2 Blackspace Creative
LAUNCHED AT THE end of last year, this online platform showcases a range of arts and cultural crafts created by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists living and working in lutruwita.
Its founder and creative director, palawa man and visual artist Caleb Nichols-Mansell, says, however, that Blackspace Creative is about far more than retail.
“We want to be a mechanism and hub for conversation,” Caleb says. “We want to tell our story.” The platform forces consumers to really think about what they’re buying and from whom. At a pop-up event in Hobart’s LongHouse, Caleb points to a long maireener shell necklace created by Auntie Vicki-Laine Green. “There’s no way you can wear that without speaking about it,” he says.
Currently, Blackspace Creative showcases the work of 11 artists. Items include fur cloaks, jewellery, kelp baskets, woven baskets, watercolour paintings and T-shirts. Everything about Blackspace Creative has a connection to culture and cultural expression, community and history, language and Country. What, for example, might be considered a traditional item in a Western space is actually knowledge, Caleb explains.
Items for sale are of a very high standard and can take many months to create. “A lot of our artists won’t make the same artwork [twice],” Caleb says and he respects that.
One artist told him they create with spirit, heart and culture. Online stock changes often, so, as Caleb suggests, “if you see it, like it, buy it”.
See: blackspacecreative.com for more information.