Digi Youth Arts (DYA) takes over the IMA with performances responding to historical stories in the work of Ryan Presley and Fiona Foley.

DYA Artistic Director Alethea Beetson constructs a series of roving performances, reflecting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories.  Performers draw inspiration from costumes seen in Foley’s recent body of work, Horror Has a Face (2017) as well as specific narratives present in Presley’s Blood Money series, currently on display at the IMA.

See these stories brought to life in the IMA Galleries for this edition of First Thursdays.

Biographies
Digi Youth Arts is a collective of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists committed to sharing stories of our young people through creative exploration and contemporary performance. The organisation has a history of producing thought-inspiring works. In 2018 Digi Youth Arts hold a residency at the Queensland Museum and are Associate Artists at La Boite Theatre Company.

Alethea Beetson is an Aboriginal artist who has worked extensively with Indigenous communities and youth across multiple art forms to inspire new works responding to collections, cultural heritage and the impact of colonisation

Fiona Foley is of the Badtjala language group, Wondunna clan, artist, curator, writer and academic. Foley pursues a diverse artistic practice encompassing painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, mixed-media work, found objects and installation. Foley examines and dismantles historical stereotypes and her works explore a broad range of themes that relate to politics, culture, ownership, language and identity.