New Drawing Wall highlights topical river issues
9 May 2019
The thirty-fifth Shepparton Art Museum Drawing Wall features artist Alex Pittendrigh with a work called Près des Eaux: Tears of Isis, a large abstract painting referencing water and river systems.
It ties together the artist’s interest in environment, but also his long-held passion for ancient cultures. This work specifically references symbolic and sacred readings of water in Egyptian tomb paintings. In a contemporary context, it references issues faced by river systems in Australia such as the recent catastrophic ‘kill’ events within Australian rivers such as at the Murray Darling basin /Menindee.
“The title is in part taken from an ongoing series of paintings of my own that are themselves riffing off an eponymously titled series of watercolours by Gustave Moreau at his house Museum in Paris, which were abstractions meditating on mythological subjects that appeared to the artist whilst in a liminal, sleep-like state,” said Mr Pittendrigh.
“At a symbolic level, water symbolises rebirth and new life after the destruction wrought by flood.”
The Drawing Wall zig zag pattern expands over approximately 10×2 m across the wall’s surface. The work has been painted with pencil and non-toxic acrylic and watercolour paints.
“On occasion the viewer will be confronted by irregularities or fractures in the overall geometric design, suggesting that the waters life giving flow has been disrupted or perhaps polluted by a lack of care for what has given life and a failure to heed the wisdom of those who cared for it long before,” he said.
About the Artist
Alex Pittendrigh was born in 1966 in Melbourne and lives and works in Melbourne and Tanja, NSW.
Working chiefly in painting, sculpture and installation, he maintains a strong interest in classical antiquity and how its long echo might usefully intersect with the present day and how it continues to resonate with contemporary culture’s anxieties and discontents.
He has undertaken residencies at The British School at Rome, Italy; The Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris; Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne, and has participated in group shows such as “Uncanny Nature” at The Australian centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA), ”Lurid Beauty” at The National Gallery of Victoria, “Wilderness” at The Art Gallery of NSW, and others including Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Contemporary Art Tasmania, Hobart and Devonport Regional Gallery, and Two rooms, Auckland.
He was a founding member of the Artist run initiative First Floor in Melbourne, and has also exhibited at other ARIs such as Caves, Melbourne; Stereo Exchange, Copenhagen; and Dunedin.
New SAM Showcase focuses on Indigenous art
9 May 2019
The 22nd Showcase at the Shepparton Art Museum features Indigenous art from the Baluk Arts group and includes natural materials such as feathers and clay.
The exhibition is called ‘earth bound, in flight: ceramic artists of Baluk Arts’ and will be in the Showcase at SAM from 9 May to 7 August in collaboration with Craft.
Baluk Arts is a 100 per cent Aboriginal owned and operated non-profit Victorian Aboriginal arts organisation based in Mornington. Baluk (also spelt balluk or balug) is a Boonwurrung word meaning group of people.
earth bound, in flight is a record of making at Baluk, punctuating the importance of collaboration and shared understanding of culture and community. Artists here represent the beginnings of artistic practice and the achievements that come from many years of concentrated learning.
It features work by Lisa Waup, Cassie Leatham, Beverley Meldrum and Tallara Gray and feathers by Robert Kelly, Patsy Smith, Yvonne Luke, Lynnette Pitt, Robert Austin Djeranarlumn, Nick Kupetsky, Daniel Kelly, Sharee Harper, and Mai Katona.
The exhibition is free to view and works are available for purchase.
The Baluk Arts Showcase is part of curated program of exhibitions in partnership with Craft for SAM.
Image: Lisa Waup, Keeping Culture (5 of 7), 2019, Porcelain, Emu Feathers, Parrot Feathers, Cotton, Hand Forged Copper Railway Wire, Silver Solder, 21 x 10 x 10cm. Photo: Amina Barolli Photography
SAM preparing for prestigous Sidney Myer Australian Ceramic Award
29 April 2019
Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) is set to enhance its reputation as the leading collection of ceramics in Regional Australia with the fifth biennial $50,000 Sidney Myer Fund Australian Ceramic Award exhibition, from 22 June to 1 September 2019.
The Sidney Myer Fund Australian Ceramic Award, is Australia’s richest and most prestigious ceramic award. The relationship between the Sidney Myer Fund and Shepparton Art Museum spans over 26 years. Through this relationship, and the acquisitive Award, over 175 works have been acquired.
This year’s finalists are: Julie Bartholomew, Stephen Bird, Greg Daly, Lynda Draper, Juz Kitson and Isadora Vaughan.
The 2019 Award will be judged by Lisa Slade (Assistant Director, Artistic Programs at the Art Gallery of South Australia), Stephen Benwell (Artist) and Rebecca Coates (Director, SAM).
The Award celebrates and promotes contemporary Australian artists working in the ceramic medium by providing an unprecedented opportunity for a major national ceramic award and exhibition in Australia.
Artists are encouraged to explore and experiment with the ceramic medium and to express conceptual issues which are important to their practice.
SAM Curator, Lara Merrington says “This year themes emerging are relevant to our contemporary times: the environment and our human connection with and upon it, but also a sense of wonder and magic – perhaps an optimism and escapism that emerges from these heavier issues.”
Greg Daly’s installation draws on a personal connection to landscape expressed through his glorious lustre glazed earthenware, paired with experimentations in new media.
Julie Bartholomew’s installation of tall cylindrical porcelain and glass columns are a response to climate change and scientific research in Antarctica.
Stephen Bird explores the intersection where painting, sculpture and ceramics overlap through an installation of satirical works informed by his Scottish heritage and a sometimes-interest in Greek Mythology.
This sense of myth and magic is carried through in Juz Kitson’s highly detailed sculptural works, which look at a human connection with the cycles of life, of plants, and of regeneration.
Isadora Vaughan’s site-specific installation investigates the interior and exterior landscapes of the human body as it relates to architectural space, geology and the natural landscape.
Linda Draper explores relationships between the material world and the metaphysical, and has been inspired by walks through the landscaped gardens of a recent residency in Versaille, France.
Ceramics has increasingly been adopted by emerging and established contemporary artists in exciting and innovative ways and recent national and international exhibitions have highlighted significantly expanded possibilities for the medium.
Director of SAM, Dr Rebecca Coates, said, “The selected finalists represent the exciting and innovative ways that artists are working with ceramics as a contemporary medium, and we are looking forward to seeing how their projects develop and evolve.”
The winner will be announced on Friday 21 June 2019. The exhibition opens from 22 June to 1 September.
BACKGROUND
The SMFACA is one of the most prestigious awards in the visual arts in Australia, with a uniquely ceramic focus. It has evolved over its many year history. It began in 1991 as the Sidney Myer Fund Australia Day Ceramic Award, and evolved into the Sidney Myer Fund International Ceramic Art Award in 1997, with the aim of providing an unprecedented opportunity for a major international ceramic award and exhibition in Australia.
In 2009, SAM reviewed the Award, and returned it to a format that showcases and supports contemporary Australian artists. Leading ceramicists, potters, master craftspeople and contemporary artists are now receiving recognition for extending their practice and the possibilities of ceramics. This has led to a significant repositioning from the craft realm into the contemporary art world. SAM has long supported this trend and it is this leading focus on ceramics that has attracted a new wave of emerging and established contemporary artists who have made the medium their own. Ceramics now appear in many national and international exhibitions and audiences are intrigued by the medium’s creative potential.
The Sidney Myer Fund was established by the will of Sidney Myer when he died in 1934. Having arrived penniless in Melbourne in 1899 at the age of 21, he wanted to give back to the Australian community in which he himself had prospered.
The Sidney Myer Fund Trustees are proud to be associated with an exhibition that understands, explores and challenges the possibilities of ceramics and art making in our contemporary world. As a direct outcome of the relationship between the Sidney Myer Fund and Shepparton Art Museum over 26 years, over 200 works have been acquired, creating a diverse and dynamic collection by both Australian and international artists.
In 2017, the Award featured outstanding new work by Glenn Barkley, Karen Black, Jenny Orchard (winner of the 2017 SMFACA), Laith McGregor and Yasmin Smith. Alongside the winner, Jenny Orchard, works by Glenn Barkley and Yasmin Smith were acquired for the SAM Collection.
Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran was awarded the 2015 SMFACA, his work showcased alongside exciting new work by Penny Byrne, Adam John Cullen, Sanné Mestrom and Ruth Hutchinson.
Previous winners of the Award have included such distinguished artists as Deborah Halpern, Gwyn Hansson-Piggott and Stephen Benwell.
More information here.
Re-animating art for contemporary audiences
14 April 2019
Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) presents Arlo Mountford’s first major solo exhibition, Deep Revolt from 18 April – 10 June 2019 continuing SAM’s commitment to staging premier major shows by leading contemporary artists.
Melbourne-based, English-born artist Arlo Mountford’s exhibition Deep Revolt at the Shepparton Art Museum (SAM), playfully probes the terms in which we engage with art and the way meaning can be twisted, through a contemporary lens.
The exhibition is the only showing of Mountford’s works in Victoria and features large-scale interactive installations with video, animation and sound, drawings and sculpture, challenging the ideas of time, history and our contemporary norms through a 14-year span of his work.
SAM director, Dr Rebecca Coates says “Mountford mashes up visual culture in order to engage with and reflect on our contemporary world. Time and history are common themes. Arlo’s work is complex and contains varying dimensions of joy, humour, history and horror making it hugely engaging for a wide audience,” she said.
“The exhibition will appeal to a generation where making videos, memes and text clips for social media is now second nature to communicate and comment on the world,” Dr Coates said.
Amusing, strange and laden with art and contemporary culture references, his animated films are hand drawn with a mouse directly into a computer. He reimagines both real and created spaces from the art world, digitally reconstructing the interiors of iconic museums or retracing the brushstrokes of European masterpieces well known and loved for centuries. This process allows him to experience art with fresh eyes and offer new readings of its ongoing meaning and relevance in contemporary society.
SAM has included two additional works in the exhibition, The Folly, 2009, and Clock, 2016. The Folly reimagines three paintings by the Flemish renaissance master Pieter Bruegel (1525-1569), Hunters in the Snow (1565), The Corn Harvest (1565) and Landscape with the Fall of Icarus (1558) stitched together into one long panel. A bird flits from one painting to another, and the sounds of nature and barking dogs permeate the space. The results are a pleasing naivety that Mountford describes as very South Park.
The Clock, 2016 continues Mountford’s interest in time, but also references the ready-made object and hand-made aesthetic – a counterpoint to his highly technical video installations and digital works. “Mountford’s work in Deep Revolt is expected to resonate strongly with local audiences who appreciate a return to the hand-made, the DIY aesthetic, and in part, a yearning for a more simple life, in which play and imagination are central, and commodity subverted,” said Dr Coates.
Selected video works will trace a gradual distillation of Mountford’s ideas. His recent work 100 years (2016), an animated chronology of appropriated artworks charting the evolution of abstraction since the ‘zero point’ of Malevich’s Black Square in 1915, will provide a fitting end point to the exhibition.
OFFICIAL OPENING AND ARTIST TALK
The exhibition opens on Wednesday 17 April from 6.00-8.00pm with an artist talk prior from 5.00-6.00pm. RSVPs are essential via 5832 9861.
Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) presents Arlo Mountford: Deep Revolt, an exhibition developed by Goulburn Regional Art Gallery and toured nationally in partnership with Museums & Galleries of NSW, alongside key works by Arlo Mountford. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.
New SAM site visit by Deputy Prime Minister
11 April 2019
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack and Federal Member for Murray Damian Drum today visited the site of the new Shepparton Art Museum at Victoria Park Lake on Wyndham Street.
Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor Kim O’Keeffe formally thanked the Deputy Prime Minister for supporting the new SAM with their funding of $15m towards the build.
Mr McCormack reiterated the importance of large scale projects such as the new SAM for regional Victoria and said it would be drawcard to the region
Mr McCormack also formally announced the $208 million for the Goulburn Valley Highway Shepparton Bypass stage 1 project.
New Shepparton Art Museum Limited Board announced
4 April 2019
The Board of Shepparton Art Museum Limited has appointed six new directors after a lengthy process of advertising and interviews.
The Board comprises nine Company Directors and is a skills-based Board with representation from a broad range of sectors. Two of the Directors are Greater Shepparton City Council nominated positions, and one Director is from the SAM Foundation.
The Board is:
- Jeannie Furphy
- Jo Gartner
- Peter Harriott (GSCC CEO)
- John Head (SAM Foundation)
- Stephen Merrylees
- Kimberley Moulton
- Drew Pettifer
- Naomi Ryan
- Chris Teitzel (GSCC Director Corporate Services)
Director and Company Secretary, Chris Teitzel, said Shepparton Art Museum Limited has been established as a company limited by guarantee to operate the Shepparton Art Museum as a public art museum.
Mr Teitzel said “Shepparton Art Museum Ltd has established a Board with great diversity of skills and backgrounds. We have representatives from the legal, art, indigenous, community, financial, business, marketing and education sectors.”
“All of the Board are strongly connected to Greater Shepparton and demonstrated a commitment to guide the future direction of the new Shepparton Art Museum,” said Mr Teitzel.
“This is a great opportunity for skilled, experienced and knowledgeable people to direct the new Shepparton Art Museum to provide an inspiring, community hub for locals to meet and socialise,” he said.
The Museum aims to present exemplary contemporary, international exhibitions of relevance to the public and particularly the region’s diverse Aboriginal and multi-cultural communities; and provide opportunities for members of the public to learn, be challenged, think about, and emotionally engage with art.
The new SAM will provide access to the art collections and significant ceramics collection in unique and engaging ways. It will also present Aboriginal art and support local Aboriginal artists to provide complementary programs and support local artists in the development and presentation of their art and the creation of empowering experiences.
Board Directors serve for a minimum of two to three years to a maximum term of nine years. The new SAM will operate as a not-for-profit, charitable organisation and the Board positions are voluntary.
For more information on the new Shepparton Art Museum project visit our new SAM project page.
DIRECTOR PROFILES
Jeannie Furphy
Jeannie Furphy is a former stockbroker who has lived in Shepparton since 2000. Jeannie was raised in rural western Victoria before studying and working in Melbourne prior to her move to Shepparton.
Jeannie holds a Bachelor of Business and a postgraduate Accounting Degree and has experience in financial management and a strong understanding of its importance to any organisation.
Jeannie has a deep understanding of the value of effective community-based activities and organisations through numerous volunteer roles and committee involvement.
Jo Gartner
Jo Gartner is Digital Marketing Project Manager at Dexus, one of Australia’s leading property groups.
Jo has more than 15 years’ experience working across the arts, destination marketing, national retail shopping centres and property developments in Melbourne and Sydney.
In her time at Dexus, Jo has led the marketing strategy for large-scale city retail dining precincts including Southgate Melbourne and the award-winning marketing launch strategy for Gateway Sydney in Circular Quay. Jo also worked on major event projects during her time at the City of Melbourne including the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition series with NGV International and Australian Centre for the Moving Image, while responsible for promoting city visitation.
Jo holds a Masters of Marketing from Melbourne Business School and Bachelor of Arts Management from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, and is originally from Murchison.
Peter Harriott
Peter Harriott is the CEO of Greater Shepparton City Council, and was previously CEO of Wattle Range Council (South Australia) 2013-2016, and a Director at Greater Shepparton City Council 2000-2012.
Peter has worked mostly throughout Victoria in local government over the past 30 years including three years in the picturesque Limestone Coast of South Australia.
Peter’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Civil Engineering, Masters of Business Administration, Building Surveyor Certificate, Engineer for Water Supply Certificate and a Municipal Engineers Certificate.
John Head
John Head has held many roles in the arts community in Shepparton including being a member of the new SAM Project Board, recent Artistic Director of the Shepparton Festival, Convener of the Shepparton Short Film Festival, playwright, actor and member of the Shepparton Theatre Arts Board.
John is a podiatrist in private practice in Shepparton since 1983. He has been a Fellow of the Australasian Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine since 1998 and completed a Masters by Research in 2002. John has presented regularly on Podiatric and sports medicine topics at Australian conferences since 1988.
John was also on the board of the SheppARTon Festival between 1999 and 2015 with the role of Artistic Director from 2005 to 2014. He is a Board member of the Shepparton Theatre Arts Group and a regular actor and playwright.
Stephen Merrylees
Stephen Merrylees is SMR Legal’s Managing Director and has extensive experience as a senior political adviser and as a government lawyer with the federal government (most recently Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade). He is renowned for finding practical solutions to clients’ complicated and seemingly gridlocked matters.
A five-term Mayor and nationally accredited mediator, Stephen applies this exclusive skillset to commercial and estate matters. His advice on governance issues impacting private and public sector organisations is highly sought after.
Clients appreciate Stephen’s life experience of operating a large family property, lecturing in law at Melbourne University Dookie Campus and as Executive Director of Goulburn Murray Community Leadership Program (Fairley Leadership).
Stephen has served on numerous local and state advisory boards and committees and has completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course. He is currently a Director of Shepparton Villages and a member of the CFA Shepparton District Headquarters Brigade.
Kimberley Moulton
Kimberley Moulton is a Yorta Yorta woman and was born and raised in Shepparton. Kimberley is a curator and writer and Senior Curator South Eastern Aboriginal Collections at Museums Victoria (2016-present). Kimberley has worked in curatorial roles at Melbourne Museum for 10 years (Bunjilaka Project Officer and Curator 2008-2015) and has curated over 16 exhibitions with the Victorian Koorie community.
In 2018 Kimberley was lead curator for Mandela: My Life, an exhibition on Nelson Mandela at Melbourne Museum in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
Kimberley is passionate about supporting First Peoples cultures, histories, futures and agency within cultural institutions and has researched historical First Peoples collections across the world, connecting history and people, considering what it means historically and for the future of cultural materials in institutions. Kimberley has written extensively for art and museum publications nationally and internationally and held research, curatorial and writing fellowships across Europe, UK, South Asia and America. Kimberley has been engaged with SAM for several years with her arts writing and lecturing and was a judge for the 2016 Indigenous Ceramic Art award.
Dr Drew Pettifer
Dr Drew Pettifer is an artist, academic, lawyer and small business owner who divides his time between Melbourne and Kyabram in the Goulburn Valley. He has strong connections to the region having been born in Shepparton. He is an active member of the SAM Foundation and the Goulburn Valley Football Umpires Association.
Drew holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours – First Class) in Cultural Studies (The University of Melbourne, 2005), a Graduate Certificate in Visual Art (Victorian College of the Arts, 2009), a Masters of Arts Management (RMIT University, 2010) and a PhD in Fine Art (Monash University, 2017).
Drew is a peer assessor for the Australia Council for the Arts and the City of Melbourne. His art is in the National Gallery of Victoria, Monash Gallery of Art and the City of Melbourne Arts and Heritage Collection, as well as private collections.
Naomi Ryan
Naomi Ryan is a Partner at PwC with over 12 years of experience working closely with both owners and management of growing private businesses, ASX 200 companies and not for profit organisations bringing her in depth knowledge and experience in assurance and audit services to add value to her clients.
Naomi is passionate about working with innovative and growing businesses, with expertise in advising clients on financial reporting matters, business risk assessments, acquisitions, IPO’s, corporate governance and accounting compliance obligations. Naomi’s collaborative approach in working with her clients has resulted in a strong network and reputation for being a trustworthy and dedicated advisor. Naomi is now also focussed on using her skills gained through her successful career to be part of a company board, which is focused on solving important social issues.
Naomi is a certified chartered accountant and holds bachelor degrees in Business (Accounting) and Arts (Japanese language) from Swinburne University.
Naomi grew up in Shepparton, country Victoria, attending Wanganui Park Secondary College, where she continues to return to her family home to visit friends and family. Naomi now resides in Melbourne and enjoys travelling the world to experience different cultures across the globe.
Chris Teitzel
Chris Teitzel is a strategic, community focused individual with exceptional corporate governance, finance and operation planning skills. He has a strong interest in the Arts and over the course of his career has overseen the strategic direction and operations of 4 regional art galleries, 2 regional historical museums and 2 performing arts centres.
Chris has been with Greater Shepparton City Council as Director Corporate Services since 2014 and has almost 30 year’s local government and private sector experience in both Queensland and Victoria. Chris has held many senior roles including CEO, Director Community and Environmental Services, Director Corporate Services and Manager Finance as well a position of Commercial Manager in the private sector.
Chris is a Certified Practicing Accountant with a Degree in Business and a Graduate Certificate in Management.
Contract for building new SAM signed
3 April 2019
Construction on the new Shepparton Art Museum is set to commence on Friday following the signing of the contract between Greater Shepparton City Council and Kane Constructions Pty Ltd, the successful tenderer for the build.
The construction contract was awarded to Kane Constructions at a Special Council Meeting on Tuesday 26 February 2019.
“Kane are very excited to be appointed to construct this unique and special project,” said Kane Construction Director, Geoff Purcell.
“At Kane, we have a long and successful history of delivering tailor-made, complex and demanding building projects throughout Victoria and are very much looking forward to making the new SAM vison a reality.”
Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor Kim O’Keeffe said the Council was pleased the contract has now been signed to enable works to commence on April 5. “This is the most significant and bold building that Council has invested in, and we have every confidence that Kane Constructions will do the design justice. It will be exciting to see some movement on site as we watch the new SAM take form.”
The works will necessitate the removal of 37 trees in the footprint of the SAM building. The trees were part of the planning process and were subject to a detailed inspection and audit. The majority of the trees are of low to medium value and some are being removed due to noted risks such as consistent limb failures.
Council is replacing the trees with 35,000 tube stock trees, 31 medium (45 litre) trees and 46 large (100 litre) trees to offset the loss. The trees will be Australian native and indigenous plants suitable to the area. This will ensure carbon offset for the Goulburn Valley region although there was no requirement for offsets on these tree removals.
The building will be constructed with the following actions and completed by the end of 2020:
Stage 1:
- Site preparation and tree removal as part of endorsed arborist plans
- Piles completed & ground floor slab underway mid 2019
- Level 4 slab & roof steel structure completed late 2019
- Façade completed early 2020
- Fit out completed mid 2020
Stage 2:
- Landscaping, car parking late 2020 including the planting 80 mature trees and 35,000 tube stock
For more information visit greatershepparton.com.au
Latest SAM Drawing Wall artist talk on Friday
3 April 2019
Discover the meaning of the intriguing and barely visible ‘AT THIS SITE’, the latest Drawing Wall instalment by artist Steven Rhall at a free artist talk on Friday 5 April from 12.30pm.
Artist Steven Rhall and SAM Community and Indigenous Engagement Officer Belinda Briggs present a lunchtime artist talk to find out more about Rhall’s art practice and the way this informs his work. This unique drawing wall is a signpost that reflects on Australia’s history and the absence of Aboriginal voice.
Steven Rhall is an interdisciplinary artist of the Taungurung People, whose practice spans photography, sculpture, and performance including public and private interventions responding both to cultural histories of place and ideas about their potential futures. He lives and works in Melbourne, Victoria.
Rhall exhibits internationally, lectures at the Victorian College of the Arts, and is a current PhD candidate at Monash University on Birrarung-ga land (Melbourne, Australia).
All are welcome to come along to this free talk, register your interest via the event on SAM’s Facebook Page, online, or just drop in.
Autumn school holiday fun activities at SAM
3 April 2019
The Shepparton Art Museum is offering a week of school holiday activities to allow kids to explore their creativity from Monday 8 to Saturday 13 April.
The activities range from decorating clay jugs, creating a woven wall handing, slime making, archaeology and a combined theatre performance and ceramic workshop based on Picasso and His Dog, partnering with Riverlinks.
“We are offering something different these school holidays with the Picasso Clay Day and the Picasso and His Dog performance at Riverlinks,” said SAM Curator, Lara Merrington. “Kids can create their own ceramic plate based on the creative world of Picasso and later attend the fun performance at Riverlinks.”
“Holidays at SAM are always an excitingly creative time,” said Ms Merrington. “Both children and adults take away something more than just an artwork – they build on their personal and professional creativity, their confidence, and learn new techniques and approaches to art while meeting new friends.”
“I would encourage anyone who would like to introduce their children to the museum to book into one of our workshops and find out what else is on offer at SAM,” she said.
“SAM also has an after school Art Club which is very popular and also a SAM Little Hands series for younger children, which allows them to play and get messy while participating in fun art activities. If you are planning what you might want your children to be involved in this year then come and have a chat to one of our SAM staff who can provide all the information.”
The activities are suitable for a range of ages and are free or low cost. Bookings are essential as numbers are limited – visit https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/programs-and-events
Please note that bookings for the theatre performance Picasso and His Dog must be made through the Riverlinks box office on 5832 9511 or via the website riverlinksvenues.com.au
SAM goes local – celebrating regional artists
7 March 2019
Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) will go local from 1 March to 7 April, spotlighting the practice of regional artists with three exhibitions – SAM Local: Spotlight, SAM Local: Best of Friends and SAM: Education Lab, supported by La Trobe University.
Spotlight is an exciting, profile-raising exhibition for a regional artist. This year the spotlight will be on Maree Santilla.
Maree is an Echuca-based artist who works across drawing, painting and sculptural ceramics. Working in a variety of mediums, Maree’s work looks at the relationship of animal, human and landscape.
Every year the Friends of SAM are invited to showcase their artwork in an exhibition that brings together the works of community artists practising in painting, drawing, textiles, sculpture, photography and design.
Best of Friends highlights this diversity and skills. The opening event provides an opportunity to meet the artists, celebrate their artistic talent and their contributions to our creative community. Friends are invited to showcase their work at SAM. For information on becoming a Friend of SAM, click here.
Education Lab will be an evolving exhibition process that will see a range of schools and educational groups work with artist Heather Hesterman to transform the gallery space on a weekly basis.
The students’ work will remain in the gallery space for six weeks, providing them with the opportunity to see their work displayed in the galleries in an open lab-style mode.
Heather’s art practice investigates the intersection of place, ecology, education and science via practices of installation and collaboration. She will take up residency in the Education Lab from 1 March to 7 April.
SAM Director, Dr Rebecca Coates, said each exhibition provides a great insight into the talent in the Goulburn Valley.
“These are great projects that engage artists and communities across our region, telling unique stories, inviting people of all ages to get involved with SAM’s programs and activities and be inspired by the diverse range of creativity and imagination on our own doorstep,” she said.
More information on SAM Local here.
New Ben Quilty ceramics join SAM collection
24 January 2019
The Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) is excited to announce a major new acquisition by one of Australia’s most acclaimed contemporary artists, Ben Quilty.
A portrait painter, and winner of the 2011 Archibald Prize, Quilty is recognised for his work with Australian soldiers and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), through his work as an official war artist in Afghanistan, and his campaign to save the lives of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran of the Bali Nine.
Working here in a different medium, the four newly acquired porcelain jugs continue Quilty’s exploration of psychological states. The series of highly glazed slipcase ceramics are based on Victorian Toby jugs, or the more modern Character Jugs, depicting the head and shoulders of a figure. Quilty creates a series of psychologically charged portraits in these Victorian domestic vessels.
The first in the series of these ceramic portraits Conscript (Private Phil Butler) was purchased in 2016 with the assistance of the Friends of SAM.
SAM Director, Rebecca Coates said “Quilty has long been a champion of the role of regional galleries and art museums and their significance for communities near and far. As such, the artist has this year generously donated the remaining four jugs in the series to SAM through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program.”
Now reunited, Jug (Lloydy), Jug (Nose), Jug (Leonardo), and Scream after Leonardo have joined Conscript (Private Phil Butler) on display at SAM until 5 May. Come in to SAM and check out these amazing porcelain portraits.
Indigenous artwork new acquisition for SAM
14 January 2019
The recent acquisition of Cook’s Landing, 2018 to the SAM Collection by Wathaurung/Wadawurrung artist Marlene Gilson, will further bolster works by Indigenous artists of the South East Australia.
This historic event leaves no part of this country untouched and has shaped all our lives today in some shape or form. This work is a powerful conversation piece and invites audience engagement thought and Indigenous lens.
Marlene Gilson lives on her home Country Wathaurung/Wadawurrung in the small rural town of Gordon, located 25km east of Ballarat. As a child Gilson’s grandmother ensured she would know about her Ancestors, their history and culture through storytelling, and at times by drawing in the sand.
It was Gilson’s family that encouraged her to take up painting 10 years ago as a way to occupy her mind as she overcame a serious illness. Through art she was able to continue her inherited storytelling abilities by painting wooden blocks carved by her husband Barry in various shapes, depicting whole scenes of little villages for her grandchildren.
Cook’s Landing, 2018 is a re-imagined scene of Captain James Cook and the First Fleet arriving at Botany Bay in 1788. Continuing her exploration of significant events of national importance, Gilson’s work challenges mainstream historical narratives, in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices and experiences have often been absent or played a peripheral role.
The work depicts Aboriginal people in both a traditional setting, as well as dressed as Captain Cook and those of the First Fleet arriving and setting up camp. This approach is similar to that of Australian documentary film maker Don Featherstone, whose 1986 film BabaKiueria featured the late Bob Maza alongside several other notable First Peoples as central characters dressed in historic British military uniform, similar to that worn by the First Fleet. The use of satirical humour in this work is both a cultural expression and a gesture to invite appreciation of the power structures at play.
The artists use of humour allows audience to engage with the work in a light hearted way but cleverly about a significant event in history that continues to colour our lives today in diverse and for Aboriginal people traumatic ways.
SAM Director Rebecca Coates said the work was an important acquisition for the museum “Marlene’s paintings are whimsical, wonderful, and importantly, enable us to re-imagine Australia’s history from various points of view. “
“As well as being a marvellous work by an important Australian artist, the acquisition signals Shepparton Art Museum’s commitment to supporting Aboriginal artists from South-East Victoria, through the acquisition of work and programming. It enables us to engage with ideas central to our place, people and context, and a broader First Nations discussion,” she said.
Image: Marlene Gilson, Community / Language Group: Wathaurung / Wadawurrung, Cook’s Landing, 2018, acrylic on linen, Shepparton Art Museum Collection, purchased, 2018.
School holiday creative family activities at SAM
10 January 2019
The Shepparton Art Museum is offering a week of school holiday activities to allow kids to explore their creativity from Monday 21 to Friday 25 January at SAM and in the Maude Street Mall.
The activities range from large scale outdoor drawing using colourful electrical tape to hand sewing a soft toy and participating in an oversized weaving project. SAM is partnering with Activities in the Park and the GV Libraries to run some of the workshops.
“Holidays at SAM are always an excitingly creative time,” said SAM Curator Lara Merrington. “Both children and adults take away something more than just an artwork – they build on their personal and professional creativity, their confidence, and learn new techniques and approaches to art while meeting new friends.”
“I would encourage anyone who would like to introduce their children to the museum to book into one of our workshops and find out what else is on offer at SAM,” she said. “We also have some wonderfully imaginative, colourful artworks on display in the Craftivism exhibition at the moment so take some time to relax and explore the galleries.”
“SAM has an after school Art Club which is very popular and also a SAM Little Hands series for younger children, which allows them to play and get messy while participating in fun art activities. If you are planning what you might want your children to be involved in this year then come and have a chat to one of our SAM staff who can provide all the information.”
The School Holiday program includes:
Tape It
Collaborative Drawing
Monday 21 January, 10am-3.00pm at Maude Street Mall.
All ages. Free. Artist: Briony Barr
Using colourful electrical tape kids will collectively create a large-scale floor drawing and take over the mall. Based on rules provided by Briony Barr the board-game like collaborative artwork will morph with patterns and colours. Held in conjunction with Activities in the Park.
Sew a Softie
Hand sewing for kids
Tuesday 22 January, 10.30am-noon or 1pm-2.30pm at SAM
For 5 to 14 years. $5.
Goulburn Valley Libraries and SAM are bringing Sew a Softie to Shepparton! Using simple hand-sewing techniques and their imaginations, children will sew a soft toy which will be exhibited at SAM and the Shepparton Library. Join Rhyme & Storytime at 10.30am on Monday 21 January for stories about teddies and then make a softie at SAM on Tuesday.
Weave ’n Play
Experimental Weaving
Wed 23 Jan, 10am-11.30pm or noon-1.30pm or
2pm-3.30pm at SAM.
For families. $5. Tutor: Slow Art Collective.
Join artists from Slow Art Collective and help make a cubbyhouse inside SAM! Part architecture and part over-sized loom, this large-scale installation invites participants to play, imagine and learn how to weave.
Slow Down World
Reading and Workshop
Thu 24 Jan, 10.30am – 2.00pm at SAM
For families. $10. Tutor: Tai Snaith
Join artist and author Tai Snaith for a reading of her children’s picture book which was long-listed for the 2017 Australian Book Industry Awards. Slow Down World takes us on a journey towards living in the present moment. The reading will be followed by a practical workshop where kids will use clay and paper to collage pictures of their world.
Cut and Paste
Collage Workshop
Fri 25 Jan, 10.30am to 12.00pm, ages 6 – 10. $5.
1.00pm to 2.30pm, ages 11 – 16. $5.
Explore ideas of collage and identity reflected in SAM’s current exhibition Craftivism. In this workshop participants will create their own collage or mood-board, reflecting themselves or a feeling/idea important to them.
The activities are suitable for a range of ages and are free or low cost. Bookings are essential as numbers are limited – visit https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/programs-and-events
Six shortlisted artists announced for 2019 Sidney Myer Fund Australian Ceramic Award
18 December 2018
Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) is delighted to announce the six shortlisted artists who will present new artworks in the 2019 Sidney Myer Fund Australian Ceramic Award (SMFACA).
The Award celebrates and promotes contemporary Australian artists working in the ceramic medium. With $50,000 in prize money, the SMFACA cements its place as the premier Australian acquisitive ceramic art award.
The 2019 shortlisted artists are:
- Julie Bartholomew
- Stephen Bird
- Greg Daly
- Lynda Draper
- Juz Kitson
- Isadora Vaughan
The SMFACA is one of the most prestigious awards in the visual arts in Australia, with a uniquely ceramic focus. It has evolved over its many year history. It began in 1991 as the Sidney Myer Fund Australia Day Ceramic Award, and evolved into the Sidney Myer Fund International Ceramic Art Award in 1997, with the aim of providing an unprecedented opportunity for a major international ceramic award and exhibition in Australia.
In 2009, SAM reviewed the Award, and it returned to a format that showcases and supports contemporary Australian artists. The Award now celebrates and promotes contemporary Australian artists working in the ceramic medium. With ceramics increasingly adopted by a number of emerging and established contemporary artists, as recent exhibitions nationally and internationally have highlighted the possibilities for the medium has significantly expanded.
The Sidney Myer Fund Trustees are proud to be associated with an exhibition that understands, explores and challenges the possibilities of ceramics and art making in our contemporary world. As a direct outcome of the relationship between the Sidney Myer Fund and Shepparton Art Museum over 26 years, over 175 works have been acquired, creating a diverse and dynamic collection of works by both Australian and international artists.
The shortlisted artists will present their new bodies of work at SAM from 22 June to 1 September 2019. The winner for this acquisitive prize will be announced during the exhibition’s official opening event on Friday 21 June 2019. Accompanying the exhibition will be a series of public programs.
The 2019 Award will be judged by Lisa Slade (Assistant Director, Artistic Programs at the Art Gallery of South Australia), Stephen Benwell (Artist) and Rebecca Coates (Director, SAM).
SAM Director, Dr Rebecca Coates commented on behalf of the judges: “We wish to commend and thank all of the artists who submitted proposals for the 2019 Sidney Myer Fund Australia Ceramic Award. The six shortlisted artists selected by the judges reflect the exciting and innovative ways that artists are working with ceramics as a contemporary medium. We look forward to seeing how their projects develop and evolve with much anticipation.”
The 2019 SMFACA attracted an extremely high calibre of entrants, with around 50 applications from around the country by many of Australia’s leading contemporary artists and ceramicists.
Important Dates
Exhibition Official opening and Award announcement: Friday 21 June, 5 to 8pm
Exhibition Dates: Saturday 22 June to Sunday 1 September 2019
Public programs & floor talks: Commencing 21 June 2019
Colours of art showcased in new SAM exhibition opening Friday
20 November 2018
Visitors to the Shepparton Art Museum will experience art that reflects on the issues which affect us all when Craftivism. Dissident Objects and Subversive Forms opens this Friday evening.
The Shepparton Art Museum (SAM), in partnership with National Exhibitions Touring Support (NETS) Victoria presents this collaborative, playful and immersive exhibition featuring craft-based materials with a political intent, by 18 contemporary Australian artists and artist collectives.
Craft, activism and social change have long been interlinked; they have crossed boundaries and borders, genders and generations. Craftivism evidences this moment in contemporary art embracing craft techniques in order to explore and articulate the ideas and issues of our times.
Artists featured in the exhibition include: Catherine Bell, Karen Black, Penny Byrne, Erub Arts, Debris Facility, Starlie Geikie, Michelle Hamer, Kate Just, Deborah Kelly, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, Raquel Ormella, Kate Rohde, Slow Art Collective, Tai Snaith, Hiromi Tango, James Tylor, Jemima Wyman and Paul Yore.
Curated by SAM Curator Anna Briers and SAM Director Dr Rebecca Coates the exhibition addresses a number of themes.
“Gender, representation and identity are ever-present, because ‘the personal as political’ remains relevant today. Many artists are engaged with environmental politics and climate change, while others are concerned about contested borders, immigration and democracy. Many embrace relational production processes that implicitly promote collaboration and social connection,” said Dr Coates.
“Broadening our understanding of craft-making traditions, the artists in this exhibition subvert and extend these forms as vehicles for activism and social change, reflecting on the world in which we live. While some respond directly to artistic or political movements, others encourage social connection between community members with works that require participatory activation through collective processes,” said Ms Briers.
“Craftivism reveals the myriad ways that these artists challenge our perceptions of craft materials and approaches within a contemporary context, inviting viewers to rethink craft in a new light.”
Craftivism. Dissident Objects and Subversive Forms is a Shepparton Art Museum curated exhibition, touring nationally by NETS Victoria.
It opens on Friday 23 November at 6.00pm and everyone is welcome to attend. There will be Artist Talks from 5.00 to 6.00pm with Penny Byrne, Kate Just and Paul Yore who will discuss their work, processes and motivations. The exhibition has free entry.
Craftivism. Dissident Objects and Subversive Forms is a Shepparton Art Museum curated exhibition, touring nationally by NETS Victoria:
- Shepparton Art Museum (VIC) – 24 November 2018 to 17 February 2019
- Warrnambool Art Gallery (VIC) – 4 March to 5 May 2019
- Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery (VIC) – 17 May to 21 July 2019
- Museum of Australian Democracy (ACT) – 6 September 2019 to 2 February 2020
- Bega Valley Regional Gallery (NSW) – 18 April to 13 June 2020
- Warwick Art Gallery (QLD) – 3 July to 15 August 2020
- University of the Sunshine Coast Art Gallery (QLD) – 12 September to 31 October 2020
Local artists encouraged to submit art ideas for SAM exhibitions in March
7 November 2018
Early next year the Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) goes local with the spotlight on artistic practice from the region across a range of exhibition spaces including SAM Local Spotlight, SAM Best of Friends, SAM Education Lab, SAM Showcase, and the SAM Drawing Wall.
SAM Local Spotlight is an open call-out for a solo artist to exhibit a body of work at SAM. The call for entries is now open and local artists of all ages are encouraged to share their creativity and get involved!
SAM welcomes proposals from artists living in or originally from North Central and North East regional Victoria who maintain strong connections within these locations.
SAM’s Curator, Lara Merrington, said: “SAM Local Spotlight is an exciting, profile-raising opportunity for a regional artist. The aim of the exhibition is to encourage, stimulate and promote local and regional cultural activities as part of SAM’s annual program.”
“This is also great opportunity to gain professional experience working in an art museum context – working with SAM’s team across curatorial, marketing and communications, registration, education and public programs, and much more,” said Ms Merrington.
For further information on how to become the SAM Local Spotlight artist, click here. Submissions close on Friday 7 December, 5pm AEST. Artists can chat to SAM’s Curator Lara Merrington about their proposal prior to submitting on (03) 5832 8480. All applicants will be advised by 17 December 2018.
You can also show your art at SAM as part of the SAM Best of Friends open access exhibition. All Friends of SAM are encouraged to submit work. The exhibition’s purpose is to celebrate the creative practices of many local artists working in a range of media in the Goulburn Valley. It is a great way to see what other people are creating and to gain insights into the regional arts sector. Keep an eye out on SAM’s website in December for more information on how to apply.
SAM Education Lab is an exciting initiative directed at students and schools, giving them the opportunity to work closely with a contemporary artist at SAM. The second year of this hugely successful program, SAM will present an evolving exhibition project led by a contemporary artist for all student levels. This is a great way for teachers and students to get involved and get creative, using on of SAM’s gallery spaces to make and install work. For more information contact SAM, or ask to speak to one of our Education team.
Sam Jinks’ Woman and Child on loan to Mornington Peninsula Art Gallery
31 October 2018
Shepparton Art Museum’s much loved Woman and Child sculpture is going on loan to the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery for an upcoming exhibition Obsession: Devil in the detail from 30 November 2018 to 17 February 2019.
The Sam Jinks hyper-realist sculpture has been a part of the Shepparton Art Museum’s collection since 2010. It is widely recognized as an exemplary example of the artist’s work, and work being created in this hyper-real style and approach.
“Since first exhibiting and subsequently acquiring Woman and Child in 2010, the work has become one of the best loved in the collection, and a powerful symbol of the ways in which contemporary art can engage with, and bring together, diverse communities,” says SAM Director Rebecca Coates.
“It is always great to be able to work with our other gallery colleagues, and share these major works with wider audiences. As one of Victoria’s leading regional art museums, part of our role is to share, raise awareness of and celebrate the works that we care for and are in our Collection. We do this by attracting audiences to Shepparton, and showcasing SAM’s Collection through these lending opportunities. Both allow audiences across the country to gain an idea of some of the highlights that are to be found in the Shepparton Art Museum Collection.”
The artwork will be taken off display at SAM on 7 November and will go back on display in May 2019.
“Before Woman and Child goes on loan it would be a great opportunity for people to come and visit or re-visit the work. And of course, for those on the Peninsula over summer, you can always visit the work in its temporary new location,” says Dr Coates.
Presentation by leading curator and Yorta Yorta woman, Kimberley Moulton
3 October 2018
Presented alongside Shepparton Art Museum’s 2018 Indigenous Ceramic Award, join Kimberley Moulton, Senior Curator at Museums Victoria, for a lecture titled: First Peoples Art and the Archive; the Intersection of Historical Collections and Contemporary Artists and Makers.
Through sharing her curatorial practice at Museums Victoria and research experiences in international collections, Kimberley Moulton will present on the intersection of contemporary art and historical collections and consider the influence museum collecting has had on contemporary First Peoples art today.
A local to Sheppparton, Kimberley is a Yorta Yorta woman, curator, writer and Senior Curator of South Eastern Aboriginal Collections at Museums Victoria.
Kimberley has worked in curatorial roles at Melbourne Museum for 10 years and as well curating over 16 exhibitions with the Victorian Koorie community, her projects and research have included international experiences. Her most recent project is the highly anticipated Museums Victoria exhibition; Mandela My Life: The Official Exhibition.
The event will be held on Thursday 11 October from 6-7.30pm in Riverlinks Eastbank Function Room 2.
The cost will be $15 per person, $10 for Friends of SAM and $5 for students. Light refreshments provided.
Tickets are available on EventBrite.
2018 ICA Indigenous Ceramic Award (ICA) Winner Announced
26 August 2018
The Shepparton Art Museum is pleased to announce the winner of the 2018 Indigenous Ceramic Award – Yhonnie Scarce, for her work, Servant and Slave, 2018.
The winning work was selected for the way it speaks to difficult histories with a delicacy and resolved sophistication of language and material. In an extension of her previous work, Scarce rethinks the traditions of fine porcelain and tea. Her broken and intentionally fragmented porcelain cups appear inhabited or co-opted by a series of black glass forms. She invites us to reflect on past oppressions and lived experiences from her own family.
The $20,000 Indigenous Ceramic Award (ICA) is the most prestigious national award for Indigenous ceramics, showcasing new and exciting developments in the field. The acquisitive prize attracted ceramic works from Indigenous artists across Australia.
The winning work, and that of the finalists, will be on display at SAM from 25 August to 11 November 2018.
Judges shortlisted seven artists from a wide field of contemporary Indigenous artists working in the ceramics medium. Their approaches highlighted the rich and diverse ways that artists understand and extend the possibilities of the medium of ceramics within our contemporary context and times.
The 2018 finalists are:
- Dean Cross (Worimi, ACT): Cross presents a site-specific work that is responsive to the architecture that confines it and will continue to respond directly to the situation it is presented in. Cross’ work seeks to challenge the Western canon of memorial statuary.
- Jackie Wirramanda (Wergaia, VIC): Wirramanda’s work incorporates the colours of Lake Tyrell, a site which is both locally and culturally significant to the artist; it is a place referred to by the old people as one where the earth met the heavens. The work represents the Creation story of Larnankurrk (seven sisters) of Wergaia area.
- Jan Goongaja Griffiths (Miriwoonga/Ngarinyman, WA): Goongaja Griffiths’ work presents scenes from her family history, including her father’s experience as an Indigenous stockman working for rations at Victoria River Station, NT in the 1940s. The work continues in her practice of creating small figurines.
- Janet Fieldhouse (Torres Strait Islands, QLD): Fieldhouse, who is participating in her fifth Award, presents large scale sculptural forms, exploring themes such as the narrative of storytelling, abstract scarification, the beauty of landscapes, and sharing of knowledge.
- Jock Puautjimi (Tiwi, NT): Puautjimi presents lidded and unlidded vase forms which continue to explore Tiwi graphic mark making. Some lids have symbolic sculptural pieces affixed. Puautijimi also presents representations of traditional pukamani poles.
- Penny Evans (Gamilaraay/Gomeroi, NSW): Evans’s pieces work with Thanggall and Giinbay (large and small freshwater mussel) ceramic forms, utilising terracotta, black and white clays.
- Yhonnie Scarce (Kokatha/Nukunu, SA): Scarce’s work combines her signature glass vessels with ceramic forms, making reference to the oppressive behaviours that occurred during Aboriginal domestic’s employment, and how Aboriginal women were kept; hidden, covered and imprisoned.
“We congratulate each of the shortlisted artists presented in the 2018 Indigenous Ceramic Award. The Judging panel were moved, delighted, and impressed with the calibre and diversity of approaches and artworks.
“Each work in its own way rewrites the language of ceramics inflected through a personal cultural specificity. Some of the works have a close engagement with Country, others with post-colonial narratives, while others celebrate deep memory of people, culture and place,” said the Judging Panel.
It’s the sixth in the series of biennial Indigenous Ceramics Awards which have been held at SAM since 2007.
Director, Shepparton Art Museum, Dr Rebecca Coates, said the Award supports Indigenous artists to pursue aspirational projects in the medium, and provides a national platform to share personal, historical and deep cultural learnings from artist and Country.
“The Award celebrates and supports the rich and diverse use of the ceramic medium by Indigenous artists and acknowledges the special industry of ceramic art. Each shortlisted artist has presented a substantial body of new work for display,” Dr Coates said.
The judges for the 2018 ICA Award were Stephen Gilchrist, Associate Lecturer of Indigenous Art, University of Sydney; Genevieve Grieves, Manager, First Peoples Department at Museums Victoria; and Dr Rebecca Coates, Director, Shepparton Art Museum.
The 2018 ICA’s Project Curator is Belinda Briggs, Shepparton Art Museum’s Community Engagement Officer – Indigenous, working with Anna Briers, Curator, SAM.
To assist the artists to create their dynamic body of work, the seven finalists received a development fee to help support the production builds on SAM’s significant holdings of Indigenous ceramics.
Previous Awards winners include Kaiela Arts artists, Jack Anselmi and Cynthia Hardie in 2016; Bankstown Koori Elders Group in 2014; Janet Fieldhouse in 2011 and 2007; and Danie Mellor in 2009.
The 2018 ICA is supported by Principal Partners, Sir Andrew and Lady Fairley Foundation and Mr Allan Myers AC QC, and the University of Melbourne (Learning and Engagement Partner).
Image: Yhonnie Scarce, Servant and Slave, 2018. porcelain and hand-blown glass, dimensions variable. courtesy the artist and This Is No Fantasy Dianne Tanzer + Nicola Stein, Melbourne. Image: Christian Capurro.
SAM announces 2018 Indigenous Ceramic Award (ICA) shortlisted artists
25 March 2018
Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) is delighted to announce the seven shortlisted artists who will present work in the 2018 Indigenous Ceramic Award (ICA) in August this year. The Award celebrates and supports the rich and diverse use of the ceramic medium by Indigenous artists and art collectives and acknowledges the unique talents of ceramic artists.
The winner of the $20,000 acquisitive prize will be announced at the exhibition’s official opening event on Saturday 25 August 2018 at SAM.
The 2018 ICA is the sixth in the series of SAM’s biennial Awards, showcasing new and exciting developments in the field. It contributes to the Art Museum’s significant holdings of Indigenous ceramic art, and provides cultural exchange opportunities for Indigenous artists from regional Victoria and around Australia.
The 2018 shortlisted artists are:
- Dean Cross, Worimi, ACT
- Jackie Wirramanda, Wergaia, VIC
- Jan Goongaja Griffiths, Miriwoong/Ngarinyman – Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, WA
- Janet Fieldhouse, Torres Strait Islands, QLD
- Jock Puautjimi, Tiwi – Tiwi Design Aboriginal Corporation, NT
- Penny Evans, Gamilaraay/Gomeroi, NSW
- Yhonnie Scarce, Kokatha/Nukunu, SA
The seven shortlisted applicants have been invited to present a substantial body of new work for display at SAM from 25 August to 11 November 2018. Accompanying the exhibition will be a series of public programs and associated events that will provide skills and knowledge exchange. A full colour exhibition catalogue will also be produced and available for purchase from the SAM shop.
Judging the finalist in the 2018 ICA are: Stephen Gilchrist, Associate Lecturer of Indigenous Art, University of Sydney; Genevieve Grieves, Manager, First Peoples Department at Museums Victoria; and Dr Rebecca Coates, Director, Shepparton Art Museum.
The 2018 ICA’s Project Curator is Belinda Briggs, Community Engagement Officer – Indigenous, working with Anna Briers, Curator, Shepparton Art Museum.
Previous Awards winners include, Kaiela Arts artists, Jack Anselmi and Cynthia Hardie in 2016, Bankstown Koori Elders Group in 2014, Janet Fieldhouse in 2011 and 2007 and Danie Mellor in 2009.
The 2018 ICA is developed in partnership with the Sir Andrew and Lady Fairley Foundation and Mr Allan Myers AC QC.
Important Dates:
|
Exhibition opens to the public |
Saturday 25 August |
|
Exhibition official opening and Award announcement |
Saturday 25 August |
|
Exhibition dates |
Saturday 25 August to Sunday 11 November |
For further information, print quality images, or to arrange interviews with SAM staff, please contact Medialink:
Katrina Raymond (03) 96633222 or email katrina@medialinkproductions.com
Louis Raymond (03) 96633222 or email louis@medialinkproductions.com
SAM Local Exhibitions to Open in March
8 March 2018
Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) goes local from 29 March to 13 May, spotlighting the practice of regional artists with three exhibitions, SAM Local Spotlight, SAM Local: Best of Friends and SAM Education Lab.
An official opening will be held on Wednesday 28 March from 5.30 to 7.30pm, and all are welcome to attend and support their local artists.
SAM Local Spotlight is an exciting, profile-raising exhibition for a regional artist, this year, Kate Hill. In a work that takes her directly back to her childhood farm in Boorhaman, North East Victoria, and to the banks of the Goulburn River, Shepparton, Kate Hill continues her investigation of local clays, industry and the intersection of waterways.
Every year the talents of the Friends of SAM are showcased in an exhibition which brings together the works of community artists practising in painting, drawing, textiles, sculpture, photography and design. SAM Local: Best of Friends highlights this diversity, and the artists’ commitment and skills. The opening event provides an opportunity to meet the artists, celebrate their artistic talent and their contributions to our creative community. Friends are invited to showcase their work at SAM. If you’d like to download an application form, click here, and for information on becoming a Friend of SAM, click here.
The SAM Education Lab will be an evolving exhibition process that will see a range of schools and educational groups work with an artist to transform the gallery space on a weekly basis. Students’ work will remain in the gallery space over six weeks, providing them with the opportunity to see their work displayed in the galleries in an open lab-style mode of display. Masato Takasaka is the first practicing artist to take up residency in the Education Lab for six weeks from 29 March to 13 May 2018. Save the date for the closing party of SAM’s inaugural Education Lab on Monday 7 May, 6 to 8pm.
SAM Director, Dr Rebecca Coates said:
“These are great projects that engage artists and communities across our region, telling unique stories, inviting people of all ages to get involved with SAM’s programs and activities, and be inspired by the amazing creativity and imagination on our own doorstep.”
Local media preview: Tuesday 27 March, 10.30am
Exhibition Dates: Thursday 29 March – Sunday 13 of May 2018
Official Opening: Wednesday 28 March, 5.30 – 7.30pm
Featuring music by Wade Gregory and Brian Matthews.
RSVP: rsvp-sam@shepparton.vic.gov.au or call (03) 5832 9861
For further information please contact SAM Marketing Officers Amina Barolli or Trent Howard on (03) 5832 9494.
I hope you get this: Raquel Ormella
20 February 2018
Works reflecting on the intersections of art and activism, by one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists, Raquel Ormella, will be exhibited at SAM from 26 May to 12 August 2018.
Curated by Rebecca Coates & Anna Briers
A NETS Victoria and Shepparton Art Museum touring exhibition
Raquel Ormella employs a wide variety of media, including video, painting, installation, drawing, textile, paintings and zine production. ‘I hope you get this’ features some of her seminal early works, alongside more recent textile and text-based works, and new commissions. The exhibition reveals Ormella’s experimental relationship with textiles and a playful exploration of semiotics, critical hallmarks of her sustained practice. I hope you get this: Raquel Ormella, will be the artist’s first major survey exhibition.
Curated by SAM Director, Dr Rebecca Coates, and SAM Senior Curator Anna Briers, the survey exhibition will feature four significant bodies of work within the artist’s oeuvre, as well as a site-responsive commission. This exhibition was supported by NETS Victoria’s Exhibition Development Fund and will tour nationally through a SAM and NETS Victoria partnership.
Through her use of text and symbols, notably in her intricate embroidery work, Ormella invites audience members to engage with issues of nationalism, political activism and environmental intervention.
The exhibition will be supported by education and public programs that invite engagement and participation with some of Shepparton’s local community groups – from bird-watching groups to local textile artists. The exhibition will appeal to visitors of all ages, extending audiences’ engagement and opportunity to actively participate in some of these key themes and ideas.
Dr Coates described the exhibition as a timely appraisal and recognition of Ormella’s achievements following her previous selection in a number of significant international biennials and major temporary exhibitions, from Sydney to Shanghai and Nagoya, Japan. Bringing earlier works now in the Collections of some of Australia’s major collecting institutions, together with some of her more recent projects and newer commissions, audiences will be able to see the sheer breadth of her practice, and her deep and sustained engagement with themes and ideas of our times.
“Social and environmental activism; human and animal relationships; nationalism and national identity; feminism and political identity are recurrent themes which Ormella consistently explores.
“An integral part of the way Ormella works is to become involved with, or imbedded within, grass-roots organisations and interest groups engaged directly with the issues she is exploring. This has extended from time spent with the Tasmanian Wilderness Society, more recent works made in response to trade union movements and strike actions, or the connections she has forged with birdwatcher groups run by U3A in the Goulburn Valley region over the course of the development of this exhibition.
Ormella’s works aim to stimulate contemplation, connection and engagement with issues of our times, without making her own position necessarily explicit. Very often, the materials she uses are things that we all have at home, or for the hoarders amongst us, in some of our cupboards. The title of this show, ‘I hope you get this’ refers not only to her own position within the works, but also to our reading of these various subjects. She invites visitors to engage, to reflect, and bring their own understanding and experiences to the show at the same time,” Dr Coates said.
This exhibition represents an ongoing commitment by Shepparton Art Museum to present the work of prominent mid-career female artists as a series of solo survey exhibitions. The commitment was first established in the 1970s, through the acquisition of major works by leading Modernist Australian female artists including Margaret Preston and Grace Cossington-Smith, both recently included in Heide’s Making Modernism exhibition (2017). These works are now considered some of the outstanding highlights of Shepparton Art Museum’s Collection. Recent female artists exhibited at SAM have included Chen Qiuilin and Nell.
To arrange interview with the artist and curator and for supply of images please contact:
- Katrina Raymond, MediaLink Productions
(03) 9663 3222, 0417 303 158
katrina@medialinkproductions.com - Louis Raymond, MediaLink Productions
(03) 9663 3222, 0448 808 811
louis@medialinkproductions.com
Raquel Ormella Biography:
Raquel Ormella (b. Sydney 1969) has a diverse practice that includes video, installation, drawings, and zines. Ormella works at the intersections of art and activism. She investigates the means by which critical reflexivity in contemporary art encourages processes of self-examination regarding political consciousness and social action. Ormellaʼs practice is grounded in exploring the nature of the relationship between humans and the natural environment, with a particular focus on urban expansion and forest activism.
In highlighting the interconnections between the two, Ormella attempts to show that our depictions of the natural world are not representations of true ʻwildernessʼ or a pure state, but rather are informed by human contact and reflective of human values. Ormella has built a practice covering a diverse range of activities such as video, paintings, textiles, installations, drawings, and zines. She is interested in exploring the relation of the audience to the artwork by using multiples. For example, she produced a work for the 2008 Sydney Biennale using electronic whiteboards that printed the drawings made by the artist, so that the audience may take them home.
Her solo exhibitions include Golden Soil, Milani Gallery, 2016; Birds, School of Art Gallery, ANU, Canberra, 2013; New Constellation, Milani Gallery, 2013; Feeders, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, ACT, 2012.
Ormella has participated in various group exhibitions including in the 2015 Artist Making Movement, Asian Art Biennial, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, See you at the barricades, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, More love hours: contemporary artists and craft, Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne; Basil Sellers Prize, Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne, Protest Songs, Artful Actions, Lismore Regional Gallery, Lismore, Conflict: Contemporary responses to war, University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane; 2013 California-Pacific Triennial, Los Angeles, Social networking, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, 2012, the 1st Aichi Triennial, Art and Cities, Nagoya, Japan, 2010.
Ormella was one of the artists selected for the One Year Studio Artists program at Artspace, Sydney, in 2017. In 2012, Ormella was awarded the prestigious Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, from the Campbelltown Art Centre, NSW, Australia; a New Work Grant from The Australia Council for the Arts and Arts ACT in 2009; Warrnambool Art Gallery’s New Social Commentaries Prize, in 2006; Western Sydney Artist Fellowship from the NSW Ministry for the Arts, 2000; and the Australia Council Studio Residency in Barcelona, Spain in 1999. In 2013 Ormella completed a PhD in Visual Arts at the Australia National University, Canberra where she lectures in the Painting department.
This exhibition has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Visions of Australia program as well as receiving development assistance from NETS Victoria’s Exhibition Development Fund, supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.
Soft Core to show at Shepparton Art Museum
10 January 2018
Shepparton Art Museum is pleased to present Soft Core, an exhibition of newly commissioned and recent work by 12 Australian and International artists whose work questions the fluctuating meaning of softness.
Soft Core presents artistic practices that explore the many facets of ‘softness’ – from large-scale inflatables to forms made from soft materials to materials that simply look soft. These artists are making works that demand attention.
This exhibition includes works by 12 preeminent Australian and International artists including international superstar artist Tony Oursler; Michael Parekowhai, arguably New Zealand’s most celebrated artist; Patricia Piccinini, who famously designed the Skywhale hot air balloon; and Mikala Dwyer who courted controversy for her ritualistic excrement-based performance in 2013.
In the 20th century, artists began to disassemble the notion of traditional sculpture by adding and subtracting constructions, incorporating found objects and designating everyday items as art. These adaptive and divergent methods of form making continue today in a generation of artists who define sculpture in the negative condition: not bronze, not stone, not the macho force of the blast furnace.
The materials in this exhibition encompass air, inflatable nylon, unfired clay and plastics bags – materials that have been co-opted for their versatility and their mutability between function and emotion. Some of the works require activation – such as electricity or inflation to become whole while others inhabit their softness quietly.
Director of Shepparton Art Museum, Rebecca Coates, sees the fun, provocative and inspiring nature of this exhibition as a good fit for Shepparton audiences.
“Shepparton has a strong representation of groups who use and make textiles – from quilting, to weaving, to local Afghani embroiderers.
“There is a connection between this exhibition and SAM’s significant collection of Australian ceramics. Prior to firing, clay is of course a soft material – one that engages through its sheer tactility, and malleable potentiality. That’s in part why there has been an upsurge in the popularity of ceramics. Soft Core builds on the work we have done around contemporary artists engaging with these materials in a contemporary way.
“The show features work by leading Australian artists who have built a reputation in part based on materiality – Kathy Temin with her fake fur and soft environments; Mikala Dwyer with her pantyhose, oversized plastic sculptures, which are actually made from the material that you use for coke bottles; and Louise Weaver with her crocheted animals, objects and installations that intrigue visitors with whimsy and wonder,” Ms Coates said.
The exhibition is accompanied by a comprehensive soft-form catalogue featuring newly commissioned writing on each of the exhibition artists by significant institutional and independent writers including Justin Paton, Lisa Slade, Anna Davis, Jason Smith, Russell Storer, Georgina Cole, Francis E Parker, Vanessa Berry, Robert Leonard and Victoria Lynn.
Image: Michael Parekowhai, Cosmo McMurtry, 2006, woven nylon substrate, pigment, electrical components, 330 x 180 x 280 cm. Courtesy the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney © the artist and Michael Lett Gallery, Auckland
ENDS.
To arrange interviews with SAM Director Rebecca Coates and Curator Michael Do, please contact SAM Marketing Officer, Amina Barolli on +61 3 5832 9494 or by email: amina.barolli@shepparton.vic.gov.au.
Welcome to 2018 at SAM
3 January 2018
Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) is proud to launch its first quarterly program for January to April this week, as well as its complete 2018 exhibition program online for all to engage with, participate in and share.
Showcasing four jam-packed months ahead, the SAM Program outlines temporary exhibitions, upcoming workshops for all ages and skill-levels, talks and other special events, as well as everyday offerings for all to enjoy. The 12-page booklet is available on SAM’s website to download, with hard copies available at SAM and in various locations around Shepparton.
EXHIBITIONS
Currently in its last days, SAM’s Summer exhibition, Cover Versions: Mimicry and Resistance uses mediums ranging from sound art and video to photography and installation, with artists drawing upon the histories of music, popular culture and the internet, ethnography and the natural world. New site-specific commissions highlight the discourse in the context of regional Victoria, from robotic flowers in Dookie’s golden canola fields to community choirs that interpret the SAM Collection and the museum architecture musically. Now showing until 14 January 2018.
From 27 January, SAM will present Soft Core, an exhibition of attention-grabbing 3D works that includes large-scale inflatables, forms made from soft materials, and materials that simply look soft. Soft Core is an exhibition for all ages – bring your family and friends to see the awe-inspiring recent work of 12 Australian and International artists. The official opening will be held on Friday 2 February at 6pm and include a special participatory installation of soft sculpture by the opening speaker, David Cross – artist and Professor of Art and Performance, Deakin University. On the following day, the work will be displayed for further participation in the Shepparton Maude Street Mall from 10am to 2pm. Soft Core is an exhibition curated by Micheal Do in conjunction with Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre and toured by Museums and Galleries of NSW. Showing from 27 January to 18 March 2018.
In early March, we’ll say goodbye to 80/80: Eighty Years of SAM – The Collection as the whole ground floor of SAM changes over to include two new collection exhibitions; Intimate Realities and Ever-present. Drawn largely from recent acquisitions, most of these works are being presented for the first time at SAM. Intimate Realities showcases a selection of sculptural works by leading Australian artists whose works engage, intrigue, and inspire through quiet contemplation, references to the body, musical refrain, and sheer enjoyment of materials. Ever-present is an exciting exhibition of historic and contemporary works by Indigenous artists, exploring the many ways that Country is explored and revealed through painting, ceramics and the beauty of every-day objects. Showing from 3 March 2018 to April 2019.
SAM’s Education Lab is a new initiative taking place from late March to mid-May, where students of all ages can work with artist Masato Takasaka to contribute to an ever-evolving exhibition over six weeks. The Education Lab coincides with other local community favourites: SAM Local Spotlight, celebrating home grown creativity; and Best of Friends, which invites all members of the Friends of SAM to show their work inside the museum. This year’s SAM Local Spotlight artist is Kate Hill.
SAM Local exhibitions will show from 29 March to 13 May 2018.
Kate Hill’s practice utilises site-specific materials of earth, clay and water, and processes such as sourcing, refining and sculpting to engage in temporal modalities of place – reflecting on both macro landscapes and systems – and the intimate space of walking. Through the excavation and processing of these materials she examines the stories that are held in this site, and the broader environmental and political questions associated with larger scale industries using similar processes.
Currently on show, the Drawing Wall #29 features work by Jon Campbell on the 4 x 12 metre wall in the Eastbank Centre, next door to the art museum. In February, SAM will commission its 30th Drawing Wall by well-known local artist Rosa Purbrick. The 30th edition of the wall will be marked and celebrated. David Harley will complete the 31st Drawing Wall in late April.
The fourth successful year of SAM’s Showcase sees Susan Frost’s minimalist forms that explore subtle gradations of colour and tone until late January, and to celebrate SAM going local in time for the Shepparton Festival, we’ll see local artist Kaye Poulton present new work in the 17th Showcase. The Showcase, located in the SAM Shop, provides visitors and collectors with a unique opportunity to acquire work by accomplished ceramic artists.
In late May, a survey exhibition of new and recent work by one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists, Raquel Ormella, will include a wide variety of media, and particularly draw on her experimental textile works. The exhibition will explore key themes that Ormella has consistently developed in her work: social and environmental activism; human and animal relationships; nationalism and national identity. Showing from 26 May to 12 August 2018.
In late August, SAM will present its sixth iteration of the Indigenous Ceramic Award, with applications open to Indigenous artists and groups from 15 January until 5 March. Showing from 25 August to 11 November 2018.
To conclude 2018, a major collaborative, playful and immersive exhibition, Craftivism, will feature the work of over 16 contemporary Australian artists and artist collectives. Extending our understanding of craft-making traditions and the potential of various materialities, the works in Craftivism will subvert and extend these forms into the realm of activism and social change. Many of the works included will encourage social connection between community members, and the idea of play and regeneration through collective processes. Showing from 24 November 2018 to 3 March 2019.
PUBLIC PROGRAMS
Ongoing favourites
SAM is thrilled to announce the return of sell-out programs from 2017 such as SAM Little Hands for toddlers and pre-schoolers and their carer; the SAM Art Club, after-school programming for kids and tweens; and SAM Out Late! for those secondary students and adults wanting to engage with art after hours and meet new friends. This year also sees the return of the popular SAM Art Trail, designed to encourage children and families to learn about the artworks through self-guided tours. Teachers and students can also access professional development workshops and talks.
Special lecture: Architecture as Land Art with John Denton
For those interested in the development of the new Shepparton Art Museum’s architecture, on Thursday 8 February, hear from John Denton, one of the founders of Denton Corker Marshall, talk about the idea of architecture as land art. As many will know, DCM won the architecture competition for the new SAM, and are working with Council on Detailed Designs. Denton will discuss DCM’s approach to architecture as an art object set in the landscape. Bookings can be made online via SAM’s website.
Summer Holiday Program
To kick off the year, SAM will present its popular Summer Holiday Program of art-making for people of all ages and skill-levels in mid-January. With some programs booked out as soon as details were published in December, make sure you book straight in if there’s something that interests you to avoid missing out!
Text Me, Clay Me
SAM’s sell-out clay play sessions are back. Taking inspiration from Jon Campbell’s, Drawing Wall #29, participants will explore text and typography. Using rolling, coiling and pinching techniques, kids will express themselves through loopy lettering, text and scale. Participants will get to take home their work after firing.
When: Monday 22 January, 1.30 to 3.30pm
For: Kids & Tweens
Cost: $20
Tutor: Kaye Poulton
Bookings: On the SAM website via Eventbrite
Skidding Squeegees
Our last screen-printing workshop was so much fun we’re rolling it out again. Learn how to print multiple colours and repetitive patterns onto a calico bag which you can take home, or bring your own white t-shirt and show it off when you get back to school.
When: Tuesday 23 January, 10.30am to 12pm or 1.30 to 3pm
For: Kids & Tweens
Cost: $20
Tutor: Tarli Bird
Bookings: On the SAM website via Eventbrite
A Summer Road Trip for Families
NGV Kids on Tour program
Spend the afternoon creating and making. To coincide with the National Gallery of Victoria’s Summer exhibition program, activities will include collage, board games and some take-home fun. More information on NGV Kids on Tour here. Come and join us!
When: Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 January, 1.30 to 3pm
Audience: Families
Cost: FREE
Bookings: On the SAM website via Eventbrite
To view the SAM Program January to April 2018 which includes all of the above: https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/programs-and-events
Free hard copies are available from the SAM Shop (70 Welsford Street, Shepparton), and in the Shepparton News on Friday 12 January.
SAM is open 7 days from 10am to 4pm (public holidays 1pm to 4pm).
Shepparton Art Museum is proudly provided by Greater Shepparton City Council, located at 70 Welsford Street, Shepparton. For general SAM enquiries and bookings please contact: (03) 5832 9861, email art.museum@shepparton.vic.gov.au, or visit www.sheppartonartmuseum.com.au. SAM is also on Facebook www.facebook.com/SheppartonArtMuseum, Twitter and Instagram: @SAM_Shepparton.