From the Articulate project space website -
Articulate project space presents 'FACTORY 49. A Tribute' a group exhibition that honours the extensive history of Factory 49 and its significant contribution to art, both locally and internationally.
Factory 49 was created by Pam Aitken in 2006 and ran for 16 years. It featured the presentation of non-objective, reductive, material based and process driven art in a factory building in Marrickville, Sydney.
This exhibition was curated by Beata Geyer, Chris Packer and myself, and it included the work of 67 artists. Invitations to participate were sent to all of the artists that had exhibited at Factory 49.
The artists in this show were - Alexandra Kennedy, Amarie Bergman, Annelies Jahn, Anya Pesce, Barbara Halnan and Rose McGreevy, Beata Geyer, Billy Gruner, Bogumila Strojna, Cameron Stead, Carrie Fraser, Catherine Gaillard-Remontet, Chris Packer, Christine Boiry, Christine Dean, Christine Wiltshier, Danielle Lescot, Elisabeth Bodey, Elizabeth Day, Elizabeth Rankin, Elke Wohlfahrt, Fabian Freese, Fiona Halse, Georgina Pollard, Ian Thomas, Jacek Przybyszewski, Jacky Ferrand, Jamie Bastoli, Jan Handel, Jason Haufe, Jenny Herbert-Smith, Judy-Ann Moule, Karen Benton, Karryn Argus, Kate Mackay, Kendal Heyes, Lila Alfiouni, Linden Braye, Lisa Pang, Liz Shreeve, Louise Blyton, Lynne Eastaway, Margaret Roberts, Marlene Sarroff, Michelle Le Dain, Nicola McClelland, Nicole Ellis, Pam Aitken, Pamela Leung, Paul Mallam, Paula McCambridge, Peter de Lorenzo, Pia Larsen, Richard van der Aa, Ro Murray, Roland Orepuk, Sandra Curry, Sarah Fitzgerald, Sarah Keighery, Sarah Robson, Sue Callanan, Susan Andrews, Sydney Art Exchange, Tanya Alexandra Richards, Wendy Cohen and Wendy Kelly.
I wrote a piece on the creation and history of Factory 49, that was put together by Chris Packer, in the style of the Factory 49 publications.
FACTORY 49 - A MEMOIR
The
first exhibition opened at Factory 49 in Marrickville on the 22nd of
June 2006. I remember because it was
mine. The second show was Margaret
Roberts, and there was an outside wall work by Andrew Leslie. Pam
Aitken had asked me if I would like to be involved in a new exhibition space
that she was creating. She had
previously been involved in the first iteration of SNO (Sydney Non Objective)
at 11 Faversham Street, Marrickville that ran for 2 years. She owned the 49
Shepherd Street space and it had been leased to a manufacturer for a number of
years, but finally they were moving and she was able to take it back. The first exhibition was originally scheduled
to happen a couple of weeks earlier, but at that stage she had only enough
money to create the walls in plywood, planning to reline it later. I offered to line it with gyprock in lieu of
gallery rental, and then volunteered my partner Mick to do the work….I did
help…. The height of the walls was determined by the standard size of ply and
gyprock sheets.
There
was always discussion about whether the walls should be raised to the ceiling
height. Pam was always insistent that
the space was to retain its factory history and aesthetic. There was to be as
little interference with the nature of the space as possible. This is also the reason why she always
referred to Factory 49 as a Showroom and not a Gallery, emphasising the idea
that the production of artworks was work, and the showroom was the place that
the public could see the artists output.
Pam’s
vision was to give artists who worked within the field of the Non-Objective and
Reductive Abstraction a space to have affordable solo exhibitions. There was at that time (and still is) very
little opportunity to hold solo shows, and she wanted artists to be able to
have a space to properly develop and expand their work, something that is
difficult to do if you can only ever get one or two works into group shows. Pam made no decisions as to what work went
into the exhibitions, as long as it fell within the realm of the
non-objective. The exhibitions ran for
two weeks with the gallery being open from Thursday to Saturday. Artists normally had access to the space on
Sunday night with the show ideally being hung by Tuesday. The exhibition was then photographed and an
A5 catalogue was created and printed in time for the opening on Wednesday
night. It was a well-oiled, if slightly
stressful, machine. For the first few
years, Pam also interviewed each artist during their exhibition, creating an
invaluable historical resource.
According
to my CV, the first Annual Group Show happened in 2010, and the Office Project
Space was created about the same time.
The Annual Group Show was a departure from the insistence of solo
exhibitions, and allowed a great opportunity to see the vast array of work
within the non-objective sphere. They
were interesting exhibitions to install.
Often many of the artists involved would stay around and help with the
hanging. The works that had been
submitted dictated the arrangement of each exhibition, with aesthetic
connections being created as each show was installed. Despite the diverse works on offer, the
Group shows always had a cohesiveness resulting from the shared sensibilities
of all those involved.
The
Office Project Space came about as a response to artists who wanted to present
work that may have been less resolved and more experimental, and also allowed
for joint and group shows. The work had
to share its existence with the gallery desk and storage cupboard. Outside
Wall Works were also a feature from the beginning. The external concreted space beneath the
stairs was available for a 3 month Wall Work.
Later the Biscuit Factory across the road also allowed artists to create
works on their external wall.
Around
2014, Pam had to take time off and myself and Marlene Sarroff, with the help of
Chris Packer and his technical expertise, kept the space going for a
while. We eventually decided that a new
committee was required. We initiated
visits to SCA and the National Arts School, seeking like-minded artists to
become involved and continue the experience of Factory 49.
Each year, Pam Aitken
travelled to Paris for 3 months, establishing contacts with many European
artists and spaces. She participated in
the Salon Realites Nouvelle Exhibitions and introduced many Factory 49 artists
to this exhibition and to many European contacts, enabling Australian artists
to exhibit in Paris and elsewhere in Europe.
She created a Residency at Factory 49 at Marrickville, where European
artists could come and stay in Australia and create an exhibition in the
Showroom. But she had always had a
vision to create a Factory 49 in Paris.
Finally in 2018 she acquired a lease on a space and created a residence
in the small attached room. Artists
would go for a month-long exhibition and residency. They would install and photograph their work,
send the images back to Pam in Sydney for the catalogue, which she would send
to the printer in Paris, ready for the artist pick up in time for their
opening. I remember being sceptical that
it could all work, but with Pam’s organisational skills, the professionalism of
the artists involved, and the help of many of the artists in Paris, the space
was a success, running for almost 2 years until covid made it all too hard. It showed artists from both Australia and
Europe.
The
final Exhibition at Factory 49 in November 2021, was the Sydney satellite of 'Que des femmes / Only women'. Part of the 6th International Biennale of
Non-objective Art, it was curated by Anya Pesce and Lisa Pang, under the
auspices of recently deceased biennale founder Roland Orépük and curator Billy
Gruner. It contained work by many of the
women artists who had been part of the history of Factory 49 and was dedicated
to the memory of F49 favourite and good friend, Barbara Halnan.
Kate Mackay, January 2024
My work was from the 'Nothing To Say Here' series - ' Artists Think With Their Eyes Open - Ian Burn', oil on canvas, 42.5cm x 42.5cm, 2024
Below are installation shots from the exhibition.
CLICK HERE for the full room sheet.
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