This residency/intervention/exhibition took multiple forms at the level of programming, protocol, redecoration, performance, and material objects, all motivated by Agnes’ current state of transformation (under the guidance of director Emelie Chhangur) known as “Agnes Reimagined” – the practical and symbolic return of the Agnes Etherington house into a home. At the heart of the project was the question of what “hospitality” could look like when disentangled from its definition within a settler colonial framework. This required a reckoning with patterns, protocols and expectations set up by the colonial institution, including making alterations to everything from contracts to archives, and exhibition protocols to architectural details.
The drawing room, famous for housing Agnes’ tea parties, was altered numerous times to create a more hospitable space for various community events and activities.
…Jatiwangi art Factory jamming with local musicians in the (redecorated) drawing room…
…Students from local elementary school square-dance on the house “collection” floor work (led by artist Mariah Horner)…
In collaboration with artist Taymah Armatrading, we produced: a floor mat re-configuring the archive of collected household items, re-writing the notes of a former conservator as poetry; a video documenting the removal of the glass chandelier from the centre of the drawing room; and a new protocol for exhibiting Agnes Etherington’s painting “portrait of a young girl” (unknown date) wherein the viewer’s gaze is interrupted by draped objects, event scores, and a sound recording of a text written by Armatrading addressing the subject of the painting directly.