Applications now open for SAM Squared.
14 December 2021
Applications for the Shepparton Art Museum’s new program SAM SQUARED opens Tuesday 14 December 2021.
Drawing inspiration from SAM’s much loved and celebrated ‘SAM Local’ suite of exhibitions, SAM SQUARED celebrates local creativity all year round in the dedicated exhibition space, the Williamson Community Gallery at the new Shepparton Art Museum.
Local artists and creatives will have opportunities through the SAM SQUARED program to present their work in a professional museum context and connect with new audiences. SAM SQUARED aims to promote, foster, engage and celebrate creativity from our vibrant creative community in the Goulburn Valley.
Shelley McSpedden, Acting Artistic Director and Senior Curator said “We have an extraordinarily rich and diverse creative community in the Goulburn valley region. From spinners and weavers, to painters and makers in more traditional forms. The SAM Squared program is designed as a permanent space to support, promote and celebrate creativity in all its many forms.”
Jessica O’Farrell, Exhibitions Curator said: “SAM SQUARED celebrates the diverse creative community we have in the Goulburn Valley. We welcome all creatives from around the Goulburn Valley to consider applying or encouraging others to submit for an opportunity to showcase their work in our new dedicated space.”
SAM SQUARED is an annual program and will seek artwork and exhibition submissions in three open callout opportunities:
SAM OPEN: An all ages, open exhibition celebrating the creativity of our community Applications open: Now Open Applications close: Friday 28 January 2022 Application fee: $40 which includes entry and a Friends of SAM single yearly membership. $10 for current members.
SAM EOI: Artist, curator, creative practitioner or community group led exhibitions via an expression of interest proposal
Applications open: Now Open Applications close: Friday 11 February 2022
SAM SPOTLIGHT: A solo exhibition showcasing the talent of an emerging local artist
Applications open: Monday 13 December 2021 Applications close: Friday 25 February 2022
Application fee: $40 which includes entry and a Friends of SAM single yearly membership. $10 for current members.
To apply, applicants must live or must demonstrate a strong connection to in the following areas of the Goulburn Valley and the Hume Region:
Alpine, Benalla, Campaspe, Greater Shepparton, Indigo, Mansfield, Mitchell, Moira, Murrindindi, Strathbogie, Towong, Wangaratta, and Wodonga
Interested artists, creatives and arts groups are encouraged to visit SAM’s website for more information and application forms.
ENDS
Media enquiries, please contact:
Gabriella Calandro, Engagement Manager, SAM p: (03) 4804 5020 e: gcalandro@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au
Rebecca Coates to step down as Director of Shepparton Art Museum
1 December 2021
Rebecca Coates to step down as Director of Shepparton Art Museum
Victoria, Australia: Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) Artistic Director and CEO, Rebecca Coates, announced today that she was stepping down from the role after six transformational years at the helm.
Dr Coates is departing following the triumphant opening in November 2021 of the new SAM building designed by acclaimed Australian architectural firm Denton Corker Marshall and its nine inaugural exhibitions.
“I had three goals when I commenced in the role. First, to build the artistic exhibitions, collection, and engagement so that it earnt the participation of the local community and a national reputation. Second, to build a genuinely world-class new building that would attract visitors, enable a first-class museum operation, and be a symbol of civic pride. And third, to build a stronger community in Shepparton, with the museum as an agent for social change, celebrating diversity and fostering inclusion. All three goals have been well and truly achieved,” said Dr Coates.
SAM’s exhibitions are now widely recognised across Australia and internationally, building on SAM’s focus on ceramics and indigenous art and engagement. In the past six years Rebecca has curated and co-curated 29 exhibitions and overseen a total program of 111 exhibitions. Two of the exhibitions curated by SAM (Craftivism and Raquel Ormella) have toured to national acclaim. Dr Coates also revamped SAM’s ceramic art awards to build the profile of contemporary artists working in ceramics. And she built partnerships with a number of Australia’s largest galleries, including the National Gallery of Australia, Bundanon Trust and Art Gallery of South Australia. Under a new partnership, Art and conflict, a major exhibition organised by the Australian War Memorial, will premiere in March 2022 in Shepparton’s new art museum, its sole Victorian venue, at the beginning of a national tour.
The SAM collection has grown through Dr Coates’ tenure, adding 588 artworks valued at $3 million. Donations by artists have grown by a factor of ten, including donations by artists Ben Quilty, Danie Mellor, Karen Black, Richard Lewer and Felicity Law and Tony Albert. The Museum has also formalised the gift of the Carrillo and Ziyin Ganter Collection, valued at around $4.5M.
Dr Coates was pivotal to the new Shepparton Art Museum that now stands at the entrance to Shepparton. She was the driving force to use a rigorous process endorsed by the Australian Institute of Architects to identify an architect and design. Dr Coates said that this was “vital to ensuring that Shepparton got a world class museum, not just another infrastructure project.”
In the past six years SAM’s education programs have expanded, supported by a major learning and engagement partnership with the University of Melbourne, and program partnerships with La Trobe University and the Yulgelbar Foundation, presenting SAM Edulab (an artist-led intensive four week program that attracted 600 local primary and secondary students previously), an artist-led school holiday program, the SAM Scholars Program (which provides mentoring support to around 25 VCE art and design students per year), and Fresh (a VCE art and design exhibition). In addition, funding of $500,000 from the Buckland foundation has supported a new Ambassadors and Volunteers program, engaging 60 young people over five years to work with SAM.
Dr Coates said that for her, “It was crucial that SAM contributed substantially to indigenous reconciliation both locally and nationally.” SAM has developed an Aboriginal Engagement Plan supported by funding from Creative Victoria and deep engagement with local community and the arts sector. Dr Coates set up the museum’s first indigenous curatorial position through a one-year residency funded by Creative Victoria, and secured ongoing funding for the position through a learning and engagement partnership with the University of Melbourne. In the last 12 months SAM has secured RISE funding from the Federal government for over $250,000 to create 9 new indigenous traineeship positions. The recent Lin Onus exhibition is the culmination of this indigenous engagement, with local indigenous communities closely involved in the exhibition, the first time that a collection of Lin Onus’ work has been shown on Country.
Dr Coates added, “I would like to thank the staff of SAM whose contributions have been to SAM’s success over the past six years as well as SAM’s donors and supporters, ably organised by the SAM Foundation, The Friends of SAM and the enormous contribution of Carrillo Gantner AC.
“I am very grateful for the support of numerous artists and my colleagues in art museums and galleries who continue to make and show work that matters, despite the challenges.
“It’s been six big years, and the past two years have involved the triple challenge of pivoting through a global pandemic, transitioning the governance of the organisation from being part of Council to becoming a stand-alone not-for-profit organisation, and opening a new world-class museum with a much larger footprint,” said Coates.
I am now looking forward to a well-earned rest, and to contributing further to Australian arts and culture in future roles,” concluded Coates.
End
MEDIA CONTACT: Gabriella Calandro, Engagement Manger, Shepparton Art Museum, gcalandro@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au
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. https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/
NEW $50 MILLION SHEPPARTON ART MUSEUM OPENS TO THE PUBLIC
19 November 2021
Launching with 9 free exhibitions, 4 new artwork commissions, over 200 artists presented, 160 Indigenous & First Nations artworks on display
Victoria, Australia: Australia’s newest art museum, Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) officially opens its doors to the public on Saturday 20 November 2021 with nine free exhibitions, four new artwork commissions and presenting more than 200 artists in a celebration of the area’s rich and diverse culture, people and landscape.
Designed by acclaimed Australian architecture firm Denton Corker Marshall and spanning five floors, the new $50 million art museum houses over 4,000 artworks, with over 200 artists represented and 160 Indigenous and First Nations artworks on display, including its nationally recognised ceramics collection and the nation’s most significant collection of South-East Australian Aboriginal art.
To mark the unveiling, the opening weekend includes a live streamed and in person exhibition opening of Lin Onus: The Land Within. On Saturday 20 November from 2pm, a Welcome to Country by Uncle Colin Walker and opening remarks from Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson will take place on the Kaiela Arts Forecourt on the banks of Victoria Park Lake. On Sunday 21 November at 11.00am, a panel discussion entitled “Build It and They Will Come” will explore the story behind the new museum. Moderated by Melbourne School of Design’s Professor Alan Pert, the panel features John Denton, founder of Denton Corker Marshall, SAM Artistic Director & CEO Rebecca Coates and David Sequeira, artist and Director of Margaret Lawrence Gallery, University of Melbourne.
SAM Artistic Director & CEO Rebecca Coates said of the opening, “It has been a much anticipated moment and we are delighted to finally welcome visitors and our community to the new SAM. The free exhibitions, outstanding artists and art commissions, supported by programs that engage, inspire and inform, are all housed in a world-class new building which is changing the agenda for what Shepparton is known for.”
“SAM has been designed as a live building where every surface presents an opportunity to display and be surrounded by art and experience, whether you go to the cafe, drop into the shop or even drive past at night when the gallery is closed. We are proud to be putting Shepparton on the cultural map and to contribute to radically changing this unique part of regional Victoria,” Coates added.
Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson said, “This extraordinary new museum is a stunning addition to Victoria’s world-class network of regional galleries, an incredible creative asset for the region and must-visit destination for all art lovers. The Museum is already offering compelling art and programs for this summer and beyond, headlined by this amazing Lin Onus exhibition.”
The new museum opens with nine free exhibitions spanning sculpture, painting, video, photography, ceramics and installation including the first significant showing of works by Lin Onus, the acclaimed Yorta Yorta artist, on Country, Lin Onus: The Land Within. Also premiering is Flow: Stories of River, Earth and Sky, an exhibition showcasing over 60 artists from SAM’s collection including major new acquisitions shown for the first time, the nation’s largest holding of works by the extended Namatjira family and works from the Carrillo and Ziyin Gantner Collection of Australian Indigenous Art.
Unveiled for the first time are four new artwork commissions and artworks by emerging and established Australian artists including the new work Connection to Country – I Remember When…,2021 by acclaimed Yorta Yorta, Wamba Wamba, Mutti Mutti and Boonwurrung artist, Maree Clarke; a new participatory video installation by one of Australia’s foremost artists and choreographers Amrita Hepi and Determination by Congo-born artist Pierre Mukeba which is inspired by the African diaspora in Australia. New site-specific installations include the large-scale artwork on SAM’s inaugural Art Wall Looking out and across, up and down, the river sometimes becomes a cloud, 2021 by multi-disciplinary artist Louisa Bufardeci; Anne-Marie May’s luminous installation Everything Joyful is Mobile which is suspended from SAM’s Atrium and Central Void spaces and James Geurts’ installation Trajectories: Orbiting Bodies Meet which draws on the museum’s close geographical proximity to the landing site of the Murchison meteorite and is commissioned for display on SAM’s 4th Floor Terrace.
Also opening to the public is Everyday Australian Design: Functional Design from the Ian Wong Collection which celebrates everyday objects from Australian daily life and culture and many of Australia’s most significant and awarded designers; Brown Pot, an exhibition exploring the evolving story of Australian studio pottery from the 1950s to today and Fresh: GV Top Art & Design, 2021 featuring artworks and design presentations from talented year 11 and 12 VCE Art, Studio Arts and Visual Communication Design students studying across 14 schools in North Central and Hume regions of Victoria in 2020.
Designed to act as a community and arts and cultural hub for the Greater Shepparton region, the new SAM building houses the Shepparton Art Museum; Shepparton Visitors’ Information Centre; Kaiela Arts, Shepparton’s Aboriginal community arts centre; an outdoor amphitheatre and Art Hill; and cafe and 150-person event space and terrace, all within an 5,300m2 cubic building.
Internally, the transparent and accessible museum experience is centred around an open, circulation galleria with four different galleries, totalling 800m2, accommodated across four floors including two major AA rated exhibition spaces which can accommodate exhibitions and loans of international significance. The gallery spaces include The Lin Onus Gallery, People’s Gallery, Williamson Community Space, SAM Kids Space, the Bill Kelly Peace Room designed as a collection viewing space, and Showcases at the entrance to SAM and across each floor featuring new commissions and SAM’s nationally significant ceramics collection.
Situated in regional Victoria around two hours’ drive north from Melbourne, SAM is located on the lands of the Yorta Yorta peoples, on the shore of Victoria Park Lake, Shepparton. Situated in regional Victoria around two hours’ drive north from Melbourne, SAM is located on the lands of the Yorta Yorta peoples, on the shore of Victoria Park Lake, Shepparton. The new building was funded by Greater Shepparton City Council ($15.35 million); the Australian Government ($15 million); Victorian State Government ($12.5 million) and private philanthropic and community support through the SAM Foundation ($7.5 million).
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MEDIA CONTACTS: To request interviews, further information or imagery please contact Articulate:
Rhiannon Broomfield, rhiannon@articulatepr.com.au 0410 596 021
Kate Atkinson, kate@articulatepr.com.au, 0466 182 681
Kym Elphinstone, kym@articulatepr.com.au, 0421 106 139
MEDIA IMAGES: Images available for download HERE
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. https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/
SAM will adhere to strict COVID-Safe guidelines in line with the Victorian Government’s Public Health Order and ensure the safety of visitors and staff. All staff, and visitors to SAM aged over 16, will be required to provide proof of COVID-19 double vaccination, wear a mask indoors and check-in using the QR code provided. Entry and all exhibitions are free, and bookings are recommended but not essential https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/your-visit/tickets/
● Shepparton Art Museum, 530 Wyndham Street, Shepparton, Victoria, 3632
● Opening hours are: Monday to Sunday, 10am-4pm everyday including public holidays with the exception of Good Friday, Christmas Day & New Year’s Day
● Admission is free
● The panel discussion “Build It and They Will Come” will be held at SAM on Sunday 21 November at 11am. Participants include John Denton, Founder of Denton Corker Marshall; Rebecca Coates, Director of SAM; David Sequeira, artist and Director of Margaret Lawrence Gallery moderated by Professor Alan Pert, Director of Melbourne School of Design. Bookings are free https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/your-visit/tickets/ and the event will be livestream via https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/
● For more information visit https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/
SAM INAUGURAL EXHIBITION PROGRAM:
Flow: Stories of River, Earth and Sky in the SAM Collection
Lin Onus Gallery
Opening 20 November 2021 Mon-Sun 10am-4pm
FREE
Everyday Australian Design: Functional Design From The Ian Wong Collection
SAM Showcase, Level 1 Cafe
Opening 20 November 2021 Mon-Sun 10am-4pm
FREE
Lin Onus: The Land Within
People’s Gallery
Opening 20 November 2021 Mon-Sun 10am-4pm
FREE
Louisa Bufardeci: Looking Out and Across to a Future
Furphy Family Art Wall
Opening 20 November 2021 Mon-Sun 10am-4pm
FREE
Brown Pots
SAM Showcases, Levels 2 & 3
Opening 20 November 2021 Mon-Sun 10am-4pm
FREE Media release 19 November 2021
Tony Albert: House of Discards
SAM Forecourt
Opening 20 November 2021 Mon – Sun 10am – 4pm
FREE
Maree Clarke: Connection to Country – I Remember When…
SAM Window
Opening 20 November 2021 Mon – Sun 10am – 4pm
FREE
Amrita Hepi: A Call to Echo
SAM Children’s Gallery
Opening 20 November 2021 Mon – Sun 10am – 4pm
FREE
Fresh: GV Top Art & Design 2021
Hugh D. T. Williamson Community Gallery
Opening 20 November 2021 Mon – Sun 10am – 4pm
FREE
James Geurts: Trajectories: Orbiting Bodies Meet
Opening 20 November 2021
FREE
Anne-Marie May: Everything Joyful is Mobile
Opening 20 November 2021
FREE
Now accepting Request for Expressions of Interest for the SAM Café.
10 November 2021
Now accepting Request for Expressions of Interest for the SAM Café.
Shepparton Art Museum is now seeking expressions of interest from experienced operators to provide an outstanding food, beverage, and functions experience at SAM Café situated in the new SAM building on the banks of Victoria Park Lake, Shepparton.
Andrew Gooley Business Manager, Shepparton Art Museum said “We are looking to partner with a provider who is ready to welcome visitors to the new SAM Building and complement our Museum experience with exceptional food, coffee and service. The SAM Café is a fantastic opportunity for an operator to be part of this exciting new landmark in Shepparton.”
The successful provider will partner with SAM to provide hospitality services across the site for guests, visitors, and the community of Greater Shepparton and will be an integral part of the visitor experience and success of SAM.
Operations will include the SAM level 1 café, the level 4 bar and terrace and function area catering for corporate events, exhibition openings, internal catering, and private/special events, such as weddings.
Mr Gooley said “SAM recognises the wide range of skills required and encourages two or more service providers combining if necessary to strengthen their EOI”.
Expression of Interest documents are available by email request to admin@cafconsulting.com.au. EOI’s are to be submitted electronically by 4pm on Wednesday 1 December 2021 to admin@cafconsulting.com.au.
Further details can be obtained from: Allen Gale, Senior Project Manager, CAF Consulting on 0436 486 015
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Background: The new café is located in the SAM building on Victoria Park Lake’s southern end and overlooks the wetlands and native bushland of the Goulburn River. It provides an exceptional view from both the second level café with outdoor terrace and the top floor function space with bar.
The five storey, metal clad building houses the new Shepparton Art Museum, indigenous art gallery and workshop Kaiela Arts, and the Greater Shepparton Visitor Centre. The building was designed by internationally renowned architects Denton Corker Marshall and was built by award winning Kane Constructions.
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.
Media enquiries, please contact: Gabriella Calandro, Engagement Manager SAM p: (03) 4804 5020 e: gcalandro@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au
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.
SAM Café EOI process update
29 October 2021
Since August Shepparton Art Museum Ltd has been working closely with CAF Consulting in Shepparton to develop an expression of interest and tender process for the new SAM Café.
The new tender and lease process will happen over two phases: expression of interest followed by formal tender application with the aim for appointment by the end of February 2022.
In the coming week prospective service providers will be invited to submit an expression of interest outlining their vision for the new café located in the SAM Building. Shortlisted parties will then be invited to submit a formal tender.
Shepparton Art Museum Ltd is dedicated to ensuring all prospective applicants have time to prepare their pitch, outlining their vision for the new Café before applying. SAM acknowledges the challenging climate for colleagues in the hospitality sector over the last 18 months. This is a great opportunity for the right provider as SAM opens and welcome visitors and our community. In the interim, the SAM Café will be operated by Eastbank under the Greater Shepparton City Council and will be operating in time for the opening on November 20. In addition to seeking a local proprietor, the EOI will be published widely in the hospitality market.
For further information about the process please contact Andrew Gooley, SAM Business Manager agooley@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au.
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Background: The new café is located in the SAM building on Victoria Park Lake’s southern end and overlooks the wetlands and native bushland of the Goulburn River. It provides an exceptional view from both the second level café with outdoor terrace and the top floor function space with bar.
The five storey, metal clad building houses the new Shepparton Art Museum, indigenous art gallery and workshop Kaiela Arts, and the Greater Shepparton Visitor Centre. The building was designed by internationally renowned architects Denton Corker Marshall and was built by award winning Kane Constructions.
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
INAUGURAL EXHIBITION PROGRAM ANNOUNCED FOR NEW SHEPPARTON ART MUSEUM
13 October 2021
The new purpose-built art Museum will house one of Australia’s most significant SouthEast Australian Aboriginal art collections
Victoria, Australia: Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) has today announced its inaugural exhibition program that will be presented in the new $50 million art museum designed by acclaimed architecture firm Denton Corker Marshall.
Spanning five floors, SAM will launch with a suite of new exhibitions and major artist commissions by emerging and established Australian artists, with work to be presented across the Museum, the surrounding precinct and online. Coming together with a spirit of regeneration, the reimagined Museum will represent the diversity and richness of Victoria and its unique local surroundings along with the vision and aspirations of its people. The exhibition program spans sculpture, painting, video, photography, ceramics and installation and is set to build upon the existing strengths of the SAM Collection, including its nationally recognised ceramics collection and the nation’s most significant collection of South-East Australian Aboriginal art.
SAM’s inaugural collection exhibition, Flow: Stories of River, Earth and Sky, showcases the nation’s largest holding of the extended Namatjira family, and is presented alongside a dynamic line up of world premiere Australian exclusives and commissions celebrating artists from across Australia and around the world. Highlights of the program include a major survey exhibition of the work of renowned Yorta Yorta artist Lin Onus; a new artwork commission by acclaimed Yorta Yorta, Wamba Wamba, Mutti Mutti and Boonwurrung artist, Maree Clarke, titled Connection to Country – I Remember When…,2021; and a new participatory commission by Bundjulung/Ngāpuhi award winning artist Amrita Hepi.
Dr Rebecca Coates, Artistic Director & CEO of SAM said: “I’m thrilled to be able to announce our inaugural exhibition program which ushers a new chapter of regeneration and community engagement for the Museum and Shepparton. SAM holds a special place in the hearts of Australians, presenting work by some of Australia’s most significant contemporary artists, locating their work within a global context. These first exhibitions speak to our unique people and place and acknowledge and celebrate our local Yorta Yorta people and shared culture. This is the most significant and exciting moment in SAM’s history as an organization. I look forward to sharing this new chapter in SAM’s history that will build on its past legacy and create a new vision for the future.”
The inaugural exhibition program to be presented at SAM includes:
- The People’s Gallery will house a major survey exhibition, Lin Onus: The Land Within (opening 20 November 2021) which is the first significant showing of the highly acclaimed Yorta Yorta artist’s work to be presented on Country. The exhibition brings together a selection of work spanning more than two decades, drawn from major public, state and private collections across Australia. Artworks are drawn from the 1970s to the artist’s untimely death in 1996, across a range of media including painting, prints and sculpture.
- Showcasing one of Australia’s foremost artists and choreographers, A Call to Echo, 2021, the new participatory video installation by Bundjulung/Ngāpuhi artist Amrita Hepi (opening 20 November 2021) will be the first exhibition for SAM Kids in the Children’s Gallery, a new, dedicated space for children and the young at heart. A Call to Echo sets up a dynamic relationship between an on-screen performance and participants within the space. Through gestural mirroring and translations, the work invites audiences to explore new forms of bodily communication and reciprocity, all in a COVID safe way. Weaving physical provocations together with a mix of moving image cues sampled from cinema, dance history and the artist’s previous works, it playfully draws attention to the limits and potential of how our bodies move.
- The inaugural exhibition in the new Lin Onus Gallery will be Flow: Stories of River, Earth and Sky in the SAM Collection (opening 20 November 2021), an exhibition that explores our relationship to nature and the ways that people, culture and ideas move through the region and out into the wider world. Who we are, how we understand place, how we define our priorities, and how we connect to the outside world are all determined by nature’s kinesis with motion and change as shared constants. The exhibition features the artwork of over 60 artists drawn from SAM’s collection and presents major new acquisitions for the first time including works from the Carrillo and Ziyin Gantner Collection of Australian Indigenous Art.
- The new SAM has been designed to showcase SAM’s ceramics collection throughout the building. Showcase One, at the entrance to the art museum’s cafe, features Everyday Australian Design: Functional Design from the Ian Wong Collection (opening 20 November 2021), an exhibition of objects that celebrates Australian daily life and culture. From the 1880s to the present-day, many of these familiar objects have become icons of our time, such as the Eski and the Décor wine cooler. Providing insights into daily life, the show comprises the everyday items we use at home and while at leisure with our family and friends. This colourful display will provide a story or two for all by prompting a nostalgic memory or casting light on the familiar object’s trajectory through the world of design.
- A special Brown Pots (opening 20 November 2021) exhibition will examine the influences and innovations of Australian studio potters engaging with and expanding on the teaching, writing and philosophy of Bernard Leach, the father of British studio pottery, and Japanese potter Shoji Hamada. This exhibition will kick off a three-part series of exhibitions exploring the trajectory of Australian studio pottery from the 1960s to today, to be presented by SAM in its new dedicated ceramics showcases over the next 18 months, showcasing works from the SAM Collection.
- The art museum has commissioned a major new work by acclaimed Yorta Yorta, Wamba Wamba, Mutti Mutti and Boonwurrung artist, Maree Clarke. Connection to Country – I Remember When…,2021 celebrates Yorta Yorta Elders, cultural heritage and ongoing connection to Country. The installation includes a series of large-scale lenticular lightboxes, the most ambitious that Maree has made to-date, and will be shown in the front window of SAM’s new building in anticipation of the museum’s opening in late 2021 (opening 20 November 2021). Given its location as a public window, the programming of this space has been designed to attract the passing public and a diverse line-up of participants to engage with the work, from less typical museum goers to those who enjoy and make use of the surrounding park and amenities.
- Looking Out and Across to a Future, 2021 (opening 20 November 2021) is the inaugural Art Wall commission at SAM on the 4th floor Furphy Wall by celebrated Melbourne artist Louisa Bufardeci. The large-scale artwork will be the first in an ongoing series of dynamic temporary commissions by contemporary artists, designed to respond to and enliven a dedicated public space, a terrace and bar on the museum’s top floor, looking out over Victoria Park Lake.
- A major public artwork by celebrated Girramay and Kuku Yalanji artist Tony Albert, House of Discards, 2019, has been installed in prime position in the forecourt of the new SAM building. Reaching nearly five metres, the towering steel structure resembles a supersized house of playing cards with bold black and white faces. It is the largest work to enter the SAM Collection to-date.
- The opening show in the Hugh D. T. Williamson Community Gallery will be Fresh: GV Top Art & Design, 2021 (opening 20 November), featuring artworks and design presentations from talented year 11 and 12 VCE Art, Studio Arts and Visual Communication Design students studying across 14 schools in North Central and Hume regions of Victoria in 2020. The Community Gallery is a dedicated space where local artists and creatives will have the opportunity to work in a professional museum context and connect with new audiences across a range of exhibitions, public programs, and events. More information forthcoming.
Designed by award-winning Melbourne-based architects Denton Corker Marshall, Shepparton Art Museum is the centrepiece of the compelling new arts institution on Shepparton’s Victoria Park Lark, in the North Central corridor of Victoria. The 5300m2 building houses the Museum, Visitor Center and Kaiela Arts, Shepparton’s local Aboriginal arts centre, as well as a cafe and event space with a rooftop terrace.
Information on the 2021 exhibition program can be found at www.sheppartonartmuseum.com.au. SAM is set to open 20 November, 2021.
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MEDIA CONTACTS: To request interviews, further information or imagery please contact Rhiannon Broomfield, rhiannon@articulatepr.com.au 0410 596 021, Kate Atkinson, kate@articulatepr.com.au, 0466 182 681 or Kym Elphinstone, kym@articulatepr.com.au, 0421 106 139.
MEDIA IMAGES: Images available for download HERE.
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.
SAM INAUGURAL EXHIBITION PROGRAM:
OVERVIEW:
SAM will open to the public on 20 November 2021 with:
9 Exhibitions
4 new commissions
Over 200 artists represented
160 Indigenous and First Nations artworks on display
Flow: Stories of River, Earth and Sky in the SAM Collection
Lin Onus Gallery
Opening 20 November 2021 Mon-Sun 10am-4pm
Shepparton Art Museum 530 Wyndham Street, Shepparton, Victoria,
FREE
Everyday Australian Design: Functional Design From The Ian Wong Collection
SAM Showcase, Level 1 Cafe
Opening 20 November 2021 Mon-Sun 10am-4pm
Shepparton Art Museum 530 Wyndham Street, Shepparton, Victoria,
FREE
Lin Onus: The Land Within
People’s Gallery
Opening 20 November 2021 Mon-Sun 10am-4pm
Shepparton Art Museum 530 Wyndham Street, Shepparton, Victoria,
FREE
Louisa Bufardeci: Looking Out and Across to a Future
Furphy Family Art Wall
Opening 20 November 2021 Mon-Sun 10am-4pm
Shepparton Art Museum 530 Wyndham Street, Shepparton, Victoria
FREE
Brown Pots
SAM Showcases, Levels 2 & 3
Opening 20 November 2021 Mon-Sun 10am-4pm
Shepparton Art Museum 530 Wyndham Street, Shepparton, Victoria
FREE
Tony Albert: House of Discards
SAM Forecourt
Opening 20 November 2021 Mon – Sun 10am – 4pm
Shepparton Art Museum 530 Wyndham Street, Shepparton, Victoria,
FREE
Maree Clarke: Connection to Country – I Remember When…
SAM Window
Opening 20 November 2021 Mon – Sun 10am – 4pm
Shepparton Art Museum 530 Wyndham Street, Shepparton, Victoria,
FREE
Amrita Hepi: A Call to Echo
SAM Children’s Gallery
Opening 20 November 2021 Mon – Sun 10am – 4pm
Shepparton Art Museum 530 Wyndham Street, Shepparton, Victoria,
FREE
Fresh: GV Top Art & Design 2021
Hugh D. T. Williamson Community Gallery
Opening 20 November 2021
Mon – Sun 10am – 4om
Shepparton Art Museum 530 Wyndham Street, Shepparton, Victoria
FREE
Image: Lin Onus, Barmah Forest, 1995, The Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment Collection © and courtesy the Lin Onus Estate
A NEW CULTURAL LANDMARK, SHEPPARTON ART MUSEUM DESIGNED BY DENTON CORKER MARSHALL, SET TO BE UNVEILED 20 NOVEMBER 2021
22 September 2021
Shepparton, Victoria: A new landmark cultural destination, Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) designed by internationally renowned architects Denton Corker Marshall will open to the public on 20 November 2021. The design was unanimously selected from an architectural competition in 2017 and endorsed by Greater Shepparton City Council. The regional art museum designed by Denton Corker Marshall joins the practice’s impressive cultural portfolio which includes the Australian Pavilion in Venice, the Melbourne Museum, the Stonehenge Exhibition and Visitors Centre, and the Museum of Sydney.
John Denton, Founding Director, Denton Corker Marshall said “The Shepparton Art Museum was a great competition to win as it represents such an important cultural contribution to a regional city like Shepparton. Sitting between the lake and the main road into town from Melbourne it presents a strikingly bold signal – a new contemporary building added to the fabric of the city.”
Rebecca Coates, Artistic Director & CEO, Shepparton Art Museum said of the design, “The building is about hope and aspiration, with a range of welcoming spaces and places designed to invite all members of the public to meet, enjoy, and call their own through arts and culture. There’s a play of theatre, performance and comfortable reflection with natural light and views to the landscape connecting people to context and landscape.”
Designed to act as a ‘live’ building where every surface presents an opportunity for display, event or installation, the new art museum is characterised by simplicity and clarity of materials and form and includes an art museum housing over 4,000 artworks, four main gallery spaces including a dedicated Kids Space and Workshops; Visitors’ Information Centre; Kaiela Arts Aboriginal community arts centre; an outdoor amphitheatre and Art Hill; and cafe and 150-person event space and terrace, all within an 5,300m2 cubic building.
With a restricted ground floor footprint due to a floodway across the site, the building is extruded vertically over five levels to generate the distinctive small-and-tall art museum with panoramic views across the surrounding lake and Goulburn Red River Gum forest.
Conceived as a ‘land sculpture’ nestled into the surrounding landscape, as the tallest building in Shepparton, it acts as a beacon in the low, flat Shepparton topography. The external façade of SAM comprises four thin floating perforated L-shaped plates suspended in the landscape whose form references the overhang of traditional Australian verandas that offer shade and shelter. Three of the plates comprise powder-coated aluminium with the southern approach incorporating an integrated Visitor’s Centre super graphic and the entry to SAM on Wyndham Street featuring a cut out offering a tantalising glimpse of the interior. The rich ochre-red corten steel of the fourth plate faces the lake and river plain.
From a distance, the plates give virtually no indication of interior life and waits to be discovered and explored. At their base, they float seemingly unsupported over an open, visibly accessible and highly activated ground plane. Each plate is simultaneously an object in its own right and an integral part of the whole. The plates group together, at different heights and contrasting materiality, to form a cube composition at a scale comparable to the surrounding red river gums. Each facade plate becomes a canvas, layered into the treed landscape of dappled light and shade with the ability to transform as a base for temporary installations or projection imagery.
The design is integrated into the park via a dramatic Art Hill, screening all building services, back-of-house and loading under the expanded parkland. The Art Hill creates an upper ground level, enabling the museum cafe to enjoy an elevated outlook whilst being directly connected to, and accessible from, the park.
Internally, the transparent and accessible museum experience is centred around an open, circulation galleria with four different galleries, totalling 800m2, accommodated across four floors including two major AA rated exhibition spaces which can accommodate exhibitions and loans of international significance. The gallery spaces include The Lin Onus Gallery, People’s Gallery, Williamson Community Space, SAM Kids Space, the Bill Kelly Peace Room designed as a collection viewing space, and Showcases at the entrance to SAM and across each floor featuring new commissions and SAM’s ceramics collection. The interior design – the interconnected multi-level spaces, materials, texture, with intuitive wayfinding by Studio Ongarato – are overlaid with contrasts of drama, reflection, outlook, information and discovery, all which are conceived as integral elements of the museum experience.
Situated in regional Victoria around two hours’ drive north from Melbourne, SAM is located on the lands of the Yorta Yorta peoples, on the shore of Victoria Park Lake, Shepparton. The new building was funded by Local Council, State and Federal funding, and private philanthropic and community support through the SAM Foundation. SAM’s design was brought to fruition by builders Kane Constructions; engineers Arup, building surveyors Steve Watson & Partners, landscape architects Urban Initiatives, with signage & wayfinding by Studio Ongarato, who all worked closely with Denton Corker Marshall and Greater Shepparton City Council.
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MEDIA CONTACTS: To request interviews, further information or imagery please contact Articulate: Kate Atkinson, kate@articulatepr.com.au, 0466 182 681 or Rhiannon Broomfield, rhiannon@articulatepr.com.au 0410 596 021.
MEDIA IMAGES: Images can be viewed and downloaded from the following link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7f0t1tyc9g5fl63/AAAvfLfcc1copM5YM1IYTBX7a?dl=0
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. https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/
ABOUT DENTON CORKER MARSHALL: Denton Corker Marshall is recognised as one of Australia’s most celebrated design practices. Known internationally as design leaders, we produce distinctive, innovative and functionally excellent architecture and urban design across Australia, Europe and Asia. We create public buildings that integrate with their many and varied physical and cultural contexts, engaging at a human scale. All our designs have compelling narratives that underpin the visitor experience: the solutions embody planning and design philosophies that recognise the site’s inherent value and build its unique qualities into the visitor experience. Our cultural buildings are outstanding, award winning design projects – exciting and contemporary, but ageless. Buildings the whole community can understand and be proud of, that engage with their surroundings through carefully integrated landscaping, yet standing strong as landmarks. https://www.dentoncorkermarshall.com/
Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) Free Online Program SAM Sketch Starts Wednesday 8 September
3 September 2021
Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) is launching a new series of our hit online program, SAM Sketch.
SAM Sketch is a virtual sketchbook club for all creatives where the aim is to join in, get creative and have fun. This free 5-week program SAM Sketch: Local Art for Local Creativity will bring together artists from across the Goulburn Valley and centre around the theme of connectiveness. Due to lockdowns in Victoria and across the country, many of us are separated from family, friends, and colleagues. SAM Sketch is designed to give people a place to connect online and get creative.
Rebecca Coates, Director & CEO “The last SAM Sketch series was embraced by an amazingly diverse group of people: we had family groups who joined from the one house, friends who met up virtually to share the experience and learn new skills, and even participants from overseas and interstate. Once again, these classes offer time with our local creative community to get creative, come together safely and have some fun.”
The first workshop of SAM Sketch: Local Art for Local Creativity is on Wednesday 8 September and will be led by mixed media Tatura based artist Rachel Doller. Doller will walk participants through the steps of creating colourful paper collage using materials from around the home such as newspapers, magazines, junk mail and coloured pencils. SAM Sketch will run every Wednesday for the next five-weeks via Zoom. To register, visit SAM’s website: www.sheppartonartmuseum.com.au
Program Line-up: SAM Sketch: Local Art for Local Creativity
SAM Sketch with Rachel Doller
DATE: WED 8 SEP
TIME: 5.30PM to 6.30PM
SAM Sketch with Kristen Retallick
DATE: WED 15 SEP
TIME: 5.30PM to 6.30PM
SAM Sketch with Sophie Wilson
DATE: WED 22 SEP
TIME: 5.30PM to 6.30PM
SAM Sketch with Moorina Bonini
DATE: WED 29 SEP
TIME: 2.30PM to 3.30PM
SAM Sketch with James Marcetic
DATE: WED 6 OCT
TIME: 2.30PM to 3.30PM
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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
m: 0405-407-086
e: gcalandro@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au
Image Caption: Rachel Doller, My kid could do better, 2019, mixed media collage on paper
SAM Cafe update and next steps
20 August 2021
Shepparton Art Museum Limited (SAM Ltd) is urging local businesses to embrace an opportunity to operate the gallery café within the new iconic building with a reimagined, expression of interest (EOI) process now underway.
In a bid to attract a Goulburn Valley based hospitality partner, SAM Ltd has set new guidelines on how the partnership will work and announced a third round of advertising for the EOI in the past 12 months.
SAM Ltd Chair Stephen Merrylees said SAM will attract tens of thousands of people to the region in coming years and the cafe was an opportunity to showcase local produce as well as develop opportunities for the hospitality industry.
“The SAM Ltd Board is listening to the community and working alongside many well-known businesses to find a way to make this offering work in unprecedented, challenging times delivered by COVID-19. We firmly agree with the community that a well-run café is essential to the success of SAM and should benefit the whole town,” Mr Merrylees said.
“This third EOI will be shorter and advertised for a three-week period only. Our hope is this more responsive and abridged EOI process will better suit local providers and businesses.
“The Grand Opening of SAM will take place on October 15, COVID allowing, and if we want to have a café up and running, we need to think creatively,” Mr Merrylees said. SAM has engaged CAF Consulting to progress the EOI process and meet with local businesses to progress opportunities. A date for the EOI process will be announced and until then, interested parties should contact Andrew Gooley, SAM Business Manager.
“I encourage local business operators to come forward and be part of the solution.”
SAM is expected to attract thousands of visitors to the region and provide millions of dollars in economic stimulus for the Goulburn Valley through flow-on effects.
SAM Ltd has previously undertaken two EOIs to operate the café in February 2020; and January 2021, which were not successful. Discussions with local businesses also continued to understand business needs, and ensure the opportunity is attractive in challenging economic times. The hospitality sector has been heavily impacted by the pandemic, staffing challenges, and operating uncertainty over the last 18 months.
Background
The new café is located in the SAM building on Victoria Park Lake’s southern end and overlooks the wetlands and native bushland of the Goulburn River. It provides an exceptional view from both the first floor café with outdoor terrace and the top floor function space with bar.
The five storey, metal clad building houses the new Shepparton Art Museum, indigenous art gallery and workshop Kaiela Arts, and the Greater Shepparton Visitor Centre. The building was designed by internationally renowned architects Denton Corker Marshall and was built by award winning Kane Constructions.
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
Artwork by acclaimed Aboriginal artist Tony Albert now installed outside Shepparton Art Museum.
21 July 2021
The Shepparton Art Museum is excited to announce the major public artwork A House of Discards (2019), by acclaimed Aboriginal artist Tony Albert (Girramay/Kuku Yalanji) has been permanently installed in the forecourt of the new Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) building, bringing the Museum one step closer to its public opening on 15th October.
Reaching nearly five metres, the towering steel structure resembles a supersized house of playing cards with bold black and white faces, and is the largest work to enter the SAM Collection to-date.
House of Discards expands on Albert’s ongoing use of “Aboriginalia” style playing cards, a term the artist coined to describe kitschy objects that feature crude caricatures of Aboriginal people and appropriated designs in the style of Indigenous art. With its reference to both theBritish monarchy and depictions of the Aboriginality, Albert uses the playing cards to reflect on the legacy of colonisation and cultural misrepresentation in this country.
House of Discards departs from the artist’s established representational style, with the Aboriginal imagery discarded and the suit erased from the faces of the playing cards. Reduced to black and white plains placed back-to-back, the work puts into stark contrast Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives on a national history founded in the dispossession of First Nations Peoples, while also alluding to the conjoined nature of our future. The structure (and the history it speaks of) appears precarious, yet its inflated rendering in steel also suggests the possibility of a constructing something sturdier if all elements can work together.
“We are so fortunate to be able to present this significant public artwork by one of Australia’s most critically acclaimed contemporary artists, Tony Albert, at the entrance of our new museum” says Belinda Briggs, SAM’s Curator –Indigenous.
“Technically and conceptually astute, the work’s commentary on and probing of societal and cultural structures creates a foundation for both intimate and public discussion about the design of a shared future between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.”
Tony Albert was born in Townsville, North Queensland in 1981 and holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts from the Queensland College of Art. He works across a wide range of art forms, combining drawing, painting, photography, text and installation. His practice examines the legacy of racial and cultural misrepresentation, particularly of Australia’s Aboriginal people, and seeks to rewrite historical mistruths and injusticeAlbert’s work can be seen in major national and international museums and private collections.
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Significant Indigenous art collection gifted to Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) that will transform the organisation’s future
18 March 2021
A historic moment for the Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) took place recently when arts patrons Carrillo Gantner AC and his wife Ziyin Gantner formalised their gift of Indigenous artwork to enhance the museum’s existing collection.
With the Grand Opening of SAM planned for October, the Gantner Collection will feature in its inaugural exhibition program, with more than 90 works on display for the community to enjoy.
“The Gantner’s generosity will shape the future of arts and culture in Shepparton for generations to come,” Greater Shepparton City Council (GSCC) Mayor Kim O’Keeffe said.
“It is gifts such as this that add significant value to our community and will ensure the new SAM thrives.”
“The new purpose-built museum and state-of-the-art facilities are set to attract visitors to the region each year. SAM’s highly skilled and qualified team will ensure that this generous gift of art remains well cared for.”
The deed of gift was officially signed and sealed by GSCC on Tuesday the 16th of March.
Ownership of previously gifted artwork from the Gantner’s to GSCC formed part of this deed of gift, (transferring ownership of these works to SAM) ensuring that the works would remain together.
Mr Gantner’s recent gift builds on his significant contribution made to SAM in 2013. “I am delighted to see this deed of gift signed and confirm the gifting process that has been occurring for a number of years now, it is very exciting that we will soon see the works in the new SAM building.”
SAM Limited Chair Stephen Merrylees described the gift as one of the largest donations of Indigenous artwork to be gifted to a regional museum.
“We are thrilled to become the caretakers of these treasured works,” Mr Merrylees said.
“This phenomenal gift will enrich SAM’s continued focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art.”
The Gantner’s donated collection is valued at more than $3 million.
Comprising of 341 artworks, including many well-known artists and works relating to the Shepparton area, including work by renowned Yorta Yorta artist Lin Onus.
Featuring 84 female and 90 male artists. A large portion of the collection represents artists from the Central and Western desert regions, and many from Arnhem land, Tiwi Islands, the Kimberley and Riverine areas.
The gifting of these works will take place over the duration of the Gantners’ lives, with any ungifted works from this deed also forming a bequest. The pledge of this gift comes as SAM moves into its new purpose-built home on the edge of Victoria Park Lakes, which overlooks the redgum forests.
The donated collection was gifted by Carrillo Gantner and his wife Ziyin Gantner. Mr Gantner is a Victorian cultural leader, philanthropist, passionate art collector and SAM Foundation Board member, as well as an appointed Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for his support of the performing and visual arts.
In coming weeks, the SAM team will begin the enormous undertaking of moving the art collection to the new building and start installing exhibitions. This includes more than 4,000 pieces of valuable artwork.
Pictured Left to Right – Stephen Merrylees (SAM Limited Board – Chair), Kimberley Moulton (SAM Limited Board – Deputy Chair), Carrillo Gantner (Philanthropist and a SAM Foundation Director) and Peter Harriott (Greater Shepparton City Council – CEO)
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Shepparton Art Museum physically closed, but online exhibitions continue
5 March 2021
Moorina Bonini’s, Australian Melting Pot, 2018 is a digital exhibition presented by Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) in partnership Blak Dot Gallery and NETS Victoria. It can be accessed by audiences from anywhere in the world, both near and far, throughout the month of March.
This exhibition can be viewed at www.sheppartonartmuseum.com.au and is on show from the 1-28 March 2021.
This work demonstrates an intentional action undertaken to understand the construct of the Australian identity. Through uncovering, re-learning and mixing together, the perfect identity stew is presented. Simmering idealistic fantasies rise to the top of the pot and the fire that burns under Nonna’s gnocchi pot in addition to cooking the stew, stains the outside surface with black. The same tone that remained after the intentional burning for the desire of regrowth and gain. Jenna Rain Warwick the First Nations Engagement Coordinator at NETS Victoria says: “NETS Victoria is delighted to partner with Blak Dot Gallery to present Moorina Bonini’s work digitally at Shepparton Art Museum. Moorina’s work is a poignant reflection on the tropes of Australian identity and the ways by which the media commodifies this identity. Her work offers an opportunity to interrogate the makings of our Nationhood.”
Belinda Briggs, SAM’s Curator (Indigenous) said, “Australian Melting Pot takes a poignant look at identity in Australia and the many determining factors that shape our perceptions about who we believe we are. Moorina presents her audience with a complex recipe of ingredients including historical events, intergenerational and cultural influences, and environmental factors like societal attitudes and the media. Moorina’s familial and Ancestral ties as a Yorta Yorta woman localise her work in SAM’s regional boundaries and at home on Yorta Yorta Country.”
Moorina Bonini is a proud descendant of the Yorta Yorta Dhulunyagen family clan of Ulupna and the Yorta Yorta and Wurundjeri-Woiwurrung Briggs/McCrae family. Moorina is an artist whose works are informed by her experiences as an Aboriginal and Italian woman. Her practice is driven by a self-reflexive methodology that enables the re-examination of lived experiences that have influenced the construction of her cultural identity. By unsettling the narrative placed upon Aboriginal people as a result of colonisation of Aboriginal Australia, Bonini’s practice is based within Indigenous Knowledge systems and brings this to the fore.
Moorina holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from RMIT University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) from the Victorian College of the Arts. Moorina is currently a candidate at Monash University where she is undertaking a Master of Fine Art within the Wominjeka Djeembana Research Lab. Her work has been exhibited at various shows and galleries such as Ballarat International Foto Biennale, Sydney Festival, Blak Dot Gallery, c3 Contemporary Art Space, Centre for Contemporary Photography, KINGS, SEVENTH Gallery, Bus Projects, Koorie Heritage Trust and Brunswick Street Gallery. Moorina has produced and co-curated art and cultural programs across RMIT University and the University of Melbourne. She is a board member of SEVENTH Gallery, where she is currently the First Nations Programming Coordinator.
Australian Melting Pot is a Blak Dot Gallery digital exhibition touring with NETS Victoria. Curated by Kimba Thompson.
This project is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.
Image: Moorina Bonini, Australian Melting Pot 2018, video (still), 4 min 18 sec. Image courtesy of the artist © the artist
Council handed keys to the new SAM building
25 February 2021
Greater Shepparton City Council is excited to announce that the new SAM building was completed on 22 January 2021, with a certificate of occupancy issued on 2 February 2021.
With the keys handed to Council, this gives the green light for tenants, SAM Limited, Kaiela Arts and the Greater Shepparton Visitor Centre, to commence moving in.
“We’ve all watched the new SAM building take shape with great anticipation over the past 18 months and finally moving day is here!” said Greater Shepparton Mayor, Cr Kim O’Keeffe. “The new SAM building is already iconic, and we are looking forward to inviting in the community and visitors to make the most of all the experiences that will be on offer. It’s been compelling to see how the design has transformed into this unique, grand building, but just wait to see what will be on offer inside!”
SAM, Kaiela Arts and the Visitor Centre will commence transitioning to the new site from March 1. It is anticipated that the new SAM building will open its doors to welcome visitors as of March 31, with Kaiela Arts and the Visitor Centre likely to be fully operational at that time, along with the SAM gift shop. While the ground floor will be open to the public in late March, levels one to four will remain closed until closer to the Opening Launch in October to enable SAM to complete the installation of its collection and upcoming exhibition program.
“Our artists have missed being able to make work for some weeks while we’ve been packing and are eagerly waiting to work in their studio space overlooking the lake, on Country”, explains Kaiela Arts Manager, Angie Russi. “We’re very excited to open doors in our new space to welcome people to our new home.”
“The SAM team is excited to commence the move to new SAM from 1 March”, explains SAM CEO and Artistic Director Dr Rebecca Coates. “The collection is comprised of 4,000+ unique and priceless artworks which will be carefully relocated to the purpose-built facilities over the next few months. Moving an entire museum including its collection is a major operation, as is setting up the opening exhibitions and projects once the artworks arrive at their new home. We’re are very much looking forward to reopening in our new spaces to share collections and exciting new exhibitions with our community and visitors. It will definitely be well worth the wait!”
In working towards opening on March 31 the new building will be opened in a staged, soft reveal, in line with COVID-19 restrictions. A grand opening weekend is planned for 15 -17 October 2021 once SAM’s collections, exhibition installations and programs are in place. Further details regarding the opening celebrations will be made available in the lead up to the event.
While reaching the physical completion stage, along with the moving in of the tenants, there are still some elements that are being finalised. This includes SAM Limited appointing a successful tenderer to operate the new SAM café and function space. Applications for this opportunity close on February 26. Also to be completed is the recently funded indigenous healing garden that will form part of the SAM landscaping.
The first stage of the intersection works are also completed having provided much improved traffic flow for visitors to new SAM, Victoria Park Lake and surrounding residents, however there are still roadworks in progress. Intersection works still being undertaken include undergrounding of the power lines on the south west approach, rail signal sequencing with the traffic lights and installation and commissioning of the actual traffic lights. It is anticipated these works will be completed this May.
“New SAM provides the opportunity for the Shepparton Art Museum, Kaiela Arts and our Visitor Centre to work together to further strengthen how we recognise and celebrate Greater Shepparton, particularly our Indigenous heritage and the role it plays in our past, present and future”, suggests Mayor O’Keeffe. “Having our Visitor Centre located in new SAM – the gateway to Greater Shepparton, will also enhance the way in which we welcome visitors to our region.”
Key Dates:
| 22 January | SAM building completion |
| 2 February | Certificate of Occupancy issued to Greater Shepparton City Council |
| 1 March | Kaiela Arts, The Visitor Centre, SAM office and non-collection items commence moving in |
| 31 March (will be officially confirmed closer to the date) | New SAM ground floor open to public – Kaiela Arts, Visitor Centre and SAM Shop |
| 12 -19 April | SAM Collection commence relocation – move approximately five weeks |
| 31 May | SAM commence install of exhibitions due to exhibit on 6 or 9 July |
| 15 to 17 October | Grand Opening Weekend |
Shepparton Art Museum Appoints New Development Team
10 February 2021
Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) Limited and SAM Foundation are thrilled to announce the appointment of former GV Health Foundation Director Carmel Johnson, as the new SAM Head of Development.
Carmel will join the SAM team to take the reigns on the highly successful building capital campaign and manage SAM’s ongoing fundraising. She will be supported in the role by Ardmona resident Anna Turnbull.
SAM Artistic Director and CEO Dr Rebecca Coates welcomed Carmel and Anna to the team.
“We are delighted to welcome Carmel and Anna at this exciting time with the new building nearly complete,” Rebecca said.
“The pair will bring a deep understanding of our community’s values and, draw on their extensive networks to ensure we engage with a cross section of our community.
“I look forward to working with them to nurture opportunities for local businesses, develop partnerships with wider networks keen to contribute to a great arts and cultural story for regional Victoria.”
SAM Foundation Chair John Head, also welcomed Carmel and Anna to the SAM family.
“It’s exciting to have top quality professionals joining the Foundation and we look forward to working with them to finalise the building capital campaign and continue securing program and endowment funding for SAM,” John said.
“The pair will build on the work of an already successful campaign which has raised more than $7.5 million in pledges so far.
“We are inviting the community to continue to embrace this opportunity and to continue to give to the building capital campaign and SAM’s programs more broadly.
“The building is nearing completion and we are getting closer to an exciting opening of a cultural icon of national significance that will positively add to the local economy and put Shepparton on the map as a major destination to work, live and visit.”
Carmel said SAM would be game changing for the Greater Shepparton community.
“The new SAM is providing the community with a unique opportunity. This aspirational building is a reflection of what our community is capable of, a place to celebrate and immerse ourselves in our diverse culture and rich Indigenous history.
“SAM will stimulate participation in the arts and all things creative, it will generate pride and a true sense of place.”
In coming weeks, the SAM team will begin the enormous undertaking of moving the art collection to the new building and start installing exhibitions. The building will open later in 2021.
Carmel Johnson has led major projects and fundraising campaigns on behalf of the Greater Shepparton community for the past three decades.
She is an enthusiastic advocate for the region and is actively involved in numerous organisations including serving in the inaugural role as Chair of the SheppARTon Festival.
Anna is a former journalist and communications specialist. She lives with her family on an orchard in Tatura.
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SAM Offers Exciting new Hospitality Opportunity
4 February 2021
Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) is offering an exciting new hospitality opportunity to operate a café, a separate roof top bar and multifunction area. SAM is one of Australia’s leading art museums located in Greater Shepparton, recognised for its ceramics and Indigenous art collections and engagement programs.
SAM is getting ready for the biggest move in its history, as Shepparton Council’s largest building project nears completion. The new purpose-built art museum and community spaces is designed by internationally acclaimed Australian architects Denton Corker Marshall.
The new SAM building will be home to Shepparton Art Museum (SAM), Kaiela Arts, and the Visitor Centre, offering community, visitors and the region a new arts and culture space to experience, share and enjoy. For Shepparton and north central Victoria, it’s a game-changer. Contemporary, indigenous, inclusive, art and ideas, kids and families, exciting experiences, great food and wine are just some of the experience and ideas that underpin the new spaces and opportunities. Subscribe via the SAM website to get up to date information on our plans for a Grand Opening Weekend, which will be held in the second half of 2021.
Shepparton Art Museum (SAM Limited) will be managing the lease for the hospitality opportunity in the new building. To join them on this exciting journey, SAM is seeking to partner with an experienced and entrepreneurial hospitality operator to deliver an exceptional and mutually beneficial café and bar experience to museum and other visitors. SAM is seeking a café operator with style, flair and business acumen who can maximise this rare and unique opportunity to create a high-quality café and bar experience that complements and enhances the visitor experience offered at SAM.
Great coffee, food and friendship, or a spectacular location to hold one of those major events, is part of the new SAM experience. How many of us remember that great meal, or fabulous view, when we visited great cultural destinations on those far-off overseas and interstate travels?
The café and roof top bar are in central positions in the new purpose-built SAM building. The café and fully furnished kitchen are on Level 1 with an adjoint deck/grass area and is accessible through the building and the grass area leading to the walking path at the lake. The roof top bar and multifunction area are on the Level 4, with a roof top viewing deck. The café and the bar must be conceptually sympathetic with SAM, ensuring a steady flow of cultural tourists.
While the SAM team wait for the building to be ready, they have been busy. They are preparing for the move of their collection of over 4,000 artworks; their offices, shop and operations; and developing over seven major new exhibitions and art projects that will attract visitors of all ages from near and far.
A move of this scale does not happen overnight. On completion, over the next months SAM and their co-tenants will settle into the new building and get things ready for the community and a Grand Opening Weekend later in the year. In the meantime, share some of these experiences via SAM’s socials, and join SAM’s mailing list through the SAM website to keep up to date with the move, and watch out for announcements around opening programs, sneak peeks, and what’s to come.
Expression of Interest applications are to be submitted electronically via Tender Search. (https://eprocure.com.au/lite).
Applications open on 4 February 2021 and close on 26 February 2021. The question period ends on 20 February 2021.
SAM closes… for now
25 March 2020
In line with state and federal government advice, the Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) will be closed to the public from today Wednesday 25 March until current restrictions ease.
“We wish all of our colleagues, artists and wider community good health and best wishes in these trying times,” said SAM Director Rebecca Coates.
“We will continue to share our work and our collections through our online channels, in an effort to support our artists and to bring some colour to the current climate.”
Whether on site or virtual, the SAM team wishes to advise you on what is happening behind the scenes:
Current exhibitions
All exhibitions will remain in the museum during this period and we hope that we can share them with you once this period has ended.
Digital and online
The SAM team are also working to get content up online and on digital platforms for our audiences to share. There will be plenty to engage all ages, and we look forward to also sharing the work of our colleagues and artistic community.
Collection
All artworks are safe, and will continue to be carefully monitored, as they are when we are open.
SAM Transition
Work will continue on SAM’s transition to the new building, which will continue either at SAM or remotely. While there may be delays, we are keen to continue to work towards what will be one of the most exciting, and certainly highest, buildings in our region.
Visit SAM on Instagram or Facebook. You can also call on (03) 5832 9861 or email art.museum@shepparton.vic.gov.au
SAM celebrates all things local
5 March 2020
Showcasing and celebrating local talent across all areas of the gallery is the driving purpose behind the popular SAM Local exhibition, which will return with a bang this month.
Opening Friday 13 March, the five exhibitions that make up the 2020 SAM Local exhibition are full of exciting and diverse artists and creatives that will surprise and delight visitors.
SAM Local Spotlight: Madeline Wright
Madeline’s solo exhibition of object based works in metal, ceramic and glass, is based on her upbringing near the Goulburn River in Arcadia. Inspired by the objects and colours of this landscape, A Field Guide to Utopia will encourage the viewer to slow down and observe nuances in our surroundings.
SAM Local eduLAB: Nadia Hernandez
Working with schools and education groups, artist Nadia Hernandez will engage children of all ages with her vibrant 2D and 3D immersive exhibition. Not just to be viewed, eduLAB is designed for engagement and visitors are encouraged to add to the ongoing artwork over the course of 4 weeks.
SAM Local Best of Friends: 35 Years On
Celebrating the works of Friends of SAM, this open access exhibition provides an insight into the diverse artistic talents within our community.
Showcase #25: Sandra Bowkett
Local ceramicist Sandra Bowkett’s showcase is a window into the creative process. Fired in a wood-fired kiln she built herself, Sandra’s pieces show the result of the wood-firing on the finished piece, in the form of patterns, markings and colours.
Drawing Wall #38: Troy Firebrace
Well-known local Yorta Yotra artist Troy Firebrace will be the 28th artist to take on the SAM drawing wall, a temporary wall based mural in the SAM Foyer. Troy’s work draws from his culture, identity, the environment, life experience and inspiration found in street art.
The importance of celebrating our local talent is clear to SAM Director Dr Rebecca Coates. “These exhibitions engage artists and communities throughout Greater Shepparton and beyond. It encourages us to delve into our imagination and get involved across a diverse range of activities. We welcome all to come and support our local artists, and join in the fun!”
Exhibition Dates: Friday 13 March – Sunday 3 May 2020
Official Opening: Thursday 12 March, 5pm – 7pm
RSVP: email or call (03) 5832 9861
Programs and events: Click here.
Shepparton Art Museum Cafe and Functions Partner
24 February 2020
Shepparton Art Museum is seeking expressions of interest from high quality, experienced food and beverage operators to provide food, beverage and functions experience for visitors to the new museum in Victoria Park, Shepparton.
The provider will partner with SAM to provide hospitality services across the site for guests, visitors and the community of Greater Shepparton. Services will operate under an exclusive arrangement across the site and will be an integral part of the visitor experience at SAM.
Operations will include the SAM café, as well as function catering for corporate events, exhibition openings, internal catering, functions and private/special events. The café space is approximately 260m2 and alfresco area 90m2. The level 4 function space is available for special events.
Commencement of the contract will be November 2020 for three terms of two years, six years in total.
Expression of Interest applications are to be submitted electronically via Tender Search. Applications open on 17 February 2020 and close on 13 March 2020. The question period ends on 28 February 2020. Shortlisted applicants will be requested to quote after 30 April 2020.
Community treasures to be discovered.
5 February 2020
From the artwork that a great Aunt passed down, to a collection of Sammy Newman footy cards, many Greater Shepparton residents would have something in their collection they have often wondered about.
Inspired by the television show ‘Antiques Roadshow’, SAM’s Collector Roadshow will see SAM host 3 valuation experts from Melbourne Auction House Leonard Joel, who will provide insight and guidance on pieces from our community’s collections.
Presented on Sunday 23 February as part of the Collector/Collected exhibition, the SAM Collector Roadshow presents a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the history and value of our local treasures.
“We are looking forward to sharing stories and seeing some of the many treasures and discoveries that this event brings forward,’ says SAM Director Rebecca Coates. “In true Roadshow style, the event is sure to be part adventure, part history lesson and part gamble!”
Those who do not wish to have a piece valued, are most welcome to come along and enjoy the exciting atmosphere. There will also be a free curator’s floor talk showcasing the current exhibition Collector/Collected, running at 2pm on the day.
Valuation sessions are $10 each, running for 15 mins, with a maximum of 3 pieces per session. All sessions must be pre-booked via either the SAM website or by phoning the SAM shop on (03) 5832 9861.
When booking, you will select from three categories:
Decorative Arts: Includes fine European and Australian furniture, porcelain, silver, clocks, portrait miniatures, works of art and sculpture.
Fine Art: Offers expertise and extensive market knowledge in traditional, modern and contemporary fine art, such as paintings, drawings and graphics.
Jewellery: An experienced specialist who is a certified gemological and diamond technician.
All proceeds from the day support SAM’s acquisitions and the collection.
SAM Collector Roadshow.
Date: Sunday 23 February 12pm to 4pm
Location: Eastbank, next door to SAM.
Cost: $10 per valuation session. (3 pieces per session).
Bookings essential: www.sheppartonartmuseum.com.au
Collector/Collected Curator’s Floor Talk.
Date: Sunday 23 February 2pm to 2.30pm
Location: SAM, 70 Welsford St Shepparton.
Cost: Free
Bookings: www.sheppartonartmuseum.com.au
Collector/Collected Exhibition.
Date: Now until 1 March 2020
Location: SAM, 70 Welsford St Shepparton.
Cost: Free
Popular local ceramicist featured in SAM Showcase #25
5 February 2020
Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) is delighted to announce Tallarook artist Sandra Bowkett as the 25th artist to exhibit their work as part of the SAM Showcase series.
Showcase #25: Sandra Bowkett, Clay // Fire is a collection of ceramic vessels that explore and make visible the energy of wood-firing on earth materials.
The ceramic pieces featured in the exhibition were fired at Bowkett’s home studio in Tallarook, in a wood-fired kiln she built herself in 2013. ‘I was inspired to build the kiln after comments made by some traditional Rajashani potters I occasionally work with. They were astounded by the quantity and quality of the timber/fuel lying about our property, and encouraged me to make use of it in my ceramic practice,’ explains Bowkett.
The impact of heat, ash and vessel position in the wood fired kiln result in distinctive markings and patterns that form on the works. The artist finishes the pieces with glazes that enable the natural variety of designs caused by the firing process to be the highlight.
Sandra Bowkett’s retail pieces have long been popular in the SAM Shop, and this exhibition allows her to experiment further with presentation in a gallery setting. The installation will include elements from the firing process, including bricks and kiln inserts, and gives the viewer an insight into the creation of the vessels.
Collectors of Bowkett’s work will be excited to learn they are able to purchase these unique pieces during the exhibition.
Showcase #25: Sandra Bowkett Clay // Fire
Date: 7 February 2020 – 6 May 2020
Location: SAM showcase display – at the entrance to SAM
Cost: FREE, works available for purchase
Image – Sandra Bowkett in her home studio. Photo: Lara Merrington
Community art project for the new Shepparton Art Museum
13 December 2019
Greater Shepparton City Council and the Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) are inviting the community to contribute to a community art mural project that will be displayed at the new SAM construction site.
The art mural will be displayed on panels around the new SAM building site facing Victoria Park Lake for several months. The project will build strong ties within the diverse landscape of Shepparton through collaboration and art-making.
Shepparton Art Museum Public Programs Officer, Lisa Linton, said every member of the community is invited to book into a painting session. “The new SAM will be a space for our whole community to be inspired and get creative.”
“Each group will have one panel to paint, which will make up a large series of panels. We will have a planning workshop first where a design for the panel will be discussed and created. The group will then receive a selection of four colours chosen from the SAM colour palette, to paint the design onto the panel, with the assistance from the SAM team.”
“It is an exciting opportunity to get creative with some friends and other members of our community,” said Ms Linton. “No painting experience necessary, it is a great opportunity for people of all skill levels, ages and interests to participate in creating art and to have some fun.”
To express your interest and be involved in this project, please register via Eventbrite, or email lisa.linton@shepparton.vic.gov.au or alternatively call 5832 9522 to book in. The workshop dates are:
Thursday 16 January 9-3pm
Friday 17 January 9-3pm
Thursday 30 January 9-3pm
Tuesday 4 February 9-3pm
Thursday 13 February 9-3pm
Wednesday 19 February 9-3pm
A light lunch will be provided for participants.
Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/community-mural-project-tickets-85744402817
SAM Local Spotlight artist announced.
9 December 2019
SAM is delighted to announce Shepparton born and Arcadia raised Madeline Wright as the selected artist for SAM Local: Spotlight 2020.
Following on from the success of previous years, SAM will again go local in March 2020, with five exhibition spaces dedicated to showcasing creative talent from across our region. The SAM Local: Spotlight exhibition is an opportunity for an artist with local connections to hold a solo exhibition at SAM.
After an overwhelming response to the artist callout in November, Madeline was selected to present a solo exhibition at SAM.
Director of SAM, Dr Rebecca Coates says, “The SAM Local exhibition is a highlight on the museum’s calendar as it provides incredible insight into the creative practices of artists that have a strong connection to our area. It is a joy to work with our local community in supporting, inspiring and engaging talent in a regional context.”
When it came to selecting the SAM Local: Spotlight artist, SAM Curator Lara Merrington says the decision is always challenging. “The calibre of applications received this year was high and extremely diverse from emerging to established artists, and artists working in a range of mediums and concepts. We were looking particularly for artists and works which connect to the local and will form an engaging and stimulating part of SAM’s annual program. We look forward to working closely with Madeline, enabling her to gain professional experience working in a museum context.”
Madeline Wright’s application was selected because of her clear vision for her body of work, which had a strong connection to belonging and place. The work will extend on a series of previous works looking at mapping, through intuitive methods.
The exhibition for SAM Local: Spotlight will see Madeline make multiple trips back to her home town of Arcadia to make the work, which she describes as ‘assemblages of Arcadia’ and will include object based works in metal, ceramics, glass and the materials of Arcadia and the Goulburn River in its found objects, dusts and colours. The resulting still life composition of objects, memories and moments will be titled A Field Guide to Utopia.
Artist Madeline Wright is excited by the opportunity of creating a solo exhibition. “It’s really special to be chosen for SAM Local: Spotlight and to be given the opportunity to share what I see, and love, about Arcadia and its surrounds, and hopefully inspire SAM visitors to slow down in reverie and notice all of the special and unique details that connects them to this region,” Madeline says.
SAM Local: Spotlight will be presented as a part of the SAM Local exhibitions in March 2020.
Image: SAM Local Spotlight 2020 artist, Madeline Wright. Photo Amina Barolli.
New exhibition explores the art of collecting.
27 November 2019
This summer Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) presents Collector/Collected (7 December 2019 – 1 March 2020), a maximalist exhibition exploring the art of collecting.
Collector/Collected is an exhibition in three parts. It showcases two major collections of Australian studio pottery from the 1960s and 70s: the Studio Pottery from the John Nixon Collection and SAM’s own collection from this period. SAM presents these two significant collections alongside the work of four contemporary artists, Tony Albert, Kate Daw, Geoff Newton and David Sequeira, each of whom explore ideas of collecting and collections.
Studio Pottery from the John Nixon Collection was conceived and presented at Deakin University by curator James Lynch in 2018. Collector/Collected presents an expanded iteration of this project, and invites contemporary artists to respond to the idea of collecting in a contemporary context.
Nixon’s collection features works by 29 artists living and working in and around the eastern suburbs of Melbourne throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Among the artists featured are those associated with the well-known Potter’s Cottage in Warrandyte, including Sylvia and Artur (Artek) Halpern, Charles Wilton, Gus and Betty McLaren, Phyl Dunn and Reg Preston, Fritz and Kate Janeba and Elsa Ardern.
“Looking at this incredible collection of hand-made pottery: wrenched, moulded and fired from clay sourced from local earth around the suburbs and backyards of Melbourne – the beating heart of creativity itself can almost be grasped. This exhibition is testament to how passion, knowledge and dedication can transform the everyday act of collecting into cultural treasure,” explains Deakin University At Gallery Curator, James Lynch.
Nixon’s collection will be joined by pieces by the same artists from SAM’s own collection, totalling close to 350 works in the most comprehensive presentation of their work to date, and captures a particular moment in Australian history.
“In part, the value of collections is how they enable us to reconsider and rethink history through our own contemporary lens and times,” says Director of SAM, Dr Rebecca Coates.
“Each artist’s project in Collector/Collected reveals an aspect of the motivations for collecting – from obsession, compulsion, means of discovery and exploration, to just plain delight of the aesthetic object. Collector/Collected continues our examination of the relationship between art, design and architecture through collections including ceramics, for which SAM has become known”.
Modernist art, architecture and design emerged in Australia, reflecting post-war aspirations in domestic ware and functional items. Cooperatives and studios such as Potters Cottage and Cottles Bridge were formed by artists and craftspeople to meet the growing public demand for the hand-made but affordable – an integral part of the aspiration for a modern lifestyle of new housing and local manufacture.
Ceramics and the hand-made were part of this trend, and the houses of Warrandyte, Eltham and Hurstbridge of this period often featured modernist design elements such as mud-brick architecture, Scandinavian furniture, sea-grass matting and Australian native gardens. Many of these features are again having their moment in the sun, alongside our continued contemporary obsession and love of all things ceramic.
The works were sold in department stores, such as Georges, David Jones and Myers in Melbourne, as well as the well-known Little Collins Street store, Primrose Pottery Shop. A vital commercial outlet for a group of emerging and established artists, potters and designers in post-war Melbourne, including studio potters Allan Lowe, Arthur Boyd, John Perceval and Neil Douglas, with proprietors Edith and Betty MacMillan working closely with suppliers, and commissioning and taking works on consignment.
In and around the two ceramics collections are four projects by leading contemporary artists Tony Albert, Kate Daw, Geoff Newton, and David Sequeira.
Tony Albert’s CLASH (2019) continues the artist’s ongoing series of installations which use text and appropriated imagery to examine the historical representation of Aboriginal people and culture. As with other works in this series, CLASH draws on Albert’s own extensive, personal collection of largely mid-twentieth century ‘Aboriginalia’, a term used by Albert to describe kitsch domestic objects and tourist artefacts that feature naïve ‘caricaturing’ of Aboriginality. The title CLASH points to an underlying friction, a clash of experiences and cultures.
Kate Daw presents a new installation conceived especially for SAM, reflecting on feminine experience, language and modernist design. Daw’s motifs draw on domestic interiors, decoration and design; floral wallpaper, paintings of fabric patterning, perfume packaging and book covers, and text describing a domestic scene from a John le Carre novel, each letter formed by hand in clay. In Art, Work, Life (Carlton Ware) (2009), Daw has created a collection of white ceramic cups and saucers – replicas of tableware by the Stoke-on-Trent pottery manufacturer, stripped of their distinctive colours and decoration.
Paintings from Geoff Newton’s The Victorian Scene (2015) feature the streetscapes immediately visible from the entrance of regional art galleries and museums across Victoria. Collector/Collected presents 11 paintings from this series, showing the vistas outside the following galleries; Ballarat, Bendigo, Benalla, Castlemaine, Geelong, Mildura, Mornington, Shepparton, Swan Hill, Wagga Wagga and Warrnambool. Newton captured the day-to-day detail of the scenes – furniture, handrails, benches, carparks – using his camera, which he then outsourced to be painted and reinterpreted by artists at a manufacturing company in China. The scenes prompt broader reflection on the role and history of these buildings, each with their own stories, collectors and collections, while the paintings’ production also inherently raise the intersecting issues of authorship, reproduction, commodification, and the system of collecting and valuation.
For David Sequeira, colour is a catalyst for his collecting. Sequeira started incorporating monochromatic vessels in his work in the mid-1990s, sourcing them from second-hand stores and op shops. Dating predominantly from the 1960s onwards, Sequeira’s collection of coloured vases – often considered kitsch and discarded by their owners – introduces another aspect of modern design. Gathered together, the experience of the individual vessels is transformed, from an object that is self-contained with its own chain of connection to its original context and use, to one that exists as part of a larger composition based on the study of colour and form.
Free SAM tours for International Day of People with Disability
26 November 2019
SAM is delighted to celebrate International Day of People with Disability by hosting free tours of their current exhibition A Finer Grain on Tuesday 3 December.
The Access SAM tours will be held at 11am and 2pm, with an Auslan interpreter accompanying the 2pm group.
Dr Rebecca Coates, Director of SAM says “SAM is a place where everyone in our community can feel inspired and engaged. It is our pleasure to host these specialised tours that aim to increase awareness of access and inclusion, and provide a welcoming environment for all.”
The tours will focus on A Finer Grain, an exhibition presenting key and lesser known works by Australian women spanning the full breadth of SAM’s 83 year collection history.
To book an Access SAM tour, please visit the SAM website or phone 5832 9861.
Access SAM.
Date: Tuesday 3 December at 11am or 2pm
Location: SAM
Cost: FREE