TRAVELLING EXHIBIT
OUR ROUND-UP OF REGIONAL ART GALLERIES THAT OFFER A UNIQUE TASTE OF HISTORY, CULTURE AND CREATIVITY.
From the Northern Territory to Tasmania, we’ve compiled a comprehensive round-up of the best galleries regional Australia has to offer.
VICTORIA
There are many prominent regional galleries in Victoria, including the heritage-listed Art Gallery of Ballarat offering a range of Australian paintings, sculpture and works on paper, as well as themed exhibitions from the gallery’s collection (artgalleryof ballarat.com.au). Hamilton Gallery in Victoria’s Western District is renowned for its outstanding collection of paintings and decorative arts displayed across six gallery spaces (hamiltongallery.org). You’ll find works by prominent Australian sculptors at the Mcclelland Sculpture Park and Gallery on the Mornington Peninsula. The ‘Splash Mcclelland Contemporary Watercolour Award’ show featuring Dee Jackson is on until March 17th (mclellandgallery.com).
SHEPPARTON ART MUSEUM
Ceramics are the drawcard of this museum established in 1936. See objects crafted by the first convict potters through to everyday and decorative ceramics produced by Bendigo Pottery and Hoffman Brick Company. There are also Australian landscape paintings on show. 70 Welsford Street, Shepparton, Victoria. (03) 5832 9861; sheppartonartmuseum.com.au
TARRAWARRA MUSEUM OF ART
This not-for-profit institution’s collection, based on 142 artworks donated by Eva and Mark Besen, is made up of acquisitions from the early 1950s to the present day created by Australian artists who have had a significant influence on modern art. ‘Patricia Piccinini & Joy Hester: Through Love …’, an exhibition that pairs more than 50 works by the two renowned artists, is on show until March 11th. The first Victorian viewing of ‘Body Remembers’, Tracey Moffatt’s celebrated photographic series, commences on March 23rd. 313 Healesville-yarra Glen Road, Healesville, Victoria. (03) 5957 3100; twma.com.au
QUEENSLAND
Up in Cairns, Kickarts Contemporary Arts celebrates the work of artists in Tropical North Queensland and holds touring exhibitions (kickarts.org.au). Also in the far north is The Centre of Contemporary Art, Cairns which is due to reopen in mid-2019 (arts.qld.gov.au). The City of Townsville Art Collection has more than 2700 works, and individual and themed exhibitions take place at both the Perc Tucker Regional Gallery and Pinnacles Gallery (townsville.qld. gov.au). Noosa artist Amanda Brooks’ impressionist works are showing at the Toowoomba Grammar School Art Show on March 29th–31st (twgs.qld.edu.au).
PETER PHILLIPS
Tucked away in the Noosa hinterland, the newly renovated industrial barnstyle gallery of leading British artist Peter Phillips is open by appointment only. One of the original Pop artists, Phillips studied at the Royal College of Art in London at the same time as David Hockney, Brett Whiteley, Peter Blake, R. B. Kitaj and Allen Jones. Now based in Australia, he continues to create major work. The gallery will feature a celebratory retrospective, titled POP!, in honour of Phillips’s 80th birthday — including sculptures, oil on canvas and works on paper created over six decades — during a weekend in May. The event will run as part of the Noosa Food and Wine Festival. 36 Mcintyre Lane, Tinbeerwah, Queensland. 0406 198 300; peterphillips.com
TOOWOOMBA REGIONAL ART GALLERY
Established over eight decades ago in 1937 and surrounded by inner-city parkland, the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery is the oldest public art gallery in regional Queensland and boasts three permanent collections. The gallery facilitates the Toowoomba Biennial Emerging Artist Award and Exhibition to recognise and support creative talent with acquisition funds of up to $15,000. 531 Ruthven Street, Toowoomba, Queensland. 131 872; tr.qld.gov.au
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
On the Eyre Peninsula, Arts Ceduna is the foremost Aboriginal art centre selling work on behalf of more than 130 artists from the far western region of South Australia. The organisation also offers training and residencies for artists (artsceduna.com.au). Over in Kapunda near the Barossa Valley, you can take a floral painting class with Jacqueline Coates (bloomspainting workshops.com). On the Fleurieu Peninsula, the South Coast Regional Arts Centre is located in the historic Goolwa Police Station and exhibits the work of emerging and established artists in the areas of printmaking, ceramics and jewellery (alexandrina.sa.gov.au).
JAMFACTORY AT SEPPELTSFIELD
The Barossa Valley outpost of Jamfactory, set in Seppeltsfield Winery, is a unique hub for craft and design. The gallery has a program of curated exhibitions showcasing local, national and international work by leading artists — while the facility provides studio space for professional artisans working in knife-making, millinery, glass and leather. Visitors can meet the makers and watch them in action, or take part in a workshop. Seppeltsfield Road, Seppeltsfield, South Australia. (08) 8562 8149; jamfactory.com.au
THE CEDARS
Sir Hans Heysen was one of Australia’s most noted landscape artists and his historic home and studio at Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills is a beautifully preserved time capsule of his life and work. Heysen purchased the 1870s house in 1912 and lived there with his family. Today the property remains mostly unchanged, with over 200 original artworks, furniture, textiles and personal items in the house — and the studios of both Heysen and his daughter Nora left as if they had just stepped out. Visitors can take a tour of the house, grounds and studios. Heysen Road, Hahndorf, South Australia. (08) 8388 7277; hansheysen.com.au
NEW SOUTH WALES
There are many great galleries in New South Wales that house local collections, host travelling exhibitions and make a vital contribution to the cultural life of their region. North-west of Sydney is the Hawkesbury Regional Gallery in Windsor, which has a fine curation of works by contemporary Australian artists, such as Ben Quilty and Guy Maestri. It is also home to the Cleary Collection of paintings and prints by the likes of Arthur Boyd and
Norman Lindsay (hawkesbury.nsw.gov. au/gallery). Further north in the Upper Hunter is Michael Reid Murrurundi, a private gallery in a historic homestead with a focus on contemporary Australian art (michaelreidmurrurundi.com.au). In the Central West, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery has works by Lloyd Rees and artists associated with nearby Hill End, including Tim Storrier and Rachel Ellis (bathurstart.com.au). The Orange Regional Gallery offers a permanent collection of more than 400 contemporary Australian prints, paintings, sculpture and ceramics. It’s exhibiting works by finalists of the 2018 Archibald Prize until April 10th (org.nsw.gov.au). In the Riverina, Wrenwood Gallery’s ‘L’art de Trois’ exhibition showcases landscape paintings by three talented artists from Yackandandah in Victoria (@wrenwood_ gallery on Instagram). The Tweed Regional Gallery at Murwillumbah has a busy calendar of touring exhibitions. It’s also home to the Margaret Olley Art Centre, which includes works by the celebrated still-life and interiors painter, as well as re-creations of rooms in Olley’s home studio (artgallery.tweed.nsw.gov.au).
THE MOREE GALLERY
This private country gallery and shop in the state’s north-west sells artworks by young emerging Australian artists, including Jenie Fawckner and Emily Persson. Gallery director Gig Moses started the gallery in 1996 and organises four exhibitions a year. Next up is a group show running from May 10th to 31st to coincide with the Moree on a Plate food and wine festival. Works by painters Catherine Stewart and Sarah Bishop, and ceramicist Lucinda Kirkby, who won the Mayor’s Award in the 2018 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, will be on display. Max Centre, Heber Street, Moree, New South Wales. (02) 6752 3927; moreegallery.com.au
MEROOGAL
This Carpenter Gothic-style house was home to four generations of women from the Thorburn and Macgregor families until the late 1980s when it became a museum of domestic history. It’s also home to the Meroogal Women’s Art Prize where artists are asked to respond to the house and its stories in any medium. The 2018 competition entries are on show until March 30th. Corner West and Worrigee streets, Nowra, New South Wales. (02) 4421 8150; sydney livingmuseums.com.au/meroogal
NORTHERN TERRITORY
Art galleries and cultural centres in the Northern Territory include Maningrida Arts and Culture, and its Djómi Museum in Arnhem Land, which has a significant collection of bark painting, weavings and sculptural works (maningrida.com). In north-east Arnhem Land, the Buku-larrnggay Mulka Centre in Yirrkala has four gallery spaces and a print studio (yirrkala.com). The Hermannsburg Potters in the Macdonnell Ranges of central Australia is open to visitors with a studio and small gallery that features the works of the Western Arrente artists (hermannsburg potters.com.au). Papunya Tula Artists in Alice Springs is highly regarded and represents around 120 artists (papunyatula.com.au). Jilamara Arts is a remote Indigenous art centre on the Tiwi Islands where artists produce traditional ochre paintings, prints, textiles, Tiwi carved birds and Tutini poles. The Muluwurri Museum features Tiwi artefacts (jilamara.com). Munupi Arts on Melville Island has a range of works inspired by the landscape and Tiwi creation stories (munupiart.com). Discover bush-dyed textiles, seed and shell jewellery, woven baskets and lino prints at Anindilyakwa Arts on Groote Eylandt off the coast of East Arnhem Land (anindilyakwaarts.com.au).
ARALUEN ARTS CENTRE
This world-class visual and performing arts centre in Central Australia holds significant works, including a collection of watercolours by Albert Namatjira. With 1100 artworks on display, as well as exhibitions during the year, the centre showcases the continual development of Aboriginal art. The annual Desert Mob exhibition, symposium and marketplace showcases works from 30 remote art centres. 61 Larapinta Drive, Alice Springs, Northern Territory. (08) 8951 1122; araluenartscentre.nt.gov.au
MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY
Acting as both a museum and art gallery, this cultural institution features artefacts from Aboriginal culture, natural sciences, history and art; and concentrates on northern and Central Australia and its close neighbours. It’s also home to Australia’s longest-running and most prestigious Indigenous art award, the annual National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards. 19 Conacher Street, The Gardens, Darwin, Northern Territory. (08) 8999 8264; magnt.net.au
TASMANIA
Handmark is a private gallery north of Hobart that shows works by local artists and sells jewellery, prints and ceramics (handmark.com.au). Just over an hour’s drive away is the Devonport Regional Gallery, which promotes Tasmanian art, craft and design (devonportgallery.com). The Burnie Regional Art Gallery is home to the Burnie Print Prize, a biennial event that attracts the Oceania region’s top contemporary printmakers. An exhibition of entries in this year’s prize starts on March 22nd and runs until May 5th (burniearts.net).
DESIGN TASMANIA
This museum in Launceston is home to a permanent collection of Tasmanian timber design that’s regarded as one of the best collections of contemporary woodwork in the world. Opening this month, ‘Potters: Produce’ is an exhibition about tableware design that runs until June 2nd. There’s also a retail store selling Tasmanian crafts and designs, from jewellery and homewares to designer furniture. Corner Brisbane and Tamar streets, Launceston, Tasmania. (03) 6331 5506; designtasmania.com.au
GLOVER PRIZE
One of Australia’s most significant landscape art awards, the $50,000 Glover Prize is awarded annually to a work judged the best contemporary landscape painting of Tasmania. British artist John Glover emigrated to Tasmania in 1831 at the age of 64 and became known as the father of Australian landscape painting. The winner of the 2019 Glover Prize is announced on March 8th, and an exhibition of works by the finalists is held in Evandale, near Glover’s former home in Deddington, from March 9th to 17th. Falls Park Pavilion, 8 Logan Road, Evandale, Tasmania. 0418 130 522; johnglover.com.au
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
There’s plenty of variety in the western state’s art archives. Short Street Gallery in Broome’s Chinatown has a collection of contemporary Indigenous artworks demonstrating the diversity of cultures in the Kimberley and around Australia (shortstgallery.com.au). Also in the Kimberley region, Mangkaja Arts at Fitzroy Crossing has colourful paintings from the river and desert people depicting stories, culture and identity (mangkaja.com). Mowanjum Art and Culture Centre is a creative hub of the Worrorra, Wunambal and Ngarinyin people near Derby, showcasing artworks, photographs, recordings and cultural materials of significant heritage (mowanjumarts.com). The Holmes à Court Gallery at Vasse Felix in the state’s south-west has an internationally significant collection of artworks reflecting the family’s fascination with Australian and Indigenous art (holmesacourt gallery. com.au). The Goldfields Art Centre at Kalgoorlie in the Goldfields-esperance region recently held an exhibition ‘Yagu Gurlbarl (Big Secret)’ by Julie Dowling, which explores the exploitation of First Nation people (goldfieldsartscentre.com.au). In Esperance, the Cannery Arts Centre hosts regular exhibitions and workshops (canneryartscentre.com.au).
WARMUN ART CENTRE
Known for its artists’ use of locally sourced ochres and natural pigments, this Gija-owned and -governed arts enterprise, located 200 kilometres south of Kununurra, has been operating for over two decades and represents nearly 60 artists. Last year artist Patrick Mung Mung won the main prize at the Hedland Art awards while Mabel Juli’s Garnkiny doo Wardel (Moon and Star) was animated on the Sydney Opera House sails as part of the Badu Gili (Water Light) festival. Warmun artists are represented in the ‘Desert River Sea: Portraits of the Kimberley’ exhibition, which opened at the Art Gallery of WA last month. Great Northern Highway, Western Australia. (08) 9168 7496; warmunart.com.au
WARINGARRI ABORIGINAL ARTS
This art centre celebrates the local Miriwoong culture and supports more than 100 artists, including those from the Kira Kiro Arts Centre at Kalumburu. It is the first wholly Indigenous-owned art centre in the Kimberley with art studios and The Dawang Gallery, which is a cultural information space with selected works from the Waringarri collection. A range of tours are also offered, including a full-day On Country culture tour. 16 Speargrass Road, Kununurra, Western Australia. (08) 9168 2212; waringarriarts.com.au