tinygold

Co-founder & Curator: Mariam Arcilla | 2007-2009

Featuring: Andre Piguét, Wayde Owen, Alice Lang, Anna McMahon, Alex Chomicz, Svenja Kratz,Simon De Groot, Nicholas Chalmers, Tal Fitzpatrick, Michelle Xen, Deb Mostert, Aron Burton, Sam Smith, Mari Hirata, Nic Plowman, Jae Copp and more.

Tinygold was a roving artist-run initiative established by myself and Megan Cope to profile university graduates and unrepresented artists based on the Gold Coast (which later expanded to include artists from the Sunshine Coast and Northern New South Wales).

As uni graduates ourselves, Megan and I were aware of the lack of exhibition spaces and resources, so we established Tinygold to support emerging regional artists via stepping stone projects. Grassroots at the start, our Gold Coast exhibitions grew into a professional development program that included arts talks and panels, industry consultations, fashion shows, arts writers mentorships, publications and musical performances.

A play on words, Tinygold became a platform to showcase home-grown talent in a city that was perceived – at least by the mainstream Australian media at the time – as a cultural-ghost town. By utilising DIY practices and alternative spaces, we formed new dialogues about arts investment between artists, educational institutions, local businesses, and the wider community. This resulted in various career opportunities for many of the artists who participated in the program, and also opened up doors for Megan and myself as young curators. In 2009 we put Tinygold on the backburner so I could direct 19 KAREN Contemporary Artspace full-time, while Megan curated the Brisbane Artist-Run Initiative Festival. To learn more visit our archive site.

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