Three new exhibitions to open at SAM this weekend.

Three new exhibitions open at Shepparton Art Museum this weekend, with a full program of free events for all ages and interests.

Opening weekend events include official opening remarks, talks with exhibiting artists and Australian War Memorial curators, exhibition tours, and a film screening.

Dr Shelley McSpedden, Acting Artistic Director and Senior Curator commented:

“Our opening weekend suite of programs offers the community an opportunity to experience and learn more about the three exciting new exhibitions opening at the Shepparton Art Museum in a range of ways. We are thrilled to be premiering Art In Conflict, an Australian War Memorial touring exhibition, for which SAM in the exclusive Victoria venue.  We encourage everyone to come along and be part of these opening celebrations prior to the commencement of the Illuminate Festival, which will activate that SAM Precinct on Saturday evening.”

Art In Conflict is an Australian War Memorial exhibition opening at SAM and featuring artists from across Australia. Showcasing the works of official war artists and contemporary artists who respond to conflict, the timely exhibition explores the unique ways in which art can deepen our understanding of Australia’s experience of conflict.

Three acclaimed contemporary artists presenting work in the exhibition – Megan Cope, Susan Norrie, and Angelica Mesiti – will be in conversation with SAM Acting Artistic Director and Senior Curator, Dr Shelley McSpedden and curators, Dr Anthea Gunn, Senior Curator and Laura Webster, Head of Art from the Australian War Memorial. The artist talks will be complemented by a film screening of Köken Ergun’s Heroes, a 90-minute film about the narratives of martyrdom and heroism that are placed around the Gallipoli/Çanakkale campaign. 

SAM Open 2022, New Horizons an exhibition of local Shepparton, Goulburn Valley and Hume artists is an opportunity for our community to come together to celebrate the creativity of the region. SAM Exhibitions Curator, Jessica O’Farrell will give a tour of the exhibition on Saturday afternoon.

The third exhibition to open at SAM this weekend is a new window commission, The Land I See Is Not Elsewhere by Melbourne-based artist Nusra Latif Qureshi, which can be viewed from outside the SAM building in the SAM Forecourt on Wyndham Street. The multifaceted installation questions the histories and legacies of painting and representation of land in Australia, as much as it pays tribute to the local landscape. The Land I See Is Not Elsewhere reflects on the environmental surrounds of Shepparton and references the history of Australian landscape painting, with a specific nod to SAM’s collection of watercolour landscapes by Albert Namatjira and the extended Hermannsburg School.

All events and exhibitions are free and open to the public this weekend. More details on programs and event times can be found at the SAM website: sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

ENDS

PRESS PREVIEW:

3PM on Friday 24 March at Shepparton Art Museum. Press will have the opportunity to view the three exhibitions and speak with exhibition curators. RSVPs requested. Please email gcalandro@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

In attendance -

Australian War Memorial –

• Anthea Gunn, Senior Curator of Art
• Dr Laura Webster, Head of Art

Shepparton Art Museum –

• Dr Shelley McSpedden, Acting Artistic Director and Senior Curator
• Jessica O’Farrell, Exhibition Curator

This weekend Public Programs at the Shepparton Art Museum:

ALL PROGRAMS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

SATURDAY 26 MARCH

1PM: Official Exhibition Opening

11AM: SAM Talks: Recent War Art Commissions with artists Megan Cope and Susan Norrie.

Join exhibiting artists Megan Cope and Susan Norrie as they discuss their recent war art commissions with Australian War Memorial’s curators Anthea Gunn and Laura Webster.

2.30PM: Exhibition film screening: Köken Ergun’s Heroes.

Art in Conflict artist, Köken Ergun’s film Heroes will be shown in full.

4PM: SAM Talks: New Horizons Curatorial floor talk with SAM Exhibition Curator Jessica O’Farrell.

Join SAM Exhibitions Curator Jessica O’Farrell as she discusses our latest community gallery offering SAM Open.

SUNDAY 27 MARCH

11AM: SAM Tours: Art in Conflict An exhibition tour with Australian War Memorial Curators Anthea Gunn and Dr Laura Webster.

Join Australian War Memorial’s curatorial team as they speak on their unique insights of Art in Conflict.

12PM to 2PM: SAM Talks: A hundred years with exhibiting artist Angelica Mesiti, Senior Curator, Australian War Memorial, Dr Laura Webster and SAM Acting Artistic Director and Senior Curator, Dr Shelley McSpedden. Listen to a pre-recorded discussion of Angelica Mesiti’s A hundred years, 2019-20, a work commissioned by the Australian War Memorial to explore the Australian experience of the western front and its legacy.

Image credit: Jon Cattapan, Night patrols (Around Maliana), 2009 oil on Belgian linen ART93993, Image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial