A program of workshops, activities and talks will take place this summer at the Powerhouse Museum. Celebrating the major exhibition Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson: Step into Paradise, the Powerhouse has collaborated with Kee and Jackson, alongside local artists and creative practitioners to present a calendar of public programs combining art, design, fashion, activism and spectacle.
An interactive drop-in maker space running from 21 December until 16 February, allows visitors to create designs and contribute to the collaborative creation of Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson’s Step into Paradise float which will make its first appearance in the 2020 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. Working with Creative Director Hugh O’Connor, the float will celebrate the spirit of the designer’s social and environmental advocacy through brilliant colours, bold shapes and iconic motifs.
Inspired by the work of Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson, contemporary Australian artists Rosie Deacon, Doodad and Fandango (Nikita Majajas) and Justin Shoulder will deliver a range of workshops for families, children and adults, as part of an artist summer residency program.
Sculpture and installation artist and Powerhouse Creative Industries Resident, Rosie Deacon will present three Razzle Dazzle Trims ‘n’ Tassels workshops. Participants can explore their intuition, creativity and obsessions, working with materials both natural and manufactured to produce an experimental and unique wearable sculpture (14 December 2019, 18 January 2020 and 9 February 2020).
Artist and Designer Doodad and Fandango (Nikita Majajas) will present three workshops on the craft of jewellery making. During the three-hour workshops Pop Art Paradise (18 January 2020) and Opal Adornment (1 February 2020), adult makers of all abilities are invited to create jewellery from earrings to brooches, inspired by Australiana and Pop art. Doppelganger, a workshop designed for children 7–12 years and their adult guardian, invites participants to make a doppelganger necklace of themselves or someone they love (11 January 2020).
Multi-disciplinary artist Justin Shoulder will offer three workshops, Under this mask, another mask, exploring mask-making through a variety of craft processes and recycled materials (15 December 2019, 19 and 25 January 2020).
The third talk in the free Fashion Ideas series, curated by writer and academic Dr Sally Gray will explore the unique nature of Jenny Kee’s retail space Flamingo Park and its self-presentation through the Flamingo Follies fashion parades – questioning how this performance of fashion and identity played out. Performing the Self: Fashion and Identity on Tuesday 18 February, moderated by Dr Sally Gray, will include a discussion with artist and designer Frida Las Vegas, Dr Karen de Perthuis and Powerhouse Museum Senior curator Roger Leong.
For an in-depth exploration into the exhibition, an expert-led tour with Powerhouse curator Glynis Jones will take place one Saturday each month across the season. The tour will provide an insight into the incredible collection and delve into the social history of the exhibition.
Step into Paradise
Powerhouse Museum
On now until 22 March 2020, 10am – 5pm
Included with Museum admission; Free for children aged 16 years and under and MAAS members
maas.museum/event/step-into-paradise/
Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson: Step into Paradise Curator Tour
Powerhouse Museum
7 December 2019, 18 January 2020, 22 February 2020 and 21 March 2020, 11am – 12pm
Included with Museum admission; Free for children aged 16 years and under and MAAS members
maas.museum/event/jenny-kee-and-linda-jackson-step-into-paradise-curator-tour/
Razzle Dazzle Trims ‘n’ Tassels
Powerhouse Museum
14 December 2019 and 18 January 2020,11am – 1pm
$20-25
Ages 7-12
maas.museum/event/rosie-deacon-razzle-dazzle-trims-n-tassels-kids/
Under this mask, another mask (adults)
Powerhouse Museum
15 December 2019 and 25 January 2020, 1–4pm
18+
$40–55
maas.museum/event/justin-shoulder-under-this-mask-another-mask-adults/
Step into Paradise Program Space
Powerhouse Museum
21 December 2019 until 16 February 2020, 10am – 5pm
Included with Museum admission; Free for children aged 16 years and under and MAAS members.
maas.museum
Pop Art Paradise
Powerhouse Museum
15 January 2020, 1–4pm
18+
$40–55
maas.museum/event/doodad-and-fandango-pop-art-paradise-adults/
Under this mask, another mask
Powerhouse Museum
19 January 2020, 11am – 1pm
7+
$40–55
maas.museum/event/justin-shoulder-under-this-mask-another-mask-families/
Opal Adornment
Powerhouse Museum
1 February 2020, 1–4pm
18+
$40–55
maas.museum/event/doodad-and-fandango-opal-adornment-adult/
Razzle Dazzle Trims ‘n’ Tassels (adults)
Powerhouse Museum
9 February 2020, 1–4pm
18+
$40–55
maas.museum/event/rosie-deacon-razzle-dazzle-trims-n-tassels-adults/
Performing the Self: Fashion and Identity
Powerhouse Theatre
Tuesday 18 February, 6–8pm
Free (registration required)
maas.museum/event/performing-the-self-fashion-and-identity/