To celebrate the opening of Passage: The Art of Atong Atem, artist Ruth Nyaruot Ruach leads a drop-by zine making workshop inspired by the exhibition and Atong Atem’s exploration of identity, self-representation, and cultural memory. Drawing on themes explored throughout her photographic practice, participants will create a personal zine reflecting on their own experiences, stories, and sense of belonging.
Suitable for all ages with all materials provided.
Ruth Nyaruot Ruach is a South Sudanese multidisciplinary artist, community practitioner, and cultural researcher whose work explores identity, healing, and belonging. Through her artistic practice, she examines the experiences of the African diaspora, using creativity as a tool for connection, self-discovery, and the affirmation of her Blackness. Her work is informed by decolonial approaches to language and storytelling, centring collective perspectives, cultural memory, and community care over assimilation.
Passage: The Art of Atong Atem is the first major solo exhibition of Melbourne-based, South Sudanese artist Atong Atem in Australia. Presenting new and existing photographic works by a leading artist in her generation of contemporary photography. Her art tells a story of a culture that persists amid displacement, war and colonialism. She traces a transcontinental and intergenerational journey, echoing the often-coerced movements of people – telling a story of resilience that endures.
Noting the neglect of East African contributions in mainstream art history, Atem centres her community and herself in her work, honouring Dinka Bor myths and culture. Photography, historically a colonial instrument, becomes a tool for reclaiming identity and agency. Through this lens, Atem explores how identity is performed both in daily life and before the camera, creating spaces where history, memory, and imagination intertwine.