Latin America and various European capitals. Her work revolves around questions of being and everyday life and the emotional states that fluctuate among individuals and society. Her work is connected to humanitarian causes, particularly gender equality, environmental care, and the empowerment of women, which are among the main themes in her artwork. She has also pioneered the field of ground murals in Chile for which she has developed new technologies and collaborative methods to mobilise communities to contribute to the creation of large-scale artworks.

Another theme that has permeated into her work, on which she is focusing her exploration while in Australia, is the impact of migration on creativity, the influence of distance on the perception of our roots, the emotional baggage of migratory grief and the role that interaction with the local community plays in the creative process of a migrant.

In response to these enquiries, Anis will be offering a participative painting workshop grounded on collaboration and shared creativity. Over 2 days (March 22 and 23) under the canopy of a tree at Captain Burke Park in Kangaroo Point, Anis will present a creative provocation and share techniques in order to create a collective canvas. Participants of all ages, abilities and proficiencies are invited to take part, and can attend either or both days.

On Monday March 25, Anis will join a panel of artists for the next event in the BEMAC Discussions series, a free panel discussion on “Migrant Grief and Creativity”, a conversation on the transformation of loss into creativity, on the impact that the sense of grief that migrants experience has on their creative practices.

On Thursday March 28, her exhibition “The Diaspora Grows” will open in the public spaces of the Queensland Multicultural Centre, comprising sculptural and visual works that evoke the nostalgia of distant landscapes and explore the boundaries of language and identity, and collective works including the canvas created in the participative workshops of the previous weekend.

And finally, on Friday March 29, Anis will give an artist talk in the space that is hosting her exhibition. After the presentation, attendees are invited to gather round the table for social drinks at Sea Legs Brewing, across the road from the Queensland Multicultural Centre.

BEMAC is a subsidiary of Settlement Services International and is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland. This series is made possible with additional support from the Ministry for Culture, Arts and Heritage of the Government of Chile.

Participative Workshops – A Collaborative Canvas
Over 2 days, under the canopy of a tree at Captain Burke Park in Kangaroo Point, Anis will present a creative provocation and share techniques to create a collective canvas. Participants of all ages, abilities and proficiencies are invited to take part, and can attend both days in order to spend more time working on the collaborative canvas. No previous experience required.
Session 1: 12pm to 4pm, Saturday March 23
Session 2: 12pm to 4pm, Sunday March 24
Queensland Multicultural Centre
102 Main Street, Kangaroo Point
Free to attend. Please register through events.humanitix.com/the-diaspora-grows-a-microresidency-by-anis/tickets
Participants are welcome to attend both workshops to spend more time working on the collaborative canvas. Please register for both if you intend to attend both.

BEMAC Discussions: Creativity and Migratory Grief
A free panel discussion. Migratory motion all around the planet is an ancestral dance, an odyssey that traverses horizons, sometimes in search of safety or sustenance, or simply as free flight, satisfying one’s curiosity. With migration, there is often a sense of loss and grief which cannot always be explained in words and is passed from one generation to the next. How do artists and musicians from migrant backgrounds use and experience grief; how does this grief become creativity?
6:30pm, Monday March 25
Queensland Multicultural Centre
102 Main Street, Kangaroo Point
Free to attend. Please register through events.humanitix.com/bemac-discussions-creativity-and-migratory-grief/tickets

The Diaspora Grows: Exhibition Opening
A collection of sculptural and visual works by Anis that evoke the nostalgia of distant landscapes and explore the boundaries of language and identity, and collective works including the canvas created in the participative workshops of the previous weekend.
7:00pm, Thursday March 28
Queensland Multicultural Centre
102 Main Street, Kangaroo Point
Free to attend. Please register through events.humanitix.com/the-diaspora-grows-a-microresidency-by-anis/tickets

Artist Talk
An opportunity to learn about Anis’ professional trajectory, gain insights into her approach to art making and ask the artist questions.
4:00pm, Friday March 29
Queensland Multicultural Centre
102 Main Street, Kangaroo Point
Free to attend. Please register through events.humanitix.com/the-diaspora-grows-a-microresidency-by-anis/tickets
Followed by social drinks at Sea Legs Brewing, 89 Main St, Kangaroo Point