Oceania Group finished 2013 stronger in
terms of numbers and with a creative sense of collective belonging that
continued to develop throughout the year. Our co-representative Lisa Walton
took up duties as a SAQA Board member, while Susie Cujes took up representative
duties from October. Our membership grew to 107 thanks to enthusiastic
promotion of SAQA by many of our teaching members during the membership drive
that largely consumed 2013. Other members including Brenda Gael Smith and Kate
Oszko took on support roles that helped share the representative
responsibilities.
Again we faced the challenge of geographic
disbursement, with Oceania region covering a land mass the size of the entire
United States of America! Staying in touch requires a commitment to communicate
– whether that’s through the monthly Oceania newsletter, face to face
get-togethers or leveraging of events to create such an opportunity
(exhibitions, quilt shows, conferences). Our MOB (Members of Brisbane) meet on
the first Saturday of the new season at the Queensland Art Gallery Café.
Jenny Bowker took on the role of
coordinating the Oceania contributions for SAQA’s Benefit Auction. More than
thirty quilts comprised the Oceania collection and we conducted a blog hop in
the two months leading up to the auction, sharing how each artist had been
inspired to create their piece. As many SAQA members will have seen, showcasing
the collection in Houston before the auction was a great way to promote both
Oceania and SAQA more generally. We even gained an Australian member who signed
up in Houston!
Major quilt shows follow a regular, annual
circuit around Australia and New Zealand with a number of our teaching /
shop-owner members attending these events. Lisa was able to organise SAQA
catch-ups during these shows. A particularly memorable evening was an impromptu
post-show dinner with SAQA members from several states and Judy Coates Perez
–sharing food, laughter and creative space at Brisbane’s Southbank.
Throughout 2013 I accompanied the “This is a Quilt” exhibition to many of
its exhibition venues around the country and had the pleasure and thrill of
meeting members who, until then, had been Facebook friends or email
correspondents. A tap on the shoulder in Newcastle, a member who flew nearly
5000kms to surprise me in Perth and help spread the SAQA word, another who
travelled almost as far to spend a day at the SAQA stand in Adelaide – that same
member drove 300 kms (180 miles) round trip just to pick
me up from one venue and have an
opportunity to “get together” travelling in her car while on our way to
another city– I never cease to be surprised and grateful for the generosity of
spirit and support, on so many levels, of my fellow SAQA members.
“This
is a Quilt” Trunk Show C was a highlight as it toured almost all States in
Australia and twice crossed the Tasman Sea to New Zealand. From May to November
the exhibition was seen by thousands at major quilt shows as well as travelling
to individual guilds and quilt groups.
There were many challenges throughout the
year – one of which being the growth in our membership. Our active recruitment
has seen a doubling of membership in just over two years and a challenge to
meet the needs of all levels of experience and interest in art quilts. This is
an ongoing challenge and one that requires a constant “emotional renegotiation”
of what we offer as a group and organisation, especially how we support those
members who are starting their art quilt love affair/ journey, while continuing
to be relevant to all our membership.
Another significant challenge is a
wonderful problem to have! SAQA offers so many opportunities information,
support and resources that many members express the view that they simply were
not aware of all that SAQA has to offer. To better address that, our monthly
newsletter will now include a section that explains a different part of the
SAQA website or unpacks a different resource and provides an overview and link
– our mission is education and we need to start in our own back yard!
We have big ideas for 2014 including
progress towards approval of a SAQA Oceania exhibition in 2015/16 and
establishing an OMG! (Oceania Mentorship Group). As always, it is our
membership that provides the spark and motivation – their continued support and encouragement is
the strength of Oceania.
Ali George, Oceania Co-Rep
