Image credit: Cait Edwards
Following the opening of Radical Futures: Unearthed, Project Officer Kristen Brownfield caught up with curator and artist Cait Edwards to learn more about her practice and the Esperance edition of the Regional Arts Triennial.
Kristen: Unearthed opened at Cannery Arts Centre at the start of January. Can you share a little bit about the event?
Cait: Technically, we opened the show in December with a little artist-only soft launch, so there would be something in the gallery over the Christmas–New Year break. So, it had a bit of action already, but we had our official celebration event on 8 January. It was a great turnout, and Sarah Roots and Susanna Castledine from the John Curtin Gallery came down which was special. Having two openings was about balancing everyone’s availability; we wanted everyone to be there. It’s been tricky getting all eight artists in the same room at the same time!
Kristen: I was looking at the lineup — it’s quite a big group of artists.
Cait: I first got involved as an artist back in February last year. And as the show was earmarked for the main gallery, which is a huge space, I messaged the Cannery about how many works we needed to make. I assumed it might be around five works each, and they were like, “No, just one.” I remember freaking out, thinking, thoughts and prayers to the curator — that’s a lot of empty space! But it works. The way we’ve set it up, it’s very open. If you walk two steps into the gallery, you can see everyone’s work from where you’re standing, which I love. Some artists did one work, others did four, one did six. People just got really inspired and wanted to create.
Kristen: That’s so good. That’s what it’s about — giving people the freedom to create.
Cait: Exactly.
Kristen: I read that you have a background in theatre. Can you share a little bit more about this?
Cait: I’ve been involved with community theatre here for about 20 years in a volunteer capacity. Recently I was musical director for Shrek, and I directed Les Misérables a couple of years ago — which was the first production here to sell out. Musical theatre is a special interest, but I love every aspect of theatre — especially working together to pull a show together. I think that’s why Alex from the Cannery suggested I take on the curator role when it became available in August; I had experience with group projects, deadlines, and working with artists.
Kristen: That’s great. Is this your first time curating a group exhibition?
Cait: It’s my first time working with other visual artists in this way. About four years ago, I participated in Inktober — an online daily drawing challenge. I’d never used ink before, so I saw it as a chance to learn a new medium. With my theatre background, I tied it to Les Misérables, using lines from the novel as inspiration. It finally got me to read that brick of a book! I ended up with 31 illustrations and made them all into a zine. Later, I scaled them up and ran a two-week solo exhibition at the Cannery. It was incredibly valuable — learning about installation, promotion, and gallery work. At the time, I didn’t call it curating, but looking back, it was definitely a foundation.
Kristen: What did the process of curating Unearthed look like?
Cait: When I came into the project as curator, it was August, and install was in December — some artists were nearly finished, others hadn’t started. But I’m used to tight deadlines, so I just trusted everyone to pull it together — and they absolutely did. We met up monthly in person just to have space to connect. We spent a lot of time with the theme – Radical Futures – and what that meant for each of us, where there were similarities between works, and where things were pulling together. Sometimes people would show drafts, or share sketches or materials in our online group chat. It’s funny, we never really talked about colour, but when install day came, and everyone showed up, the colour palette was just so on point — without ever mentioning it to each other!
Kristen: Oh wow — how beautiful.
Cait: It makes this lovely sweep across the gallery. It’s like Esperance at sunset — sandy tones, a bit of orange, and then blues. You look at it and think, yeah, we all live here, don’t we?
Image credits: 1. Giorgia Stefania, In○sight (detail) | 2. Cait Edwards | 3. Visitors with the work of Elaine Fewings | 4. Visitors with the work of Rani Fankha | 5. Aunty Annie Dabb with Sarah Roots and Alex Desebrock. Photography by Dan Paris.
Kristen: Do you want to share a bit more about how you and the artists worked with the Radical Futures theme?
Cait: We spent a long time just sitting with the words Radical Futures. What could they mean? The group vibe was always, ‘There are no wrong answers. If you feel it, let’s talk about it.’ Much of our discussion focused on one part of the curatorial brief: the problems currently facing our region, and what a future without those problems might look like. From these talks, two main directions emerged. The first was communication — how we communicate with each other and with the environment, and how the environment communicates with us. A strong environmental concern definitely runs through the works. The second was legacy – what we leave for the future. Rani’s work HAIRLOOM, woven with materials spanning four generations, powerfully reflects this. It’s about what we’re growing now that future generations will benefit from. What are we leaving behind? And conversely, what aren’t we leaving behind if we’re not careful?
Kristen: From what I’ve seen across the other shows, there are always layers — personal, political, environmental. Do you have any standout works you’d like to talk about?
Cait: I have to mention In○sight, an interactive work made from acrylic offcuts and waste material by Hopetoun-based artist Giorgia Stefania. The work is inspired by neuroplasticity — that idea of the mind constantly changing and reshaping itself. It’s made up of these flowing organic forms that can be rearranged. It’s been amazing to watch people, both young and old, engage with it. I think the colour really draws people in. My daughter built this whole little scene with it, just figuring out what was possible.
Kristen: And it’s made from offcuts, right? Recycled materials?
Cait: Yeah. She was asking local businesses if she could dig through their offcut bins. The first time I saw the piece I did wonder how people would respond to the plastic element, but when Giorgia clarified that it was repurposed ‘trash’, you can’t help but marvel at the creation of something so visually striking that also saved a bunch of plastic from going to landfill.
Kristen: Has using found or recycled materials come up across the exhibition more broadly?
Cait: Definitely. The Esperance art scene is very anti-waste in general. The Cannery and the local community arts groups have been doing a lot of work around reusing materials for at least the last ten years. It’s created this beautiful culture where we don’t really create waste — we use what’s already there (and save what’s left for later!) And those materials already have meaning embedded in them. Like Rani’s work — she’s so intentional about waste and materiality. Her piece includes hair from four generations of women in her family, as well as silk thread that belonged to her great-grandmother. It’s just layered with meaning — physically and conceptually. You could stare into that work for a long time.
Image credits: 1. Athena Boast, Saving Our Beautiful Mammangs For The Future | 2. Pam Burgess,Talking Stick | 3. Shannon Bowen, The Choice is Ours | 4. Pam Burgess, Listen and You Will See. Photography by Dan Paris.
Kristen: Can you share a little about some of the connections you’ve made?
Cait: In the online group meetings for curators around the state, Sarah Roots always offered, “Reach out if you need anything,” but I’m naturally hesitant. Down here, the Cannery has been incredibly supportive, but sometimes the city art world feels like a different language. When I met Sarah in person it was a big shift—I realised she’s not this intimidating city curator. We clicked immediately, and I thought “We should have connected years ago!”.She lives very far north, so it’s been lovely to see her and Susanna (Castledine) make the effort to visit and share how other exhibitions are going. Meeting Susanna was fascinating too. Her academic approach to engaging with artworks and the one-on-one critiques she offered were incredible, and rare in Esperance.
I was also lucky to have a curatorial mentor, Molly Werner, who’s pursuing a PhD in curatorial studies and previously worked at Bunbury Regional Art Gallery. In our first online meeting she asked, “What do you want to know?” and I didn’t even know how to answer — I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Meeting in person for install week was much more helpful. She didn’t direct me but asked questions like: what story is being told by the works next to each other? And the works across from each other? Wearing the “curator hat” changed how I noticed everything. Coming from theatre, I’ve always considered staging and lighting, but with the static nature of a gallery, every decision feels more delicately deliberate.
Kristen: It’s amazing how one question can shift everything.
Cait: Exactly. And the practical side too — measuring walls, dealing with uneven floors, using a laser line. It was all really helpful. Talking face-to-face made such a difference, especially when I was feeling overwhelmed. And that’s such an incredible connection — someone I never would’ve met if I wasn’t part of this experience.
Kristen: That’s wonderful — and now you’ve got those connections!
Cait: Yeah, exactly.
Kristen: Well, have you got any final thoughts you’d like to add?
Cait: For me, Unearthed is about what we plant now and how we care for it—learning from the past and making conscious choices for the future. Knowing you’re not alone in hoping for a better future matters. My hope is that visitors to the exhibition feel calm and engaged, leaving lighter than when they arrived. I believe the Triennial exhibitions are achieving that. The collaboration on this huge, collective project—everyone working together—is exactly what the world needs more than ever.
Radical Futures: Unearthed continues at the Cannery Arts Centre until 22 February. It features work by Athena Boast, Shannon Bowen, Pam Burgess, Cait Edwards, Rani Fankha, Elaine Fewings, Giorgia Stefania, and Naomi Stanitzki. Find out more.
Unearthed is presented by the Cannery Arts Centre. The WA Regional Arts Triennial 3: Radical Futures is funded with support from the WA Government. It is coordinated by Southern Forest Arts with support from ART ON THE MOVE through the Regional Exhibition Touring Boost. Project partners include John Curtin Gallery, Regional Arts WA, GalleriesWest and Kimberley Arts Network.