The Exquisite Familiar

We welcome you to learn about our exciting collaborative art project, The Exquisite Familiar, created in partnership with the Art Gallery of South Australia and MOD. Museum. Eleven disabled visual artists (either emerging or established) are participating in this paid collaborative project that involves creative workshops and exhibitions at both the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) and MOD. Museum.

In this interactive, immersive, multi-art form project, a group of disabled artists of varying ages, artistic genres, and skills, bring their ‘Exquisite Familiar’ visions to life and develop their digital capabilities with the support of artistic and technical staff. These artists will use Exquisite Corpse-style art 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.

In December of 2022, we held an exhibition in The Studio at AGSA, which launched as a part of the International Day of People with Disabilities and drew many people in for the opening night. This digital exhibition showcased the amazing illustrations created in the first workshop of ‘The Exquisite Familiar’ project on continually changing screens, and visitors were able to be inspired by our artists’ works and then create their very own ‘Exquisite Familiar’ creature within the space.