When traveling to Sydney, five star hotels are plentiful and affordable.  Many of them are situated in areas of the city that are ripe with activity and filled with many sights to see.  The artistic world in this cosmopolitan city is flourishing, and one such contributor is an artist that really does a bit of everything, she expresses herself through a variety of mediums and will be performing in the cities throughout the country through the end of January 2010.  Her name is Fiona Foley and she is one of the cities most significant and influential artists working today.

Foley is known for diverse and innovative artistic endeavours that have spanned the last twenty years and include works in photography, sculpture, painting, mixed media and installation pieces.  She focuses on the ongoing history of colonial Australia with themes that range from culture to identity and language, politics and ownership.   The Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney has teamed up with the Art Museum of the University of Queensland to present the show which will be published once the show closes.

Through January the exhibit will run at the museum in Sydney, and will then run at the museum in Brisbane from April 2 through May of 2010.  Foley grew up in Queensland and received her education in art in Sydney.  She then studied for a time in London at the Saint Martins School of Arts.  Her works reflect the world as she sees it through the roots and the vision of where she is from.  She has stated that in her studies this was not something that was encouraged, as indigenous art was not at the time considered fine art.

She did absorb what she was taught regarding the techniques of the European traditions, however she simply used what she wanted to add to her own style and techniques.  She is active in social causes and was a founding member of an artists’ cooperative in Sydney.  Whether you are in Sydney in the month ahead, or in Brisbane in the months of April and May, every attempt should made to see her show.  She exemplifies the entirety of the culture of the country and the beliefs of the people of Australia.