18th February - 15th March

housewarming

presented by past and current feltspace co-directors

participate artists / Co-Directors

Jenna Pippett & Logan Macdonald | Polly Dance | Carly Snoswell |  Nancy Downes | Isla Hannan Francis | Sam Howie |  Ena Grozdanic | Brianna Speight | Ariella Napoli | Monte Masi | Tamara Baillie |  Lauren Abineri | Ray Harris | Gassan Aqel | Kate Kurucz | Abbey Murdoch | Christine Poon | Suzanne Close | Riley O’Keefe | Nicole Clift | Lee Walter | Ava Viscariello | Eleen Deprez | Patrick Rees | Jessie Lumb | Athanasios Lazarou | Luna Chan | Matt Huppatz | Luke Wilcox | Tarsha Cameron | Asha Southcombe | Alice Blanch | Alice McCool | Bernadette Klavins | Rebecca McEwan | Tayer Stead | Liv Spiers 

Housewarming

Exhibition Essay by Eleanor Sccichitano.

After many years of discussion, rumour and conjecture, FELTspace is moving. Has moved! I have to confess that when I heard about the move my first thought was about water. Specifically, will FELT be the same if they have running water for install and de-install. And what does this small, but significant, move towards ‘professionalising’ mean for the future of FELT.

FELT is an organisation built on cycles of change. Volunteer co-directors join the committee, learn and grow, and then they move on. It is an essential element of the structure of an ARI (Artist Run Initiative) allowing emerging practitioners to cut their teeth, experiment and for many, get their first taste of running an art space. This is a valuable testing and training ground, and one reason FELT has become such a vital part of the South Australian landscape. Many co-directors have gone to have careers at all levels and stages of the visual arts.

With each new group of co-directors come new ideas, programs and projects. FELTspace GOLD, published in 2010, expanded support for emerging artists by capturing their practices in print. It has become somewhat of a bible for curators when researching SA-based artists from this period. A series of off-site site-specific explorations, FELTnatural (2013) and FELTmaps (2014) among them, each with a new location, new structure looking to take the work of the gallery out to the streets. These explorations brought challenges that are not encountered in the gallery (who can forget the runaway artwork that disrupted shipping in the Port River?) and introduced artists’ works to a broader audience. There have been film programs, parties, auctions and live events. FELT have travelled interstate and overseas with their artists, building networks with ARIs and artists worldwide. Most recently, we have seen the return FELTlive. This much-loved performance night is a vital place for artists to experiment with ideas, an opportunity to see how an audience will move within their performance, and speaks to a strong tradition of performances and happenings that Adelaide has continuously supported. These programs demonstrate a desire to expand beyond their home in Compton Street, driven by a willingness and desire to test, to stretch and explore.

Just as the Ship of Theseus was slowly replaced plank by plank, 12 Compton Street has also grown and changed, in parallel with the organisational structure that supports it. This may be FELT’s first foray into working taps, but the walls have been patched time and again, entirely replaced and then repatched, air conditioning added (well after my time unfortunately), FELTdark installed and the desk and bar repositioned more times than we could count. The committee numbers have shrunk to four before swelling to ten or more. Increased funding leads to much needed administrative staff and the provision of artist fees but also more reporting, formal commercial leases bring with them questions of outgoings and council rates. And now, they move to an entirely new space. Adding studios, a larger gallery space and an office. Alongside their working sink and accessible bathroom.

And through it all, FELT has maintained its unique ‘FELTness’. Late night committee meetings that stimulate robust discussion, the special feeling of trepidation before install because you aren’t quite sure what the walls will do, and that feeling of community and connection that is nurtured by each successive committee as they welcome artists into the space.

For its first exhibition in this new building, FELT is celebrating those who have come before. Over 40 artists, all previous co-directors, myself included, have contributed work, a melting pot of old and new, video, painting, textiles and sculpture. This is an exercise in celebrating the breadth and depth of practice that FELT has supported, through both exhibition space and the opportunity to learn the behind-the-scenes and inner workings of an art space. The strength of the connection with the community can be seen in the proliferation of work here on the walls. The continued return of the co-directors, working with the organisation for many years in a range of capacities from contributor through mentor, demonstrates the commitment and passion of this dedicated group.

FELT is entering a new chapter, continuing its ongoing march of slow change, adaptation and growth. With all these transformations, big and small, it is the community around FELT, built and nurtured over the past almost two decades, that will make sure that this organisation stays true to itself. That they continue to push boundaries, to experiment with form and presentation and to provide strong support of emerging and mid-career artists. In short, and in the immortal words of lawyer Dennis Denuto in The Castle[1], ‘it’s the vibe’, whether or not there is running water and a working toilet.

Eleanor Scicchitano

Eleanor is a Kaurna Country / Adelaide-based independent curator and writer. She was the founding Director of Post Office Projects, and a former FELTspace Co-Director.

[1] Sitch, R. (Director). (1997). The Castle [Film]. Working Dog Productions.