Renowned fibre artist and the patron saint of Gapuwiyak Culture and Arts Lucy Wanapuyngu is off to the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia to undertake a three week residency from June 30 – July 20, 2019. Lucy and her daughter Anna, also an excellent artist and her son Ryan will be accompanied by Louise Hamby, one of the champions of Indigenous fibre arts.

The team will be working with a group of students who are participating in the Mellon Summer Curatorial Research Project. They will research 100 fibre objects from Gapuwiyak donated to the Kluge-Ruhe Collection by Dr. Louise Hamby and develop a permanent exhibition for the Kluge-Ruhe Collection.

Lucy’s knowledge and expertise, as a master practitioner of fibre arts from Gapuwiyak, will greatly enhance the Collection’s understanding of the objects as well as inform the students’ ability to interpret them for museum visitors.

There will also be workshops teaching fibre working techniques to public audiences with the assistance of the staff of Kluge-Ruhe and local fibre artists.

Working with the staff and students of Kluge-Ruhe, Lucy and Anna will learn more about how museums curate exhibitions and ways that artists and institutions can collaborate. They will meet fibre artists from central Virginia and learn about their practice. They will also gain professional experience leading workshops for the public and talking about their practice with people who are unfamiliar with Aboriginal art. There will also be the opportunity to experience the impact that their artwork makes on international audiences.

On their way home they will be guests of the American Australian Association in New York where they will be asked to host more workshops and join in a celebratory dinner.