JANINE McAULLAY BOTT is the only WA artist to be selected for an exhibition at the Musées de la Civilisation in Canada next month, and is hoping crowdfunding will get her there.

The indigenous artist had lodged a request for funding with the WA culture and the arts department, but it was denied.

She suspects her application was just one of many strong bids submitted. “For a few days, I resigned myself to not being able to attend one of the most important events of my career,” she says.

With help from Anna Kanaris, director of Artitja Fine Art, McAullay Bott launched her crowdfunding bid. So far, it has raised $1200 of the $3000 target.

The artist’s sculptural work on display in Canada, titled “My Brother’s Keeper”, captures the sadness and trauma of the Stolen Generation. “I was driven to weave this, I felt I had to as it is such a blight on our history and forgiveness does not come from forgetting,” she says.

“In my artistic practice, I usually concentrate on the humour and spirit of my people; My Brother’s Keeper, however, is a statement about the everlasting trauma that continues in not just those abused but those who love them also. It is a story that must be told. For me it’s like closing a circle.”

Donations can be made via http://www.ozcrowd.com/campaigns/project-janine-to-quebec/.

by KEVYN O’CONNELL