CQUniversity has loaned the University of Queensland some of its prized artworks by Rockhampton-born artist Fiona MacDonald. Now the artist herself is going to UQ to be part of a panel discussion entitled Should I stay or should I go?

The discussion is linked with an exhibition entitled Return to Sender including works by artists who left Queensland in the late 1970s and early 1980s, largely in reaction to the political and cultural milieu of the Joh Bjelke-Petersen era.  The exhibition comprises works made during the 1980s and early 1990s that employed photomedia in still or moving images, some linked to performance-based practice.

The panel discussion around 'the effect the socio-political climate in Bjelke Petersen's Queensland had on creativity' will be held at UQ from 6pm-7pm on August 8 with details available via artmuseum@uq.edu.au or (07) 3365 3046.

Fiona MacDonald works in a variety of mediums including photography, photo-collage, printmaking and painting. She has conducted archival research and made sculpture for public art projects such as the Customs House Sydney Public Art Project in 1998. Her concept for the Sea of Hands for Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation received praise as a powerful tool for reconciliation. She has exhibited in major exhibitions in Australia, and internationally in Tokyo, Paris, London, Washington DC, New York and Noumea. Her work is widely represented in Australian collections.

MacDonald studied at the Queensland College of Art in the mid-1970s, followed by study in South Australia, and left Queensland in 1980. She currently lives and works in Ilford and Sydney.

The exhibition featuring MacDonald's works, Return to Sender, continues until 26 August. Find out more here.