PRESS RELEASE: Artists Transform Funeral Urns to Commemorate 2020 – Rising from the Ashes

Urns of 2020 – Rising from the Ashes Exhibition

Artists Transform Funeral Urns to Commemorate 2020

Urns of 2020 is an artistic endeavour that brings together 30 diverse artists, primarily from Australia, with two from Milan, who were each given a plain white funeral urn and asked to create a work that signified what “Rising From the Ashes of 2020” signified to them.

The exhibition is the brainchild of Liz Amalfi, from Ionica, a family-run wholesale company that imports coffins from Italy. During a COVID-prompted clean-up in their warehouse, Liz discovered some ornate urns her late father had imported from Italy many years ago that had gone unused, as it is not their main line of business.

“I held one of the urns in my hands and thought of how much grief and loss has been experienced by people everywhere this year. First the bushfires and then COVID. Not being able to see beloved family and friends in times of need and sorrow, and not being able to come together for important ceremonial rituals, especially funerals”.

“I personally experienced my own loss ten years ago losing three of my closest loved ones. Given I come from a large Italian family our funerals are large in scale, I was overwhelmed with a sense of how incredibly difficult it would be to not be able to grieve with your loved ones during COVID and the restrictions that are still in place,” says Amalfi.

The seed was sown, and Amalfi approached the Gaffa Gallery in Sydney and crafted the exhibition with the aim of creating “a collaborative consciousness between the reality of death, loss and grief and the ability to rise from the ashes – through the creative interpretations of the artists”.

“We have painters, ceramicists, a sound and jewellery artist. We have two artists from Milan with a very special piece that represents a global message. Each artist will bring in different insights from this year that encompass the after-life, hope and resilience, climate change, movements of 2020, the environment and transformation through times of challenge,” says Amalfi.

All artists are putting their urns up for silent auction with 100% of the proceeds going to the charity of their choice. A panel of judges will award an URN PRIZE of $3000 generously donated by WN Bull Funerals Newtown.

The judges are Marcella Zemanek (widow of radio and television broadcaster Stan Zemanek who sadly passed to brain cancer in 2007), Melanie Gray (Archibald Prize Finalist 2020) and Marcella Belcastro (Manager from WN Bull Funerals).

The process of bringing the exhibition to life will be captured in a documentary produced by Reel Life Events, which will feature an exclusive look at a number of artists sharing their creative approach to the project and speaking about their chosen charity, lifting the lid on the experience.

Urns of 2020 will run from 10 – 21 December 2020
Monday – Friday 10am – 6pm, Saturday 10am – 5pm.
Entry to the exhibition is free
Gaffa Gallery, 281 Clarence St, Sydney

Further information:
Liz Amalfi (IONICA), Curator, Urns of 2020
Phone: 0416 219 569 Email: [email protected]

Follow the exhibition on instagram: @ionicamadeinitaly

Artists Charity

Elizabeth Armanious Exodus Youth Worx
Elisa Bartels Port Macquarie Koala Hospital
Harry Bayston R U OK?
Tasha Button Koala Hospital Port Macquarie
Clache Raong Little Sisters of the Poor
Sebastian Conti Healing Foundation
Bronte Cormican-Jones Minderoo Foundation
Kevin Diallo ANTAR
Carla Filipe Stepping Stone House
Kristy Gordon Coast Shelter
Keroshin Govender RSPCA
Tiarna Herczeg NAAJA
Rebecca Kilpatrick Wayne Weaver Foundation
Cheungha Lim Save the Children
Saara Schaffarczyk McHale Bush Heritage Australia
Shell Nguyen Where Pigs Fly Sanctuary
Cassandra-Lyn Palmer Friends of Grafton Gallery Inc
Sarah Park Rosie’s Place
Michelle Rea Currumbin Wildlife Hospital
Monica Renaud Project Youth
Billie Robertston Black Rainbow
Maria Francesca Rodi – Milan WIRES Wildlife Rescue
Giuseppe Rodi – Milan Beyond Blue
Arezzo Sami Gidget Foundation
Linda Sok Cambodia Vision
Bic Tieu Bush Heritage
Hugh Van Schaick Asylum Seekers Centre
Kelly Vella Interplast
Aidan Weichard Wildlife Victoria
Andrew Yee ANTAR

Melanie Gray (Guest Urn)
2020 Archibold Finalist/Judge YourCrew – Harrison Riedel Foundation