“A gallery’s value and meaning relies on the artists who exhibit in it, and to a lesser extent on the gatekeepers who decide whose art is or isn’t worth showing. Creative activity occurs in and around these institutions. A gallery can exist for a long time, or if people stop showing art there it reverts to just being a building. The institution’s name is cached in the community memory as a cipher of the activity that occurred and then eventually it is mostly forgotten.

In this artwork we have mined the collective memory for as many Tasmanian art institutions as we could, placed them in a landscape, and then rendered them equal by setting them on fire. We’ve painted it in the popular ‘country town toilet block’ style of mural.”

– Leigh Rigozzi & Joshua Santospirito, 2021

Joshua Santospirito (he/him) is a multimedia artist living in nipaluna / Hobart. He is one half of the soundscaping improv Bing/Santospirito. Josh’s work is centred generally on topics of identity and place in modern Australia. He is currently co-director of the Comic Workshop, is the long-term convenor of the The Small Press Zine Fair in Hobart and was the Director of Her Majesty’s Favourite Really Great Graphical Festival from 2014-16. He also runs the Moon Shed, an art studio/gallery in Moonah which runs community events. Josh was a registered nurse for 15 years working primarily in community mental health in both of the specialist areas of remote and forensic mental health.    Website: joshuasantospirito.com    Instagram: @jshsantospirito

Leigh Rigozzi is an artist and graphic storyteller based in nipaluna / Hobart. He attained a Bachelor of Fine Art, University of Tasmania (2002) and a Master of Fine Arts, Sydney College of the Arts (2007). Leigh has a varied art practice that often centres on autobiographical topics. Through his involvement with print cooperatives such as the Rizzeria and Blood & Thunder he helped to foster print culture in Sydney. He has mentored and tutored young artists with various organisations including Studio A, Interweave Arts, and the Story Island project. Leigh was briefly attached to a commercial gallery about a decade ago and since then has sporadically shown his work at various ARIs. He is currently developing a small gallery space, Moon Cave, in his garage.    Website: leighrigoizzi.com    Instagram: @leighrigozzi

The CAT Courtyard is an annual commission of a temporary artwork.

Image credit:

The cultural landscape, Leigh Rigozzi & Joshua Santospirito, CAT Courtyard installation detail, 2021.