ECHOES OF HOME

Exploring the Multifaceted Meanings of Home, Identity, and Belonging

Wednesday 29 April to Sunday 17 May 2026 at Rockingham Arts Centre

Artists: Yasamin Khadembashi, Kristy Scaddan, Sarah Soulay, Sarah Thornton-Smith

Sarah Thornton-Smith, Here:Now, 2024, Gouache and etching inks on paper, 61 x 86 x 4 cm

Curatorial Statement:

Home is more than just a physical space, it is an ever-evolving concept rooted in memory, identity, and emotion. It can be a feeling of safety, a cultural anchor, a nostalgic recollection, or the warmth found in the company of friends and community. Home may be the sanctuary of a familiar environment, the comfort of shared traditions, or even an absence felt through displacement and longing. Echoes of Home invites artists to delve into the many dimensions of what home means to them and to the communities they inhabit.

In an increasingly globalised world marked by migration, shifting borders, and transient lifestyles, the notion of home becomes both deeply personal and profoundly universal. This exhibition seeks to uncover how home shapes our identities and influences our sense of belonging. It explores home as a sanctuary, a battleground, a community, a source of joy, or even a fleeting moment captured in time.

Through a diverse range of artistic expressions, Echoes of Home will present intimate narratives, collective histories, and reflections on belonging. Artists are encouraged to celebrate the comforting aspects of home—its warmth, safety, and connection—as well as to interrogate its complexities, including stories of exile, diaspora, cultural disconnection, and the haunting echoes of places left behind. The exhibition aims to create a resonant space where viewers can find fragments of their own experiences while encountering perspectives that challenge, expand, and affirm their understanding of home.