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Tarsh Bates & Susan Hauri-Downing, Irene Agrivina (House of Natural Fiber), Loren Kronemyer, Ilona McGuire & Zali Morgan, Linda Tegg, Miranda Johnson

Artists in Conversation: Circular Economies

Artists in Conversation: Circular Economies

Join us for the opening weekend of our final season for 2026 with a series of artist-in-conversations led by Circular Economies curator, Miranda Johnson.

Circular Economies arises from a series of socially-embedded artist residencies that took place across regional Western Australia between 2024–2026. Through photography, video, textiles and installation, the exhibition explores the social, cultural and ecological relationships that sustain regional communities, highlighting both visible and invisible systems of exchange, knowledge and care.

Hear from House of Natural Fiber, Tarsh Bates and Susan Hauri-Downing, Loren Kronemyer, Ilona McGuire and Zali Morgan and Linda Tegg as they discuss their newly commissioned works and the processes, partnerships and community connections that have shaped their projects across regional Western Australia.

The conversations offer an opportunity to consider the important role of socially-engaged and place-responsive art practices within regional Western Australia, a legacy long championed by SPACED. 

Since 1998, SPACED has commissioned and produced context-responsive art projects throughout Western Australia and internationally, creating meaningful exchanges between artists and regional communities through one of Australia’s longest-running artist residency programs. 

Register using the form below.



About the artists

Irene Agrivina (House of Natural Fiber) is a technologist and activist working closely with arts, science and technology, focusing on the practical application of collaborative, cross-disciplinary and technological actions in response to social, cultural and environmental challenges.    

Tarsh Bates is interested in the human as a queer ecology, the aesthetics of care and smell as interspecies communication. Bates has a PhD in Biological Art (2019) and was an Honorary Research Fellow at SymbioticA, UWA (2020- 2022). 

Susan Hauri-Downing works at the intersections of social work and artistic methodologies and practices. Her art practice focuses on biocultural diversity, ecological grief and loss and interspecies relationships. Hauri-Downing also facilitates connections with individuals and groups to explore ecological and social justice issues, providing safe spaces for art as therapy and creative eco-literacy.

Loren Kronemyer is an artist living and working in regional lutruwita/Tasmania. Her interdisciplinary practice spans ecological futures, survival skills and experimental media, with a focus on collaboration and immersive research. Kronemyer received the first Masters of Biological Arts Degree from SymbioticA Lab at the University of Western Australia and has a PhD from the University of Tasmania. In addition to her solo practice, Kronemyer also works collaboratively with Ian Sinclair as Pony Express.

Ilona McGuire, a Bibbulmun Noongar and Kungarakan artist, creates work that celebrates cultural identity and survival. Her practice focuses on healing, community building, and strengthening identity. Following the success of her work Moombaki at the Fremantle Biennale in 2021, McGuire was awarded the Schenberg Art Fellowship for Hatched at PICA in 2022. She has since exhibited in galleries including Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre; John Curtin Gallery, Perth; and Campbelltown Arts Centre, Sydney.

Zali Morgan is a Noongar woman with ancestral connections to Whadjuk, Balladong and Wilman Boodjar, based near Boorloo (Perth). Morgan’s multidisciplinary practice spans printmaking, textiles, sculpture, curating and writing. Often questioning notions of place, Morgan’s practice engages with decolonial art and discourse within Australia through both figurative and abstract representations of her surroundings and history. As both an artist and curator, Morgan has worked with significant institutions around Australia, including Bunbury Regional Art Gallery; Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts; Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre; National Art School Galleries, Sydney and the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth.

Linda Tegg is known for her immersive installations that explore the relationship between spectatorship, nature and the built environment. She has been widely exhibited in Australia, the US and Europe and is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Melbourne. In 2024, she collaborated with Noongar elder Vivienne Hansen to create Wetland, a mass assembly of water and plants in a decommissioned food court, presented as part of Perth Festival. In 2018, Tegg was the Co-Creative Director, with Baracco+Wright Architects, of Repair at the 16th International Architecture Biennale in Venice.

Miranda Johnson is a curator, writer and arts manager and is the Curator at SPACED. She has a background in developing socially engaged projects across institutions and artist-run spaces. She was previously Chair and founding member of Cool Change (2018–21) and director of Moana Project Space (2017–19), both artist-run initiatives. Miranda graduated from Goldsmiths University, London with a Masters with Distinction in Contemporary Art Theory in 2015.

 

About SPACED 

The longest-running residency program in Australia, SPACED (formerly International Art Space) was established in 1998 by a team of farmers and art professionals to create a new context and audience for contemporary art, inviting artists to live and work in regional communities for extended periods. Its projects have engaged many of Australia’s most significant contemporary artists as well as international artists from across the world. SPACED is recognised for its unique work in creating new audiences for contemporary art and challenging artists to embed themselves in the social fabric of a regional area, creating meaningful and lasting relationships between communities and visiting artists who participate in community-led activities, creative collaborations and produce new works which contextualise local issues for global audiences. From 1998-2009 SPACED was based in the regional Wheatbelt town of Kellerberrin where it ran a gallery and residency space, with operations expanding in 2009 to embed residencies, commissions, mentorships, and workshops across the state alongside nationally touring exhibitions.

 

Supporters

Circular Economies is a partnership between Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts and SPACED, supported by PICA’s Art Commissioners. SPACED thanks its community host partners Shire of Carnarvon, North Midlands Project, The Cannery Arts Centre, Beverley Station Arts and Arts Narrogin. PICA’s events are made possible by support from our Community Engagement Partner, City of Perth.

City of Perth, City of Light

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tegg_open_studio_September 2025
Our exhibitions are always free
17 October - 20 December 2026
SPACED

Circular Economies