Abbotsford Convent

Mm.

Um, Abbotsford Convent is near Vic Park, and it's-

Yep

... great there.

to Collingwood, just near the children's farm.

And that's where some of the, a lot of those sandpit, early sandpit band photos were taken down at the Abbotsford convent before it was renovated.

So like back when it was totally run down, totally empty, like, so not totally empty, but like, you know, it was like a derelict building back then, you know? I think maybe there maybe might have been the children's farm there.

I don't know.

Now, Aretha is the founder of the globe-trotting Kiss My Art Collective, whose art style is, I think, just a cultural recognisable staple of being in Melbourne.

Aretha is here to speak with us, though, about the launch of her very first solo exhibition, Born Romantic, which is now showing at the Abbotsford Convent here in Melbourne.

Aretha, welcome to Indigeneuity.

I would usually say Yama, but welcome in.

And for me, it was like, this is kind of like the cleanser, you know, it was about fun and humor lightness sex dating kissing boys girls all that fun stuff and and um really leading that kind of that this is a youth collective you know we're not trying to pretend that way we know what we're doing um we're all led um by myself and all the other girls and we're all under 30 you know and we're all figuring out as we go and that's kind of uh the joy of it to be honest

Yeah, beautiful.

And I've noticed as well, of course, when entering Born Romantic, the exhibition, it's Abbotsford Convent, it's incredible.

And of course, you recognise your iconic art style.

So we've got a big warehouse.

We're working with Abbotsford Convent, but we're doing this ourselves as a collective.

And to be honest, I hope a lot of young artists feel inspired to kind of do their own thing.

And I think you should be able to do an exhibition whenever you want to do an exhibition, because otherwise you kind of have to wait for other people's schedules.

No, no, no.

The one that we had at the festival at the Abbotsford Convent.

Oh, the

Glendronak from the 80s, mate.

out.

We did an event at Abbotsford Convent and for their Heathcote Wine Growers Association.

And so we were outside and...

Of course, you know, we're drinking wine.

133693, come and join us.

My grouse is that there is an artistic exhibition taking place at the store in the Abbotsford Convent.

Misspelt.

Is it really? In a most unfortunate way, I move on.

Yeah.

What kind of artist? October the 2nd to the 4th.

October the 2nd to the 4th at Abbotsford Convent.

Well done.

And was working, yeah, worked all over the place there.

But most of the studio work, I was actually, I was in Abbotsford Convent for a while.

I had a space in Abbotsford Convent-

Yep

... for a while.