Our final Artwalk Freo weekend takes in the Monument Hill area and surrounds. Take a stroll up the hill and enjoy the colours of nature's canvas with views across all of Fremantle!
If you visited Artwalk Freo in 2019, you'll notice many geographical changes have occurred in the area since then. The new High Street underpass now takes you safely to 96 Holland Street and under Stirling Highway to 12 Holland Street. Take the time to admire the public art in the pedestrian tunnels by artist Peter Farmer Junior and in turn, learn about the origin of the noise wall patterns.
This week you can discover local and internationally renowned artists working in photography, fashion, ceramics, sculpture, textiles, painting and multimedia.
Tickets are valid all weekend.
We first suggest you walk if possible to avoid any parking issues. If you cannot take public transport and need to drive, parking is available at Fremantle Leisure car park off Quarry Street. There is also street parking around the Fremantle Arts Centre and Chudleigh Street, and the basketball courts accessing Holland Street.
Rae Walter's art practice seeks to probe the differing perspectives and understanding of wetlands as 'place'. For Rae, wetlands are multifaceted. The quiet, still, dark waters are a poignant reminder of decay, yet highlighted by reaching fingers of light, reflecting colours of the sky. Wetlands are also places of activity, teeming with sounds, life and beauty. Curious about her experiences and feelings of connection to wetlands, Rae seeks to explore this relationship by disrupting familiar responses so that new and different perspectives of place can arise.
It takes time to see, and walking is an essential activity in her multidisciplinary art practice. It brings attention to changing weather conditions, the season and light, and to other less obvious, minuscule changes. It is these experiences Rae seeks to capture and communicate visually. Her art embraces photography, drawing, multi-media projections and painting to create and communicate unexpected perspectives and personal narratives around place.
Maggie Baxter has an art practice that stretches between India and Australia, working with archaic textile techniques to create contemporary textile-based artworks. In Australia, her work is more focused on drawing and working on paper, whatever the medium her work is characterised by text (without meaning), and an almost calligraphic use of line, whether with print, pencil, charcoal or stitch and thread.
Pippa's art practice is inspired by the natural world and responds to her experiences of landscape with imagination and wonder. With the urban bush 'out the back door', and the river a short walk away, Pippa spends time drawing in bushland along the river, where as a child she saw her first echidna. Her kinship with these special places is expressed through drawing, printmaking and painting.
James is a student at SAE Creative Media Institute Perth. He is studying Digital Animation.
Ian de Souza has a rich heritage that embraces Singaporean, Malaysian, Indian and Portuguese cultures. He is a full-time practicing artist and art educator with an exhibition history spanning over 40 years. His approach to his practice is highly disciplined and includes weekly figure drawing sessions and teaching commitments. The sustained force of his artistic exploration is the fluid connection between light, line, colour and movement. His work is held in private and public collections worldwide.
Ian's recent exhibition was by invitation of The Private Museum Singapore in November 2023. Titled Rhythmic Resonance: Beyond Boundaries - A collaboration with Andy Yang and Ian de Souza, this international, intergenerational project concludes in Fremantle in June 2024 with a series of presentations. Andy is a guest artist at the de Souza studio for Artwalk, and international guest artist at the Street Gallery Fremantle, supported by Artsource and the City of Fremantle.
Andy Yang Soo Kit is a multi-disciplinary Singapore-based artist whose practice has traversed the disciplines of painting, drawing, installation, as well as performance and music over the past two decades. With an abiding interest in expanding the visuality of painting – especially within the realm of abstraction – his explorations in oil, acrylic, and ink upon a variety of supports have demonstrated his technical virtuosity and dexterity across the range of media.
With his openness towards collaborative practices and ingenuity in commissions, his works can be found in numerous private and public collections internationally.
For 30 years, Richie Kuhaupt has been immersed in the Western Australian art community both as an exhibiting artist, and from 2007–2021, as the coordinator of the Moore's Building Contemporary Art Gallery.
Richie's work examines the human image, incorporating motif, pattern and sculptural ideas that explore representation of human existence. Object making and particularly art making, in all its forms is very human and personal. Richie recently relocated to Melbourne with his family to broaden his experience.
Sharon began her art career at the age of 37 when she enrolled in a Diploma of Fine Arts at the Claremont School of Art in Perth. Her education continued at Curtin University in the roles of art lecturer, curator and art facilitator in schools, community groups and health organizations. A member of the Stolen Generation Sharyn grew up in the New Norcia Mission School. Much of her artwork is a commentary on her life as a Nyoongar woman and the associated trauma, emotions and deep sense of loss and displacement experienced by Aboriginal people. Painter, sculptor, weaver of small and large scale sculptural forms, Sharyn uses ochres, resins and grasses that connect to land especially her home near the lake system in the southern suburbs of Perth.
Samantha de Souza's images leave a lasting impression. Having spent a decade as a fashion model herself, she brings a wealth of first-hand experience to her photography.
Samantha had a successful career as an award-winning textile designer and screen printer for over 13 years, with her own textile design company. During that time, she gained a deep understanding of marketing, advertising, product branding, and the intricacies of promoting small businesses.
Whether shooting captivating portraits, crafting compelling product visuals, or helping small businesses build their brand identity through photography, she consistently delivers exceptional results. Her commitment to excellence continues to push the boundaries of her artistry, creating visually stunning images that captivate and inspire.
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Sarah Abbott is an acrylic painter with a background in interior design. Originally from Queensland, she currently lives and works in Fremantle, WA. Her bright and colourful paintings focus predominantly on still life and Australian botanicals. Growing up in the bush sparked an early interest in plants and flowers. From the wildflowers of the fields to gardens full of fruit and vegetables, Sarah was always surrounded by nature's bounty.
Each of Sarah's paintings are a love note to the wonder of the often overlooked and to the simplicity of nature. They act as a reminder to find the joy in life's quiet moments.
Sarah's work has been featured in Inside Out Magazine, International Artist Magazine, and in 2022 she was named by Vogue Living as one of '10 emerging artists to know from Melbourne's Affordable Art Fair'.
Alison Bullock's making process starts by making a selection from a collection of beautiful cotton, hemp and silk fabrics that combine colour and texture well. The possibilities for hand and machine stitching to enhance the fabrics are also considered. The process then becomes an interplay between aesthetics and utilitarianism to create a range of bags, cushion covers, homewares, brooches and needle cases. Alison's more recent interest is considering form, texture and colour in making vessels that combine basketry techniques, found materials, natural fibres, fabrics and stitching.
Studied graphic design. Completed an apprenticeship in shoe work and leather making. Her teaching history includes Arts Access workshops in regional and remote WA as well as locally at the Fremantle Arts Centre.
Artist and art therapist Anthea's connection with art started at an early age. She works from home in a garden-studio surrounded by native plants, fruit trees climbing plants and succulents. Handmade philosophy and mindful making underpins Anthea's creative practice.
Natalie started her creative life studying Fashion and Design and worked as a clothing pattern maker for various Perth fashion labels. She now works as a potter and sculptor from her home studio – her practice crosses mediums mainly using clay and discarded materials, salvaged fencing wire and plant materials collected from her local environment. Her inspiration comes from a deep connection and concern for the environment.
Michael Knight is a professional painter and sculptor delivering expressionistic, sensory forms in oil, pastel, clay, stone, bronze and wood. He trained at UWA, Tom Bass Sculpture School and Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney.
Michael's 30-year career includes time in Sydney and Melbourne, but his large, purpose-built Fremantle studio is his most productive workspace. Artwalk visitors can witness the slow journey from inspiration to exhibition through heavily layered artefacts, books, tools and exploratory studies. Work in progress includes landscape paintings and portrait commissions; tabletop sculptures; and for the first time, Galoot t-shirt designs from Michael's collaboration with long-time friend Graeme Edis. Michael thinks of his work as poems rather than philosophical statements. Wander behind the scenes and see what Fremantle has to say.
Annemieke Mulders makes homewares to inspire contemplation, including tactile surfaces that invite people to cherish and feel connected. She mixes her glazes from raw materials to be vibrant, to cascade over carved surfaces, and to make abstract landscapes resembling the incredible colours and intricate shapes found in nature in Australia. Her sculptural works explore the interconnectedness and richness of the world, and her process of destruction and building up creates forms that are simultaneously fragile, robust, complex and simple.
Born in the Netherlands, Annemieke is drawn to science and the visual arts, enjoying their experimental and creative exploration. She moved to Australia as a scientist and lecturer in quantum physics before becoming a ceramic artist ten years ago. Annemieke regularly exhibits across Australia. Her works were curated as part of Manifest at the Australian Ceramics Triennale, Fluid State at Gallery Central, the National Emerging Art Prize in Sydney, and the Bunbury Biennale.
Enchanted by small curiosities, the nature of a thing is what draws Valerie Schonjahn to an object or another being. Their fragility, transience and the peculiarities they possess create space and freedom for people to explore their own identities and individuality.
Arising out of this personal dialogue, she creates visual conversations through hand-formed vessels. Often choosing to work with porcelain for its surface qualities, lustre, and ability to capture all the fine mark making, her work is detailed and has a strong sense of individuality and character.
Pippin Drysdale works intuitively, with richly coloured glazes and incised lines the hallmarks of her mesmerising porcelain vessels and marbles. Frequently, her ceramics reflect the famous Kimberley and Pilbara regions, many echoing the 'vastness' of place while others explore the 'smallness' of things. Memories are key. She neither sketches nor photographs her travels, relying on sub-conscious recollections that channel her vision; it is the translation of her intuitive responses that make her work so compelling.
Pippin works from her Fremantle studio with a collaborative team, especially Warrick Palmateer. She is a WA State Living Treasure, a Master of Australian Craft, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the Arts by Curtin University in 2020. Now in her 80's, Pippin continues to climb to new heights, being selected as a Finalist in the 2023 Wynne Prize at the AGNSW. In 2025/2026, she will be honoured with a major solo exhibition at AGWA.
Megan Salmon has been working on her eponymous label from her Fremantle studio since 2000. She has successfully fused her art career with the world of fashion and created a clothing range that is artistic, thoughtful and above all, very beautiful. Women love the label and the fact that Megan creates her own textiles. Her ability to connect with what women need and want from clothes is appreciated by her audience, which continues to grow.
