People of Ipswich: 200 Faces, 200 Intentions
A completed love letter to our city. The exhibition has closed, but the conversation continues.
Project Concluded | September 2026
The Story: More than a Portrait
For ten days in late August and early September 2026, the Ipswich Community Gallery transformed into a living studio. The goal was simple yet profound: to define our city not by its buildings or statistics, but by the faces of the people who live here.
People of Ipswich began as a visual experiment: to capture 200 residents in a “Reverse Exhibition” where the art grew daily and then returned home. But as the sessions unfolded, the project became something deeper.
Before the shutter clicked, every participant was asked two questions:
- “Where will your portrait live?”
- “What do you want it to communicate?”
For many, this was the first time they had ever contemplated the intention behind their own image. These questions transformed the 15-minute session from a simple photo op into a moment of rare clarity. Across the table, we sat and stared – longer than is socially acceptable, yet entirely natural within the container we built together. In that moment, the “performance” faded, and something authentic emerged.
The Experience: A Big Hug
The result was not just a wall of black-and-white faces, but a collective exhale. One participant described walking into the opening event not as entering a gallery, but as “walking into a big hug.”
That feeling wasn’t accidental. It was the sum of over 200 individual moments of being seen clearly, of having an intention honoured, and of realising that their presence alone was enough to define this city.
The Legacy: From Wall to Home
- 200+ Intentions Set: Each portrait now lives in a home with a specific purpose defined by its owner.
- 200+ Conversations Had: A shared experience of neighbours pausing to consider how they wish to be seen. No record exists of these private moments, because some things should remain sacred.
- 1 Community Embrace: A closing event that felt less like an opening and more like a gathering of family.
While the physical mosaic has dispersed into 200 private spaces across Ipswich, the impact of those conversations remains.
The Digital Archive: A Deliberate Absence
You will not find a gallery of individual portraits on this page. There are no names, no roles, and no digital copies of the faces who participated.
This was a deliberate choice. People of Ipswich was designed to return art to the community, not to create content for the web. The true archive of this project exists only in the 200 homes across Ipswich where these portraits now live. To digitise them would be to pull them back out of the private spaces they were intended for. The project is complete when the image hangs on a wall, seen daily by the people who love the subject, not by strangers on a screen.
Coming Soon: The Book
While the images and the individual stories remain private, the experience of the project belongs to the community.
A book is currently in production, written solely from the artist’s perspective. No names, no roles, no personal anecdotes. Instead, it will explore the universal truths observed between us:
- What happens when we stare longer than is socially acceptable?
- How does intention shift the energy of a room?
- What does it feel like to be seen without a label?
This is a record of people in the presence of people – a reflection on the dignity of over 200 strangers who sat together and simply were.
Acknowledgements
This exhibition is supported by:
Local Collaborators
People of Ipswich is created with the community, not just for it. Huge thanks to our local partners:
Venue: Ipswich Community Gallery
- Design: Lead Creative (Mike Wells)
- Printing: Gawdy Green
- Catering: Zonta Ipswich & Baked by Brooke
- Documentation: Naomi McKenzie & By Katn
Stay Connected
Follow the Journey While the gallery walls are no longer growing, the conversation continues. Follow Amanda Waschevski & People of Ipswich for updates on the upcoming book and future projects. [@PeopleOfIpswichQld]
Questions? Get in touch at amanda@waschevski.com.au.