18/12/22
Annabelle McEwen
Daniel Bodey
Ella Cass
Mungo Howard
Lucy Bird
Tommy Carman
George Squires
Harry De Vries
Edwina Darling
Brigitta Summers
Kael Lin
Exhibition Text
Few places offer respite from the dog-eat-dog mentality that, despite going unspoken, seems to permeate the art scene. Incentive grows to be a crab in a bucket or adopt a careerist drive. Schmick offers a much-welcome refuge. Founded to foster local talent and cultivate a greater sense of community, Schmick has achieved what it has set out to do. We, as Schmick volunteers, have been lucky enough to participate in this community and contribute however we’ve been able. We have sat the space, installed, de-installed, written room-sheets and thrown together shows to fill weekends. We have puzzled out directions to ardent gallery-goers and chatted to the neighbours in all their colour. We volunteered at Schmick this year because the labour to maintain such a space is a labour of love.
As testament to Schmick’s altruistic prerogative, we have been afforded the very generous opportunity to showcase our work together to cap off the gallery’s 2022. Our works vary in material approach and conceptual intent, but it is with this assemblage that we hope to show the breadth of talent in Sydney, and Schmick’s unwavering commitment to bringing together and cultivating artists from all walks of life. This show is not so much a reward for a year’s worth of labour, but a capstone in the ongoing, ever-building project that is Schmick.
- Tommy Carman & Harry De Vries