Shepparton Art Museum 2022 Exhibition Program Announced

The Shepparton Art Museum has today announced its 2022 exhibition program. Over the next 12 months, SAM will stage 14 new exhibitions across all five floors. 

In 2022, SAM will present exhibitions that connect with locally relevant stories and histories, celebrate Australian artists and continue to foster national institutional relationships. 

SAM is the only Victorian arts venue to host 3 nationally significant exhibitions, including two nationally touring exhibitions: Art In Conflict from the Australian War Memorial and Ceremony: 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial from the National Gallery of Australia. SAM will also present the seventh edition of the nationally acclaimed Indigenous Ceramic Award. 

Acting Artistic Director and Senior Curator Shelley McSpedden says: 

“We are thrilled to announce our 2022 exhibition program. Encompassing a dynamic range of mediums and themes, the exhibitions presented offer rich and compelling reflections on issues and stories strikingly relevant to the diverse communities in our region. The program also celebrates SAM’s key collection strengths, with a strong focus on ceramics and Indigenous art.” 

SAM’s next major exhibition, Art in Conflict, is a touring exhibition from the Australia War Memorial. Opening at SAM on Saturday 26 March on its first stop on a national tour, the exhibition will debut three major new bodies of work from acclaimed Australian artists Susan Norrie, Megan Cope and Angelica Mesiti. 

The 2022 Indigenous Ceramic Award will open in August and is the seventh in the series of this biennale event at SAM. The acquisitive Award contributes to the Museum’s significant holdings of Australian and International ceramics and is open to Indigenous groups and individual artists across Australia. 

The 2022 program will close with a National Gallery of Australia touring exhibition, Ceremony: 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial, opening in December 2022. Travelling exclusively to SAM in Victoria, Ceremony, curated by Hetti Perkins (Arrernte and Kalkadoon peoples) presents work of 35 artists from around Australia, revealing how the practice of ceremony is at the nexus of Country, culture and community. 

Throughout the year, SAM will continue to present engaging and playful work by artists in the Children’s Gallery space. In May, Melbourne based artist Vera Möller will install an ecosystem inspired by SAM’s surroundings and the Goulburn River. Later in the year, interdisciplinary artist Meredith Turnbull will present a large-scale immersive installation in which sculptural forms, printed murals and wall paintings converge. 

Nusra Latif Qureshi exhibition in the SAM Window, opening in late March, will explore the visual and cultural histories of the South Asian diaspora in regional Australia. 

SAM’s extensive collection of ceramics will be on show throughout the SAM building in 2022. Continuing from Brown Pots, Karavan will open in the middle of the year and explores the aesthetic influence that migration and travel had on the exchange of ideas, techniques and ceramic forms of Australian studio potters. 

SAM will highlight local creative talent in its dedicated Hugh D. T. Williamson Community Gallery. Through the SAM Squared series, the Museum will present works and exhibitions submitted through an open application process. 

More information on each exhibition will be released throughout the year. SAM is open 7 days a week, 10am to 4pm, entry and exhibitions are free. 

Ends 

ABOUT SAM: 

Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) is one of Australia's outstanding regional art museums, showcasing our exhibitions and collections in new and exciting ways and creating a welcoming, inclusive and engaging space for all audiences. Artists are central to our work. Our programming is designed to be locally relevant and engage with global contemporary ideas. SAM is recognised for its significant Australian ceramics collection, and our nationally significant collection of Indigenous art. As the only public art museum in Greater Shepparton and north central Victoria, our mission is to present great art in Shepparton, and to contribute to the cultural enrichment, community engagement and economic prosperity of the region. 

Media enquiries, please contact: Gabriella Calandro, Engagement Manager, SAM p: (03) 4804 5020 e: gcalandro@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au 

SAM 2022 Exhibition Program 

OVERVIEW 

People’s Gallery 

Art In Conflict - Opening 26 March 2022 

Indigenous Ceramic Award - Opening 13 August 2022 

Ceremony: 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial - Opening 10 December 2022 

Lin Onus Gallery 

Signs of the Time – Opening 29 October 2022 

SAM Ceramic Showcases 

Karavan – Opening 23 July 2022 

Children’s Gallery 

Vera Möller – Opening 14 May 2022 

Meredith Turnbull – Opening 12 November 2022 

Hugh D. T. Williamson Community Gallery 

SAM Squared: Open – Opening 19 March 2022 

SAM Squared: EOI – Opening 21 May 2022 

500 Strong – Opening 23 July 2022 

SAM Squared: Spotlight – Opening 24 September 2022 

SAM Art Wall

Trent Walter and Lizzie Boon – Opening 4 June 2022 

Jason Phu – Opening 26 November 2022 

SAM Window 

Nusra Latif Qureshi – Opening March 2022 

Major Exhibition Partners 

Creative Victoria 

Greater Shepparton City Council 

University Of Melbourne 

Australian Government Department of Infrastructure Transport, Regional Development & Communications 

Australian War Memorial 

National Gallery of Australia 

Sir Andrew & Lady Fairley Foundation 

Allan Myers AC QC 

Metal Manufactures Pty Ltd – AWM Electrical 

Philip Cornish AM & Caroline Cornish 

SAM Foundation 

Friends of SAM