Throughout May, the City of Stirling Artist in Residence program will be transforming community spaces to provide pop-up artist studios for five Western Australian artists.

The community is invited to engage with artists at two locations: Mt Flora Regional Museum in Watermans Bay and Stirling Libraries – Inglewood, through open studios, workshops, sundowner sessions and an exhibition.

Flowers feature prominently at the Mt Flora studio, in contrast to the Inglewood pop-up, where the focus is visual storytelling. At each location, artists will work collaboratively to develop their practice.

The program is part of the City of Stirling’s Economic Stimulus and Community Recovery package in response to COVID-19.

Mayor Mark Irwin said supporting cultural industries was a priority for the City in 2021.

“The works of artists like these improve the wellbeing of our communities by creating a stronger sense of identity and place. We want to ensure our most valuable creative minds are supported to continue their work through to the other side of the pandemic.”

Three floral art devotees will be based at Mr Flora; handmade paper flower specialist Carrissa Wu, Sophie Nixon, who crafts detailed delicate textile flowers and Mikaela Miller, who paints bright floral murals and botanical illustrations. The artists will be using their residency to work collaboratively based on a cross-pollination of ideas and skills.

Members of the public are invited to bring their own art or craft materials and join the artists for free Friday Open Studio Sundowners, with a specific local flower species chosen as the theme for each week.

Workshops in painting, embroidery and paper craft will also be run by each of the artists, with those attending taken out of the studio setting to nearby Star Swamp Bushland for botanical inspiration.

Artists Sophie G Nixon, Mikaela Miller and Carrissa Wu will be located at Mt Flora Regional Museum in May.

“Mt Flora has such a rich natural history; you might see something interesting that inspires you to look closer at your own backyard,” Ms Wu said.

Stirling Libraries – Inglewood’s two resident artists will spend their residency time working on ‘Pup Pup is the Boss of the Stars’, giving library visitors a behind-the-scenes look at a picture book coming to life.

Elizabeth Marruffo will be creating characters in soft sculpture, drawing inspiration from folkloric traditions of her birth country, Mexico, whilst working under the mentorship of award-winning children's comics maker Campbell Whyte.


Elizabeth Marruffo and Campbell Whyte will be Artists in Residence in Inglewood.

Budding creatives of all ages are invited to register for Tale Town Inglewood, a series of five storytelling workshops delivered by Marruffo and Whyte to create an installation that reimagines neighbourhood stories through illustration, soft sculpture and assemblage techniques.

Tale Town Inglewood will be presented in an exhibition June 8 to 26 in Stirling Libraries – Inglewood, in the form of a model town and a printed newspaper of illustrated stories.

The five-week workshop series starts Monday 3 May. Places are limited – register via Eventbrite.

A full schedule of Artist in Residence activities and booking details are available at stirling.wa.gov.au/air
 

Mt Flora Pop-up Studio, Watermans Bay

• Open Studio Sundowner Sessions | 1.00pm-6.00pm Fridays in May
• Let's Make Flowers with Carrissa Wu | Sunday 16 May, 1.00-3.00pm (Bookings required)
• Botanic Stitches with Sophie G Nixon | Sunday 23 May, 1.00-4.00pm (Bookings required)
• Big Flowers with Mikaela Miller | Sunday 30 May, 1.00-4.00pm (Bookings required)

Stirling Libraries - Inglewood Pop-up Studio

• Tale Town storytelling course (5 weeks) | 3.30-5.30pm Mondays in May
• Tale Town Inglewood Exhibition Opening Night | 4.30-7.00pm Tuesday 8 June, with Artist talks at 5.00pm
• Tale Town Exhibition | Tuesday 8 - Saturday 26 June
   

About the artists

Carissa Wu
Mt Flora Artist in Residence | www.jotterbookflowers.com | Cockburn Central, WA
Carrissa Wu is a young paper florist and small business owner from Singapore. She uses crepe paper to create floral artwork and runs local workshops.
I @jotterbookflowers | F @jotterbookflowers

Sophie G Nixon
Mt Flora Artist in Residence | www.sophiegnixon.com | Victoria Park, WA
Sophie G Nixon is an emerging textile artist and practitioner. They hold a particular passion for repair and mending, working with second-hand garments and fabrics.
I: @sophiegnixon

Mikaela Miller
Mt Flora Artist in Residence | www.mikaelamiller.com | Coolbellup, WA
Mikaela is a young public artist, designer, printmaker and community arts facilitator. Her floral murals can be found across metro and regional WA.
I: @mikmiller_ F: @mikaelamillercreative

Campbell Whyte
Inglewood Artist in Residence | www.campbellwhyte.com | Bedford, WA
Comic artist and award winning graphic novelist Campbell Whyte has been teaching and inspiring children and adults across Perth for the past decade.
I: @campbellwhyte 

Elizabeth Marruffo
Inglewood Artist in Residence | www.elizabethmarruffo.com | Bedford, WA
Elizabeth is a visual artist and director of Milktooth Arts Space. She has lectured in painting at ECU and is a co-founder of the Perth Comic Arts Festival.
I: @elizabethmarruffo | F: @milktootharts