Welcome to SWAN. We’re a diverse group of artists based at the Clayhouse within the precincts of the newly refurbished Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre in Liverpool, NSW. Our mission statement is to raise the awareness of the arts in the southwest quadrant of Sydney. To do this our aim is to motivate and empower artists in our locale to initiate exhibitions and events in order to expose the pool of talent in our midst to the wider community.
SWAN provides a platform for local artists of differing cultural backgrounds with disparate art practices to collaborate in artistic endeavors. Swan represents diversity, vitality and the capacity to generate ideas of art and culture that celebrate the positive aspects of a community that is still defining itself. SWAN embodies a contemporary group that aims to support and encourage participation in critical, reflective and inventive processes that lead to professional development in the arts. SWAN seeks to establish partnerships with institutions, local establishments and other groups to build and develop a community identity. Through awareness and acknowledgement of artistic and cultural diversity we aim to address the global from a local perspective and a sensitivity that resonates with contemporary society. Our meetings are on the first Wednesday of the month at 7 pm . We invite you to come join us.
SWAN welcomes new-comers to join our ranks. If your making art and would like to join us, or would like to find out more about our dynamic group of artists, we meet on this first Wednesday of each month at Casula Powerhouse arts centre, (opposite Casula Railway station).We look forward to meeting you. Please shoot us an email to let us know your coming !
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Our History
SWAN have been meeting and working together since 2007 when Liverpool city council put a call out to all south western Sydney artists interested in forming a local artist network as think-tank for future artistic projects and artistic direction for the Liverpool city council region. Since that time we have had three successful major events. We have grown from colleagues and peers to supportive friends and creative partners who have all benefitted from the group since its conception.
SWAN consists of various multi-disciplined artists, who together, weave a rich tapestry of creative knowledge and techniques. In general we are mix of emerging to professional artists working in a variety of art forms and practices under a common banner.
We all benefit from the ability to network, inspire and support each other as a group on collaborative projects, but also importantly to encourage and get behind each other’s individual creative endeavors. SWAN artists have been involved in many group and solo exhibitions, installations, performance festivals and have curated successful Sydney shows and been involved with large scale projects.
Our Projects & Exhibitions
With the highly successful live art making festival at Casula powerhouse ‘Art Manoeuver’ in both 2008 and 2009 (supported by Liverpool city council) Art Manoeuver, curated by Annette Tzavaras’ proved to be interactive experience with an interesting blend of expressive art forms gelled into one awesome day out for both artists and the community. An inventive, outdoor exhibition, it allows us to exercise our creativity while interacting with the community.
In 2008 SWAN held Sydney Art Party, where we crashed the Sydney biennale and threw a guerrilla arts and performance event on the grass outside the art gallery of NSW. About 30 artists participated, arriving in suits, we painted each other's jackets and enjoyed picnic, poetry and song. We exhibitted our newly painted clothing art in the AGNSW by walking it through, in one line, led by a man in a pterodactyl suit. With security hot on our heels with walkee talkee's, they could no nothing as no laws were broken or any animals harmed for testing purposes.
