Radical Joy
Lynn Petersen
6 – 18 November 2026
Location | Q Gallery, Edgar Street, Ainslie ACT 2601
Opening Hours | Wednesday–Friday, 2.30pm-6pm | Saturday, 10am-3pm
Entry | Free | No bookings required
Access | template, template, template
What do you want to protest? What actions (or inactions) cause you distress? What is happening in our world that you do not agree with? What are your hopes for the future?
Joy can be an act of resistance. Radical Joy radiates and inspires. It is not dependent on outside forces but is within us and within our control, and when expressed, can help make change for all and inspire others to do the same. Joy is an invitation to resist the status quo.
We can respond to issues and concerns with anger or sadness. While anger can temporarily mobilise us, it is exhausting and disempowering in the long term. Instead, let’s aim for “tactical frivolity”, the art of using humour and absurdity to challenge the status quo.
This exhibition and community engagement program explores how we can face adversity or challenges with hope and humour. It is also a way of ‘giving the finger’ to practices and events that do not sit easily within our own moral compass.
At the heart of the exhibition is a series of hand-felted protest finger puppets, each one a small and spirited act of dissent. Designed to reflect both historical acts of resistance and the concerns of our community today, each puppet carries its own badge or placard bearing a pithy slogan, a hopeful call to joyful action.
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Lynn is an experienced educator and artist. Her post-graduate degrees include a Master of Education (Deakin University) and a Graduate Certificate in Education (Newcastle University). She has expertise in arts education. She has worked across a range of schools in the ACT in roles including arts educator and Principal. She currently works at the University of Canberra as a sessional academic (Education) and a freelance arts educator and community arts practitioner.
Lynn has a particular interest in textiles (especially feltmaking) and theatre arts. Some of her more recent works explore the intersection between textile and theatre arts. Lynn has taught feltmaking workshops for a range of organisations in the Canberra region. Her textile works have been exhibited by Tuggeranong Arts Centre, Craft + Design Canberra, Canberra Region Feltmakers and Belconnen Arts Centre.
SEE ARTIST INSTAGRAM HERE
Proudly supported by Q Gallery
Images | Lynn Petersen | Radical Joy, 2025 | Photos courtesy of the artist