Biography
Helen Kocis Edwards
Helen Kocis Edwards is a Melbourne based visual artist working predominantly in printmaking, drawing, painting and multimedia. She has a studio at Artery Co-operative and is currently a Director. (www.acoop.com.au). Helen is a founding member of Propeller Arts https://vimeo.com/propellerarts. Helen completed an MFA at RMIT. She was successful in attaining a Yarra City Arts Grant, ArtPlay New Ideas Lab Grant and Australia Council ArtStart Grant. Artist Residencies have included Scuola Internazionale di Grafica Venice Italy, Print Council of Australia Pop Up Exhibition NKN Gallery, Kimberley Training Institute Broome, and Chaing Mai Thailand.
Three successive multimedia collaborations (1000 Tears, Bookends and Pride, Mischief & Murder) which included works on paper and animations have been included in Melbourne Writers Festivals. Helen was a MWF Illustrator in Residence drawing live in Federation Square. Propeller Arts projection animations were included in Ballarat and Geelong White Nights. Helen has conducted workshops for children at ArtPlay Birrurung Marr. She has also collaborated with composers for two visual art, music and performance events.
Regular solo exhibitions have been held since 2003 including LWOO Port Jackson Press, Red Gallery and Qdos Gallery Lorne. Helen has participated in over fifty group exhibitions. The International Flyway Print Exchange and Overwintering Project has enabled her work to travel to galleries in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Selected entry exhibitions have included the Human Emotion and Great Authors Print Exchanges and Bellarine Printmakers Queenscliff Gallery, Group shows at Port Jackson Press, Peebles Print, Swan Hill Print, Silk Cut , InkMasters and Fremantle Print Prizes and Northern Lights at Bundoora Homestead.
Helen’s work is held in the print collections of National Gallery Canberra, State Library of Victoria, Silk Cut and Fremantle City Council and private collections nationally and internationally.