Tragedy fails to stop art show plans
A TRAVELLING art exhibition will soon return to Tasmania, almost two years after it launched at Burnie’s Regional Art Gallery.
But a lot has changed in those two years, both for the artists involved in The Partnershipping Project and for the exhibition’s curator, Pat Hoffie. Ms Hoffie’s daughter, Visaya, was hit by a subway train while holidaying in New York in January, after she tripped and fell on to the tracks.
The 23-year-old lost both her lower legs and sustained a host of other injuries including skull and neck fractures.
Ms Hoffie made a harrowing dash to New York to be with her daughter, boarding the first available flight from the family’s home in Brisbane.
Such an unthinkable tragedy would be more than enough reason to cancel a travelling art exhibition on the other side of the globe.
But Ms Hoffie continued to plan and manage the next stage of the exhibition from her daughter’s hospital bedside, saying it helped her get through the difficult time.
Even now, after arriving back in Australia in April, Ms Hoffie continues to make art and manage the exhibition from her home studio in Brisbane, in between taking Visaya to daily medical appointments.
“They were pretty extreme circumstances,’’ she said while reflecting on her family’s rocky start to 2020.
“It has been very difficult.’’ But her dedication to keep the exhibition going while also caring for her daughter shows
just how passionate Ms Hoffie is about the art project which, interestingly, centres around themes of resilience.
The Partnershipping Project showcases the work and lives of Indigenous and nonIndigenous artists across four states, and highlights the way that place – land, environment and community – exists at the heart of their work.
The exhibition, which launched in Burnie in November 2018, consists of a fleet of eight handmade wooden boats, with each boat showcasing the work of a different artist. Each time the exhibition moves to a new state, some of the existing artworks remain, while new art created by artists in each new location are also added to the line-up.
The exhibition has featured work from Tasmanians including Dawn Oelrich, David mangenner Gough, Greg Lehman, Greg Leong, Jamin, Joan Kelly, Lisa Garland, Ritchie Ares Doña and Selena de Carvalho, while interstate artists have included South Australia’s Melentie Pandilovski and Sera Waters, NSW artists Brett Adlington, Aris Prabawa and Hiromi Tango and Queensland artist Gail Mabo.
After touring the regional centres of Burnie, Townsville,
Lismore and Mt Gambier, the exhibition has been packed into a shipping container, waiting to return to Burnie.
Ms Hoffie got the idea for the exhibition during a visit to Tasmania about four years ago. Her assistant curator, Rosemary Miller, also brings a Tasmanian link to the project, as a previous artistic director of Hobart’s Salamanca Arts Centre.
Ms Hoffie said there were “lots of touching stories’’ told by artists throughout the exhibition, as they created work in response to the question: ‘Does place matter?’
Ms Hoffie, a painter, has long had an interest in exploring the stories of regional Australia and said a lot of time and energy had gone into ensuring the success of The Partnershipping Project.
When she was by Visaya’s hospital bedside in New York, Ms Hoffie said she had received great support from Contemporary Art Tasmania, an organisation which is helping her bring the exhibition back to the state.
She said it was a “huge relief” to have her daughter living back in the family home in Brisbane.
The duo flew home in April, after three months in hospital in New York, a situation made more difficult due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Upon arriving in Australia, Visaya was taken to hospital while Ms Hoffie went into hotel quarantine for two weeks.
“In many ways that was one of the hardest times of the whole thing,’’ Ms Hoffie said
“It was hell not being with her.’’
Ms Hoffie said it had been a “long, hard journey’’ but her daughter’s wounds were healing well.
She said she was still making art from her home studio, in between Visaya’s medical appointments. Visaya is also an artist.
Ms Hoffie is thrilled to see her exhibition return to Tasmania in October, although she says both she, and the exhibition, had to endure a lot for that to happen.
“Since that starting point, we’ve watched the country move through floods and fire and – finally – COVID,’’ Ms Hoffie said. “It’s a story of endurance,’’ she added.