The Exquisite Familiar at Hahndorf Academy

Check out 'The Exquisite Familiar', our interactive exhibition of illustrations by disabled artists, at the beautiful Hahndorf Academy, located on Hahndorf's main road.

Hahndorf Academy welcomes you to experience the exciting collaborative art project by Access2Arts, The Exquisite Familiar, created in partnership with the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), MOD. Museum and most recently, with SALT Festival.

Over two iterations of the project, eighteen disabled visual artists (either emerging or established) from across South Australia (including a regional group from the Eyre Peninsula) participated in creative drawing and digitally artistic workshops. These were followed by exhibitions of the finished artworks at the Art Gallery of South Australia and MOD. Museum, and the Eyre Peninsula group’s artworks displayed in Port Lincoln at SALT Festival.

 In this interactive, immersive, multi-art form project, the groups of disabled artists of varying ages, artistic genres, and skills, brought their ‘Exquisite Familiar’ visions to life and developed their digital capabilities with the support of artistic and technical staff. These artists utilised the historic Exquisite Corpse-style art form to explore and illustrate the barriers associated with disability through the lens of familiars.

Familiars can be found throughout history in folklore and are uncanny creatures who help and protect their owners. In The Exquisite Familiar project, these creatures take on the meaningful and communicative role of metaphors for access and inclusion for people living with a disability.

Check out this digital and interactive exhibition of the artist’s various interchanging creature creations, as you press buttons to change the projected exquisite forms made up of the artist’s various illustrations.