Cross Stitch: Take 225

Cross-Stitch is a Metro Arts initiative aimed at providing opportunity for emerging Artistic Directors to develop their craft, and this year’s art party was curated and hosted by Lisa Fa’alafi (Polytoxic) on the evenings of 1 & 2 March.

Greeted at the gates to the alleyway by a stamp wielding doorperson we were ushered through to another world, or at least another Australia, and handed our new bright pink passports to Cross-Stitch: invasion, Take 225. It felt like an art college house party as throngs of red-plastic-cup carrying people weaved in and out of pokey basement rooms and climbed up and down dilapidated stairwells in search of their next stop and the multi-platform art orgy didn’t disappoint.

Exploring the notion of what makes one Australian, Fa’alafi gathered local emerging artists across all disciplines to showcase performance art, installation, projection, film and music that challenges the idea national identity. Of particular note was Anthem, performed by Telia Watson in the basement dressing room; a beautifully layered performance that, perhaps unwittingly highlighted some intriguing audience behaviours around the treatment and respect of place. Cross-Stitch is a free event and a surprisingly fun night out – and this year’s party provided a little ray of sunshine in an otherwise bleak and raining Brisbane weekend.