It felt like old times last night when my friend Kate and I went to an exhibition opening, followed by dinner. We have known each other since the early nineties when we were both living in Wagga—she was working in the arts and I was at the ABC.
Our shared interest in art has been a constant throughout our long friendship, which has seen us through many chapters. I fondly remember one visit while I was in rehabilitation after my lower limb amputation, when she pushed me in my wheelchair through an exhibition at the National Art School so we wouldn’t miss out. Even though she now lives in Newcastle and I’m in Sydney, we remain close.
We both particularly love Indigenous art, so we were excited to visit the opening at Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), a First Nations art gallery in Redfern. Getting there was easy, but I was a bit concerned about walking alone in the dark, so I took an Uber for the short 650-metre trip. The $10 fare was well worth the peace of mind. Afterwards, Kate and I were able to walk back together, which was lovely.
The exhibition was fantastic—a beautiful and interesting cross-section of Indigenous art from a range of different communities. The works varied from affordable pieces to one stunning artwork valued at $200,000. It was wonderful to see the collection, and Kate, having worked in a number of Indigenous communities and art galleries, brought a fascinating perspective on many of the artists.
After the gallery, we continued our conversation over an awesome Chinese meal at Yum House on Cleveland Street in Surry Hills. It’s a place I would highly recommend for its affordable, authentic food. It can be as spicy as you like, and we enjoyed a wonderful chicken dish bathed in chillies and a delicious double-smoked pork. Kate has previously worked in China, and I visited her there in 2010, which you can find posts about on this blog. And so we had lots to talk about given my recent visit there. This includes taking her mother (in a wheelchair) to China when she was aged in her 80s!
It was great to relive the old days of going out to see exhibitions. The whole evening has given me a renewed sense of confidence for getting out and about.
