Cooee Art relaunches as Art Leven
Image: Kitty Napanangka Simon_Mina Mina Jukurrpa (Mina Mina Dreaming)_2020_120x90cm
Australia’s oldest Indigenous gallery, Cooee Art, has announced that it will be relaunched as Art Leven, marking a new chapter under the leadership of owner and director, Mirri Leven. While Art Leven will maintain its focus on First Nations art, it will also feature the works of non-Indigenous artists through specially curated individual projects.
The reimagined Art Leven aims to foster transparent dialogue and create an environment that goes beyond the conventional commercial relationship between artists and galleries. The gallery seeks to facilitate open and direct exchanges between artists by collaborating closely with First Nations curators, art centres, and represented artists.
To commemorate this new direction, Art Leven will unveil its inaugural exhibition on Thursday, July 27, 2023. The exhibition will be held in Art Leven’s bespoke gallery space situated in Gadial Country, Sydney Redfern. Curated by Gadigal artist Kate Constantine (Konstantina), the exhibition will showcase artworks created in the Northern Territory Warlpiri community of Lajamanu. It will explore themes surrounding the craft of landscape painting and different perspectives on perceiving and translating land and Country.
As part of their efforts to promote artistic collaboration, Art Leven recently organised a weeklong painting workshop at Warnayaka Arts in Lajamanu. They brought along Sydney artist Neil Ernest Tomkins and collaborated with Warlpiri artist Kitty Napanagka Simon.
By inviting Tomkins and Art Leven staff to their Country and painting space, the Warlpiri owners of the art centre have created a shared environment. This shared space allows the artworks to communicate with each other organically throughout the creative process, fostering mutual inspiration and a cross-pollination of ideas.
Other participating Warlpiri artists include Annie Napanangka Simon, Biddie Napanangka Timms, Robin Napurrurla Lawson, and Isaiah Tjungurrayi Lewis.
Country X Country
July 27 – August 26, 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern
www.cooeeart.com.au
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