Detail of the old cedar school desk at Scone Museum NSW, Australia
desks of fabric
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“An artist walks into a museum” served as the intriguing call for artists to apply for residencies as part of a collaborative program in the Upper Hunter. In this Museum Activation project, three artists were selected to collaborate with three local museums, creating artworks inspired by the museums and their collections.
Throughout 2024, Arts Upper Hunter, in collaboration with Tocal Homestead, Scone Museum, and Dungog Museum, has been working on the This Here Then Now (THTN) Museum Activation Residency Program. Supported by the Regional Arts Fund, this residency initiative seeks to revitalise small local museums by fostering creative engagement between artists and the museums’ collections, spaces, characters, and stories.
Successful applicant Sophie Cox was selected to create a work inspired by an item from the collection at Scone Museum. She chose a beautifully carved old cedar school desk, etched with names, initials, and words that resonate with voices from the past. This substantial desk and bench, originally from Scone Grammar School, served as the basis for a textile wall hanging. The piece, titled Desks of Fabric, incorporates charcoal rubbings, stitching, and embroidery, created in collaboration with museum volunteers and students from Scone Grammar School. The textile works will be open to the public on Wednesdays 9.30am -2.30pm, Sundays 2.30pm – 4.30pm. The Scone Museum will be closed over Christmas and will re open on the 21st January 2025.
Sophie Cox is a textile artist who combines text and textiles to explore themes of political and personal significance. Through the tactile and meditative process of hand-sewing, she creates work that seeks to provoke change both in herself and in the viewer as they engage with the artwork. Her practice examines the relationship between everyday life and societal issues, often incorporating appliqued banners, embroidered tea towels, and other sewn pieces that draw on the aesthetics of activist iconography. Sophie’s work addresses the intersection of craft, art, and political action, as well as the role of museums and galleries in the art world.
Sophie Cox Art Sydney (sophiecoxartist.com)
Did you visit this exhibition? If so, please complete our survey here. This survey will help us improve on our next Museum Activation project!
Fabric rubbing and stitching detail from Sophie Cox’s exhibition Desks of Fabric
The This Here Then Now project was conceived by Arts Upper Hunter and developed in partnership with local museums.
In 2024 three Upper Hunter regional museums were selected to work with resident artists; Sophie Cox at Scone Museum, Helene Leane at Dungog Museum and Todd Fuller at Tocal Homestead. This was made possible by the Australian Government Regional Arts Fund, which supports the arts in regional and remote Australia, the NSW Government and C B Alexander Foundation.
Arts Upper Hunter plans to expand the THTN project to other museums in coming years.
