Posted 30 March, 2020
by Jemma Bury
Hope Vale x QUT: Who are we?
Hi, we’re the 2020 Hope Vale x Queensland University of Technology team! For many of us, the end of our creative industries degree is in sight. It’s now more important than ever for us to gain real world experience through internships, projects and study tours, so that when we step out to forge our path in creative practice, we are equipped with a ‘real world’ perspective. The 2020 Hope Vale x QUT project aims to enrich the community through creative practice.
The Hope Vale x QUT team are setting the foundations for indigenous artwork and fashion runways to combine. In semester 1, 2020, six fashion design students, five media students and two incredible industry practitioners, Lydia and Hilde, are working to transform the artworks of the Hope Vale community into a fashion collection with purpose.
The collection will be shown as part of a virtual fashion show within the Cairns International Art Fair (CIAF). The CIAF are “dedicated to supporting the careers of Queensland Indigenous artists by providing a platform for exposure and income.” CIAF also works to connect Indigenous culture to country which is depicted in this year’s theme of “Climate Change,” specifically focussing on the collective response to the land and water as a key part of our existence.
Image: Indigenous Dance Performance at CIAF 2019
Who is behind this project?
Our team is working closely with the Indigenous community at the Hope Vale Art & Culture Centre, located three hours out of Cook Town. This not-for-profit art centre was founded in 2009 as an accessible way for Hope Vale community members to pursue their interest in practicing Indigenous culture and create authentic artworks. Nine Indigenous artists are based within the centre that have collectively created painted artworks that will be printed on fabrics and used by QUT students to create a sustainable, artistic fashion collection.
Image: Hope Vale Artist Wanda Gibson
The QUT team will be conveying the CIAF theme of “Climate Change” whilst also showcasing the Hope Vale artworks in a couture fashion context. Our student designers have already begun sketching runway looks and working the Hope Vale art into a concept that incorporates the body in a dramatic way.
Image: QUT Fashion Students, Miranda and Polly, with Fashion Professor, Lydia talking over collection designs.
Honouring the Indigenous perspective of the CIAF theme is a major goal of Hope Vale x QUT. We are lucky to have had the guidance of Indigenous QUT senior lecturer, Juliana Mclaughlin who has shared with us a wealth of valuable knowledge about the importance of land and water connection within Indigenous communities.
How can you be involved?