This Ain’t the Archies is an international fibre and textile art exhibition curated by fibre art gallerist, Anne Kempton, that re-imagines portraiture and takes the form of a multi-artist response to what is arguably Australia’s favourite portrait art award[1], the Art Gallery of NSW’s Archibald Prize. This Ain’t the Archies exhibition comprises approximately twenty fibre and textile portraits created by national and international artists invited by Timeless Textiles gallery to explore ideas and methods of portraiture utilizing traditional and non-traditional fibre and textile practices, and materials and forms (both 2D and 3D).

The artists contributing to This Ain’t the Archies hail from different parts of Australia and the globe and comprise a varied group of creators of diverse ages and cultural backgrounds The works of art created specifically for this exhibition, are as diverse as their creators, from their interpretations of portraiture, their use of textile and fibre art techniques and materials to their portrayal of their individually selected subject/s. 

The contributing artist are Alysn Midgelow-Marsden: Anne Kelly: Anne Kempton; Anne Leon, Brett Alexander; Chris Clifton; Dionne Swift; Emily Tull; Jim Arendt; Jo Hamilton; Judy Hooworth; Katarina Krenkel: Marie Bergstedt; Mary Pal; Melissa Campbell; Kerstin Bennier; Sharon Peoples; Sue Stone; Sylvia Watt and Wilma Simmons

This is a unique opportunity for Fibre and Textile art to be seen and viewed nationally by a wide range of audiences, responding to the Archibald and portraiture.Portraits will be of other fibre and textile artists including Xenobia Bailey; Yayoi Kusama: Jim Arendt, Julie Ryder, Anne Kempton, Nalda Searles to name a few and many self portraits.