Née (born as) Sydney call out...

An invitation…..

What name were you given when you were born?

What name do you use now?

What name will you be remembered by when you are gone?

Artist and researcher Elly Kent recently participated in a project called In Memory Of a Name.  Poets, musicians, artists, curators and social researchers joined with Indonesian artist FX Harsono -  who was forced to change his name by government decree when he was a teenager -  to consider the question of what is in a name.  What happens if you are made to change your name? What happens if you choose to change your name? What are the stories behind names lost and found in people’s lives?

Née (born as) is a conversation project which invites you to tell the stories of your names; the names of your family; the names you have left behind; the names you have embraced. We invite you join us in stitching your name/s on to a piece of fabric, while you share your story. If you can, please bring remnant fabric  that holds meaning for you to stitch – an old t-shirt,  some left over  fabric from your school uniform, the tie you wore to your wedding. The stitched names will join a fabric ‘wall’, added to by others as the project moves through different communities. Begun in Elly’s Canberra community, Neé (born as) will be at Gallery 4A in Sydney’s Chinatown and Casula Powerhouse in Liverpool in  February, and Indonesia in 2013.
 

“My mother’s maiden name  –  she wanted to keep it but eventually changed it when relatives kept writing cheques out to her with my father’s surname.”

Please drop into one of our stitching sessions, for as long or as little as you like:

4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, 181-187 Hay st, Chinatown 02) 9212 0380  info@4a.com.au	Saturday 18 February, 2pm-4pm
Casula Powerhouse, 1 Casula Road, Casula RSVP by phone: 02) 98241121 or 02)96125252 Or by email: porter@casulapowerhouse.com	Sunday 19 February, 1pm - 5pm
	Monday 20 February : 2pm - 6pm
	Tuesday 21  February: 11am - 5pm
	Wednesday 22 February: 11am - 5pm
	Thursday 23 February:  11am - 5pm
	Friday 24 February:    10am - 4pm, 5pm - 9pm

This project will form part of the research in practice for Elly Kent’s PhD in Visual Arts at the Australian National University.