AustLit

'Roberta Joy Rich is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work explores concepts of identity and history, often referencing her own [diaspora] southern African identity and experiences, to re-frame and reclaim representations of African identity, community and their stories. Since completing her MFA at Monash University, Rich has exhibited widely in Australia and South Africa. Recent exhibitions include, Deny/Denial/Denied; Blak Dot Gallery, Melbourne (2017), One Colour at a Time: Contemporary Screen Prints; Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg (2017), M/other Land; Arts House, Melbourne (2018), Transmissions; Gallery MOMO Cape Town, (2018), The Fairest Cape? An account of a Coloured; Bus Projects, Melbourne (2018), Firstdraft, Sydney (2019) and WE KOPPEL, WE DALA; Metro Arts, Brisbane (2019). An alumni of Footscray Community Art Centre's Emerging Cultural Leaders Program (2017), her previous residencies in South Africa were supported by Australia Council for the Arts, Arts House and NAVA’s Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship for Emerging Artists. Rich is the 2020 recipient of the Australia Council for the Arts Debra Porch Award with a (postponed) residency at the Cemeti Institute for Art and Society in Yogyakarta, and is currently working on a new project that will be exhibited at FCAC as part of ACCA's 'Who's Afraid of Public Space' exhibitions (2021-2022).' (Cordite 100)