3 January 2018

Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) is proud to launch its first quarterly program for January to April this week, as well as its complete 2018 exhibition program online for all to engage with, participate in and share.

Showcasing four jam-packed months ahead, the SAM Program outlines temporary exhibitions, upcoming workshops for all ages and skill-levels, talks and other special events, as well as everyday offerings for all to enjoy. The 12-page booklet is available on SAM’s website to download, with hard copies available at SAM and in various locations around Shepparton.

EXHIBITIONS

Currently in its last days, SAM’s Summer exhibition, Cover Versions: Mimicry and Resistance uses mediums ranging from sound art and video to photography and installation, with artists drawing upon the histories of music, popular culture and the internet, ethnography and the natural world. New site-specific commissions highlight the discourse in the context of regional Victoria, from robotic flowers in Dookie’s golden canola fields to community choirs that interpret the SAM Collection and the museum architecture musically. Now showing until 14 January 2018.

From 27 January, SAM will present Soft Core, an exhibition of attention-grabbing 3D works that includes large-scale inflatables, forms made from soft materials, and materials that simply look soft. Soft Core is an exhibition for all ages – bring your family and friends to see the awe-inspiring recent work of 12 Australian and International artists. The official opening will be held on Friday 2 February at 6pm and include a special participatory installation of soft sculpture by the opening speaker, David Cross – artist and Professor of Art and Performance, Deakin University. On the following day, the work will be displayed for further participation in the Shepparton Maude Street Mall from 10am to 2pm. Soft Core is an exhibition curated by Micheal Do in conjunction with Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre and toured by Museums and Galleries of NSW. Showing from 27 January to 18 March 2018.

In early March, we’ll say goodbye to 80/80: Eighty Years of SAM – The Collection as the whole ground floor of SAM changes over to include two new collection exhibitions; Intimate Realities and Ever-present. Drawn largely from recent acquisitions, most of these works are being presented for the first time at SAM. Intimate Realities showcases a selection of sculptural works by leading Australian artists whose works engage, intrigue, and inspire through quiet contemplation, references to the body, musical refrain, and sheer enjoyment of materials. Ever-present is an exciting exhibition of historic and contemporary works by Indigenous artists, exploring the many ways that Country is explored and revealed through painting, ceramics and the beauty of every-day objects. Showing from 3 March 2018 to April 2019.

SAM’s Education Lab is a new initiative taking place from late March to mid-May, where students of all ages can work with artist Masato Takasaka to contribute to an ever-evolving exhibition over six weeks. The Education Lab coincides with other local community favourites: SAM Local Spotlight, celebrating home grown creativity; and Best of Friends, which invites all members of the Friends of SAM to show their work inside the museum. This year’s SAM Local Spotlight artist is Kate Hill.

SAM Local exhibitions will show from 29 March to 13 May 2018.

Kate Hill’s practice utilises site-specific materials of earth, clay and water, and processes such as sourcing, refining and sculpting to engage in temporal modalities of place – reflecting on both macro landscapes and systems – and the intimate space of walking. Through the excavation and processing of these materials she examines the stories that are held in this site, and the broader environmental and political questions associated with larger scale industries using similar processes.

Currently on show, the Drawing Wall #29 features work by Jon Campbell on the 4 x 12 metre wall in the Eastbank Centre, next door to the art museum. In February, SAM will commission its 30^th Drawing Wall by well-known local artist Rosa Purbrick. The 30^th edition of the wall will be marked and celebrated. David Harley will complete the 31^st Drawing Wall in late April.

The fourth successful year of SAM’s Showcase sees Susan Frost’s minimalist forms that explore subtle gradations of colour and tone until late January, and to celebrate SAM going local in time for the Shepparton Festival, we’ll see local artist Kaye Poulton present new work in the 17^th Showcase. The Showcase, located in the SAM Shop, provides visitors and collectors with a unique opportunity to acquire work by accomplished ceramic artists.

In late May, a survey exhibition of new and recent work by one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists, Raquel Ormella, will include a wide variety of media, and particularly draw on her experimental textile works. The exhibition will explore key themes that Ormella has consistently developed in her work: social and environmental activism; human and animal relationships; nationalism and national identity. Showing from 26 May to 12 August 2018.

In late August, SAM will present its sixth iteration of the Indigenous Ceramic Award, with applications open to Indigenous artists and groups from 15 January until 5 March. Showing from 25 August to 11 November 2018.

To conclude 2018, a major collaborative, playful and immersive exhibition, Craftivism, will feature the work of over 16 contemporary Australian artists and artist collectives. Extending our understanding of craft-making traditions and the potential of various materialities, the works in Craftivism will subvert and extend these forms into the realm of activism and social change.  Many of the works included will encourage social connection between community members, and the idea of play and regeneration through collective processes. Showing from 24 November 2018 to 3 March 2019.

 

PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Ongoing favourites

SAM is thrilled to announce the return of sell-out programs from 2017 such as SAM Little Hands for toddlers and pre-schoolers and their carer; the SAM Art Club, after-school programming for kids and tweens; and SAM Out Late! for those secondary students and adults wanting to engage with art after hours and meet new friends. This year also sees the return of the popular SAM Art Trail, designed to encourage children and families to learn about the artworks through self-guided tours. Teachers and students can also access professional development workshops and talks.

Special lecture: Architecture as Land Art with John Denton

For those interested in the development of the new Shepparton Art Museum’s architecture, on Thursday 8 February, hear from John Denton, one of the founders of Denton Corker Marshall, talk about the idea of architecture as land art. As many will know, DCM won the architecture competition for the new SAM, and are working with Council on Detailed Designs. Denton will discuss DCM’s approach to architecture as an art object set in the landscape. Bookings can be made online via SAM’s website.

Summer Holiday Program

To kick off the year, SAM will present its popular Summer Holiday Program of art-making for people of all ages and skill-levels in mid-January. With some programs booked out as soon as details were published in December, make sure you book straight in if there’s something that interests you to avoid missing out! ­

Text Me, Clay Me

SAM’s sell-out clay play sessions are back. Taking inspiration from Jon Campbell’s, Drawing Wall #29, participants will explore text and typography. Using rolling, coiling and pinching techniques, kids will express themselves through loopy lettering, text and scale. Participants will get to take home their work after firing.

When: Monday 22 January, 1.30 to 3.30pm
For: Kids & Tweens
Cost: $20
Tutor: Kaye Poulton
Bookings: On the SAM website via Eventbrite

Skidding Squeegees

Our last screen-printing workshop was so much fun we’re rolling it out again. Learn how to print multiple colours and repetitive patterns onto a calico bag which you can take home, or bring your own white t-shirt and show it off when you get back to school.

When: Tuesday 23 January, 10.30am to 12pm or 1.30 to 3pm
For: Kids & Tweens
Cost: $20
Tutor: Tarli Bird
Bookings: On the SAM website via Eventbrite

A Summer Road Trip for Families
NGV Kids on Tour program

Spend the afternoon creating and making. To coincide with the National Gallery of Victoria’s Summer exhibition program, activities will include collage, board games and some take-home fun. More information on NGV Kids on Tour here. Come and join us!

When: Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 January, 1.30 to 3pm
Audience: Families
Cost: FREE  
Bookings: On the SAM website via Eventbrite

To view the SAM Program January to April 2018 which includes all of the above: https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/programs-and-events

Free hard copies are available from the SAM Shop (70 Welsford Street, Shepparton), and in the Shepparton News on Friday 12 January.

SAM is open 7 days from 10am to 4pm (public holidays 1pm to 4pm).

Shepparton Art Museum is proudly provided by Greater Shepparton City Council, located at 70 Welsford Street, Shepparton. For general SAM enquiries and bookings please contact: (03) 5832 9861, email art.museum@shepparton.vic.gov.au, or visit www.sheppartonartmuseum.com.au. SAM is also on Facebook www.facebook.com/SheppartonArtMuseum, Twitter and Instagram: @SAM_Shepparton.