About the artists

Stephen Benwell: Stephen Benwell began exhibiting in 1975. He has been represented by Niagara Galleries, Melbourne since 2000. In 2015, Benwell exhibited Roman Holiday: Paintings, Statues, Vases at Sydney Contemporary, Australasia’s International Art Fair. In 2013, a career survey of the artist's work, Stephen Benwell - Beauty, Anarchy, Desire, A Retrospective, was installed at Heide Museum of Modern Art. In 2013, Benwell was selected to exhibit in Melbourne Now, the National Gallery of Victoria's survey of contemporary practice. Benwell has been the recipient of many awards including the Sidney Myer Fund Australian Ceramic Award, the Inaugural Deakin University Small Sculpture Award and an Australia Council Visual Arts Board New Work Grant. Stephen has worked from his St Kilda studio since 1986. This is Benwell’s first collaboration. http://stephenbenwell.com

Benjamin Lichtenstein: Benjamin Lichtenstein is an Indonesian born, Melbourne based artist predominately working with black and white analogue photography. His recent exhibitions include: Living In Oblivion, Anna Pappas Gallery, Melbourne, 2015; The Alchemists: Rediscovering Photography in the Age of the Jpeg, curated by Cherine Fahd, Dr Martyn Jolly and Suzanne Buljan, Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney, 2015; Flower, Fort Delta, Melbourne, 2015; Mental, Muddguts Gallery, New York City, 2014; Das Boot Fair, curated by Oscar Perry and Esther Stewart, Next Wave Festival, Melbourne, 2014; Paperwork, 136 Johnston Street, Melbourne, 2014; I Know You Will Be Happy Here, Utopian Slumps, Melbourne, 2014; Run, Warwick Baker, The John and Marion Frye Collection, Los Angeles, 2013; Death Adder, Chapter House Lane, 2013; and Cereal Dust, Neospace, Melbourne, 2012.

Lichtenstein’s practice has recently expanded to include publishing. The first printed publication He's Got A Nug was created for and published by Heavy Time Books in 2015. In 2014, Chart Collective released Living In The Present, an annotated photographic essay as part of Chart Collective’s ‘The Longer Light’ series. http://benjaminlichtenstein.com/

Aaron Carter: Aaron Carter is an Australian visual artist who completed a Bachelor of Fine Art, Victoria College of the Arts, Melbourne Australia in 2005. In 2013, Carter completed a Master of Applied Arts with Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, Canada, after which he practiced in Los Angeles for a period of six months. Since returning to Victoria in 2014, Carter has been working in the Wimmera region. In 2013, Carter was an artist-in-residence at the BANFF Centre Canada. In 2015, Carter was an artist-in-residence at Sikås Art Center, Sweden and the St Arnaud Street Museum, Victoria, Australia.

Aaron Carter has previously collaborated with artists; Kate Moss, In This Together, 2013, Vancouver, Canada; and Jen Barber and Ben Sheppard, Made any Swans (?), West Wing Project Space, Melbourne, 2010. http://aaroncharlescarter.com

Matlok Griffiths: Matlok Griffiths is an Australian artist represented by Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney and NKN Gallery, Melbourne. Matlok Griffiths has exhibited in Australia and New Zealand. Griffiths’ selected solo exhibitions include; Export Quality Paintings, NKN Gallery, Melbourne, 2015; New Thoughts on Luxury, Blockprojects, Melbourne, 2013; Out of Touch, Chapter House Lane, Melbourne, 2013; All These Words Keep Getting In Our Way, Blockprojects, Melbourne, 2012; Chic & Contemporary Holiday Paintings, Chapter House Lane, Melbourne, 2012; and Everything Will Be K.O., C3 Contemporary Art Space, Melbourne, 2011.

Matlok Griffiths has curated various exhibitions including Paintings of Steve’s Paintings, St Helier’s Street Gallery, Melbourne, 2011; and Fine family living, St Helier’s Street Gallery, Melbourne, 2012, a collaboration between Matlok Griffiths, Henrik Josefsson, Julia McFarlane, and Rick Milovanovic. http://matlokgriffiths.com

Pia Murphy: Pia Murphy is a visual artist based in South Western Victoria working predominantly in ceramics. Murphy’s recent exhibitions include Shots Off The Dices, curated by Rhys Lee, Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne, 2015; Land, Chapter House Lane, Melbourne, 2014; Faux Museum, curated by Anusha Kenny, Melissa Loughan, Kate Tucker and Ace Wagstaff, C3 Contemporary Art Space, Melbourne, 2014; Saccade, Pieces Of Eight Gallery, Melbourne, 2013;Woolgather, Chapter House Lane, Melbourne, 2012, Paintings of Steve’s Paintings, curated by Matlok Griffiths, St Helier’s Street Gallery, Melbourne, 2011, 1.85 Million: Art Peripheries, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Sydney, 2011; and Scarecrow, curated by Rhys Lee, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne, 2011.

Pia Murphy has previously collaborated with artist Rhys Lee in Scarecrow, curated by Rhys Lee, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne, 2011.

Georgia Szmerling: Georgia Szmerling is a Melbourne based artist who has been practicing at the studio of Arts Project Australia since 2004. Szmerling has exhibited throughout Australia with shows including; CONNECTED, No Vacancy Gallery, Melbourne, 2015; Annual Gala Exhibition, Arts Project Australia Gallery, Melbourne, 2014; Small Universe, No Vacancy Gallery, Melbourne, 2014; Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne, 2014; Renegades: Outsider Art, Moree Plains Gallery, New South Wales, 2014; Supermarket, Craft Victoria, Melbourne, 2013; World in my eyes, C3 Contemporary Art Space, Melbourne, 2013; and Classic Albums, Tanks Art Centre, Cairns, 2013. Georgia has previously collaborated with artists on the Art for Food project in 2009 at Federation Square, Melbourne. www.artsproject.org.au/artists

Julian Martin: Julian Martin is a Melbourne based artist who is represented by Arts Project Australia (1988-present) and Fleisher/Ollman, USA (2014-present). In 1994 Martin was a finalist in the prestigious Moët & Chandon Travelling Fellowship, and has since been included in major art events, exhibitions and prizes both in Australia and overseas. A selection of Martin’s recent exhibitions include; Julian Martin, No Vacancy Gallery, Melbourne, 2015; Transformer, Arts Project Australia Gallery, Melbourne, 2014; The Outsider Art Fair, (Fleisher/Ollman booth), New York, 2015; Everyday imagining: new perspectives on Outsider art, The , The , 2014; 2014 National Works on Paper, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Victoria, 2014; The Armory Show, (Fleisher/Ollman booth), New York, 2014; and Halo and the Glory of Art, McGlade Gallery, ACU Sydney, 2012. Julian Martin has collaborated in the past on 6° of Separation in 2014 and Double Take in 2005 at Arts Project Australia, Melbourne. www.artsproject.org.au/artists

Alan Constable: Alan Constable is both a painter and a ceramicist who has exhibited in Australia and overseas. Working from the Arts Project Australia studio since 1991, Constable has shown his work extensively. Recent selected exhibitions include; That’s Funny, Arts Project Australia Gallery, Melbourne; 2015; Melbourne Now, National Gallery of Victoria, 2014; Polaroid Project, Horsham Regional Art Gallery, Horsham Deakin University, Victoria; 2014; Chicago Expo: Fleisher/Ollman Gallery, Chicago, USA, 2014; Alan Constable: Ten Cameras, curated by Ricky Swallow, South Willard, Los Angeles, 2013; World In My Eyes, C3 Gallery, Abbotsford, Melbourne, 2013; Viewfinder: Alan Constable Survey, Arts Project Australia Gallery, Melbourne, 2011; Constable, Stills Gallery, Sydney, 2011; and Alan Constable Clay Cameras, Helen Gory Galerie, Melbourne, 2009. Alan Constable has collaborated with Peter Aitkens on Polaroid Project in 2014 and Double Take in 2005 at Arts Project Australia, Melbourne. www.artsproject.org.au/artists

Participating organisations

Chapter House Lane Established in 2011, Chapter House Lane is a non-profit contemporary art gallery situated in a large walk-by window space next to St Paul’s Cathedral opposite Federation Square. The gallery’s laneway position showcases contemporary art to seasoned enthusiasts and curious passers-by alike, and provides a unique public platform for contemporary artists to contribute to Melbourne’s lively cultural fabric.

Chapter House Lane is proud to provide its artists with a space in which to exhibit rent-free and commission-free, and to additionally offer curatorial, event, media and communications support. A dedicated volunteer committee, made up of arts professionals, operates Chapter House Lane to produce monthly exhibitions as well as artist talks, festival events, creative partnerships and collaborations. www.chapterhouselane.org.au

Arts Project Australia Founded by Myra Hilgendorf OAM in 1974, Arts Project Australia has supported artists with intellectual disabilities for over 40 years by promoting their work and advocating for inclusion within contemporary art practice. Located at High Street, Northcote since 2001, Arts Project Australia provides more than 110 artists with ongoing support through innovative studio programs and by offering a range of exhibition and promotional opportunities for their artists within Australia and internationally. A key focus for Arts Project Australia is to collaborate with leading artists, curators and organisations in order to generate new creative opportunities, as well as make broader connections within the contemporary arts sector. www.artsproject.org.au