Art in the streets of Parramatta

Being Together: Parramatta Yearbook is a walk through art installation consisting of large-scale collages of photographs capturing the faces and characters of Parramatta. The exhibition is a joint venture between The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) and Parramatta Artists’ Studios and is this year’s C3West project.

Put together by artist, Cherine Fahd, the exhibition consists of cut out photographs stuck onto coloured cardboard, similar to a primary school poster. The images, representing the diverse local population around Parramatta, were captured over several months by Fahd.

“The Yearbook is a record of a people and a place at a particular time. The time is COVID-19, the place is the City of Parramatta. While people stirred within the city of Parramatta’s numerous construction projects, with new buildings emerging and not so old ones dissolving, local people came willing to talk and pose against the backdrop of scaffolds, cranes and abseiling window cleaners.

Parramatta Yearbook shows you the moments leading up to, during and after a portrait is made. An assortment of cut-up images, bright colours and kindergarten shapes reveal the outtakes and minutiae.”

The artworks are presented in installations in the streets of Parramatta, accessible to everyone. The portraits have also been collected into a beautifully presented printed Yearbook which can also be accessed digitally on the MCA website, with video behind the scenes footage.

A series of events accompany the exhibition.

Saturday 17 September, 3pm – 5pm: Parramatta Yearbook photo walk.
Photo enthusiasts meet at Centenary Square, Parramatta and be led along a tailored photo walk by artist and photographer Dorcas Tang. Bring a mobile phone, a DSLR, or a film camera, and capture photos while learning key street photography principles. Places are limited. Registrations essential, the link is here.

Saturday 1 October, 11am – 12pm. Book launch, PHIVE, 5 Parramatta Square
Join artist Cherine Fahd; Eda Gunaydin, essayist and contributor; Pedro de Almeida, Senior Curator C3West, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia; and Hayley Megan French, Curator and Artist Development, Parramatta Artists’ Studios, as they unpack some of the themes and stories behind the portraits in Being Together: Parramatta Yearbook. Limited FREE copies of the Yearbook will be available.

Being Together: Parramatta Yearbook street installation is on until October 6.