Moana finds form in new spaces

Artist-run initiative Moana Project Space has announced its first major exhibition since its Hay Street Studios closed last November.

The exhibition, titled It is a long time since this moment, will be presented at the Old Customs House in Fremantle from October 13, as part of SymbioticA’s Unhallowed Arts Festival.

It explores human anxieties around the survival of earth, and is supported by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries, Artsource, and SymbioticA.

In 2017, Moana vacated its home of seven years after its lease was not renewed.

Co-director Matthew Siddall told Business News the Moana team had begun to focus on exhibitions in existing galleries, while developing the recently launched Cool Change Contemporary space on Barrack Street.

“Since we lost the Hay Street space in November, we decided to focus on offsite curatorial projects, since lots of our energy was going into the Cool Change space,” Mr Siddall said.

He said Moana had strong relationships with other galleries around Australia, giving the team impetus to continue the company in a new form.

“Since the branding is so important, we’ll be using that name to organise exhibitions in the future,” Mr Siddall said.