This July 7th Friday Feature is the introduction to Project 17; a collective of part-time bachelor students.
Where did you come up with the name ‘Project 17’? Why did you decide to form this group?
The ‘Project 17’ collective was created in Summer 2016 by the Part-time Bachelor students from PSC for their first magazine release of the same name. It represents the amount of students in the class at the time, and also relates to the many and various projects we hope to complete together over time. These include exhibitions, publications and smaller collaborations within the group. We use the group as a way to reconnect despite our busy lives, and be a positive support network. The collective showcases and celebrates difference in a world where conformity is the norm. Project 17 aims to counter this view - to reveal, empower and inspire as one voice.
Project 17 Magazine (Still available)
What sort of individuals do you have in your collective?
Project 17 consists of men and women from various ages and cultural backgrounds providing varied views of the world. We have photojournalists, commercial photographers such as fashion and lifestyle, as well as artists, and photographers who choose to fuse some of those genres together. For example, there’s Lindi Forde, a well-travelled artist who documents details in artist spaces, and Taylor-Ferné Morris, a commercial photographer chasing the strength of the human body and mind within the ballet world.
Do you have a particular focus?
We decided for each project we would tackle a new theme exploring it’s challenges or advantages with our own brands of photography. Our graduate exhibition last year explored the theme ‘Pathways’ to celebrate the differences that make up who we are, and the idiosyncratic world we may want to chase or change in the future. This year for our second exhibition, a slightly smaller number of us will be participating in the Ballarat International Foto Biennale. We will be revealing our interpretations of the word ‘Silence’ for the general public, providing a range of works that we believe best suits our individual beliefs of the word.
What is the collective working on at the moment? What plans do you have for the future? Exhibitions? Projects? Publications?
Recently a joint Instagram was created for the group in order to cross promote our individual and joint projects. It will feature behind the scenes of our photographic work and the events we complete in the future. This includes being the main social media for our group exhibition for the BIFB in the Ballarat Trades Hall in a few weeks time. In between, we enjoy gathering at various Melbourne galleries for inspiration, entering the 2017 AIPP Awards (with Rebecca Conci winning three silvers for her raw portrayal of her daughter's health), and even plan to visit Kevin O’Daly, another Project 17 member, in Tasmania later this year. A smaller group of us would also like to continue publishing our work in Photo Books together, collaborating on a smaller scale until another full group opportunity comes our way.