Meanjin Boogie-Woogie utilises the prominent location of Brunswick and Berwick streets in Fortitude Valley to highlight the art galleries of Meanjin/Brisbane to anybody who passes. Referencing the classic Piet Mondrian painting Broadway Boogie-Woogie (1942), the work utilises the same colour scheme to represent each gallery on the map depending on the type of gallery; red dots denote commercial, blue denotes artist-run/collectives/community spaces, and grey denotes institutions, such as art museums and university/organisation-run galleries. These dots show the approximate location of each space.
Providing a complete list of spaces with the work was an important consideration as it allows us to fully understand these art spaces which operate as of April 2022. It also allows for anybody curious to easily search up and become more engaged in art. The Visual Arts sector is precarious in nature, galleries come and go each year, this work aims to exist as an archival document of these art spaces in Meanjin/Brisbane.
Amelia McLeish is an emerging contemporary visual and sound artist, administrator and researcher based in Meanjin. Her work examines the visual art community of Meanjin, primarily focusing on Artist-Run Initiatives. The resulting work utilises the artwork of other artists and placing them in a pop cultural framework or participatory projects. She has an extensive archival practice which utilises ephemera collected at exhibitions and actively collates data related to the visual arts ecology of Meanjin to produce new work. Amelia has exhibited throughout South-east Queensland and currently helps run Wreckers Artspace in Woolloongabba; she is also a co-founder of Nextdoor ARI.
