This is the ONLY CHANCE

to experience this amazing exhibition in South Australia

Inspired by Sci-Fi, comics and fantasy movies, Terminus is a virtual reality (VR) installation that transports the viewer into an imaginary landscape of rich colour and intricate patterns. These dream-like places are populated by humanoid clones and cryptic symbols, and explored via a network of travellators and gateways.

Terminus presents a quest, a choose-your-own adventure into the technological. Prepare yourself for a slippage of time and space as your journey propels you through five distinct realms: you will pass through Fleshold Crossing; take respite in Known Unknown; lose yourself within Scumm Engine; bravely face impending danger in the tower of Gog & Magog; and experience the brink of sensory overload in the psychedelic scenes of Tumblewych.

Here you will encountering optical challenges and visual puzzles as they journey on a quest; where you’ll come to understand that reality is not fixed but both malleable and multiple.

With their pioneering use of virtual reality, artists Jess Johnson and Simon Ward hold a unique position amongst contemporary art practitioners. Johnson’s drawings are transformed from analogue into digital, and from solo practice into cross-disciplinary collaboration, forming the basis of this virtual experience, which was then animated by Ward and enriched with input from Smith and Clarke.

Please contact Murray Bridge Regional Gallery to receive a copy of the EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE that is directly linked to the Australian Curriculum and designed to develop successful learners, confident and creative individuals and active, informed citizens.

Read the interview with the artists here: johnsonposter.pdf (nga.gov.au

National Gallery of Australia: Jess Johnson: Balnaves Contemporary Art Intervention (nga.gov.au)

PLEASE SEE FESTIVE HOLIDAY SEASON CLOSURE DATES ON OUR HOME PAGE.

Terminus is a National Gallery of Australia Initiative, as part of The Balnaves Contemporary Series of innovative projects. The National Gallery of Australia acknowledges funding support from Visions of Australia Touring and the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Programs, both Australian Government programs aiming to improve access to the national collections for all Australians. Terminus was commissioned with the assistance of The Balnaves Foundation.

The annual Rotary Youth Art Prize showcases diverse artistic talents of young people and offers a platform to creatively express their views.

In several all-time firsts, the exhibition spans all three gallery spaces, with 149 artworks by 90 entrants; and now in its fourth year at Murray Bridge Regional Gallery, the prize pool reaches a new record that doubles the number of winners!

The exhibition features diverse artwork in a wide range of visual art mediums, from as far afield as Murraylands, Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu Peninsula, Murray Mallee, Upper South East, Mid Murray, Barossa Valley and Adelaide.

This year’s judge is Lauren Mustillo, Visual Arts Program Manager, Country Arts SA. See below for more information about Lauren.

We are thrilled to congratulate this year’s prize recipients!

OVERALL
Winner $1,000: SIENNA MONTGOMERY-PITTAWAY, Eye Candy, mixed media on canvas (age 19-25)
Runner-up $300 + $100 art supplies voucher: KADE SMITH, Adelaide Oval Replica, Minecraft digital videowork (age 16-18)

AGE 12-15 YEARS
Winner $300: VALENTINA PLISKO, The Faceless Children in Detention, brick, barbed wire and fishing line
Runner-up $100 art supplies voucher: GRACE LAWLOR, Beauty of It, coloured pencils on card paper

AGE 16-18 YEARS
Winner $300: LACHLAN BALD, Self Portrait, digital print and pen on paper
Runner-up $100 art supplies voucher: INDYGO KIDD, Subtle, charcoal and graphite on paper

AGE 19-25 YEARS
Winner $300: EVE DENNER, I Can Feel it Calling Me, medium format negative print photograph
Runner-up $100 art supplies voucher: KRISTAL MATTHEWS, We Are Warriors, acrylic on canvas

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
Winner $300: JAZMIN BELLA CARR, Window to the Soul, watercolour and coloured pencils on watercolour paper
Runner-up $100 art supplies voucher: LILY DUNBAR, Dead Tired, acrylic on canvas

MORE INFO
Images of the prize winning artworks will be uploaded here soon; as well as Lauren Mustillos’ comments about her selections.

ARTISTS: BADGER BATES + JUSTINE MULLER

A collaboration between respected Barkandji Elder Uncle Badger Bates, non-Indigenous artist Justine Muller and the Wilcannia community.

A beautiful, tender and gripping series of paintings, linoprints, sculpture, installation and sound, which map a timeline of the love that these artists have for the Barka (Darling River) – “our Mother and the blood in our veins” – and its people, the Barkandji.

BARKA tells the story of desperate fear for the river and its ecology; and the Barkandji people’s determination to fight for the river’s health and its fundamental role in maintaining the wellbeing of their cultural, social and economic life.

CLOSED due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Exhibitors:

Alison Jackson, Anthill construction, Barry Gardner, Brodie Neill, BVN, Christian Hall, CODA Studio, Collins Turner, Cox Architecture, Craig Hiron, Dan Lorrimer, DesignByThem, Geoffrey Nees, Gunybi Ganambarr, Kensuke Todo, Korban Flaubert, Lorraine Connelly-Northey, Mari Funaki, Matthew Harding, Maureen Faye Chauhan, Misho and Associates, Oliver Smith, Sabine Pagan, Sean O'Connell, Seaton McKeon, Simon Cottrell, Sue Lorrain, Tony Hobba and Trent Jansen

STEEL: art design architecture is a major exhibition exploring innovative ways that steel is being used by artists, designers and architects in Australia in the 21st century.

Curated by Margaret Hancock Davis STEEL art design architecture showcases outstanding projects by contemporary Australian artists, designers and architects. It represents a cross-section of current creative practices and relationships to this versatile material.

Steel is a medium rich in human history. An alloy of iron and carbon, steel dates back to 4,000 years ago and traces the technical and cultural development of multiple civilisations. First forged in hand-made furnaces, steel production and its subsequent use, expanded in the 17th century with the technical innovations of blister and crucible steel. By the 19th century the Bessemer and Siemens-Martin processes heralded in the era of mass steel production.

Today steel is one of the most ubiquitous materials in the world. It inhabits the landscape of our bodies, our domestic spaces and our built environments. A material that ranges from raw and functional to lustrous and decorative – steel blurs the boundary between utilitarian and precious.

The art, design and architecture in this exhibition allows us to think upon the links and similarities between the creative processes, problem solving and design thinking undertaken in these various disciplines. It reveals that many of the concerns that drive these innovative uses of steel engage the themes of identity, locality, materiality and sustainability.

A material of such great potential, steel’s affordability and durability renders the ingenuity, craftsmanship and skill of those working with it practically invisible. STEEL: art design architecture unearths just some of these possibilities.

Curator, Margaret Hancock Davis

STEEL: art design architecture is a JamFactory touring exhibition and is supported by Visions of Australia, an Australian Government program supporting touring exhibitions by providing funding assistance for the development and touring of Australian cultural material across Australia.

The gallery is temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click here to view a virtual tour of Beyond the Horizon.

PRESENTED BY RURAL CITY MURRAY BRIDGE ARTS DEVELOPMENT

AS PART OF 2020 MURRAY BRIDGE FRINGE!!!

Nathan Modra’s emerging art practice grapples with the challenges of lived experiences, in search of new ways to view life’s complexities and find harmony.

Beyond the Horizon is Nathan’s first solo gallery exhibition and features vibrant, emotive paintings, as well as sculptures fashioned from farmland scrap metal and tools.

Nathan’s work reflects his concerns for the environment and humanity. Some give form to the struggle of dark and difficult moments with raw honesty; while others carry a sense of whimsy and a healthy dose of humour. Above all, they speak of resilience and compassion.

Works are modestly priced, as Nathan is keen to raise funds to be able to dive into making more! 

Beyond the Horizon is dedicated to the artist’s grandfather Rex and father Malcolm, who began and nurtured the family’s Rockleigh farming legacy.

With a Certificate 2 in metal fabrication and welding under his belt, in 2016 Nathan began to see discarded farm machinery, tools and materials in a new light and embarked on giving them a second life as sculptures. Having always enjoyed drawing since childhood, in 2017 he began applying his imagination to canvas with paintings. In the 2018 Rotary Youth Art Prize at Murray Bridge Regional Gallery, he won the People’s Choice Award for his sculpture I’m Steel Standing, and the 16-18 year old category for his painting Lost Souls - an early work in a series that continues in this exhibition, and which refers to the foibles of society’s ‘screen addiction’ the growing tendency of many to lose themselves in the world of social media, running the risk of losing their individuality.

Paintings like Eyes in the Universe and World, ponder big questions concerning our future and our understanding of the world; the knowledge that there are so many unknowns about the universe and, as Nathan say: “there’s more out there that what we can see”.

Fight to the End is one of Nathan’s earliest paintings. It reflects the experience of surviving two regional fires in 2013 and 2014; since then Nathan’s family, together with Trees for Life, planted over 300 trees to regenerate their environment and because “you need trees to be able to make rain”, as Nathan’s mother Elaine points out.

His ambitious sculpture Emptiness gives form to the psychological anguish of losing someone very close and significant in your life; its amethyst eye representing precious times spent, and the empty eye socket is the void left behind.

Showing a shift in his use of colour, Nathan’s most recent paintings, Infectious Universe and Questioning, highlight how diverse we all are, and show a range of emotions from rage to happiness.

To coincide with the 2020 Tour Down Under in Murray Bridge, we present Stephen Oatway’s exhibition of inventive and whimsical ‘Junk Art’ birds, made from recycled found objects - each starting with a car jack and push bike parts.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

My Junk Art Birdz series all started with a rusty old car jack and a pair of old vintage hand-held sheep shearing clippers. I used car jacks as the main part of the bodies to create every bird in the series. Added to these are many different recycled found objects, including push bike parts, old garden tools, car headlights, garden shears, jewels, old toys and wares.    

As my birdz developed, I fully immersed myself into the creative aspect and they became more elaborate and intriguing as I proceeded. I found that separate stories and tales within the birds emerged when I started to add plastic toys, insects and animals, jewels and op shop figurines..

I have been creating junk art sculptures now for many many years. So, these days I just allow the junk to speak to me and tell me what it wants to become and I trust in this process.

My art practice incorporates: community art projects with Mannum Creative Communities, The Whitehouse Art House Gallery (Mannum), Junk Art using recycled found materials, The Junk Man my alter ego, video art, painting pop art style using mixed media, sculpture using various mediums, installation art, public commissions, exhibitions, artist talks, workshops and mentoring.

My most recent inspiration comes from a Nigerian artist I came across earlier this year called Dotunpopo.

“I am Seeking, I am Striving, I am in it with all my Heart” Vincent Van Gough

ARTISTS: SAIR BEAN, JAMES DODD, ERLOS, FORTROSE, KAB101, COOPER PINCH, DISCO RICE, 1UP, WENDY DIXON WHILEY. CURATOR: ADAM POOLE-MOTTISHAW

Urban Cycles explores the interface between subversive urban street art culture and the often strange contemporary art universe.

Curated by seasoned street artist Adam Poole-Mottishaw (aka TarnsOne) of Cold Krush Store/Gallery, the exhibition features bold and striking new works by predominantly South Australian-based artists, inspired by early subway and street styles of New York during its formative years.

This project is a collaboration between Bridge Arts and members supported by Neami National SA community mental health service - two local art groups who share a studio space in Murray Bridge, and a passion for creativity!

The artists took this opportunity to try new ways of making work, experimenting with mediums and techniques, and exploring collaborative approaches.

To celebrate the 2020 Tour Down Under in our region, the artists have literally and conceptually responded to the theme of cycling, presenting us with a vibrant, free-ranging and eclectic exhibition.

ARTISTS: Gary Sauer-Thompson (SA), Gilbert Roe (SA), Eric Algra (Vic), Lars Heldmann (SA), Stuart Murdoch (Vic)

Opening: Sunday 8 December

1-2pm: Artists Talk + music by Don Morrison

2-4pm: Opening with guest speaker Melinda Rankin, Director FABRIK Arts & Heritage, Lobethal

Mallee Routes is an ongoing, collective project that explores the South Australian and Victorian Mallee landscapes. Five photo-based artists look at the ways in which photography offers insights into the ways that we perceive and understand the Mallee’s history and culture – in our current global era where photos have become fast moving bits of circulating data.

Mallee Routes presents works that are rooted in the realist and topographical tradition. In travelling the highways of modernity, the photographers pull up and look to the side, gaze at the ordinariness of space, and draw attention to the neglected, the detritus and the idea of the unseen. The project also has a historical perspective that connects with the idea of mythic landscapes.

Young people aged 12-25 were invited to enter 2D or 3D visual artworks, and 120 entries have been received! This year’s judge is Joanna Kitto, Associate Curator, Samstag Museum of Art, University of South Australia.                                                        

Closing Event + Prize Announcements: Sunday 1 December 12-2pm

Prizes: Overall winner $1,000 12-15 years of age $300 16-18 years of age $300 19-25 years of age $300 People’s Choice Award $300

NEWS FLASH:

THE SILENT AUCTION HAS NOW CLOSED

UNSOLD WORKS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE GALLERY

FOR A LIMITED TIME AT THE RESERVE PRICES!

Works originally priced $1,500 - $7,000 have reserve prices $100 - $700.

A percentage of sales will go towards a Murray Bridge Regional Gallery Public Program initiative to be named in Pamela’s honour.

This is a special opportunity to acquire artworks from Pamela’s estate: some widely celebrated seminal works, others rarely seen before.

Pamela Kouwenhoven (1944-2014) was an award-winning SA regional-based artist, whose works feature in major collections at prestigious institutions including the Art Gallery of South Australia and the National Gallery of Australia. Her evocative, multi-media art practice was dedicated to exploring a deep experience of her environment: the natural landscapes of South Australia and the impact of our relationships with them. Born in Moonta South Australia and raised on the West Coast of South Australia, Kouwenhoven spent much of her life in and around arid farming regions and the Adelaide Hills.

For more information, contact Fulvia Mantelli, Gallery Director, 0407 182 960 / f.mantelli@murraybridge.sa.gov.au

Presented as part of Tarnanthi: Festival of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art

A major exhibition bringing together Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian artists to examine complex perspectives on weaponry, warfare, rights and freedom across the generations.

“The idea for Weapons for the soldier came from a group of young artists and future leaders from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands: Vincent Namatjira, Anwar Young, Kamurin Young, Derek Jungarrayi Thompson and Aaron Ken. Vincent and the young Anangu artists invited Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists from across Australia, whose work shares common themes, to join them in this project.

The title Weapons for the soldier has been used over the years by Kunmanara (Ray) Ken in his paintings of traditional weaponry. The young men chose this title to honour the tjilpies (senior men) of the APY Lands and their role in passing on knowledge to younger generations. My grey-haired friends and I – the tjilpies of the APY Lands’ art centres – watched over this project like we watch over our art centres. We are proud of the young artists for driving this groundbreaking and important project.

The tjilpies involved in this exhibition have spent their lives protecting Tjukurpa (ancestral law and knowledge), Country and family. From working with other artists, we have found common ground. Connection to Country and protecting Country is something that artists from all over Australia make work about and share stories about. This has become the heart of Weapons for the soldier.”

Excerpt from essay by Frank Young, Anangu Elder and senior artist.

APY Lands Artists: Alec Baker | Eric Barney | Willy Kaika Burton | Pepai Jangala Carroll | Taylor Cooper | Sammy Dodd | Witjiti George | Rupert Jack | Kunmanara (Brenton) Ken | Kunmanara (Ray) Ken | Maruku Arts and Crafts | Hector Mitakiki | Junior Mitakiki | Kamarin Mitakiki | Kunmanara (Willy Muntjantji) Martin | Peter Mungkuri | Vincent Namatjira | Kunmanara (Jimmy) Pompey | Keith Stevens | Derek Jungarrayi Thompson | Thomas Ilytjari Tjilya | Bernard Tjalkuri | Ginger Wikilyiri | Mick Wikilyiri | Kunmanara (Mumu Mike) Williams | Anwar Young | Frank Young | Kamurin Young | Young men of Amata

Invited Artists: Abdul Abdullah | Tony Albert | Brook Andrew | Lionel Bawden | George Gittoes | Shaun Gladwell | Richard Lewer | Uncle Charles ‘Chicka’ Madden & Jonathan Jones | Danie Mellor | Steaphan Paton | Ben Quilty | Reko Rennie | Greg Semu | Alex Seton

Weapons for the Soldier was developed during the centenary of Anzac and the First World War and realised against the backdrop of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Murray Bridge Regional Gallery is proud to be presenting this exhibition as part of the exemplary Tarnanthi: Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art - we have an excellent and long-standing relationship with Art Gallery of SA and Weapons for the Soldier represents our first partnership with Tarnanthi.

A powerful, profound exhibition, Weapons for the Soldier stands in a continuum of projects driven by Anangu’s fierce determination in protecting Tjukurpa – country and culture. As Frank Young, Anangu Elder, cultural custodian, and senior artist, explains: “Violence and war are not something we celebrate, but something that we must be brave enough to think about, share and discuss.”

By inviting artist peers from outside of the APY Lands, the Anangu curators have generated a deep and crucial dialogue that offers more accurate articulation of Australia’s history the truths of our current situation what lies ahead of us and how to best negotiate the challenges toward mutual respect and prosperity.

The project has inspired insightful responses from invited artists that, together with the Anangu works, unpack the many meanings of warfare and weaponry, reflect shared concerns for and commitment to maintaining culture as the foundation of humanity, as well as dedication to fighting for rights and freedom.

Excerpt from introduction by Director Fulvia Mantelli, Special Event 13 October 2019

A touring exhibition by APY Art Centre Collective and Hazelhurst Arts Centre, assisted by the Australian Government's Visions of Australia program. This project has been supported by the Australian Government’s Anzac Centenary Arts and Culture Fund, the Australia Council for the Arts, Arts SA, Create NSW, Sutherland Shire Council, and the Gordon Darling Foundation.

An installation of jewelry made from recycled glass, in the gallery shop window, for SALA Festival.

A moment can change your life forever. 

How do you get through that moment? For Julie it was swimming every day at the local pool. From the sparkles in the water on a sunny day, to the peace of being under the water, Julie found a way to briefly escape what was happening and focus on just breathing again. Deep End is a personal reflection on how swimming helped Julie deal with an overwhelming moment in time.

Open House: Tamworth Textile Triennial celebrates the open-ended, porous nature of textiles practice today. It introduces a group of artists who have not previously exhibited in the triennial.

All are linked in some way to a sense of broader engagement with things outside of themselves and their studios. Many celebrate the process of belonging that comes from working with other artists, while others take on wide-ranging issues such as the landscape and the environment and the artist’s place in a world beset by environmental, social and cultural upheaval.

Bringing it all together is a kind of openness that comes through exhibiting, talking and creating which can involve both artist and viewer as equal participants. The making process is equally as important as the works themselves, and the conversations while creating and showing create an open house where all ideas and responses are welcome.

Exhibition Curator, Glenn Barkley

The 3rd Tamworth Textile Triennial is an opportunity to build on the rich cultural history and reputation that the Tamworth biennials and triennials have established, while pushing forward new conversations and creating a safe place for unsafe discussions. Indigenous, multi-cultural, environmental and minority groups are all represented among the selected artists, providing a sense of broader engagement as the key theme for this exhibition.

There is an ongoing interest in the overlaying of traditional textile techniques with new technologies as a means to create innovative approaches to practice that are relevant to today.

CONNECTED offers a snapshot of contemporary weaving practices by Ngarrindjeri artists from Murray Bridge to Meningie, Victor Harbour to Raukkan. Intricately woven from a range of materials (sedge grass, raffia, jute, galvanised wire and feathers), these works are grounded in cultural traditions and respond to modern social and cultural concerns.

Artists: Ellen Trevorrow, Phyllis Williams, Robert Wuldi, Cedric Varcoe, Deb Rankine, Elly Wilson, Alice Abdulla, Joe Trevorrow, Hank Trevorrow, and Ngarrindjeri Weavers Collaborators.

Celebrating NAIDOC Week, the diverse weaving practices featured in CONNECTED - together with Cedric Varcoe’s vibrant paintings in the concurrent exhibition NGARRINDJERI RUWE - highlight the profound cultural connections that Ngarrindjeri people have with their lands and waters, ancestors and stories, as well as each other.

This exhibition was brought together with the valued assistance of Di Gordon, Cultural Program Manager, Country Arts SA.

Cedric Varcoe’s vivid paintings map Ngarrindjeri lands and waters, sharing the stories of his ancestors - narratives that continue to be fundamental to Ngarrindjeri culture. With a lyrical aesthetic, these works hold profound meaning, in a sea of animated colour.

Celebrating NAIDOC Week, Cedric Varcoe’s vibrant paintings in NGARRINDJERI RUWE - together with the diverse weaving practices featured in the concurrent exhibition CONNECTED - highlight the profound cultural connections that Ngarrindjeri people have with their lands and waters, ancestors and stories, as well as each other.

Murray Bridge Regional Gallery thanks Better World Arts for their support in providing these artworks for this exhibition.

Murray Bridge photographers Penny Heighes, Dean Kyritsis and Peter Smyth bring together their diverse practices and shared love for image-making.

Using the camera obscura, Sydney-based artist Robyn Stacey depicts South Australia as it has never been seen before. Translating from Latin to mean ‘dark room’ the camera obscura is an optical device of wonder, whereby the external world is trapped and inverted within the room.

For this exhibition, eight large-scale camera obscura photographs by Stacey will be on display. First shown as part of the 2016 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Magic Object, the photographs depict camera obscuras at well-known sites around Adelaide, including the Brookman Building at the University of South Australia, Carrick Hill, The Cedars at Hahndorf, the Institute Building, The Lighthouse Wharf Hotel in Port Adelaide, Parliament House and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI).

In the artist’s words these bewildering photographs become ‘a mash up of inside and outside’. ‘The magic of the camera obscura is that it makes us question what we take for granted - the everyday experience is presented upside down and in reverse, mimicking the way an image forms on the retina. In some photographs cars drive over the ceiling and the sky and clouds cover the floor… it’s like being in a movie where you are in the world but removed from it at the same time,’ says Stacey.

The regional South Australian tour of Robyn Stacey: Ray of Light is presented in partnership with Country Arts SA, the Art Gallery of South Australia and the Regional Galleries Association of South Australia. 

This group exhibition by members of the local Murray Bridge-based artist group Bridge Arts reflects on mark-making in their art and their lives.

Artists: Detlef Baumer, Sue Foster, Pamela Gillen,Jane Mason, Anita Millsteed, Jillian Solley, Valerie Sparrow, Audrey J Van Den Heuvel, Anthony White, Kerry Wilson.

Having grown from its humble beginnings 30 years ago, this is now a well-anticipated exhibition and part of our prominent regional gallery’s annual program. It continues to provide an opportunity for emerging and hobbyist artists to display and sell their work. Prize categories include printed and projected digital art, sculpture, metalwork, photography, drawings, pastels and painting. Sales commissions go toward public art projects in partnership with the Rural City’s Public Art Strategy.

Congratulations to this year’s prize winners:

2D – Paintings, Prints, Drawings

$1,000 First Prize: LYNETTE ANSTEY, Murray in Flood (#83)

$250 Second Prize: CAROL BANN, Skeleton (#52)

$100 Third Prize: MAXINE WILLIAMS, Cave Spirit (#57)

3D – Sculpture, Ceramics

$1,000 First Prize: ANNA COUPER, Blooming (#42)

$250 Second Prize: STEPHEN OATWAY, Donald (#38)

$100 Third Prize: CONNIE BERG, Meeples (#60)

Andrew Hay Memorial Photography Prize

$1,000 First Prize: CAROL COVENTRY, Windmill Sunrise (#85)

$250 Second Prize: LEANNE WALDING, Army of Fungi (#54)

$100 Third Prize: CAROL COVENTRY, R U OK (#23)

Digital Art (Vouchers to Workshop prizes)

First Prize: MARK RICHARDS, Oasis Inn, Motel & Café, 1957 Ford Fairlane (#1)

Second Prize: PENNY PARKER, Frances’s Faerie (#8)

Third Prize: THUY-ANH LE, Putting Their Weary Bones to Rest (#7)

Enquiries to Rotary Art Show Coordinator Wendy Gaborit on 0418 858 717 or via email: info.mbartshow@gmail.com

Curated by Maggie Fletcher

In this exhibition, South Australian artist Kunyi June Anne McInerney draws upon childhood experiences as a member of the Stolen Generation in the Oodnadatta Children’s Home during the 1950’s. Kunyi’s vibrant use of colour, facial expression, and depiction of landscape document her memories and reflect on the strict life with other mission kids who became her only family. Kunyi’s paintings and stories reveal an often-invisible part of Australian history.

In the artist’s words, Kunyi says “these are my stories from a dry remote place where my experiences were so different from what Australian children know today. I want to tell my story, so they don’t ever do it again. They took away my family, my culture and who I could have been. These are not fairy tales, they are true. I want people to understand what happened. Painting is the best way for me to tell my stories.”

My Paintings Speak For Me is a sensitive exploration of the experiences of cultural loss, separation from family, and finding fun times amongst hardship.

This is a Country Arts SA touring exhibition.

Country Arts SA is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.

It is Bryan Dawe that we have to thank for our journey to Syria, and for the timing which was fortuitously just before the Syrian revolution, which began in March of 2011 with peaceful protests (inspired by earlier revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia), and which is now held in the grip of a devastating war. Bryan had travelled to Syria before, had loved it and was planning to go again. He asked if we’d like to join him. And so we set off to experience this exhilarating country, ready for adventure, remarkable sites steeped in history, and the generosity of a welcoming and friendly people – kindness to travellers is one of society’s golden rules, hospitality flows freely. 

Civilisation in Syria goes back thousands of years, but the country as it exists today is very young – its borders were drawn by European colonial powers in the 1920s. Syria is extremely diverse, ethnically and religiously. Layers of ancient history are evident everywhere: in the remains of a Roman temple beside an eighth-century mosque, in the stonework of Ottoman-era palaces, in mediaeval citadels and Crusader fortresses; and in the blend of Persian, Byzantine, Roman, Mamluk, Ottoman, Armenian, Jewish, Christian and French influences. 

The ancient cities of Damascus and Aleppo are two of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, at least since the 3rd millennium BC. The bustling souqs of these cities are real marketplaces, with spices piled high, silks, textiles and antiquities flowing out of shopfronts into the laneways. In the industrious handcraft souqs, craftsmen work sheets of copper into large pots, axeheads are forged in small foundries, tyres recycled into hardwearing baskets, handmade furniture intricately inlaid with mother-of pearl and camel bone. 

Our travels took us to the desert oasis of Palmyra, a World Heritage Site at the once-beating heart of the Silk Road, where caravans met in ancient times, on route to Europe with silk from China and spices from India. We had the rare privilege of staying with a Bedouin family at a village near the Euphrates River – also an important archaeological site – and to visit the mediaeval fortress of Krak des Chevaliers and the Dead Cities north of Aleppo. 

After three remarkable and unforgettable weeks in Syria, we left via the border town of Daraa into Jordan, just a month before Daraa became the centre of the first popular uprising that would escalate into the brutal civil war of today. Over many weeks in Daraa, government security forces used massive and systematic lethal force against protestors and the mourners of those killed in demonstrations, fuelling a growing anger towards the government and a spiralling cycle of violence. 

By mid 2013, the UN decided it could no longer accurately determine the death toll in Syria, at that point it had reached more that 100,000. It is estimated that it now exceeds 150,000. Within Syria some 6 million people are displaced and nearly 2.8 million people have fled Syria since the conflict began and are registered as refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. 

Syria Lost.

Tony Kearney 2018

Throughout her career, Belfrage has maintained a vibrant studio glass practice and is known for her distinctive artworks in which complex patterns of fine glass lines trace her forms. Inspired by the repetitious patterns found in nature and the woven lines of textiles, Belfrage is particularly drawn to the layered rhythms that mark growth, change and the passing of time in the natural world.

JamFactory ICON: Clare Belfrage: A Measure of Time is a JamFactory touring exhibition.

JamFactory ICON: Clare Belfrage: A Measure of Time has been assisted by the South Australian Government through Arts South Australia and the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, Contemporary Touring Initiative.

The annual Rotary Youth Art Prize is aimed at young people 12 – 25 years of age to show off their creativity and proudly supported by local businesses and community groups.

This year’s winners are:

Overall Winner: Mikaela Jericho for her artwork Giraffe
$1,000 sponsored by The Station

12-15 years category: Charlotte Deramore Denver for her artwork Temptation
$300 sponsored by Rotary Club of Mobilong

16-18 years category: Nathan Modra for his artwork Lost Souls
$300 sponsored by Rotary Club of Murray Bridge

19-25 years category: Sarah Groocock for her artwork The Mask: Fear, No, Ugly
$300 sponsored by The Davery Establishment 

People’s Choice Award: Nathan Modra for his artwork I’m Steel Standing
$300 sponsored by Murray Bridge Regional Gallery

Deborah Paauwe and Mark Kimber are two of South Australia’s most prominent photo-based artists, whose distinctive practices continue to influence generations of emerging photographers. Both artists regularly exhibit nationally and internationally, and their works are held in major public and private collections throughout Australia.

“My work concerns itself with fictions distilled from the real, and moves across the shifting and interlocking world of childhood memories and their impact on adult life. Central to my aims is the mixture of identity, gender roles and the underlying ambiguity of what is girl and what is woman.”
Deborah Paauwe

“I'm interested in, to paraphrase poet Shamus Heaney "the arc between language and sensation", the memory or trace of places or events, intermeshed with the somewhat fluid state of flux that both photography and memory share with the concept of ‘truth’.”
Mark Kimber

Magic Zine: YOU ARE ART is an exhibition exploring zines, DIY culture and self expression by artist Lucy Thomas, curated by Adele Sliuzas to be held at Murray Bridge Regional Gallery.

Showcasing the Magic Zine catalogue, the exhibition will launch a new issue of the Zine, titled Flower Feelings, exploring the Victorian tradition of floriography. The exhibition will feature a ‘Zine swap’ space, a series of community workshops, and artists in residence in the gallery. A Film, Fair, Forum event will present zinesters in a Q & A panel, as well as an Zine Fair opportunity for local zinemakers to present and swap their publications. The exhibition will run co-currently with Self-Made: Zines and Artist Books, curated by Monica Syrette.

This residency and exhibition is an exploration of DIY culture and self expression through the medium of the zine. Artist Lucy Thomas and curator/writer Adele Sliuzas will create an immersive and participatory space, which both showcases Lucy’s zine Magic Zine and investigates the zine making process for a diverse audience. Special emphasis is placed on creating an inclusive and accessible gallery experience that encourages audiences to investigate zine culture, express themselves through DIY creation as well as providing  pace to swap zines.

‘I like zines because they are self made and self confessed. Long live physical media - add to your collection.’ Lucy Thomas.

This exhibition is part of a residency supported by Country Arts SA

Delve into do-it-yourself culture: from limited run artist books to cut-and-paste photocopy fanzines, explore the evolution and diversity of these radical publishing alternatives.

Celebrate the power of self-publishing to communicate directly with readers, create community, and support counter-culture movements. Self-publishing empowers makers of all abilities and backgrounds to become creative producers, challenge dominant models, and make work that anyone can appreciate and collect.

State Library Victoria has one of the finest collections of artist books and zines in Australia and Self-made showcases original rare objects from the collection, as well as a selection of contemporary zines and artist books. Discover science fiction fanzines from the 1940s, ground-breaking 1970s punk zines, Australian underground press publications and artist books designed to circumvent commercial gallery systems.

Self-made: zines and artist books is presented by State Library Victoria in partnership with Sticky Institute, and supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria and the Visions regional touring program, an Australian Government program aiming to improve access to cultural material for all Australians.

This exhibition will tour to seven national venues throughout 2018 and 2019. See slv.vic.gov.au/self-made for details. 

Islands are by nature isolating, and that isolation coupled with majestic natural surroundings can be inspiration galore to the creative soul.

Thus the symmetry of Kangaroo Island: 4500 square kilometres, half of it natural ecosystems and, 4500 residents, half seemingly artists in some form.

Ten of the island’s visual artists are bringing ‘mainlanders’ a glimpse of the isolation and inspiration of island life in Island to Inland: contemporary art from Kangaroo Island, which will open at Flinders University City Gallery during SALA Festival 2017 and then be toured by Country Arts SA.

The artists are creating new works on the theme of ‘isolation and inspiration’ for the exhibition.

Artists: Ria Byass, Quentin Chester, Audrey Harnett, Scott Hartshorne, Indiana James, Janine Mackintosh, Deborah Sleeman, Caroline Taylor, Maggie Welz, Kenita Williamson

Curated by Eleanor Scicchitano, Visual Arts Coordinator, Country Arts South Australia and Celia Dottore, Exhibitions Manager, Flinders University Art Museum and City Gallery University.

A Country Arts SA Visual Arts Touring exhibition.

They say beauty is in the of the beholder. Perhaps it is in a vast landscape, or a personal experience. In Catherine Truman’s case, it’s often what she sees through the microscope.

Proving herself to be one of South Australia’s leading contemporary Artists and Jewellers, Catherine Truman is the 2017 JamFactory Icon. This exhibition is the first time that Truman’s collaborative practice with artists and scientists has been presented as a whole.

Truman presents an intriguing and diverse solo show of objects, installation, images and film including several brand new works spanning the 20 years of her research at the nexus of art and science. 

With a 35-year practice that covers film to public artworks to intricate carvings, ‘Jeweller’ as Truman is sometimes referred to, hardly embraces the true expanse of her practice. Rather, she is an accomplished artist, with a love of research flowing in the undercurrent to all of her practice, a practice that is of and about the body as much as it is intended for it.

Truman is co-founder and current partner of Gray Street Workshop - an internationally renowned artist run workshop established in 1985 in Adelaide, South Australia. She has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally and is represented in a number of major national and international collections including Coda-museum, Netherlands, Museum of Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China, and the National Gallery of Australia, to name a few.

In South Australia, we are lucky enough have her work on permanent display. You might have seen it in those cascading bronze leaves on the facade of the David Jones
building, the playful cast fish jumping into the ground and adorning the gates of the Art Gallery of South Australia, or perhaps walking straight by you – in a textural and abstractly formed brooch adorning the clothing of a friend or passer-by.

Last year her carvings and jewellery were the subject of a major survey exhibition shown at Art Gallery of South Australia. Truman’s sculptural objects and jewellery, made primarily from carved English lime wood, are a reflection of her ongoing interest in the ways which knowledge of human anatomy has been acquired and translated through artistic process and scientific method.

Immersing herself and her artwork increasingly in scientific fields, Truman describes her studio morphing into a laboratory of sorts. Working amongst scientists and researchers, and as an avid researcher herself, she says that she has come to realise the processes of science and art are not so dissimilar.

“As an artist I have learnt that making things with my hands leaves me with much less of a sense of dislocation from the world I live in - and this I feel, is an interesting premise from which to examine the world of science.”

Currently a visiting scholar at the Flinders Centre for Ophthalmology, Eye and Vision Research, School of Medicine, Flinders University, she is undertaking a project titled “The nexus between vision, the eye and perception”. Having researched historical and contemporary anatomical collections world-wide and participated in a number of art/science- based projects, Truman explains that “We [artists and scientists] both create images of the things we see and the more we see, the more we understand we don’t know.”

“…a holistic maker - acutely aware of her process, while continually evolving her inquiry. Truman’s curiosity takes her and her makings into the sensate and anatomically unfamiliar – probing thresholds of human being” writes Melinda Rackham, author of the 2016 SALA monograph Catherine Truman: Touching Distance.

Catherine Truman No surface holds - JamFactory Icon 2017 is a JamFactory touring exhibition. 
 

Catherine Truman No surface holds - JamFactory Icon 2017 has been assisted by the South Australian Government through Arts South Australia and the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, Contemporary Touring Initiative.