Interview with & memoir by John WILLSTEED
the ephemera interviews
In this series of interviews artists directly involved in ARIs and artist-run culture 1980- 2000 speak about the social context for their art making and provide insights into the ephemera they produced or collaborated on during this period. Artist ephemera includes artworks, photocopies, photographs, videos, films, audio, mail art, posters, exhibition invites, flyers, buttons and badges, exhibition catalogues, didactics, room sheets, artist publications, analogue to digital resources and artist files.
PA:
John Hi and thanks, why does a public archive mapping artist testimonies and artist histories about the ephemeral nature of the vibrant Queensland 1980-1990 artist-run scene matter to you?
JW:
The 1980’s is a very pivotal and influential period in Brisbane’s cultural history. With almost no support, a vibrant art/music scene began in the late 70s, fuelled by youthful enthusiasm and a desire to express and comment.
The effects of this period have permeated Brisbane’s cultural life through to today, and deserve recognition. To gather and publish this material from gallery and museum and library collections and to combine it with ephemera and recollections from participants is an ultimately worthy and necessary undertaking.
Future researchers will benefit enormously from this project, and I hope to be one of them!