Rural Utopias, Art Gallery of Western Australia, 2023, installation view. Courtesy: the artists and the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth.

Rural Utopias features new works from ten artists developed over a series of residencies in rural and remote Western Australia, in dialogue with selected objects from the State Art Collection.

Artists Jacky Cheng, Jo Darbyshire, Nathan Gray, Alana Hunt, Georgie Mattingley, Bennett Miller, Elizabeth Pedler, Sarah Rodigari, Tina Stefanou and Ana Tiquia developed new works alongside their host communities, responding to new social, environmental, and historical contexts.

The ten artists’ projects culminate in an exhibition of new works created by the artists alongside a selection of works from the State Art Collection that resonate with their project and the theme of ‘Rural Utopias’. In this way, artists are invited to consider the boundaries of art institutions as permeable membranes that enable an exchange between the inside – the site of cultural production – and the outside – the space of social relations.

Participating artists lived and worked in remote and regional Western Australian communities, developing original art projects in response to local histories and situations. Co-produced by SPACED and The Art Gallery of Western Australia, artists worked closely with communities and the State Art Collection to develop a critical and imaginative dialogue between existing and new artworks.