New Community Gallery exhibition from local artist Aleisa Miksad is set to open this Friday 2 December 2022.

1 December 2022

New Community Gallery exhibition from local artist Aleisa Miksad is set to open this Friday 2 December 2022 in the first SAM Spotlight exhibition to be hosted at new SAM.

The first SAM Spotlight exhibition to take place at new SAM opens on Friday 2 December, with Kialla-based ceramicist Aleisa Miksad to become the first artist to be featured with her show Between Scylla and Charybdis | Amphora in SAM’s Hugh D.T Williamson Community Gallery.

Miksad, an emerging ceramic artist, combines contemporary aesthetics with traditional forms. Her work reinterprets the classical ceramics and sculptures of the Ancient Greeks and Etruscans, with her pieces resembling ancient vases encrusted in corals or sea anemones. In Between Scylla and Charybdis | Amphora, Miksad explores the themes of the “femme fatale” and misogyny in Western art and literature by presenting a series of porcelain vessels, each embodying a different female character depicted in Homer’s The Odyssey.

Designed to showcase the work of early-career artists in the region, SAM Spotlight is a dedicated solo exhibition opportunity, with feature artists identified through an open expression-of-interest process. The successful applicant then works with SAM curators to design and present a show of their recent work, which will be on display in the Community Gallery at SAM for a period of 12 weeks. SAM Spotlight is a commissioned opportunity, with participating artists receiving an artist fee and stipend for artwork production.

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

“In preparing for this show, Aleisa has pushed her practice conceptually and materially by experimenting with scale and narrative to produce the series of ceramic vases that make up Between Scylla and Charybdis | Amphora.  SAM Spotlight is a fantastic opportunity for local artists to expand their practice and exhibit in a major regional art museum. We encourage everyone to come along to the opening on Friday to celebrate the creativity of our community, meet other art-interested locals, and maybe even envision your own work in the space next year!”

Aleisa Miksad: Between Scylla and Charybdis | Amphora will open on Friday 2 December 2022 and will run until 12 February 2023. The community is invited to the official exhibition opening event, which will include opening remarks from SAM CEO Melinda Martin and SAM Curator – Community Caroline Esbenshade. RSVPs can be made via Trybooking: https://www.trybooking.com/CEHVT

About Aleisa Miksad:

Aleisa Miksad (b.1980, Mackay QLD) lives in Kialla. She has exhibited with Craft Victoria and was a finalist in the 2022 Lake Art Prize. Between 2018 to 2020 she attended classes with celebrated ceramicist Damon Moon, which has had a lasting influence on her ceramics practice.

Image: Aleisa Miksad, Circe, 2022 (detail). Courtesy of the artist.

Two open-call group exhibitions at Shepparton Art Museum are now open to applications

18 November 2022

Two opportunities for local creatives to have their works on display in the Shepparton Art Museum’s (SAM) Community Gallery are now open to applications. SAM Fresh: GV Top Art & Design 2022, the annual VCE arts exhibition, is now open for VCE students who completed Unit 4 in Arts, Studio Arts or Visual Communications in 2022 to submit their final folio works for display. SAM Open 2023, an annual open-call group exhibition, is now accepting submissions of works that respond to the theme of Home.

SAM Fresh 2021 featured in the SAM Community Gallery as part of the museum’s opening suite of exhibitions in November 2021. The works of over 40 local VCE students were displayed and offered a valuable opportunity to establish an exhibition history for senior students wanting to pursue careers in the arts.

Available to creatives aged 16 years and over at all experience levels or career stages, SAM Open celebrates the creativity of the Greater Shepparton, Goulburn Valley and Hume regions. The theme for the upcoming SAM Open is Home. The theme is open to broad artistic interpretation and may be approached from a personal, social, or cultural perspective.

Caroline Esbenshade, SAM Community Curator, says of the opportunities:

“I’m excited about the upcoming SAM Open and SAM Fresh exhibitions – both programs offer creatives of all stages an opportunity to exhibit their work in a nationally significant regional gallery and an opportunity for us to shine a spotlight on our community. SAM Fresh, our VCE arts show, will showcase the talent of students in our region and provide them with feedback on their work to continue in their professional development. SAM Open builds on the history of the Friends of SAM annual exhibition, celebrating and promoting the diversity of creativity in our region.”

Folio submissions for SAM Fresh: GV Top Art & Design 2022 will close on 12 December 2022. SAM Fresh will be on display at SAM from 18 February to 23 April 2023.

Applications for SAM Open 2023 will close on 6 February 2023. SAM Open will be on display at SAM from 29 April to 16 July 2023.

Information on the full process, guidelines and artwork specifications can be found on the SAM website: https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/support-get-involved/exhibit-at-sam/

Meredith Turnbull & Ross Coulter’s All Together, SAM’s newest Children’s Gallery exhibition opens 12 November 2022

8 November 2022

Meredith Turnbull & Ross Coulter’s All Together, SAM’s newest Children’s Gallery exhibition, is set to open this Saturday 12 November 2022.

SAM is pleased to present All Together in its Children’s Gallery from artists Meredith Turnbull & Ross Coulter. Playfully referencing the history of the group portrait from Velasquez’s famous work Las Meninas through to the "awkward family photo", All Together is the next stage in an evolving project from Turnbull and Coulter. Featuring a collection of group photos of families, the exhibition expands on how we interpret and represent ‘family’ in this collaborative project between the artists and visitors to SAM.

The Children’s Gallery, transformed into a creative workshop space, will feature a large, quilted backdrop and selfie station where gallery-goers can self-compose their own group portrait. Workstations with materials will also be placed in the space for young visitors to create their own portrait of their family and friends in more unconventional settings. The artworks created by visitors can then adorn the walls of the gallery, growing the exhibition over time and joining the portraits previously taken by the artists.

Artists Meredith Turnbull and Ross Coulter say of the exhibition:

“With our project All Together, we want to make a joyful space for people to come into that is supportive and celebrates our families and networks - people we value and spend time with. We’re excited to be here on Yorta Yorta Country and to have the opportunity to work with Shepparton’s strong and diverse communities. We’d love it if kids can come into this space and feel comfortable to take photos of themselves, their friends and/or family and have a think about the special people in their lives. They’re also free to direct and choreograph their groups in their photos! It’s been a challenging time for local community with the recent floods and for all of us in different ways during the pandemic and many of these issues are ongoing. With the group portraits we really want our participants to enjoying the process of coming together and to come away with a beautiful group photograph that they can enjoy for years to come.”

In January 2023, visitors to SAM will have the opportunity to pose for a professional group photo, taken by the artists themselves. The portraits will become part of the growing All Together project, and families will receive a digital copy of their portrait to keep.

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

“All Together is both an exhibition and a creative space, and is particularly a place for families. This show asks us to reflect our idea of family – for many people, it doesn’t just consist of relatives, but also friends, pets, sports teammates. I’m looking forward to seeing all the expressions of family our community has captured – be it in the photographs taken by the artists, the artworks made by kids in the space, or the pictures taken by visitors and shared on Instagram. In February, Meredith & Ross will incorporate the community portraits taken from our January photoshoots into the exhibition, and I hope that seeing themselves on the gallery walls will make visitors feel like they are part of SAM.”

Meredith Turnbull & Ross Coulter: All Together will open on Saturday 12 November 2022 and will run until 30 April 2023. Bookings can be made for professional group portrait sittings via the link: https://www.trybooking.com/CDPVD

About Meredith Turnbull & Ross Coulter:

Meredith Turnbull and Ross Coulter have 40 years combined experience making and exhibiting art. Individually they were featured in the 2012 National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) exhibition Melbourne Now and have extensive solo careers. They frequently exhibit with major institutions such as the NGV, the Ian Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne, Monash University Museum of Art, and Heide Museum of Modern Art. Their work is held in
public collections across Australia.

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SAM Open 2023 – Announcement of theme

25 October 2022

The theme for the Shepparton Art Museum’s annual open-call exhibition has been set, with applications to open in November 2022.

SAM Open is Shepparton Art Museum (SAM)’s annual open-call exhibition that celebrates and showcases the creativity of the artistic community across Greater Shepparton, the Goulburn Valley and the Hume Region. The exhibition program invites local artists working in any medium and at any experience level or career stage to submit work for inclusion in SAM Open. The selected submissions are then exhibited collectively in the SAM Community Gallery.

The theme for the upcoming SAM Open is Home. The theme is open to broad artistic interpretation and may be approached from a personal, social, or cultural perspective. 

Caroline Esbenshade, SAM Community Curator, says of the theme:

“This year we’ve chosen the theme of ‘Home’ because it’s something that everyone has a concept of, but everyone’s experience or understanding of what ‘home’ is to them will be unique. In picking a theme, I hoped to land on something that was broad enough for everyone to feel they could respond to, but tangible enough that it could inspire and provide an opportunity for conversations to unfold to better connect us as a community.”

From 7 November 2022, artists based in Greater Shepparton, Goulburn Valley and the Hume Region will be able to apply to exhibit their works in SAM Open. Applications will close on 6 February 2023. SAM Open will be on display at SAM from 29 April to 16 July 2023. Information on the full process, guidelines and artwork specifications can be found on the SAM website: https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/support-get-involved/exhibit-at-sam/

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About SAM:

Shepparton Art Museum (SAM), located on Yorta Yorta Country, 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: Louise Tremper, Marketing Coordinator, SAM

p: (03) 4804 5026 e: ltremper@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

2022 ICA Winners Announced

10 October 2022

The winners of the Shepparton Art Museum’s 2022 Indigenous Ceramics Award have been announced, with Pitjantjatjara artist Anne Nginyangka Thompson and Gamilaroi artist Sean Miller taking out the top prizes.

Anne Nginyangka Thompson was awarded the Major Acquisitive Prize of $20,000 for her 2022 work Strong Family Connection by the judging panel, consisting of K/Gamilaroi artist Penny Evans, artist Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Senior Curator of South Eastern Aboriginal Collections at Museums Victoria Kimberley Moulton. The South-East Australian Aboriginal Artist Prize of $5,000 was awarded to Sean Miller for his 2022 work Galibaay on Country.

Anne Nginyangka Thompson is a previous ICA winner, having taken out the top prize in 2014 with her work Ngayuku Ngura, which was acquired into the SAM collection. Strong Family Connection, her entry to the 2022 ICA, is an elongated stoneware vase with several vignettes etched into its surface, reminiscent of traditional blue willow fine china patterns, and reflects Nginyangka Thompson’s deep appreciation of nature. At the close of the 2022 ICA exhibition, her winning work will be acquired into the SAM collection.

Sean Miller is a previous ICA finalist, with his work Songlines in the Sky making it into the 2016 ICA. Galibaay on Country, his entry to the 2022 ICA, is a large ceramic vessel adorned with a wooden snake, which winds its way around the neck of the vessel. The vessel features an etched chevron pattern – a common motif in Miller’s work.

Penny Evans, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Kimberley Moulton, 2022 ICA judging panel, say of the winning works:

“Anne’s work was visually, aesthetically, and technically resolved, with a remarkable complexity in its depiction of the mapping and connection to country. It held an energy that captivated each of us.

Sean’s work had presence, and the depth of the carving impressed us. As an artist, Sean is confident and has sound knowledge in materiality. The work has a playfulness to it and was a strong reflection of the iconography of his country.”

Now in its seventh iteration, the 2022 ICA attracted submissions from across Australia. The exhibition features 19 finalist works from 26 contemporary artists, representing 16 language groups.

Voting for the 2022 ICA People’s Choice Award will continue until the close of the exhibition on 4 December. Announcement of the award winner will take place soon after vote counting has been completed. The artist behind the winning work of the People’s Choice Award will be granted $1,500 in prize money.

Full list of 2022 ICA finalists

Anne Nginyangka Thompson, Pitjantjatjara (SA) – WINNER, Major Acquisitive Prize ($20,000)

Sean Miller, Gamilaroi (NSW) – WINNER, South-East Australian Aboriginal Artist Award ($5,000)

Alfred Lowe, Arrernte (NT)

Alison Milyika Carroll, Pitjantjatjara (SA)

Bankstown Koori Elders Group (NSW)

Lorna Morgan Waka-Waka, Darumbal (QLD), Lillian Johnson Waka-Waka, Gubbi Gubbi (QLD), Gloria Peronchik Waka-Waka Gangulu (QLD), Beverley Gilmartin Wiradjuri (NSW), Victoria Woods Wiradjuri (NSW), Margaret Foat, Buandik (SA), Lola Simmons Wailwan (NSW), John Simmons (NSW)

Beth Inkamala Mbitjana, Western Aranda (NT)

Billy Bain, Darug (NSW)

Carlene Thompson, Pitjantjatjara (SA)

Debbie Taylor-Worley, Gamilaraay/Gomeroi (NSW)

Elisa Jane Carmichael, Ngugi (QLD)

Elizabeth Dunn, Pitjantjatjara (SA)

Hayley Coulthard Panangka, Western Aranda (NT)

Jock Puautjimi, Tiwi (NT)

Megan Croydon, Kuku Yalanji (QLD)

Philip Denham, Girramay (QLD)

Philomena Yeatman, Gunggandji (QLD)

Rupert Jack, Pitjantjatjara (SA)

Tjunkaya Tapaya OAM, Pitjantjatjara (SA)

Vivian Pingkayi Thompson, Pitjantjatjara (SA)

About the award winners:

Anne Nginyangka Thompson is an emerging artist based at Ernabella Arts in the Pukatja Community (Musgrave Ranges, South Australia). Beginning ceramics in high school, her practice has developed into a meditation on her love for nature. Nginyangka Thompson has previously exhibited in the 2014 Indigenous Ceramic Award (ICA), and was awarded the first prize, with her work being acquired into the Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) Collection. Thompson also works in contemporary jewellery and resin; in 2015 her work was featured in the exhibition Jewellery Has Always Been There at the Jam Factory during Tarnanthi Festival in Adelaide.

Sean Miller is a Gamilaroi man living on Wurundjeri Country (Melbourne). He explores his Gamilaroi heritage through ceramics, woodwork, painting, and photography. For Miller, working in clay and wood creates a tangible connection to Country, where his ancestors culturally and artistically shaped the ground and carved trees for ceremony. Miller was a finalist in the 2016 Indigenous Ceramic Award (ICA) and in 2020 he won the Koorie Heritage Trust’s Emerging Artist Award at the 8th Koorie Art Show. His work is held in numerous private and public collections, including the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Melbourne and Shepparton Art Museum (SAM).

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About SAM:

Media enquiries, please contact: Louise Tremper, Marketing Coordinator, SAM

p: (03) 4804 5026 e: ltremper@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

SAM Studios returns for Term 4 with Rachel Doller

10 October 2022

SAM Studios, our art extension workshop series for senior high school students, returns for Term 4 with local artist Rachel Doller at the helm.

Shepparton Art Museum’s popular after-school educational workshop series will be back for Term 4, running every Tuesday from 4 October to 15 November. This term, Tatura-based award winning artist Rachel Doller, whose work was featured in Shepparton’s inaugural White Night program, will lead students through the series of workshops. SAM Studios (previously known as SAM Scholars) offers art-focused mentoring and assists senior students in developing and gaining new practical art skills under the instruction of practising artists and experienced SAM staff.

Gabriella Calandro, SAM Engagement Manager, says of the program:

“SAM Studios builds on the school curriculum and creates a space where VCE students can access materials and can continue to hone their technique and skill to enhance their abilities, allowing them to grow their folio for final assessment at the end of the year. Mimi’s work has a vibrant, animated style, and she will be an incredible mentor for young people with aspirations in the creative fields. Students will benefit immensely from weekly face-to-face sessions with a practising artist.”

The six-week course, titled How to Draw Badly, will draw from Mimi’s colourful practice to encourage participants to explore their own artistic style and language, enrich their own portfolios and gain industry insight to inform their future pathways. Previous participants in the workshop have gone on to have their works selected in SAM’s annual GV Top Arts exhibition Fresh, which showcases the talent of young artists in the region and provides their first experience in exhibiting in a significant arts institution, creating exposure and recognition. Students who have their works featured in the exhibition are also in contention for a number of prizes; artworks are judged by a selection panel, and by visitors for the People’s Choice Award.

The SAM Studios sessions are free, with registrations open to all senior students in the Goulburn Valley region who are currently studying Art, Studio Art or Visual Communication. Bookings can be made via the SAM website: https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/event/sam-studio-term-3/

SAM Studios is generously supported by the Victorian Government Department of Education and Training.

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About the artist:

Rachel Doller’s work echoes personal musings which are reflected in a variety of styles from eye-catching abstract landscapes, expressive still life compositions and geometric assemblages. Using a variety of media including acrylic, cut paper, oil pastel and recycled/found objects, Doller creates pieces that are bold and graphic with colour combinations that are dynamic and engaging.

Inspired by the fact that art is a cultivar of ideas and feelings, Doller’s distinctive visual language is reflective of her everyday; the joy, the fear and the need for change.

Doller has exhibited in numerous group and 3 solo shows over the past 7 years and her work has been collected in Australia and Europe. She exhibited alongside her mum and sister for Shepparton Festival 2022 in their group exhibition 'Pieced together,' and was commissioned to design a light installation for White Night Shepparton 2022. Currently she is working on abstract landscapes and recycled/found object assemblages.

About SAM:

Shepparton Art Museum (SAM), located on Yorta Yorta Country, 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: Louise Tremper, Marketing Coordinator, SAM

p: (03) 4804 5026 e: ltremper@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

Image: Rachel Doller in her studio. Photo by Cam Matheson.

SAM Spring Camp Returns for the School Holidays!

15 September 2022

SAM Spring Camp returns for the school holidays from 19 September, plus a special professional development opportunity for teachers with VCAA’s Dr Kathryn Hendy-Ekers.

Shepparton Art Museum’s popular school holiday program returns, with SAM Spring Camp running from 19- 30 September with a program of arts and crafts activities that will delight kids of all ages and abilities. The workshops span a number of mediums and incorporate a range of materials and practices that will be a mix of familiar and new to encourage young people of all ages to slow down, look closer and get creative outside of the school term.

Gabriella Calandro, SAM Engagement Manager, says of the program:

“SAM Spring Camp gives kids a space to have fun, gain new skills, and make friends while exploring their creative side. From artist-led ceramics sessions to upcycling everyday objects, kids can let their imaginations run wild at SAM these school holidays and gain the confidence to recreate some of the projects back at home.”

Engaging with local creatives, artists and community organisations, SAM Spring Camp showcases the diverse skillsets in regional Victoria. These school holidays, activities will include a series of introductory classes to hand-building ceramics, upcycling craft workshops, and DIY wearable art inspired by the SAM exhibitions.

Bookings are required for all programs, with all activities either free or low-cost. Bookings can be made via the SAM website: https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/whats-on/sam-spring-camp-19-30-september-2022/

The SAM Camp programs are generously supported by the Yulgilbar Foundation.

These school holidays will also see an exciting professional development opportunity for teachers of VCE Studio Arts and Visual Arts. SAM will be joined by Dr. Kathryn Hendy-Ekers (Curriculum Manager – Visual Arts, Communication, Design & Media, VCAA), who will explore the new subjects being introduced in VCE Visual Arts and will offer valuable professional insight into how these subjects can be successfully integrated into the classroom to help students strive for excellence. The session will be free, with bookings essential. Bookings can be made via the SAM website: https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/event/teacher-professional-development-new-areas-of-study-in-vce-visual-arts/

Two new exhibitions to open at SAM

30 August 2022

Two new exhibitions to open at Shepparton Art Museum on Saturday 13 August 2022.

SAM is honoured to present its upcoming temporary exhibition, the 2022 Indigenous Ceramic Award (ICA), where the selected submissions to its prestigious Indigenous Ceramic Award will be unveiled.

Now in its seventh iteration, the 2022 ICA embarked on a nation-wide callout, inviting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and collectives from all over Australia to submit their entries to the prize. From within the strong contention, 19 finalists were shortlisted by the judging panel, which this year consisted of Museums Victoria Senior Curator Kimberley Moulton (Yorta Yorta), leading contemporary artist Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, and artist and 2018 ICA finalist Penny Evans (Gamilaraay/Gomeroi).

Melinda Martin, SAM CEO, says of the exhibition:

“The works featured in 2022 ICA tell stories of First People’s culture and history through ceramics that span from the traditional to the experimental and are a beautiful celebration of Indigenous ceramic artmaking. Ceramics displays are so embedded within the SAM building, carefully curated to chronicle the diversity of the medium through form and technique – the ICA, with its centring of Indigenous artists currently practising in Australia, brings the practice of Indigenous artists to the fore. Visitors will be awed by the talent and innovation of the artists featured.”

Presented on Yorta Yorta Country, the award provides a national platform to share personal, historical and deep cultural learnings from artists and Country. It celebrates and supports the rich and diverse use of the ceramic medium by Indigenous artists and acknowledges the special industry of ceramic art. There are three major prizes for finalists to secure: The Major Acquisitive Prize of $20,000, South-East Australian Aboriginal Artist Prize of $5,000 and the People’s Choice Award of $1,500.

Belinda Briggs, SAM Indigenous Curator, says:

“We’re really excited to welcome artists, our community, and all visitors here for the ICA in its inaugural showing in our new building. It presents a unique opportunity to engage with new and emerging ceramicists, as well as both nationally and internationally acclaimed ceramicists, in a regional context. There are some really interesting themes and ideas coming through with how artists are using clay to tell stories that are important to all of us.”

Also opening on Saturday 13 August is the SAM Window, which will feature a new vinyl artwork installation created in collaboration with Kaiela Arts and their artists Jack Anselmi (Yorta Yorta), Suzanne Atkinson (Yorta Yorta), Tammy-Lee Atkinson (Yorta Yorta), Frances Nicholson (Yorta Yorta, Wamba Wamba), Eva Ponting (Gunditjmara), and Lyn Thorpe (Yorta Yorta, Wamba Wamba, Woi-wurrung). Kaiela deya, manu nyananan (River here, is home to all of us) highlights the collection of hand-drawn symbols inlaid into the floor in granite and brass, flowing throughout Kaiela Arts into SAM, and explores the individual meanings behind each symbol and the way in which they intersect together to create a strong collective cultural story. The installation can be viewed in the window until 12 March 2023.

A media preview of 2022 ICA will take place on Thursday 11 August at 12.00pm. The formal opening and award ceremony for ICA will be held at SAM on Saturday 8 October 2022, accompanied by a cultural program on 8 and 9 October celebrating the artists and the rich history of ceramics within Aboriginal and First Nations culture.

Announcing the 2022 ICA finalists

Alfred Lowe, Arrernte (NT)

Alison Milyika Carroll, Pitjantjatjara (SA)

Anne Thompson, Pitjantjatjara (SA)

Bankstown Koori Elders Group (NSW)

Lorna Morgan Waka-Waka, Darumbal (QLD), Lillian Johnson Waka-Waka, Gubbi Gubbi (QLD), Gloria Peronchik Waka-Waka, Gangulu (QLD), Beverley Gilmartin Wiradjuri (NSW), Victoria Woods Wiradjuri (NSW), Margaret Foat, Buandik (SA), Lola Simmons Wailwan (NSW), John Simmons

Beth Inkamala Mbitjana, Western Aranda (NT)

Billy Bain, Darug (NSW)

Carlene Thompson, Pitjantjatjara (SA)

Debbie Taylor – Worley, Gamilaraay/Gomeroi (NSW)

Elisa Jane Carmichael, Ngugi (QLD)

Elizabeth Dunn, Pitjantjatjara (SA)

Hayley Coulthard Panangka, Western Aranda (NT)

Jock Puautjimi, Tiwi (NT)

Megan Croydon, Kuku Yalanji (QLD)

Philip Denham, Girramay (QLD)

Philomena Yeatman, Gunggandji (QLD)

Rupert Jack, Pitjantjatjara (SA)

Sean Miller, Gamilaroi (NSW)

Tjunkaya Tapaya OAM, Pitjantjatjara (SA)

Vivian Pingkayi Thompson, Pitjantjatjara (SA)

Highlights of the 2022 ICA

26 artists will exhibit as finalists, plus one feature artist
27 language groups represented
Prizes
- Major Acquisitive Prize $20,000
- South-East Australian Aboriginal Artist Prize $5,000
- People’s Choice Award $1,500

Judging panel: Kimberley Moulton (Yorta Yorta), Museums Victoria Senior Curator; Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, leading contemporary artist; Penny Evans (Gamilaraay/Gomeroi), 2018 ICA finalist

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About SAM:

Media enquiries, please contact: Louise Tremper, Marketing Coordinator, SAM

p: (03) 4804 5026 e: ltremper@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

VCE art extension workshop series with Mimi Leung

29 August 2022

SAM Studios, our VCE art extension workshop series, returns for Term 3 with local artist Mimi Leung at the helm.

Shepparton Art Museum’s popular after-school educational workshop series will commence for Term 3, running each Wednesday afternoon from 17 August to 21 September. This term, local artist Mimi Leung, whose work was recently projected onto SAM as a major feature of Shepparton’s inaugural White Night program, will lead students through the series of workshops. SAM Studios (previously known as SAM Scholars) offers art-focused mentoring and assists senior students in developing and gaining new practical art skills under the instruction of practising artists and experienced SAM staff.

Gabriella Calandro, SAM Engagement Manager, says of the program:

The SAM Studios sessions are free, with registrations open to all VCE students in the Goulburn Valley region who are currently studying Art, Studio Art or Visual Communication. Bookings can be made via the SAM website: https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/event/sam-studio-term-3/

SAM Studios is generously supported by the Victorian Government Department of Education and Training.

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About the artist:

Mimi Leung is an artist and illustrator whose playful work weaves together the real and surreal in bright, colourful depictions of imaginative creatures and abstract forms.

Her multidisciplinary practice engages painting, illustration, writing and moving image to tell stories about the world around us. She is interested in big questions about freedom, belonging and meaning, bringing a lens of curiosity to her subjects.

Mimi is represented by The Jacky Winter Group and has exhibited internationally.

About SAM:

Media enquiries, please contact: Louise Tremper, Marketing Coordinator, SAM

p: (03) 4804 5026 e: ltremper@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

A new photography exhibition set to open

29 August 2022

A new photography exhibition is set to open in SAM’s Community Gallery on 17 September 2022.

500 Strong, the groundbreaking project from renowned Australian photographer Ponch Hawkes, is set to open in the Shepparton Art Museum’s (SAM) Community Gallery next month. A bold and playful work, the series of black and white photos celebrates the diversity and reality of the ageing female form, born out of Hawke’s desire to confront the conventions of female behaviour and representation in art and society. In 2018, Hawkes embarked on a mission to photograph 500 Victorian women over age 50. Following a callout across the state to women from all backgrounds, 432 Victorian women volunteered to be photographed in the nude to achieve Hawkes’ vision. Photoshoots were organised in Melbourne, at Hawkes’ studio, and at both Shepparton Art Museum (in its previous Welsford Street location) and Geelong Gallery. Participants could show their faces or consider anonymity and, if they wished, came prepared with a personalised face covering.

Originally presented as part of the exhibition Flesh after Fifty, curated by Jane Scott, and having previously been displayed at Geelong Gallery, 500 Strong now arrives at SAM in celebration and recognition of the contribution made to the project by numerous local women through their participation as subjects.

Artist Ponch Hawkes says of the exhibition:

“It’s an honour and a pleasure to be bringing 500 Strong to the marvellous new Shepparton Art Museum. It will of course include photos of dozens of brave Shepparton women, who joined hundreds more in ripping their clothes off and posing naked in the name of art and feminism.”

On Tuesday 6 September, an evening talk and Q & A session will be held by SAM CEO Melinda Martin and the exhibition's curator, Caroline Esbenshade, to discuss the upcoming exhibition prior to its opening. Members of the community who may wish to learn more about the story behind the exhibition and its relevance to the region, or have questions about the works, are invited to attend. Bookings are encouraged and can be made via the SAM website.

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

“It’s fantastic to have this opportunity to celebrate the women who took part in this project. Getting your kit off raises vulnerabilities personally, socially and professionally, and these women did it boldly. The portraits that make up the work are not only beautiful and full of personality, but also express a ‘joie de vivre’ that many will find inspiring.”

The official opening of 500 Strong will take place on 17 September at 1.00pm in the Community Gallery, with opening remarks from artist Ponch Hawkes. Ponch Hawkes will also join SAM at the close of the exhibition for a special SAM Talk, where she will appear in conversation with Dr Jacqueline Millner, Associate Professor of Visual Arts, La Trobe University.

500 Strong will be on display until 27 November 2022. The exhibition, and all others at SAM, are free and open to the public. More details can be found on the SAM website: https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/whats-on/upcoming/sam-presents-ponch-hawkes-500-strong/

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PROGRAMS & OFFICIAL OPENING

SAM Talks: 500 Strong

Tuesday 6 September, 5.30-6.30pm

SAM, Level 4

FREE

Join Melinda Martin, SAM CEO, and Caroline Esbenshade, SAM Curator – Community, for a conversation about upcoming exhibition 500 Strong. The pair will discuss the project’s connection and the significance behind its display in our Community Gallery, followed by a Q & A session. Book your spot here: https://www.trybooking.com/CCDTG

500 Strong: Official Opening

Saturday 17 September, 1.00pm

SAM Community Gallery, Level 2

FREE

Join artist Ponch Hawkes in our Community Gallery for the official opening of 500 Strong. Learn the story behind the creation of the work and its reception since its initial exhibition, and celebrate the local women who participated in this ground-breaking project. Bookings encouraged but not required – book your spot here: https://www.trybooking.com/CCDTM

SAM Talks: Ponch Hawkes and Dr Jacqueline Millner in Conversation

Sunday 27 November, 2.00-3.00pm

SAM, Level 4

FREE

To mark the closing of the show, join artist Ponch Hawkes for an in-depth conversation with Dr Jacqueline Millner (Associate Professor of Visual Arts, La Trobe University). Together, they will delve into the ideas and themes that drive the work and reflect on the erasure of ageing women from visual culture and the negative stereotypes that surround them. Book your spot here: https://www.trybooking.com/CCDTP

About the artist:

Ponch Hawkes is an Australian photographer whose work explores Australia’s cultural and social histories and present. Broad in scope, her work portrays Australians of all backgrounds in her interest in how individuals relate to one another. Her work is frequently bold and humorous, and at other times sweet, capturing moments between individuals and those of self-reflection.

Hawkes' work has been included in numerous major Australian exhibitions such as Know My Name (2021-22) and Melbourne Now (2013) and is held in many significant collections across the country at institutions such as The National Gallery, The National Gallery of Victoria, the Jewish Museum of Australia, The Queensland Art Gallery and more.

About SAM:

Media enquiries, please contact: Louise Tremper, Marketing Coordinator, SAM

p: (03) 4804 5026 e: ltremper@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

ICA 2022: Announcing the finalists

3 August 2022

The finalists of the 2022 Shepparton Art Museum Indigenous Ceramic Award have been selected, with the unveiling of the contending works set for 13 August 2022.

Now in its seventh iteration, the 2022 Indigenous Ceramic Award (ICA) embarked on a nation-wide callout, inviting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and collectives from all over Australia to submit their entries to the prize. From within the strong contention, 26 artists were shortlisted by the judging panel, which this year consisted of Museums Victoria Senior Curator Kimberley Moulton (Yorta Yorta), leading contemporary artist Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, and artist and 2018 ICA finalist Penny Evans (Gamilaraay/Gomeroi).

Penny Evans said of the award:

“A diverse range of works submitted for the 2022 ICA from a broad range of practices will make for a vibrant and interesting exhibition of contemporary Indigenous ceramics at the new SAM.”

Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran says:

“It’s amazing to see diverse entries this year that reflect dynamic ways clay has been used by First Nations artists around the country. There is a porosity to this medium that lends itself to personal, political and imaginative explorations. Shepparton Art Museum, with its extensive ceramics collection and resources is the perfect context for this award. I can’t wait to see the exhibition and to re-energise ways we think about ceramics.” 

Kimberley Moulton says:

"This national Indigenous art award shares with us the breadth of First Peoples creative practice and new ways of working. It's exciting to see artists that are stepping into ceramics in experimental ways, pushing their practice and materiality, and also artists that are familiar with this medium creating dynamic works that share story and knowledge. It is not only a strong representation of the talent in the nation, but it is significant to see the works in the award at Shepparton Art Museum in dialogue with the expansive ceramics collection of the organisation which is important in profiling the role First Peoples artists have in the national and international discourse of ceramic arts."

In a further adaptation to its format, the 2022 ICA will see the inclusion of a selected feature artist, who will exhibit a new body of work parallel to the finalists’ works. In addition to sitting on the judging panel, Penny Evans has been commissioned as this year’s feature artist, and will create a site-responsive ceramic work that celebrates Indigenous ceramicists and their long-standing connection to clay.

Belinda Briggs, SAM Indigenous Curator, says:

“The ICA continues to showcase exciting, thoughtful, and deeply considered works from artists just beginning through to those more established, representing a diverse range of communities. It’s also a privilege to have Penny return to the ICA in two capacities as both judge and feature artist. We welcome her extensive experience of over 30 years of practice and knowledge to the Award - we can't wait to see this new body of work inspired by her Gamilaraay/Gomeroi Country in our new gallery.”

The SAM ICA 2022 exhibition will open on Saturday 13 August, and will be on display until 4 December 2022. The official opening and award ceremony will be held at SAM on Saturday 8 October 2022, accompanied by a cultural program on 8 and 9 October celebrating the artists and the rich history of ceramics within Aboriginal and First Nations culture.

Announcing the 2022 ICA finalists

Alfred Lowe, Arrernte (NT)

Alison Milyika Carroll, Pukatja / Pitjantjatjara (NT)

Anne Thompson, Pukatja/ Pitjantjatjara (NT)

Bankstown Koori Elders Group (NSW)

Lorna Morgan Waka-Waka, Darumbal (North Queensland), Lillian Johnson Waka-Waka, Gubbi Gubbi (North Queensland), Gloria Peronchik Waka-Waka Gangulu (North Queensland), Beverley Gilmartin Wiradjuri (NSW), Victoria Woods Wiradjuri (NSW), Margaret Foat, Bowenstick (S.A), Lola Simmons Wailwan (Central NSW), John Simmons Non Aboriginal

Beth Inkamala Mbitjana, Ntaria Western Aranda (NT)

Billy Bain, Darug (NSW)

Carlene Thompson, Pukatja / Pitjantjatjara (NT)

Debbie Taylor – Worley, Gamilaraay/Gomeroi (NSW)

Elisa Jane Carmichael, Ngugi (QLD)

Elizabeth Dunn, Pukatja / Pitjantjatjara (NT)

Hayley Coulthard Panangka, Ntaria Western Aranda (NT)

Jock Puautjimi, Tiwi (NT)

Megan Croydon, Kuku Yalanji (QLD)

Philip Denham, Girramay (QLD)

Philomena Yeatman, Gunggandji (QLD)

Rupert Jack, Pukatja/ Pitjantjatjara (NT)

Sean Miller, Gamilaroi (NSW)

Tjunkaya Tapaya OAM, Pukatja/ Pitjantjatjara (NT)

Vivian Pingkayi Thompson, Pukatja / Pitjantjatjara (NT)

Highlights of the 2022 ICA

27 artists will exhibit as finalists, plus one feature artist
16 language groups represented
Prizes
- Major Acquisitive Prize

$20,000

South-East Australian Aboriginal Artist Prize

$5,000

People’s Choice Award

$1,500

Judging panel: Kimberley Moulton (Yorta Yorta), Museums Victoria Senior Curator; Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, leading contemporary artist; Penny Evans (Gamilaraay/Gomeroi), 2018 ICA finalist

ENDS

About SAM:

Media enquiries, please contact: Louise Tremper, Marketing Coordinator, SAM

p: (03) 4804 5026 e: ltremper@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

Now open: Hans Wolter von Gruenewaldt: Artworks from Prisoner of War Camp 13 Murchison

6 July 2022

The newest community exhibition has now opened at SAM.

The latest in the series of SAM SQUARED exhibitions, Hans Wolter von Gruenewaldt: Artworks from Prisoner of War Camp 13 Murchison opened in the Hugh D. T Williamson Foundation Community Gallery at Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) on 18 June.

Presented in partnership with Murchison & District Historical Society and the Murchison RSL sub-branch, the successful submission to the SAM EOI callout presents an exhibition that examines the visual legacy of German artist Hans Wolter von Gruenewaldt and brings a little-known piece of local history to the museum. A German civilian, Von Gruenewaldt fled from South Africa at the outset of World War II to avoid internment, only to be captured by the British Navy. He then spent the next six and a half years as a Prisoner of War (POW) in country Victoria. A talented artist, Von Gruenewaldt regularly occupied himself by exercising his creativity, eventually attracting the admiration of the camp commandant, who requested Von Gruenewaldt decorate the Garrison Recreation Hut. 17 large murals were created, a selection of which have been included in the exhibition, marking their first foray outside of the Murchison township.

Jessica O’Farrell, SAM Exhibitions Curator, says of the exhibition:

“This exhibition has created an opportunity to showcase a part of our region’s heritage and observe its landscape through the works of Hans Wolter von Gruenewaldt, which have been diligently maintained and safeguarded by both the Murchison & District Historical Society and the Murchison RSL. These artworks give us insight into the reality of daily life in the Murchison Prisoner of War Camp 13 and reveals the impact of international conflict so close to our home.”

On Thursday July 14, an evening talk will be held at SAM that will delve further into the history of both Hans Wolter von Gruenewaldt and POW Camp 13 Murchison, led by Kay Ball, President of the Murchison & District Historical Society and representatives from Murchison RSL. Event details and tickets will be available on the SAM website in the coming days.

Hans Wolter von Gruenewaldt: Artworks from Prisoner of War Camp will be on display until 11 September 2022. The exhibition, and all others at SAM, are free and open to the public. More details can be found on the SAM website: sheppartonartmuseum.com.au.

ENDS

About SAM:

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

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

Bukjeh comes to SAM

22 June 2022

Join SAM for a special performance of Bukjeh on 18 June 2022.

This Saturday the community is invited to join SAM for a very special performance, titled Bukjeh, led by artist & creator Aseel Tayah. In Arabic, “bukjeh” is the name for a small pack of belongings carried by travellers and refugees. These few objects paint an intimate portrait of their carrier, with each item holding memories and histories of places that were once home. The stories of new and diverse communities are at the heart of Bukjeh, unravelled through the often-meagre objects chosen to carry along on the journey to a new life.

Bukjeh is an interactive installation made accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. Audiences will hear profound and honest accounts of the migrant and refugee experience, told through performances of song, dance, visual imagery, poetry and spoken word. This performance offers a unique opportunity to learn about the journeys of the people who live, work, and grow in our region.

Created by Aseel Tayah in 2018, Bukjeh grew from a one-day activation at the Melbourne Immigration Museum into a touring show that has gone on to be presented dozens of times at sites across Victoria. The aim of Bukjeh is to empower people who might feel uncertain in conversing about the reasons and impacts of global migration because they do not know the ‘right’ questions to ask, or due to fear of saying the ‘wrong thing’.

Gabriella Calandro, SAM Engagement Manager & Acting Artistic Director, says of the program:

“It’s a privilege to be able to bring Bukjeh to SAM. Greater Shepparton has a rich heritage of migration and settlement, which has shaped and distinguished our region. We’re fortunate to have a space at SAM in which new arrivals to our community are welcomed and are helped to feel embedded in the cultural fabric of the town.”

Bukjeh at SAM will take place on 18 June from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. For more event information and to book tickets, visit https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/whats-on/sam-special-events/bukjeh-at-sam/

About the Artist:

Aseel Tayah is a Melbourne-based Palestinian artist, creative director and cultural leader who uses her practice to advocate for artists of colour, mothers, children and young people, changing the world, one project at a time. She has recently been described as “an unstoppable force in the Australian cultural landscape.” Through the power of storytelling, Aseel’s artistic practice creates awareness and facilitates connection by humanising the experiences of people who have been displaced.

ENDS

About SAM:

Shepparton Art Museum (SAM), located on Yorta Yorta Country, 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: Mikela Guseli, Marketing Officer, SAM

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

New ceramics showcase exhibition and Art Wall mural to open at SAM.

1 June 2022

New ceramics showcase exhibition and Art Wall mural to open at SAM.

The second instalments of the Level 1 showcase and the Furphy Art wall will open at Shepparton Art Museum over the next 7 days.
Drawing from SAM’s expansive ceramics collection, Social Ceramics is an exhibition that celebrates objects that stand at the centre of our shared experiences, with the humble tea set placed firmly in the spotlight. This exhibition offers a playful exploration of functional ceramics, with colourful commercial wares by Bendigo Pottery and bold tea and liquor sets by Guy Boyd and Allan Lowe.

Jessica O’Farrell, SAM Exhibitions Curator, says of the exhibition:
“This ceramics showcase continues the sentiment posed by the previous exhibition, Everyday Australian Design, of celebrating the objects that we use in our daily lives. This show inhabits the space between SAM and its adjoining café. Our hope is that visitors sitting and chatting over a coffee will see pieces from our collection we’ve chosen to highlight and be excited to reflect on the ways these types of ceramic vessels are central to our social interactions and shared conversations.”

On Friday 3 June, the newest artwork to grace the Furphy Family Art Wall on Level 4 at SAM will be unveiled. Artists Trent Walter and Lizzie Boon will collaborate on a joint wall work titled LOVE YOUR MOTHER, inspired by Boon’s observation of the phrase on a placard at a climate rally. With connotations to themes of environment and respect for people and place, the work resides in a fitting location amongst the river red gum treetops that line the Victoria Park Lake.

The community is encouraged to experience both exhibitions this Friday 3 June from 4pm during SAM Sounds, a SAM event presenting an immersive museum music experience. All exhibitions, and SAM Sounds, are free and open to the public. More details can be found on the SAM website: sheppartonartmuseum.com.au.

About Trent Walter:
Trent Walter is a Melbourne based printmaker and writer. In 2009, he established Negative Press, a fine art custom printmaking workshop focusing on etching and silkscreen techniques. Recent projects include a multiple panel silkscreen portrait of Professor Marcia Langton by Brook Andrew, commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, and two interdisciplinary works involving etching, silkscreen, and collage elements by Sally Smart, published by Port Jackson Press Australia.

About Lizzie Boon:
Lizzie Boon is an emerging artist, writer and archivist based in Melbourne. Her practice often engages with experimental writing and alternate publishing as a space for expanded perceptual translation, explication, and distribution. Lizzie received a Bachelor of Art History and Curating in 2018. She is currently the registrar and curatorial assistant at Negative Press. Here, she has been archiving the prints of Australian artist John Nixon.

ENDS

About SAM:
Shepparton Art Museum (SAM), located on Yorta Yorta Country, 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: Mikela Guseli, Marketing Officer, SAM
p: (03) 4804 5009 e: mguseli@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

Coming June 3: SAM Sounds & SAM after Sunset

20 May 2022

Two exciting live music events to take over the SAM building on 3 June

On Friday 3 June, SAM will throw open its doors for a back-to-back sonic feast. From 4pm to 7pm, SAM presents SAM Sounds - a free, all-ages community event bringing live music to spaces across the SAM building. The evening will be capped off by SAM After Sunset from 7pm to late - a ticketed 18+ event at the Level 4 terrace bar.

SAM Sounds is a one-off, exclusive event featuring the local musical artistry of Sara Retallick, Minyerra and Nicole Thorne Trio as they interpret and respond to the art across SAM. Visitors of all ages will be awed at the sensory experience, with music intermingling with stunning visual art to bring the building to life.

Of SAM Sounds, Gabriella Calandro, SAM Engagement Manager, says:

“This event presents the perfect opportunity for the community who are yet to visit SAM to make the trip after work and school and enjoy this fantastic space in Shepparton. SAM Sounds creates a new and exciting way to experience the SAM Building and exhibitions, set to the musical interpretation of some of our regions’ most celebrated and talented musicians.”

Following on at 7pm, SAM After Sunset takes the party upstairs to level 4 for the finale to our incredibly popular sunset series. The ticketed 18+ event features the musical talents of local favourites Sam + Sam and Braden Pullen, with canapés and three drinks per ticket holder to enjoy under the stars. A cash bar will also be available.

Gabriella Calandro, SAM Engagement Manager, says:

“SAM After Sunset is a wonderful way to conclude our incredibly popular summer series SAM at Sunset. The evening event is an opportunity to gather with friends and experience one of Shepparton's most unique venues while listening to great live music! Tickets are limited so we recommend booking your ticket as soon as possible to avoid disappointment!”

SAM Café and SAM Shop will remain open for late night trade, a light dinner or last-minute purchase.

SAM Sounds is a FREE event, but registrations are recommended.

Time: 4pm – 7pm

Date: Friday 3 June 2022

Please register attendance at https://www.trybooking.com/BZNLI

SAM After Sunset – 18+ only

Time: 7pm – 10.30pm

Date: Friday 3 June 2022

Tickets: $65 includes 3 drinks and canapes (cash bar available)

To book tickets to SAM After Sunset visit https://www.trybooking.com/BZJFO

SAM Sounds and SAM After Sunset are part of On the Road Again, a Victorian Government initiative to bring live music back across the state.

About the musicians performing at SAM Sounds:

Sara Retallick

Sara Retallick is an artist, musician and educator living / working on Wurundjeri Country in Naarm. Retallick’s current research-based practice is concerned with making underwater sound installations and expanding listening possibilities through material-based investigations. Her work encompasses sound, digital media, composition, and object-based practices to create unique listening encounters.

Nationally, Sara has presented works most recently at MPavillion (2022), RISING Festival (2021), Blindside Gallery (2021), and UNSW Gallery in Sydney (2019). As well as international presentations at Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid (2020), and at I.S.E.A. in Durban, South Africa (2018).

Sara also performs live using electronics, voice and instruments in an exploratory project that spans soundscape, noise, sound collage, pop music and improvisation. Previously called Golden Syrup, Sara first performed this live project at MONA’s annual winter festival Dark MOFO in 2016 with debut album being released through Nice Music Label in February 2018.

Minyerra

Minyerra is Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wiradjuri artist Neil Morris aka DRMNGNOW.

Under the DRMNGNOW project, Morris has supported the likes of Mulatu Astatke, Dead Prez, and Akala, performed at SXSW and toured Canada in 2019 performing at Imaginative Festival in Tkaronto, Headlined the International Hip Hop Awards in 2021 also taking out single of the year award for the emphatic 'Survive' and has recently sold out the Sydney Opera House event, Yarning Country.

His work as Minyerra expands into areas of sound design through analogue synthesis and singing in Yorta Yorta language under his project Minyerra where he has performed sets at Melbourne Music Week and Melbourne Festival, and designed sound for shows for stage for Melbourne Fringe and developed work for film also including the upcoming Yurri Wala Woka project through Kaiela Arts.

Nicole Thorne Trio

The Nicole Thorne Trio is one of Victoria's most celebrated modern jazz groups. The trio have a sophisticated, beautiful, impressionistic approach to playing standards. Every performance is fresh and spirited, providing spontaneous improvisation and communication between members of the group which makes great entertainment and listening for audiences.

About the musicians performing at SAM After Sunset:

Sam + Sam

Performing together as a duo for 20 years, Sam + Sam have lived a life dedicated to music and performance.

Fronting various band line-ups, you can typically see Sam + Sam playing an energetic Sunday session, a festival stage, or a large corporate function with their big band. Sound and tech nerds through and through, and whatever they earn seems to go straight back into their music in pursuit of that perfect sound.

Performing over 160 shows annually, Sam + Sam regularly ﬂy interstate and internationally to perform at all types of corporate, private, and public events, and wherever they can - make a working holiday out of the places they visit.

Sharing the stage with the likes of Jon Stevens, The Veronicas, Daryl Braithwaite, Thirsty Merc and Olivia Newton John, Sam + Sam always aim to grab the audience’s attention and create a fun and energised atmosphere.

You may also have seen Sam Ludeman on your TV screen either on The Voice working with superstar coach Seal, acting in City Homicide or on feature ﬁlm Spirit of the Game. Ludeman has also toured extensively with professional musicals, stepping on stage playing major roles in Grease, Fame, Xanadu, amongst others.

In 2020 Sam + Sam began releasing their highly anticipated original music into the world to overwhelming positive feedback and success. Their ﬁrst three song releases each reached #1 in their iTunes genre, and their second release My Friend reached #1 overall in the iTunes Charts in Australia. Sam + Sam continue to write and record and are currently working on their debut album Evolve, set for release in early 2022.

When the global pandemic rocked the world Sam + Sam quickly pivoted to bring high- quality live-streamed entertainment into everybody’s lounge rooms on Friday and Saturday nights. The live stream quickly gained popularity with hundreds of thousands of people from around the world tuning in each week and to date the series has reached more than 5 million viewers.

Sam + Sam are currently touring with their latest show ‘Homebound’ focusing on Aussie music.

Braden Pullen

Braden Pullen draws from a vast range of influences to create layers of sound. This will be his first performance at SAM which will include a mix of electronic and acoustic instruments connected with a mind-bending visual display.

ENDS

About SAM:

Shepparton Art Museum (SAM), located on Yorta Yorta country, 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: Mikela Guseli, Marketing Officer, SAM

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

Opening 14 May: Liquidarium

13 May 2022

New exhibition in SAM Children's Gallery, Vera Möller's Liquidarium is set to open this Saturday 14 May 2022.

SAM is pleased to present Liquidarium, 2022, a new artwork commission in the Children’s Gallery by artist Vera Möller. Liquidarium, an installation environment combining collage and sculpture, draws inspiration from the vibrant ecology of the wetlands of the Goulburn Valley.

In her exhibition, Möller has brought to life a fantastical freshwater landscape. Children are invited to experience a wetland imagined from the point of view of a small frog, living amongst the exaggerated plant forms that have been dramatically increased in size by the artist. Large-scale collages and hundreds of smaller, plant-like sculptures in weird and wonderful colours and patterns will inhabit the space to create an experience that will get the imagination of young minds running wild.

Möller is motivated by a fascination with the slippery boundaries between the real and the imagined in the natural world. Her inspiration for this exhibition was found on field trips into the freshwater environments of Victoria Park Lake and the Goulburn River, situated on the doorstep of SAM. Möller's “fantasy specimens”, constructed from recycled magazines and modelling clay, are the results of her science background and art practice merging through creative studio experiments.

Jessica O’Farrell, SAM Exhibitions Curator, says of the show:

“Vera has created a space for kids to step into and experience a wetland from the unique perspective of a frog. The Liquidarium environment is a complete 3D fantasy world, but it is reminiscent of the dioramas you would typically find in Natural History Museums. This exhibition encourages children and adults alike to be curious, triggers our imagination of what lives in a natural ecosystem and prompts us venture into the freshwater environments that lay just outside SAM.”

The community will also have the opportunity to contribute to the exhibition, with hands-on workshops being conducted in the space through the duration of the show. Kids and the young at heart are invited to go wild with their imagination and create their own Liquidarium-inspired flora and fauna display. The workshops will run as an all day, drop-in opportunity once a month for the duration of the show, beginning on Sunday 29 May from 11am. The activities are open to visitors of all ages, with all materials supplied by SAM. The dates of the workshops will be published on the SAM website and social media channels.

Vera Möller’s Liquidarium will open on Saturday 14 May 2022 and will run until 30 October 2022.

About Vera Möller:
Vera Möller (b. 1955, Breman, Germany; lives and works Naarm/Melbourne) studied Biology, Microbiology and Theology in Wurzburg and Munich before immigrating to Australia in 1986. After moving to Australia she completed a Bachelor of Fine Art at the Victorian College of the Arts and a PhD at Monash University. Her work has been exhibited in the USA, Japan, Finland, France, Germany and the UK, as well as throughout Australia.

Drop-in programs for kids at SAM – May, June and July – no bookings required:
Sunday 29 May 11am to 3pm Monday 20 June 11am to 3pm
Tuesday 19 July 11am to 3pm
More dates to be announced soon.

ENDS

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: Mikela Guseli, Marketing Officer, SAM
p: (03) 4804 5009 e: mguseli@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

SAM hosts a community iftar dinner

13 May 2022

Shepparton Art Museum will play host to a special Community Iftar Dinner in celebration of Ramadan, the holy ninth month of the Muslim calendar.

In partnership with Culture & Co, SAM will host a special Community Iftar Dinner where members of the diverse community of Shepparton will be invited to come together to share a meal and enjoy an evening of social connection and cultural enrichment. Iftar, a main tradition of Ramadan, refers to the breaking of a day of fasting between family and friends and is an opportunity for the community to converge and experience a time of togetherness, and offers a pause amongst the bustle of everyday life.

The iftar dinner will bring together both lifetime locals and members of the community who have settled in our region after enduring the consequences of global conflicts. Art in Conflict, the current touring exhibition on show in SAM’s Peoples Gallery until 31 July 2022, features scenes and themes that will resonate with community.

Gabriella Calandro, SAM Engagement Manager, says of the event:

“SAM is proud to support such a significant cultural event for the Shepparton community. The Iftar Dinner is an opportunity for us to connect not only with each other but with SAM current touring exhibition, Art in Conflict, in a way that is meaningful and enriching.”

Culture & Co, a social enterprise delivering cultural training and consulting services to not-for-profit, corporate, and government agencies will aid in the delivery of this event.

Mohammed Yassin, Culture & Co CEO, says:

“Culture & Co welcomes this opportunity to partner with SAM and to share this cultural event with the wider community in a demonstration of the spirit of Ramadan, which is a time of charity and generosity and will offer the chance for many to foster new social connections and strengthen existing ones.”

The Community Iftar Dinner will take place on Friday 29 April from 5.00pm on Level 4 of SAM.
ENDS

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: Mikela Guseli, Marketing Officer, SAM

p: (03) 4804 5009

e: mguseli@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

Three new exhibitions to open at SAM this weekend.

22 March 2022

Three new exhibitions to open at SAM this weekend.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ENDS

PRESS PREVIEW:

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

In attendance -

Australian War Memorial –

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

Shepparton Art Museum –

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

This weekend Public Programs at the Shepparton Art Museum:

ALL PROGRAMS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

SATURDAY 26 MARCH

1PM: Official Exhibition Opening

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

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

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

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

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

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

SUNDAY 27 MARCH

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

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

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

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

Shepparton Art Museum debuts Art in Conflict alongside solo exhibition by acclaimed Pakistani-born, Melbourne-based artist, Nusra Latif Qureshi and a celebration of local art in SAM Open 2022.

11 March 2022

Shepparton Art Museum debuts Art in Conflict alongside solo exhibition by acclaimed Pakistani-born, Melbourne-based artist, Nusra Latif Qureshi and a celebration of local art in SAM Open 2022.

Three unique and timely exhibitions are opening at Shepparton Art Museum this March.

SAM is the first venue for a new exhibition by the Australian War Memorial, Art in Conflict (26 March – 31 July), which will tour around Australia in coming years. Showcasing the works of official war artists and contemporary artists who respond to conflict, the timely exhibition explores the unique ways in which art can deepen our understanding of Australia’s experience of conflict, prompting us to think through global issues from a local lens.

SAM’s Acting Artistic Director and Senior Curator, Dr Shelley McSpedden says:

“The Shepparton Art Museum is proud to be the first venue for the Australian War Memorial’s national tour of Art in Conflict and the only Victorian location to host the exhibition. This incredible exhibition brings together new works by some of Australia’s most innovative and celebrated contemporary artists, and its themes are enormously relevant to our local community. The Goulburn Valley has a rich military history, with WWII internment and POW camps in Murchison and the Mooroopna War Memorial acknowledging the service of Aboriginal soldiers in global conflicts. Shepparton and surrounding areas are home to many families fleeing war-torn counties both now and post WWII. Art in Conflict is an opportunity for the Shepparton Art Museum to connect with local histories that make this region unique, and for the community to gather and reflect on these histories.”

The exhibition sees three recently-commissioned bodies of work by the Australian War Memorial, two by official war artists Megan Cope and Susan Norrie , and one by renowned video artist, Angelica Mesiti.

Stationed across the Middle East as part of peacekeeping operations in 2017, Quandamooka woman Megan Cope was the first female Indigenous official war artist. Known for her work in reinterpreting topographies of contested lands, her body of work in the exhibition overlays maps with symbols and patterns to explore natural resources, battle lines and geographical markers that impact on the ways in which conflicts unfold.

Susan Norrie was deployed to Iraq in 2016. Stationed at Camp Taji to the north of Baghdad, the artist was there at a time of heightened Iraqi/Daesh conflict. In the resulting video work, Spheres of Influence (2016-19), the artist flits between footage taken during her time at Camp Taji and later at the Palace of Versailles in France. She depicts everyday life of the soldiers at the Camp, and uses the voice of Iraqi poet, dissident and former Iraqi Army veteran, Salah Al-Hamdani, who details his personal experience at Camp Taji in the 1960s and his interpretation of the contested histories of the Middle East.

Angelica Mesiti is known for her dynamic video works, often using visuals and sound rather than dialogue to create new narratives. Her work A Hundred Years (2019-20) was commissioned by the Memorial to interpret the legacy of the Western Front; in it, the artist makes a correlation between the bodies lost at war and the impact on our natural environment.

Of this exhibition, Laura Webster, Head of Art, Australian War Memorial says:

This is a landmark exhibition for the Memorial as it showcases almost 15 years of contemporary Australian art and artists’ diverse responses to conflict. This is the first time that even staff have had an opportunity to view these works on display together and we’re especially excited to partner with SAM and debut these important new commissions in Shepparton’s beautiful new galleries. Megan Cope, Susan Norrie and Angelica Mesiti each continue the tradition of art at the Memorial - to record and interpret the Australian experience of conflict – but they bring to it a conceptual rigour and breadth of understanding. They go beyond documentary to interpret globalised conflicts and invite us to understand different perspectives on these complex histories.

Also featured in Art in Conflict are leading Australian artists Khadim Ali, Rushdi Anwar, eX de Medici, Denise Green, Richard Lewer, Mike Parr and Ben Quilty, alongside works by renowned Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists—a collection priority for the Memorial in recent years—including Tony Albert, Paddy Bedford, Robert Campbell Jr, Michael Cook, Shirley Macnamara and Betty Muffler.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of public programs, including a community forum, artist talks and curatorial floor talks. Art in Conflict brings light to the untold stories and neglected histories tied to conflict from an Australian perspective. Art in Conflict is an Australian War Memorial exhibition supported by research from an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project.

Art in Conflict officially opens Saturday 26 March with a Yorta Yorta Welcome to Country, and a talk between artists Megan Cope and Susan Norrie and Head of Art, Australian War Memorial – Laura Webster.

Also opening on Saturday 26 March will be SAM’s next Window commission by Melbourne-based artist Nusra Latif Qureshi, who is presenting a new installation, The Land I See Is Not Elsewhere (26 March – 31 July). Trained in Mughal miniature painting in Lahore, Pakistan, the artist has a rich and contemporary visual language that encompasses mediums from delicate paintings to large-scale digital prints. Her practice often references the female body, South Asian histories and Australian cultures. Qureshi is influenced by imagery including colonial photography, botanical paintings and patterns from textiles, often adapting these and overlapping them in her complex yet delicate works.

The Land I See Is Not Elsewhere questions the histories and legacies of painting and representation of land in Australia, as much as it pays tribute to the local landscape. The multifaceted installation reflects on the environmental surrounds of Shepparton and references the history of Australian landscape painting, with a specific nod to SAM’s large holdings of watercolour landscapes by Albert Namatjira and the extended Hermannsburg School.

As part of Shepparton Art Museum’s commitment to its local communities, SAM Open 2022 (19 March – 12 June) brings together the works of artists from Greater Shepparton, the Goulburn Valley and the Hume Region. This annual all-ages exhibition celebrates and showcases the creativity of the region and includes works across many mediums and by artists of different skill levels and career stages. Curated from an open call, the theme for this year’s exhibition is ‘New Horizons’ – a beacon of hope after the challenges of the past two years.

Curated by SAM Exhibitions Curator, Jessica O’Farrell, SAM Open 2022 brings to light artistic work from northern Victoria for audiences from across the country. The exhibition supports artists to create connections not only locally, but nationally, and advances the skills of the artists and the creative reputation of Greater Shepparton, the Goulburn Valley and the Hume. Jessica O’Farrell says that:

“SAM Open 2022 is the first exhibition of our new SAM SQUARED program, which celebrates local creativity all year round. Having a new dedicated community gallery space at SAM reflects our commitment to giving our wonderful and talented local creatives a place to continually share their work locally and to connect with audiences nationally. By setting the theme of New Horizons, we wanted to mark this moment of opportunity for local artists to present their work in this fantastic new museum.”

Artists include Robbie Bechaz, Gregory Beckenham, Christine Broersen, Rick Brun, Ann Cremean, Wendy D’Amore, Rachel Doller, Beverley Dowd, Jayden Doyle, Brittany Drysdale, Rebecca Fortin, Abby Fortin, Lorinda Freeman, Jeanette Fry, Kerry Handwerk, Amanda Hocking, Marion Langford, John Lawler, Jodi Lewis, Glenda Mackay, Phyllis Mactier, Anne Mawson, Ari Mazurczuk, Lesley McLellan, Julie Mercer, Jan Molluso, Joan Mullarvey, Sharon O’Keeffe, Julie Oldfield, Kat Parker, Ivy Patone, Lyn Patone, Kaio Portsmouth, Judith Roberts, Carmel Robertson, Valerie Rokahr, Garry Salau, Megan Walker and Nikki Young.

ENDS

Upcoming Public Programs:

Tuesday 15 March
12.30pm- Community Forum: Art in Conflict
Online via Zoom

Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 March – Opening weekend Celebrations at SAM
Saturday 26 March
11am- SAM Talks: with Megan Cope and Susan Norrie
1pm- Smoking Ceremony and Welcome to Country
1.30pm- Official Opening – Art in Conflict, SAM Open and The Land I See Is Not Elsewhere
2.30pm- Viewing of the artwork “Heroes” by Köken Ergun
4pm: SAM Talks- SAM Open with Exhibitions Curator Jessica O’Farrell

Sunday 27 March
11am: SAM Talks- Curatorial floor talk with curators from the Australian War Memorial
12pm – 2pm- SAM Talks: A hundred years with Angelica Mesiti, recorded in conversation with SAM

Media enquiries, please contact: Gabriella Calandro, Engagement Manager, SAM
p: (03) 4804 5020
e: gcalandro@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

Applications for the Indigenous Ceramic Award 2022 open Wednesday 9 March

7 March 2022

Applications for Shepparton Art Museum’s 2022 Indigenous Ceramic Award (ICA) will open on Wednesday 9 March.

Established in 2007 under the patronage of renowned ceramicist, Dr Thancoupie Gloria Fletcher, the ICA is now Australia’s most prestigious national acquisitive award for ceramics made by Indigenous artists from around the country.

Now in its seventh iteration, the ICA has increasingly attracted interest and participation from solo artists and collectives in both remote communities and urban centres. The award highlights new and exciting developments in ceramic practice and is renowned for advancing the recognition of Indigenous ceramics as a medium and showcasing the diverse contemporary ceramic practices of Indigenous artists from around Australia.

The major $20,000 acquisitive prize celebrates innovation in ceramic practice, much like its partner-award, the Sidney Myer Fund Australian Ceramic Award, also hosted biennially at SAM. The ICA also includes a $5,000 South-East Australian Aboriginal Artist Prize, dedicated to local practice, and a $1,500 People’s Choice Award.

Applicants do not need to be primarily practising in the ceramic medium, though it is required that works being entered predominantly use materials associated with ceramic practice. Previous shortlisted artists have worked in traditional ceramic mediums, pushing the conceptual boundaries of the material, while others have expanded their practices by incorporating ceramics and associated materials.

Shepparton Art Museum’s Acting Artistic Director and Senior Curator, Shelley McSpedden is pleased to open the award once again to applicants around Australia. She says:

“This acquisitive award allows the Shepparton Art Museum the opportunity to celebrate contemporary Indigenous ceramics practice. Having skipped an iteration due to COVID-19, we are excited to finally be able to present the seventh edition of this significant award and bring ceramic works from across Australia to Shepparton.”

The selection panel and the judges for the award will be comprised of SAM’s Curator - Indigenous, and curator of the 2022 ICA, Belinda Briggs (Yorta Yorta) and senior Indigenous artists and arts industry representatives, ensuring artists know that their works will be assessed in a manner that is culturally safe. Briggs says that:

“The ICA celebrates the strong history of ceramics and relationship to clay in Indigenous cultural and artistic practice. In this seventh iteration we will be asking artists to submit completed works for consideration, in addition to supporting one artist to create a new body of work specifically for the exhibition. This new format allows us to showcase more artists’ work and to shine a light on how Indigenous artists from across Australia are working in the medium.”

Shortlisted finalists will be invited to present a body of new work as part of the ICA exhibition running 13 August – 04 December 2022. For the first time, SAM is commissioning an established artist working in the field to develop and present new work alongside the successful applicants.

Accompanying the exhibition will be a series of public programs that will allow audiences deeper engagement with the works and the medium, through skill sharing and knowledge exchange. A full-colour exhibition catalogue will be produced and be available for purchase from the SAM Shop.

Previous winners of the award include Janet Fieldhouse (2007, 2011), Danie Mellor (2009), Bankstown Koori Elders Group (2014), Gallery Kaiela Artists, Jack Anselmi and Aunty Cynthia Hardie (2016) and Yhonnie Scarce (2018).

Applications close on Friday 3 June.

ENDS.

Important Dates

Wednesday 9 March 2022 Applications open

Friday 3 June 2022 Applications close

Friday 10 June 2022 Shortlisted artists advised

Saturday 13 August 2022 Exhibition opens

Saturday 1 October 2022 Saturday 1 2022 Awards ceremony – announcement of prize winners

Saturday 1 – Sunday 2 October 2022 Community cultural showcase events

Previous winners

More information about previous winners, can be viewed here:

https://sheppartonartmuseum.com.au/whats-on/ceramic-awards/ica/previous-ica-winners/

The 2022 ICA is generously supported by the Sir Andrew and Lady Fairley Foundation and Mr Allan Myers AC QC. The 2022 ICA publication is proudly supported by Philip Cornish AM and Caroline Cornish.

For media enquiries email Gabriella Calandro - gcalandro@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au.

For questions around eligibility or to discuss an application before submission, please email ica@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au or call Belinda Briggs, SAM Curator – Indigenous on: 03 4804 5000

Weekend celebration at SAM for Lin Onus: The Land within.

2 March 2022

Weekend celebration at SAM for Lin Onus: The Land within.

The Shepparton Art Museum’s first major exhibition, Lin Onus: The Land Within, is set to close on Sunday 13 March. To celebrate this exhibition and the legacy of Lin Onus, SAM will be hosting closing weekend celebrations on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 March and community focused events for emerging Aboriginal and First Nation’s leaders on Friday 4 March.

Belinda Briggs, SAM Curator – Indigenous and co-curator of the exhibition says, “SAM’s weekend events commemorate the legacy of Lin Onus and bring together Aboriginal voices to explore, discuss and celebrate. Tiriki Onus, Lin’s son, will be joining us on Sunday 6 for a special Possum Skin Cloak burning demonstration. This form of storytelling is of significant cultural expression in South-Eastern Aboriginal culture and it’s an honour to have Tiriki present this at SAM.”

The weekend will also mark the closing of Maree Clarke’s window commission I Remember When…: Stories From Elders About Their Connection to Country, Culture and Place. Maree will be at SAM on Friday to run a workshop with young leaders from ASHE and on Saturday morning in conversation with Belinda Briggs. Together Maree and Belinda will explore the making and significance of her SAM commission, which will now be part of the SAM Collection.

A highlight of the program is a panel discussion between leading First Nations curators and artists on Indigenous curatorial practices, with a focus on the South-East Australian context. This panel will be chaired by Kimberly Moulton, Senior Curator South Eastern Aboriginal Collection at Museums Victoria and Deputy Chair of SAM Ltd Board, and will include Belinda Briggs, Dr Paola Balla, as well as Moorina Bonini and Kate ten Buuren from the This Mob collective.

Dr Shelley McSpedden, Acting Artistic Director and co-curator of the Lin Onus exhibition says:

“We are delighted to be presenting this suite of events to mark the conclusion of Lin Onus: The Land Within, an exhibition which not only celebrates the immense artistic talent of Lin but also his connection to Yorta Yorta Country and the incredible Aboriginal community he was part of. This exhibition and associated events reflect SAM’s commitment to championing the stories and talent of our local Yorta Yorta community and their contribution to the wider world.”

All events are free and open to the public.

Ends.

Program: All Programs are free and take place at the Shepparton Art Museum:

SATURDAY 5 MARCH

11am SAM Talks: Connection to Country with Maree Clarke and Belinda Briggs, SAM Curator – Indigenous

12.30pm SAM Talks: Moorina Bonini on This Is Our Story

SUNDAY 6 MARCH

11am SAM Talks: Beyond Curating - A discussion on First Nation’s curatorial practices in arts and cultural institutions

1pm Possum Skin Cloak Burning with Tiriki Onus

Exhibition closing on Sunday 13 March 2022, at SAM

Lin Onus: The Land within
Maree Clarke: Connection to Country
Covid Collaborations: A Shared Step on a Long Journey

ABOUT SAM:

Media enquiries, please contact: Gabriella Calandro, Engagement Manager, SAM
p: (03) 4804 5020
e: gcalandro@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

SAM at Sunset to launch on March 3rd

24 February 2022

20211122 DCM SAM Finals & Opening_DJI_0373 lo res

SAM at Sunset is a new event series to take place weekly throughout March and early April at the Shepparton Art Museum bar terrace on level 4 of the SAM Building.

Open to the public, this ticketed event will allow the community to come and enjoy the one-of-a-kind view in Shepparton overlooking Victoria Lake.

Andrew Gooley, Acting CEO said, “SAM at Sunset is an opportunity for the Shepparton Art Museum to engage our new space in a way that explores what our venue has to offer. The view of Shepparton from level 4 of the SAM building is unique for our region and takes on a new life at sunset. We look forward to welcoming people after work for a chance to catch-up with old friends and make new ones too.”

SAM at Sunset will run every Thursday from 6pm to 8pm from March 3 to April 14. Tickets will be released for sale one week in advance on a first come-first served basis. Tickets can be purchased through the SAM website at $35 each and include 3 drinks and nibbles catered by local providers.

Visit SAM’s website for more information and to register your interest for the next round of tickets. Please note this is an 18+ event.

Ends.

ABOUT SAM:

SAM at Sunset dates:

Thursday 3 March, tickets on sale 5pm Thursday 24 February

Thursday 10 March, tickets on sale 5pm Thursday 3 March

Thursday 17 March, tickets on sale 5pm Thursday 10 March

Thursday 24 March, tickets on sale 5pm Thursday 17 March

Thursday 31 March, tickets on sale 5pm Thursday 24 March

Thursday 7 April, tickets on sale 5pm Thursday 31 March

Thursday 14 April, tickets on sale 5pm Thursday 7 April.

Media enquiries, please contact: Gabriella Calandro, Engagement Manager, SAM
p: (03) 4804 5020
e: gcalandro@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

The Shepparton Art Museum is now seeking applications for the new CEO.

18 February 2022

The search is now underway to appoint a highly capable and engaged leader who will lead Shepparton Art Museum in its next stage of exciting growth.

Stephen Merrylees, Shepparton Art Museum Board Chair said “We are excited to be underway to recruit the next passionate and committed Chief Executive Officer for the Shepparton Art Museum. The new CEO will guide us into the next phase and provide inspirational leadership and direction as we continue to grow and develop as a new company and a leader in the regional arts sector in Australia.”

The SAM Board have been working closely with Slade Group to develop and refine the position. The refined SAM CEO position takes into consideration the recently formed SAM Limited and SAM’s new home in the Denton Corker Marshall designed museum on the banks of Victoria Park Lake.

SAM is looking to attract a passionate and experienced leader to drive SAM’s vision, embrace the Aboriginal and multicultural community within Shepparton and regional Victoria and oversee the delivery of an engaging and inspiring cultural experience in Shepparton.

Applications are now being accepted through the Slade Group website and will close on Sunday 13 March 2022. A candidate information pack and application form can be downloaded from the Slade Group website with inquiries regarding the position are to be directed to Trish Mullen at: tmullen@sladegroup.com.au

Ends.

Media enquiries, please contact: Gabriella Calandro, Engagement Manager, SAM p: (03) 4804 5020 e: gcalandro@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

Shepparton Art Museum 2022 Exhibition Program announced

14 February 2022

Shepparton Art Museum 2022 Exhibition Program Announced

The Shepparton Art Museum has today announced its 2022 exhibition program. Over the next 12 months, SAM will stage 14 new exhibitions across all five floors.

In 2022, SAM will present exhibitions that connect with locally relevant stories and histories, celebrate Australian artists and continue to foster national institutional relationships.

SAM is the only Victorian arts venue to host 3 nationally significant exhibitions, including two nationally touring exhibitions: Art In Conflict from the Australian War Memorial and Ceremony: 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial from the National Gallery of Australia. SAM will also present the seventh edition of the nationally acclaimed Indigenous Ceramic Award.

Acting Artistic Director and Senior Curator Shelley McSpedden says:

“We are thrilled to announce our 2022 exhibition program. Encompassing a dynamic range of mediums and themes, the exhibitions presented offer rich and compelling reflections on issues and stories strikingly relevant to the diverse communities in our region. The program also celebrates SAM’s key collection strengths, with a strong focus on ceramics and Indigenous art.”

SAM’s next major exhibition, Art in Conflict, is a touring exhibition from the Australia War Memorial. Opening at SAM on Saturday 26 March on its first stop on a national tour, the exhibition will debut three major new bodies of work from acclaimed Australian artists Susan Norrie, Megan Cope and Angelica Mesiti.

The 2022 Indigenous Ceramic Award will open in August and is the seventh in the series of this biennale event at SAM. The acquisitive Award contributes to the Museum’s significant holdings of Australian and International ceramics and is open to Indigenous groups and individual artists across Australia.

The 2022 program will close with a National Gallery of Australia touring exhibition, Ceremony: 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial, opening in December 2022. Travelling exclusively to SAM in Victoria, Ceremony, curated by Hetti Perkins (Arrernte and Kalkadoon peoples) presents work of 35 artists from around Australia, revealing how the practice of ceremony is at the nexus of Country, culture and community.

Throughout the year, SAM will continue to present engaging and playful work by artists in the Children’s Gallery space. In May, Melbourne based artist Vera Möller will install an ecosystem inspired by SAM’s surroundings and the Goulburn River. Later in the year, interdisciplinary artist Meredith Turnbull will present a large-scale immersive installation in which sculptural forms, printed murals and wall paintings converge.

Nusra Latif Qureshi exhibition in the SAM Window, opening in late March, will explore the visual and cultural histories of the South Asian diaspora in regional Australia.

SAM’s extensive collection of ceramics will be on show throughout the SAM building in 2022. Continuing from Brown Pots, Karavan will open in the middle of the year and explores the aesthetic influence that migration and travel had on the exchange of ideas, techniques and ceramic forms of Australian studio potters.

SAM will highlight local creative talent in its dedicated Hugh D. T. Williamson Community Gallery. Through the SAM Squared series, the Museum will present works and exhibitions submitted through an open application process.

More information on each exhibition will be released throughout the year. SAM is open 7 days a week, 10am to 4pm, entry and exhibitions are free.

Ends

ABOUT SAM:

Media enquiries, please contact: Gabriella Calandro, Engagement Manager, SAM p: (03) 4804 5020 e: gcalandro@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

SAM 2022 Exhibition Program

OVERVIEW

People’s Gallery

Art In Conflict - Opening 26 March 2022

Indigenous Ceramic Award - Opening 13 August 2022

Ceremony: 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial - Opening 10 December 2022

Lin Onus Gallery

Signs of the Time – Opening 29 October 2022

SAM Ceramic Showcases

Karavan – Opening 23 July 2022

Children’s Gallery

Vera Möller – Opening 14 May 2022

Meredith Turnbull – Opening 12 November 2022

Hugh D. T. Williamson Community Gallery

SAM Squared: Open – Opening 19 March 2022

SAM Squared: EOI – Opening 21 May 2022

500 Strong – Opening 23 July 2022

SAM Squared: Spotlight – Opening 24 September 2022

SAM Art Wall

Trent Walter and Lizzie Boon – Opening 4 June 2022

Jason Phu – Opening 26 November 2022

SAM Window

Nusra Latif Qureshi – Opening March 2022

Major Exhibition Partners

Creative Victoria

Greater Shepparton City Council

University Of Melbourne

Australian Government Department of Infrastructure Transport, Regional Development & Communications

Australian War Memorial

National Gallery of Australia

Sir Andrew & Lady Fairley Foundation

Allan Myers AC QC

Metal Manufactures Pty Ltd – AWM Electrical

Philip Cornish AM & Caroline Cornish

SAM Foundation

Friends of SAM

Shepparton Art Museum 2022 Exhibition Program Announced

SAM 2022 Exhibition Program

People’s Gallery

Lin Onus Gallery

Children’s Gallery

Hugh D. T. Williamson Community Gallery

SAM Art Wall

SAM Window

Major Exhibition Partners

Traditional Owners Acknowledgement.