We spoke with one of our artists-in-residence Peter Campagna about his art practice and what he plans to get out of his two month residency.
Peter has a European background, his family settling in Inglewood in the late 50s with his father (Cesare) and his grandfather (Nono) opening a shoe repair shop on Beaufort Street with the family residing in 7th Avenue.
Peter grew up drawing his favourite footy stars and always had a vivid imagination, often was in trouble being told off for not doing his chores (feeding and watering the chooks and collecting eggs) and not paying attention. In her later years, his Mum kept reminding him that he always looked as if he was in dream land.
His love of the arts culminated in him enrolling at University in the 2000's as a mature age student to further his love and ambitions. He moved on to teaching and his works progressing on from realism to work in abstraction and impressionism.
With his students, he is always looking to engage, raise questions while delighting them with storytelling, shapes and colour as he wants them to move though a journey of discovery.
During his residency, Peter will produce a number of works that will remind us of the beauty of worlds natural forests as we run the alarming risks of large-scale global deforestation.
Peter will run a free workshop with community members teaching them about his painting techniques and he will hold an Artist Talk at the end of his residency. Keep an eye out for details!
