THE PATH is your space for making, meaning and momentum
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Welcome to The Path — a space for artists ready to step towards the next phase of their practice.
Facilitated by artist and educator Dr Kellie O’Dempsey, The Path is more than a program, it’s a cauldron.
A place where raw ideas are shaped into through process, practice and play. Where critique becomes community and your practice finds its voice.
Designed for emerging and early-career makers with a contemporary art focus, The Path offers a responsive mix of:
Intensive Programs to ignite and support your process
1:1 Session for tailored consultation and ongoing mentorship
Critiques and Artist Talks that deepen dialogue and expand context
This is where the edges fray creating new forms. Together, we ask the big questions: What the hell am I doing? We unpack meaning, trace lineage and map out strategies for getting you practicing in a supported space.
Whether you work in painting, sculpture, performance art, digital, installation or something entirely new — The Path is here to challenge, guide and grow your practice.
The Path program was developed with the support of the Creative Arts and Development | Sunshine Coast Council in 2021
Photo Louis Lim
IMPACT | Individual Artist
Pathers will:
Identify artistic investigation.
Bridge the gap between ideas and a project.
Articulate projects for presentation to galleries, partners and funding opportunities.
Understand the intersection of practice, concept and delivery.
Design and deliver an artistic project, series or body of work of your design.
Engage and learn about critique and expand the capacity to discuss your work.
IMPACT | Broader Community
The Path also offers a variety of other benefits to the wider ecosystem:
Encourages Innovation: Artists will explore the intersection of practice, concept and delivery, integrating digital technologies to expand their creative approaches.
Builds Community: Collaborative workshops and critique sessions foster connections between participants and arts professionals, creating a accessible artistic network.
Leads to Commission-Ready Work: By guiding artists through project design, presentation strategies and proposal preparation, The Path ensures participants are well-positioned to deliver new, compelling works for development, future proposals or inclusion in local festivals and programming.
PROGRAMS
The Path | 10 Week Mentorship Program
Includes: New work concept development, planning, production and delivery; guest instructors and industry professional visits; public presentation and pitch on completion; durational mentoring.
The Primer | 4 Days / 2 Weekends
Includes: New work concept development and planning; intimate WIP showcase.
The Primer is both a workshop and mentorship that guides artists through concept and production development of a new body of work. The program includes 4 day intensive over 2 weekends. This includes: a Mapping Concepts Workshop, individual critiques, group networking and critique.
10am to 4pm (2 Days), Project Development & Plan
10am to 4pm (2 Days), individual consultations, critiques and showing
The Preview | 2 Days / 1 Weekend
Includes: Concept and planning development for new work.
This workshop is aimed at emerging and early career artists practicing - painting, drawing, sculpture, textiles, installation, photography and interdisciplinary art makers.
This 2-day workshop includes group sessions and individual consultations, critiques and frameworks are established where artists safely discuss artwork in a supported environment. This facilitated process assists artists to prepare, strategise and experiment building a launchpad towards a future project or artwork.
Office Hours
Office Hours provides emerging and early-career artists with a dedicated 45-minute consultation with 15 min pre-session to read or view information with Dr. Kellie O’Dempsey.
Artists are encouraged to define a key focus or multiple inquiries for their session and submit any relevant materials upon booking. A full-day of individual consultations may be booked by councils or arts organisation.
Dr. Kellie O’Dempsey will provide feedback, critique or further research materials in areas such as:
Concept and practice development
Exploring new works
Identifying professional development opportunities
Strategic planning
Proposal development
Individual artist
Groups/organisations
Testimonials
Knowing the practices of many of the artists before they enter The Path, I’m amazed at how they are transformed through the program. They emerge able to talk confidently about their work in the context of contemporary practice and with new works or works in development that are focussed and relevant.
- Megan Williams, USC Gallery Director, 2022
The Path provides a unique opportunity for artists to interrogate what they do, why they do it and what they want to do next in a guided and supported space alongside a focussed group of like-minded peers. It’s different to what you might experience in art school and definitely something that is hard to achieve when you’re first set adrift into the art world by yourself. It seem that the path gives artists the space and the tools to reflect critically on what they want their art practices to do and be next. But it’s also a really fertile space for fostering collaborations, professional relationships and new ideas. I’ve personally been really impressed with the excitement and vision that each artist shares in their presentations at the conclusion of The Path and can see many of them on the cusp of projects and opportunities that might not otherwise come about.
- Michael Brennen, Noosa Regional Gallery Director 2022
The After Path
After the 2021 The Path x Sunshine Coast Council, 3 new artist run initiatives were launched by participants and have been established now for over 3 years.
Photo Details |
Fiona Cuthbert, Detail from Bystander (2024), Photo credit Ren Wren
Photo Details |
Fiona Cuthbert, Detail from Bystander (2024), Photo credit Ren Wren
Studio26
Photo Details | Brady Cooke, Detail from Colourman (2022), Photo credit Carl Warner
