Writer and artist Pat Hoffie and Camerata, Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, make temporary homes at MoB this spring
Uncovering entertaining and fascinating stories about Brisbane’s rich history are what two new Artists in Residence at MoB are tasked with via the written word and a new musical composition.
Responding to the museum’s major exhibition, Making Place: 100 Views of Brisbane, writer Pat Hoffie and Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra musicians will be extracting new creative stories of the city inspired by the 100 plus works from MoB’s collection.
Working behind-the-scenes, artist and writer Pat Hoffie, will be Writer in Residence at MoB from now until December. Drawing on the imagery in MoB’s exhibition, she will follow ‘wallaby-tracks’ into some of the lesser-known aspects of this city’s life.
Like many great storytellers, Pat Hoffie, has wandered, worked and wondered across the globe. Each different place, along with its people, art and culture, has informed and inspired her work. And yet, Pat has never shaken the privately held conviction that this little corner of South-East Queensland harbours some of the most entertaining and fascinating tales of all, both tall and true.
Pat is a Brisbane-based visual artist, who first called the city home at the age of three after her family emigrated from Edinburgh, Scotland. Having worked across a range of media, writing became a core aspect of her practice and has been instrumental in her commitment to working in ways that bind people to place.
Pat’s residency at MoB will see her respond to this enduring theme of ‘place’ focussing specifically on Brisbane, she will draw from the imagery of paintings featured in MoB’s Making Place: 100 Views of Brisbane, the exhibition that asks – what makes a place?
Camerata’s tenure at MoB will be a little more visible, with musicians actively composing within the space throughout most of September.
What would Brisbane sound like from the point of view of those connected to it if it were a piece of music? That’s what Camerata, Brisbane’s Chamber Orchestra, and Emerging Composer-in-Residence, Alexander Voltz, will attempt to answer during their residency in September.
During the residency five players from Camerata will share their time between MoB’s Studio and Making Place: 100 Views of Brisbane, putting artistic process and collaboration on full display. Visitors will witness unique, immersive musical experiences where musician and composer collaborate to create new music that explores the ever-evolving question, ‘what makes place?’.
This thought-provoking residency lifts the curtain on the musical process and musical collaboration and allows musician and composer to embrace spontaneous inspiration in the aspirational surrounds of the exhibition. Taking inspiration from not only the artwork itself, but also visitor interactions with the work and their own process in the space, this immersive experience is one-of-a-kind.
The finished composition will be performed by Camerata in an exclusive afterhours ticketed recital at MoB on
4 November.
Surrounded by artworks, Queensland’s leading chamber musicians will perform this special musical score, taking the audience on a journey through the key themes of the exhibition as well as sharing their interactions with visitors, the artwork and their own interpretations of ‘place’.
Performed inside the gallery space, audience members are invited to stay on afterwards for an In-Conversation with MoB’s Head of Curatorial & Collections Christine Clark, composer Alexander Voltz and Camerata Artistic Director Brendan Joyce.
