PETER GRIGORIADIS

Muscular Teeth - Visual Artist –Public Art and more

Peter Grigoriadis’ home studio is a visual delight, with his intricately illustrated and colourful artworks adorning the walls. Sipping a cup of tea whilst peering out onto the winter garden makes this a creative haven to join Peter in a conversation about his art practice.

How would you describe your art practice?

Whimsical, funny, colourful, intricate, therapeutic in many ways, light hearted with a bit of humour. Most often I create works on canvas or paper as it is an easy media to work on and to translate to digital media, making it easily shared. I also work on murals, I write music and do photography, I paint on metal and steel, like saw blades and I also work with wood, but mostly visual art.

Why do you create public art?

In 2008 I was working 15 hours a week and all I was doing was churning out art, I was making hundreds of artworks and making sales online. But I felt that I wasn’t a real artist if I hadn’t done it in the real world. So, I went to Hindmarsh Greening and spoke to them about painting a stobie pole on my street. Then an opportunity came up to paint the Croydon Station, so I jumped into that and really enjoyed the process. I recently painted a mural at Trust reserve. It was during school holidays, so I had all these kids come out. First day I met them and had a good time, the second day I bought some pieces of wood and gave them paint brushes for them to sit down and paint. On the third day I drew some outlines and got them to colour it in and said to them now this is your wall, so they took ownership of it

How do you feel the community benefits from public art?

The wall at Trust reserve was getting tagged, but since painting it back in June it hasn’t been touched, so Council doesn’t have to pay for any anti- graffiti clean-up

We lack colour and vibrancy in this country, everything is black, grey, primrose I know that because I make windows and doors in aluminium It is boring and there needs to be more colour. Bright colours are happiness, it is universal and can bring people together https://muscularteeth.com/tag/street-art/

What has been key to your success?

Compassion, perseverance, philosophy I don’t get into art just to sell things, it is a way of life. We are here once, you don’t get a second shot at it so you might as well do something to leave a legacy behind. You need to find your own meaning, and my meaning is the human contact with people, bringing joy, expressing myself without hurting anyone.

How do you see your art evolving in the future?

Bigger murals, more opportunities and maybe painting on weird and wonderful surfaces, maybe a car one day or on work boots. How I see it evolving is getting better I am fortunate I have a job and work 6 days a week but I am unfortunate that I am time poor. What I often then do is churn out easy stuff as it is easier than spending 40 hours writing a single drum beat for a music track. You can invest a lot of time in something and not get much for it or you can do simpler things and get a bigger bang for your buck so to speak. I do know I want to do it more and in more areas. I love doing new things, and I would like to try jewellery making, tailoring, leathermaking. I love to create.

What actions would you like to see included in an ambitious arts and culture plan for our city?

Open square areas or venues where people can congregate and do things to meet and meld. Something like a maker space where you can become a member and have access to cheap materials, although it needs someone with a wage managing it. This is where it gets into fantastical land. Or a maze of panels where people can paint a panel and someone else can paint over it in a few months, so it is always changing. Intentionally do public art with permission.

Key Messages

Public art engenders a sense of community pride and connects communities.

Mural projects can provide a sustainable approach to prevent graffiti and improve streetscapes.

Questions

How can we support temporary public art across our city?

How can we connect local artists to creative opportunities, mural locations or projects with our community?

How can we connect with artists to help create more interesting public spaces?

Patty Chehade

Praxis Artspace, curated contemporary exhibition space and studios

As I walk through the doors of Praxis ARTSPACE to meet gallery owner and Director, Patty Chehade, I am struck by the colourful works of exhibiting artist Dan Withey, whose works are a testament to the contemporary, experimental, multi-media and immersive experiences on offer at this Bowden gallery and studio space.

How and why was Praxis Artspace created?

After graduating (BVA Hons from Adelaide Central School of Art) throughout my Art History education I noticed that historically many successful artists seemed to be part of a group working together. Not only with visual artists, but across all platforms, such as writers and philosophers, and they seemed to somehow be more creative when they were working with each other. If I was to be successful in the Arts world, I would have to set-up something collaborative. I came across this building in 2015 and thought I would start an artist run space

How does Praxis Artspace connect creatively with the local community?

We attract a lot of locals who love the experience of coming here and we are starting to get a lot more families, particularly when we have the more immersive work that invites the viewer to play with the work

We also offer opportunities for emerging graduates from Helpmann Academy and Adelaide Central School of Art to have a free space to work in. Everyone needs an opportunity, like any other graduate course when you get to the end there is never an automatic lead into where you want to head and all a sudden you are out there. It is nice to have a little bit of support and be amongst other creatives.

What has helped Praxis Artspace to succeed?

The creativity of the artists is engaging, it is something new and exciting for people. It is lovely to have that opportunity for the community to experience something that is a little more interesting, engaging and immersive. Even though we may not get a sale today it is an opportunity for the artist to have that platform to be seen and then they will move on to better things, such as, Kate Bohunnis, the current 2021 Ramsay Art Prize winner, who showed at Praxis Artspace in 2020.

What is the hope for Praxis Artspace’s future?

My hope is for at least six months of the year to have regular artists exhibiting regularly, rather than trying to curate something each month. It will be an opportunity to develop and embed the career of a select group of artists. We would also like to promote the artists enough that they are being noticed and supported by peak institutions Offering opportunities and a platform to be seen gives them the confidence and motivation to try new things and maybe noticed internationally.

How might the cultural sector work together to identify cultural and creative opportunities?

Making connections is probably the most important thing I think there is an opportunity to perhaps share exhibitions across the States and make those connections.

What actions would you like to see included in an ambitious arts and culture plan for our city?

Council could sponsor a studio each year Artists at the end of the day are struggling to financially make ends meet, so a sponsored studio enables artists to access the opportunity based on their credibility, not whether they can afford to pay for the studio.

I think artists lead the way in terms of finding interesting ways to develop a space, maximising the utility of an area and appreciating it for what it is. I think that is a really crucial privilege that we have as a state and community, rather than art just for individual benefactors. There is also an opportunity to support curators. One of the early curators, Joanna Kitto, secured a role as one of the curators at Samstag Museum of Art. https://www.praxisartspace.com/