Ngugi artist Elisa Jane Carmichael draws inspiration from her Quandamooka Country, Mulgumpin (Moreton Island) and Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) for her ‘Art Box for Kids‘ project at the Children’s Art Centre, Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) from 13 July – 27 October 2024. Children are invited to create their own unique shell necklace, inspired by the beautiful eugarie shells (pipis) that can be found on the shores of Minjerribah. We filmed Carmichael on Minjerribah to create a video in which she introduces herself, her Country and her art practice, and includes a step-by-step guide for the making activity ‘shell adornments’.
Watch | A step-by-step guide for the making activity
Carmichael has had a love of shells since childhood and often incorporates them into her own artworks. She collected the shells children can use for tracing as part of the activity, and these shells will be returned to the artist at the end of the project. She has said:
As a saltwater woman, shells are really an extension of who we are as Quandamooka people, but all First Nations people who are from saltwater country or freshwater country have shells which were used as food sources [or] worn on the body for spiritual connections and ceremonial practices.1
On display as part of ‘Art Box for Kids: Elisa Jane Carmichael’, are two paper shell necklaces that Carmichael has made, including one in collaboration with her own child, using the same materials that children will use in the space. These necklaces are displayed alongside her four-strand necklace Adornment of Power 02 2021 (illustrated). This delicate artwork combines shells, reed segments and fish scales from Quandamooka Country with silk-wrapped wire, woven into baskets using weaving techniques taught to her by her mother, fellow Ngugi artist Sonja Carmichael.
Elisa Carmichael has said ‘I like to make neck adornments, because, to me, I see them as a way of carrying our Country, and our stories from Country’.2 She hopes that the activity will inspire children to look around them and see what elements they can use to create with from nature, and be creative in telling their own stories by wearing them.3
Kids’ Weekend Workshop
During July and August, children aged 7-12 can join artist Elisa Jane Carmichael to create a composition on specially treated cyanotype fabric, and then observe the work transform through exposure to sunlight and water. Leave the workshop with new art-making skills and your own print to take home. Get tickets
10.30am – 12.00pm or 1.00pm – 2.30pm Saturday 13 July
10.30am – 12.00pm or 1.00pm – 2.30pm Saturday 10 August
Elisa Jane Carmichael ‘Adornment of Power 02’ 2021

Laura Mudge is Senior Program Officer, Children’s Art Centre, QAGOMA.
‘Art Box for Kids: Elisa Jane Carmichael’ / Gallery 1.4, Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) / 13 July – 27 October 2024.
Check the QAGOMA website for opening hours for this project:
13 July – 29 September/ Mon to Sun: 10:00am – 4:30pm
30 September – 27 October/ Mon to Fri: 10:30am – 2:30pm
30 September – 27 October/ Sat & Sun: 10:00am – 4:30pm
Endnotes
1, 2 & 3 Interview with Elisa Jane Carmichael, January 2024.
‘Art Box for Kids’ is an innovative exhibition series that prioritises sustainable design and the use of recycled or repurposed activity materials where possible, presented in Gallery 1.4 of the Children’s Art Centre at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). Each edition of the program will invite children to meet an artist through an introduction video, see an example of their work on display, and explore their creativity through hands-on making.
Based on key principles of the Children’s Art Centre, ‘Art Box for Kids’ aims to provide opportunities for children to engage with contemporary ideas and cultures, gain insights into the processes of making art, and facilitates intergenerational connection through hands-on audience participation. ‘Art Box for Kids’ will primarily feature local and Queensland-based artists.
Acknowledgment of Country
The Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Gallery stands in Brisbane. We pay respect to Aboriginal peoples, Torres Strait Islander peoples, and Elders past and present. In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge the immense creative contribution First Australians, as the first visual artists and storytellers, make to the art and culture of this country.
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