Image by Kaitlyn Church
Kaitlyn Church
Fordtown
SAT 19 OCT 4.00PM - SAT 30 NOV 3.00PM
OPENING EVENT: SAT 19 OCT, 4.00 - 6.00PM
FREE TO ATTEND
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Monday 9.00am - 5.00pm
Tuesday 9.00am - 5.00pm
Wednesday 9.00am - 5.00pm
Thursday 9.00am - 5.00pm
Friday 9.00am - 5.00pm
Saturday 10.00am - 3.00pm
Sunday closed
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Platform Arts is wheelchair-accessible via our Gheringhap St entrance. Unlocked, accessible bathrooms are available on both ground and first floors.
For accessibility enquiries, please directly contact us at hello@platformarts.org.au
On October 7th, 2016, the last engine rolled off the Ford Geelong assembly line, thus ending the 91-year-long manufacturing history between the Ford Motor Company and the city.
The identity of Geelong has been linked to the local Ford Factory since it began operation in 1925. The advent of Ford Australia allowed the city to enjoy the same type of wealth and prosperity as other motor cities across the globe like Detroit, Nagoya, and Birmingham. The city became so synonymous with the company that it would colloquially become known as Fordtown.
Kaitlyn Church’s Fordtown is an expanded documentary project that explores the closure of the Ford Motor Company's manufacturing facilities and its impact on Geelong. Cities will inevitably move forward from 'blue-collar' industries such as manufacturing and transition into a post-industrial society, focusing on the production of knowledge rather than the production of goods. This transition comes with many benefits for the environment and local working conditions. Fordtown questions the human cost of this progress and documents the impact of Ford’s demise on the Geelong community through the stories of individual workers.
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Kaitlyn Church is a Melbourne-based visual artist, employing photography, video and the archive. She utilizes her upbringing in rural Victoria as a source of inspiration for her photographic work; her current practice is focused on documenting the ever-changing landscape of regional Australia. She also has an interest in the history of Australia; and explores the impact of past events on the contemporary landscape.
Her project Fordtown questions the human cost of post-industrialization through the exploration of the ramifications of the closure of Ford's manufacturing facilities in her hometown of Geelong. This project is the culmination of her Master's degree research at the Photography Studies College.
