Creators Network + MPRG: Artist in Residence (AIR) Open Studio

Next date: Saturday, 05 April 2025 | 11:00 AM to 01:00 PM

This free event is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the residency, its benefits for artists, and how it supports creative practice.

The morning will begin with a Welcome to Country & Smoking Ceremony (from Bunurong Land Council) and an introduction to the AIR program by Dunja Rmandić, Director of the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery (MPRG). A Shire Councillor will also welcome guests and we will hear insights from past resident and Peninsula-based artist Siobhan Kelly.

Afterward, attendees are invited to visit the studios of current artists-in-residence.

11:15 – 11.45AM – Welcome & Introduction
- Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony (from Bunurong Land Council)
- Welcome from Mornington Peninsula Shire Councillor
- Dunja Rmandić, Director of MPRG, will share insights into the AIR program, its purpose, and how it fosters artistic development.
- Siobhan Kelly will discuss her experience as a past AIR participant, sharing how the program has influenced her practice and career.

11:45 AM – 1PM – Open Studios
Guests are invited to explore the residency cottages and meet the current artists-in-residence:

Cottage 5: Rozalind Drummond
Cottage 4: Sarah Walker
Cottage 3: Zartisha Davis

Artists will be available to discuss their work, creative process, and experiences during their residency.

Meet the Artists

Siobhan Kelly
Siobhan Kelly is a Mornington Peninsula-based artist working in painting and printmaking. Her work explores memory, place, and the connection between landscape and personal history. She has exhibited widely and participated in the AiR program, using the residency to further develop her exploration of coastal environments and layered storytelling.

Rozalind Drummond
Rozalind works across photography, video and performative action with her practice firmly referencing landscape and place. It is an exploration of spatial and natural environments. Producing works about site, and place, these are attempts at holding the fleeting, physical and abstract landscapes upon which new possibilities may be imagined through photographic, video and performative means. A recent series of work and interventions, tests out these ideas and strategies, taking place at locations in remote places and temporary structures, vacant offices, unoccupied houses and community halls.

Sarah Walker
Sarah Walker is a Naarm/Melbourne-based writer and artist whose work addresses anxiety, control and intimacy. Her first book, 'The First Time I Thought I Was Dying', won the 2021 Quentin Bryce Award. Her writing, video, sound and performance works have been published, exhibited and awarded across Australia and internationally.

Zartisha Davis
Zartisha Davis is a visual artist with a practice rooted in her Indigenous heritage, exploring identity, storytelling, and connection to Country. She works across painting and mixed media, incorporating both traditional techniques and contemporary approaches. Her work has been featured in exhibitions and cultural projects that celebrate First Nations perspectives.
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Police Point Shire Park is the area of land (on the right of Defence Rd) as you enter Point Nepean National Park. Parking is available in the small gravel car park at the beginning of Franklands Drive and around the former information centre (on your left) after entering. Franklands Drive is the first street on the right. There will be signage to direct you to cottage #5.
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Regretfully, the cottages are not wheelchair accessible, however the parkland and cottage surrounds are. For further information about the event or access information, please contact mprg@mornpen.vic.gov.au

Image: Pathway towards Cottage 5 at Police Point Shire Park, Portsea.