My creative practice takes place on the lands of the Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri Woiwurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation. I pay my respects to their Elders past and present, their ancestors and families, acknowledging their deep and ongoing spiritual connection to Country. I extend my respects to Wathaurong Waddawurrung peoples, whose lands I was birthed and raised upon that have deeply shaped me and my experiences.

I acknowledge Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri custodianship of the lands, waterways and skies that I continue to live, work and benefit from, recognising that sovereignty was never ceded. I come with an intention to deepen my understanding of ancestral pathways as a diasporic being, while sharing, learning and creating on unceded lands (Melbourne, Australia).

I extend this acknowledgement and pay my respects to peer African and Indigenous peoples across the globe viewing this website.

Auntie's Curtain

Arts House - Woiwurrung Wurundjeri Country, North Melbourne
,
30 Jun - 6 Aug 2022.

Roberta Joy Rich and Spacecraft Studios with Zhenya Alvaranga, Claris Ncube, Nita Okoko, Robyn Rich, Tab Sejoe, Phillipa Smith, Vikki Steeneveld and Naomi Velaphi. Screenprint on cotton textile.

Auntie's Curtain is an expansive collaborative print project led by Roberta Joy Rich, inspired by African commemorative cloths and fabrics. It’s aesthetic and design is rooted in gifts of shweshwe and textile fabrics given to both of the curators by women in their families when visiting their motherlands within Southern Africa. Guided by a narrative and process of ‘Call and Response’, peer Afro diaspora community and artists were called upon to contribute reflections that represent the identity and strength of African women.

Presented as part of And she was wearing trousers, curated by Roberta Joy Rich and Naomi Velaphi.

A group of eight Black women artists dressed in black clothing and aprons gather around screen-printing tables in a bright studio. An artist with long braids and blue gloves addresses the group, surrounded by large orange, brown, black, and white patterned textiles.
Two Black women artists work together to pull a large metal squeegee across a screen filled with vivid orange ink. A video camera on a tripod records the printing process against a backdrop of black-and-white painted textile forms.
A woman artist with long copper-coloured braids pulls a wooden squeegee across a large screen-printing frame. A masked colleague stands behind her with hands raised clapping, against a backdrop of tall windows and exposed brick walls.
Close-up of a Black woman artist’s hand gripping a worn metal squeegee and pulling black ink across a screen containing a blue and purple geometric design. A completed orange-and-white print lies blurred on the table behind.

Photo's by Ihab Balla.

Close-up of shweshwe fabric of blue-and-white bold geometric and organic patterns rests on an orange, teal, and black folded African textile, within a perspex display case reflect the fabrics upon its surface as well as Aunties Curtain blurred in the background.
Side view into the darkened gallery of the large colourful installation, showing the right-hand section of the orange-and-white comb-like patterned textile. Diamond-framed portraits of Black women and abstract designs cover both walls, while a small wooden pedestal displays blue-and-white shweshwe fabric resting upon folded orange-white-black-teal African fabric in front.
Wide view of the darkened gallery, where the large orange-and-white patterned textile installation is decorated with colourful diamond-framed black-and-white photographs of Black women and geometric motifs. Wooden display cases, a small pedestal displaying folded fabric, and a curved teal bench occupy the foreground.
Detailed corner view of a large colourful textile installation, showing fabric covered in an orange and white repeating comb-like stripe pattern and topped with a black-and-white geometric border. Diamond-framed portraits of Black women and abstract designs in pink, blue, yellow, and black are arranged across the fabric.
Close-up of a pink diamond with a black-and-white print of a seated Black woman, is part of the large screen printed textile installation with bright orange-and-white repeated comb-like linear patterns.
A dark gallery displays a large, colourful, three-sided textile installation with a repeated orange-and-white striped pattern, with black-and-white borders, and diamond-framed portraits with geometric designs and Black women icons that hangs from the ceiling. A small display table and curved teal bench sit in front adjacent to a vitrine displaying African fabrics folded inside.

Photo's by Jody Haines.

Black-and-white group portrait of nine smiling African women artists wearing black clothing and aprons in a screen-printing studio. Seven stand behind two crouching colleagues, surrounded by printing tables and large patterned artworks.

Photo by Ihab Balla.