February 6 - March 24, 2023
Monday-Friday, 10am-4pm, and extended hours during The Mill’s Adelaide Fringe season
The Mill Exhibition Space, 154 Angas St, Kaurna Yarta
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The Mill has two entrances, the main entrance on the corner of Angas and Gunson Street and an accessible entrance further down Angas Street.
Both doors are locked from the outside, there is a doorbell on the main door that will alert The Mill team. They will meet you at the accessible entrance to welcome you into the building.
The Mill has concrete flooring throughout with no internal steps and a disability toilet on site.
Read more in-depth information on our accessibility web page.
The Mill is excited to present a new exhibition ‘Museum of Old Money’ by THE GOOD NEW$ BANK curated by Steph Cibich. THE GOOD NEW$ BANK is the collaborative moniker for artist duo Nicholas Hanisch and Cassie Thring, who have been working closely with Cibich to develop a body of work that playfully comments on the ideas surrounding ‘currency’, ‘value’ and ‘worth’ under consumer-capitalism. What is art worth? What value does the artist play within our society? How do we understand the exchange value of creative work? How do you put a price on the way that works of art make us feel?
With the current ‘cozzie livs’ (cost of living crisis), we are all making daily choices to determine how we can make our money stretch. Art can be seen as a luxury item, but at what cost? We know from our times in pandemic lockdown that art and creativity are central to our sense of self, and sense of community. Featuring Art Vending Machine Australia’s (AVMA) ‘Adelaide Art Vending Machine’, in which Curator Steph Cibich seeks to democratise the process of buying artwork, without undermining the work of the artist.
The vending machine will sit alongside other works, developed through a collaborative relationship between curator and artists, offering unique moments for audience participation. Artworks will be available for purchase giving audiences an accessible option for becoming collectors of contemporary art.
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‘I’m not in it for the money – just the stuff it buys’ – Unknown.
Our values change as our world evolves. In 2023, our consumer-driven culture determines what is ‘valuable’ based on how much something is ‘worth’. In other words, how much something costs or can be exchanged for something that is...well...better.
Due to our contemporary relationship with commercialism, words like ‘value’ and ‘worth’ have lost their meaning. How we associate with people, relationships, places, objects, and experiences is commodified to reflect our globalised existence. In this environment, even trust is overthrown for economic opportunity. We find ourselves competing and comparing through any means necessary; on social media, in business, through our disposable possessions, even with new systems of currency. Yet, as people, we are often pressured by conflicting ‘values’ and seek to identify what (or who) is ‘worthy’, or ‘worthless’. We want to belong, to have someone reaffirm our ‘self-worth’ and to help our loved ones feel ‘valued’. Instead, we feel confused, disconnected, and lost. We’ve come to know the cost of everything but the ‘value’ of nothing.
Cast against a backdrop of inflation, rising interest rates, a pandemic, the climate crisis, and escalating tensions overseas, The Museum of Old Money explores our evolving relationship with notions of ‘currency’, ‘value’ and ‘worth’. Curated by Steph Cibich and featuring new work by collaborative duo, THE GOOD NEW$ BANK (Cassie Thring and Nick Hanisch) including a unique takeover of Art Vending Machine Australia’s ‘Adelaide Art Vending Machine’, this exhibition offers a timely reminder of the things that really matter and how easy it is to get lost along the way.
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Steph Cibich is a Kaurna Country (Adelaide) based curator and arts writer. Since 2019, she has worked as the Assistant Curator/Program Officer at the Centre for Creative Health and has built a strong independent curatorial practice. She is the founding force behind Art Vending Machines Australia (AVMA) and received the inaugural City of Onkaparinga Contemporary Curator Award (SALA 2019). In 2020, Steph was simultaneously appointed FELTspace Emerging Curator and the inaugural ART WORKS Emerging Curator, presented by Guildhouse and the City of Adelaide. Recently, Steph was appointed Co-chair of the Art History & Curatorship Alumni Network (AHCAN) and was a writer for ‘Neoteric’, an exhibition presented as part of the Adelaide Festival (2022). Steph’s curatorial approach centres on collaborating with and championing the work of contemporary artists. Through democratic and meaningful art projects, Steph seeks to bring people and ideas together by fostering connections between artists, art and audiences.
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Nicholas Hanisch is a sculptural installation artist graduating as a scholarship recipient at Adelaide Central School of Art. Hanisch’s ongoing practice has involved a diverse and continual exploration of mediums, conceptual themes, and collaborations. His recent body of work investigates creation narratives within the field of figurative sculpture. Hanisch’s sculptural forms are informed by the history of figurative sculpture, whilst celebrating the humour, the horror, the happenstance, and the sheer endeavour of creation. Previously Hanisch has attended the New York Studio School, practiced, and exhibited in Berlin, participated in residencies across India, and exhibited as part of The Art Gallery of South Australia collection.
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Cassie Thring is a multidisciplinary artist working from Floating Goose Studios on Kaurna land, Adelaide, SA. A passionate advocate for accessible community art programs, her work reflects an interest in the riches and sorrows of life, often through an apparently humorous lens. A graduate of Adelaide Central School of Art, Thring has participated in local and international residencies. Her work A Gazillion was exhibited as part of The Art Gallery of South Australia and is now in their permanent collection. Thring’s work is also held in the National Museum of Canberra and private collections, both in Australia and internationally.
Museum of Old Money is presented with support from City of Adelaide.
