Fwd: Invitation — Stolon Press: Flat earth

[Michelle Antoinette]

Hello AN4AA community, 

As a staff member at Monash University's Department of Fine Art and Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture, I'm forwarding information here about the opening next week of the exhibition Stolon Press: Flat Earth, which Monash University executive postponed from the original opening date of May 8. The exhibition has been announced to open at MUMA next week on Thurs 29 May, alongside other programs, as below.

I thought I'd point out that at the centre of one of the alternating exhibition publicity images you see below is a riso print/art poster with the bold orange heading text at the top, 'Abandoned Theatre'. The poster was made to publicise a poetry reading event held on May 8 at Monash Caulfield campus, organised by Monash Art, Design & Architecture postgraduate researchers and undergraduate students, which gathered hundreds of staff, students, and other supporters, as a show of resistance to the postponment of the Stolon Press: Flat Earth exhibition and as an expression of solidarity with the artists Khaled Sabsabi, Elisa Taber, Simryn Gill, and Tom Melick. The gathering was held on the very day Stolon Press: Flat Earth was meant to open and featured poetry readings by Elena Gomez, alongside readings generously gifted by Stolon Press, Hasib Hourani, Omar Sakr, and Sara Saleh.

The powerful words offered by the organisers in contextualising the event were: 

We believe that the decision to postpone the exhibition reflects broader structures of systemic racism and contributes to the erosion of academic and artistic freedom. This moment cannot be separated from global efforts to suppress critical discourse, particularly when dominant narratives are challenged and marginalised voices erased.

In this light, Abandoned Theatre is an act of resistance against stifling artistic voices and curtailing creative expression. It asserts that art, which challenges and unsettles, is not a threat, but a necessity. Such art reminds us about the power of dialogue, reflection, and the courage to confront uncomfortable truths.

The title Abandoned Theatre itself is drawn from the poem “I Have a Seat in the Abandoned Theatre” by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish (1941-2008), from which we take the following lines:

“I say: How is this my concern? I’m a spectator / He says: No spectators at chasm’s door ... and no / one is neutral here. And you must choose / your part in the end”

We invite you to gather with us at Abandoned Theatre, not only as spectators but as a community. Let us together defend these academic and artistic rights we cherish as researchers, creatives, and students.

Because we have chosen our part, we choose to speak out loud.

Stolon Press: Flat earth Opening Thursday 29 May, 6–8pm MUMA is pleased to announce the opening of Stolon Press: Flat earth at MUMA Thursday 29 May, 6–8pm. Please join us for the opening of Stolon Press's inaugural exhibition. Friends and family are all welcome. RSVP Stolon Press: Flat earth Stolon Press is a Sydney-based art and publishing collective whose work sits somewhere between art and book, image and text. Established in 2019 by writer Tom Melick and artist Simryn Gill, Stolon Press has published twenty books to date, regularly involving an extended network of collaborators and friends. Conceived as a flattened ‘map’, Flat earth creates a shared space where artistic, linguistic and material practices converge. Flat earth brings together work by longtime Stolon Press collaborators, including Buenos Aires, Asunción and Montreal-based writer and anthropologist Elisa Taber, and Lebanese-born, Sydney-based artist Khaled Sabsabi. Stolon Press: Flat earth 29 May – 12 July 2025 Find out more   Next Tuesday — Simryn Gill and Nick Croggon in conversation Tuesday 27 May 6–7.15pm Book here Join artist Simryn Gill and art historian Nick Croggon at the State Library Victoria for a discussion on the ethics, poetics and politics of togetherness that underpin Stolon Press. Find out more A Monash Art Lecture presented by Monash University Museum of Art and Monash Fine Art.   Curatorial tours Tuesday 3 June 11am + 2pm Thursday 5 June 10am + 2pm Wednesday 11 June 10am + 2pm Book here Join MUMA’s curatorial team for a guided tour of Stolon Press: Flat earth that will take visitors behind the works and enable reflections on the art to be shared in a supportive environment. Find out more   Subscribe to MUMA e-news Not on our mailing list? If you would like to subscribe to MUMA's fortnightly e-news, please sign up here. Subscribe now Images: 1. Stolon Press, process images 2025. Courtesy of the artists. 2. Simryn Gill 2025. image supplied. 3. Stolon Press, process images 2025. Courtesy of the artists Notice of photography: Please note MUMA will be photographing our events and using the images for future promotional and archival purposes. If you do not wish to be photographed please let one of our friendly staff members know. Monash University Museum of Art Ground Floor, Building F Monash University, Caulfield Campus 900 Dandenong Road, Caulfield East VIC 3145, Australia Opening Hours Tue–Fri: 10am–5pm, Sat: 12–5pm Closed Sun, Mon by appointment only Entry is always free Access Information +61 3 9905 4217 mu...@monash.edu www.monash.edu/muma We acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners and Elders—past, present and emerging—of the lands on which Monash University operates. We acknowledge Aboriginal connection to material and creative practice on these lands for more than 60,000 years.   View online Unsubscribe Unsubscribe

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Dr Michelle Antoinette (pronouns: she/her)
Associate Professor, Art History and Theory
Course Director, Bachelor of Art History and Curating

Researcher of Modern & Contemporary Asian Art

Monash University Fine Art

 

Chief Investigator, Australian Research Council Discovery Project, Care and Repair: Rethinking Contemporary Curation for Conditions of Crisis (DP240102206), 2024-27

Co-Convenor, Australasian Network for Asian Art (an4aa) Coordinating Group, 2023-26. Join AN4AA here 

For more about me and my research

My Monash researcher profile

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Monash University

Building B, Room 6.21, Caulfield Campus
900 Dandenong Road
Caulfield East VIC 3145
Naarm/Melbourne, Australia
T:  +61 3 990 31856 | E:  michelle....@monash.edu | W: monash.edu/mada

I acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners, and Elders past and present, of the lands and waters on which Monash University operates. At MADA we acknowledge Aboriginal connection to material and creative practice on these lands for more than 60,000 years, and celebrate their enduring presence and knowledge.

I am an LGBTIQA+ Ally. Find out more at monash.edu/ally

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