27 November 2025

Shepparton Art Museum announces Fran O’Neill and Simeon Ayres as 2026 Community Gallery artists.

Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) is pleased to announce the selection of Fran O’Neill and Simeon Ayres as the 2026 exhibiting artists of SAM Selects and SAM Spotlight respectively. The artists were selected following an open call out and application process, which garnered 23 applications collectively.

In March 2026, Fran O’Neill will present a selection of large-scale abstract oil paintings in SAM’s Hugh D.T Williamson Community Gallery for her SAM Selects exhibition. Entitled On the Move, O’Neill’s painting practice features rich colours and sinuous gestures that evoke images of the land’s mineral textures. Born in Wangaratta and now based in Cheshunt, O’Neill comes to the Community Gallery with an extensive exhibition history, including international participation.

O’Neill says of her selection:

“I feel deeply honoured and incredibly excited to have the opportunity to exhibit my artworks as part of SAM Selects in 2026. My paintings are, in many ways, a reflection of the landscape and community that surround me—a response to the beauty, character, and sense of place that I’m lucky to call home.

I am genuinely looking forward to becoming part of the extraordinary creative community that SAM has cultivated for Shepparton and the wider region. SAM is an inspiring and generous space, and I’m excited to work alongside Caroline Esbenshade and Danny Lacy to experience how the gallery environment will elevate my work, and to meet members of the community who make this region so unique and special.”

SAM Spotlight 2026 artist Simeon Ayres will be developing a new project entitled Bringing Odysseus Home, which will feature visual and written works that explore Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey through the lens of our region. Based on the slopes of Mount Wombat in the Strathbogie Ranges, Ayres is an emerging artist employing maps and pictorial landscapes as a means of making sense of the world, giving form to what is felt but not seen.

Caroline Esbenshade, SAM Curator – Community, says of the selection:

“When evaluating applications this year, we were looking at what projects would best complement the broader 2026 curatorial program and best suit the space. The applications provided us options not only for the Community Gallery, but also for other programs and spaces at SAM, allowing us to create new opportunities to embed community voices and practices into SAM’s overall program.

I’m really excited to be presenting O’Neill’s and Ayres’ work in the Community Gallery. I think audiences will really resonate with O’Neill’s jewel toned pieces and enjoy the immersive experience the scale of her work creates. I’m looking forward to working with Ayres over the coming months and seeing the artworks that result from his exploration of recounting Homer’s The Odyssey  through his practice.”

ENDS

Pictured, L-R: SAM Selects 2026 artist Fran O’Neill and SAM Spotlight 2026 artist Simeon Ayres. Images courtesy of the artists.

About the artists:

Fran O’Neill is an Australian-born abstract painter whose large-scale, gestural canvases transform memory and sensation into dynamic fields of luminous colour. Born in Wangaratta, Victoria, she established a significant career in the United States—particularly in New York— where her vibrant works garnered critical praise, before returning to live and work in Cheshunt, northeastern Victoria. While based in Australia, she continues to maintain a global presence, exhibiting regularly across Australia and North America.

Simeon Ayres is an emerging artist based on Taungurung Country in the Strathbogie Ranges. A visual artist and writer, Ayres’ practice centres around mapmaking, drawing out deep stories of place. As a self-taught artist he has developed his own techniques and methods to represent what he feels and sees. For several years Ayres has created commissions for private clients, mapping their country in his style. Ayres has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across regional Victoria, including a solo exhibition at Benalla Art Gallery in early 2025.

About SAM Selects:

The SAM Selects exhibition program allows artists, creatives, curators, and community groups to submit a recent creative project to be exhibited in SAM’s Hugh D.T Williamson Community Gallery.

About SAM Spotlight:

SAM Spotlight is an annual paid opportunity for an emerging solo artist based in the Goulburn Valley and Hume region to work closely with the SAM Curator – Community to develop a new body of work for exhibition over 12 months.

About SAM:

Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) is located on Yorta Yorta Country, Shepparton, Victoria.

Serving as a dynamic cultural and community hub for the Greater Shepparton region, SAM is one of Australia’s leading regional art museums and the newest purpose-built collecting institution in regional Victoria. SAM houses one of the nation’s most significant collections of Australian ceramics and regional holdings of South Eastern Indigenous Art, and presents an inclusive museum experience that inspires creativity, forges meaningful connections, and celebrates the unique stories of our region.

Through its programs, events, collection, and temporary exhibitions, SAM creates opportunities for artists and creatives to engage audiences with contemporary ideas and issues, allowing the stories of our country’s ancient cultures and contemporary multicultural Australia to be discovered and exchanged.

Media enquiries, please contact: Mikela Guseli, Communications Officer, SAM

p: (03) 4804 5009 e: mguseli@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au