AFTERGLOW Artist Talk
with Meli Axford
Studio 8 Currumbin
27 June | 5–7pm

Join contemporary artist Meli Axford for an intimate and deeply personal artist talk exploring creativity, identity, reinvention and the emotional journey behind her Pool Series, now in its seventh year.

Known for her vibrant figurative paintings that reimagine the Australian landscape through the lens of family, memory and the female gaze, Axford will speak candidly about her unconventional path into art - from a working-class upbringing in regional Queensland and a long career in technology, to becoming a nationally exhibited painter whose work explores love, safety, visibility and freedom for women and girls.

Part memoir, part creative reflection and part conversation about contemporary culture, this evening will move beyond the surface of the paintings to explore the psychological and emotional forces that shaped them. Axford will discuss how painting became a process of self-discovery, and how meaning in her work often emerged long after the paintings themselves were made, what she now describes as “her subconscious speaking to her through paint.”

The talk will cover:

• building a creative practice later in life

• overcoming fear and self-doubt

• navigating creativity alongside motherhood, work and relationships

• the role of vulnerability in artistic growth

• how childhood experience shapes creative identity

• developing a visual language through curiosity rather than strategy

• the symbolism of the pool within her work as a space of safety, care and freedom

• the evolution of the female voice across visual art, music and popular culture

• how contemporary artists can use both painting and social media to challenge traditional gatekeeping and create more direct cultural conversations

Axford will also speak openly about the realities of pursuing a creative life outside traditional pathways — including rejection, late beginnings, balancing financial pressures and learning to finally claim the identity of “artist” after decades of feeling unable to do so.

At the heart of the evening is a message that resonates far beyond painting itself: creativity does not belong to a select few, and it is never too late to begin.

This talk will particularly resonate with:

• aspiring artists and creatives

• late bloomers returning to creative practice

• women navigating identity, visibility and self-worth

• anyone feeling the pull toward a more meaningful or expressive life

• people curious about the emotional and psychological dimensions of creativity

Honest, insightful and emotionally resonant, this promises to be an inspiring evening about creativity, persistence, vulnerability and the transformative power of making work that tells the truth.

Guests will also have the opportunity to experience the AFTERGLOW exhibition within the beautiful Studio 8 Currumbin space following the talk.

Spaces are limited.