Image: Petra Meer, The Continual Sea, 2009. Used blankets and dressing gowns, cotton thread.
This exhibition features work by eight textile artists with a connection to Tasmania. Their works reflect on the fact that they have at some stage been drawn away from Tasmania but have returned. They engage with a wide range of ideas including fashion, Australian history, and travel. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
Image: Sarit Cohen, Three Salad Bowls, 2010, 15 x 17 cm, slip cast porcelain
This showcase exhibition of paintings, prints, ceramics and video is presented by the Cowra Regional Art Gallery, in association with the Cowra Festival of International Understanding. Each year, the Festival features a different guest nation, with Turkey the guest nation for 2011. Cultural Connections brings together the work of four artists of Turkish descent with varied contemporary art and craft practices: Huseyin Sami, Gokcen Altinok and Ebru Arda (based in Sydney), and Sarit Cohen (based in Canberra). The exhibition is supported by the Cowra Shire Council and the Turkish Embassy, Canberra.
Cultural Connections catalogue – PDF Download
Image: Peter Gardiner Landscape 2010 No. VIII 2010, Oil on canvas 210 x 180cm. Image courtesy the artist.
Always exciting and entertaining, the awards foster and encourage originality, creativity and excellence. The Calleen Art Award (acquisitive) was established in 1977 and has developed into a major national art award with 2011 prize money of $15,000. The Central West Regional Artists Award (non-acquisitive) was established in 2009 by the Cowra Regional Art Gallery and includes $2,000 prize money. There is also a People’s Choice Award of $500.
The winner of the 2011 Calleen Art Award is Newcastle based artist Peter Gardiner for his painting Landscape 2010 No.VIII 2010, oil on canvas 210 x 180 cm.
The winner of the 2011 Central West Regional Artists Award is Stuart Town based artist Tim Winters for his painting The Pinnacles Desert 2010, mixed media on canvas 150 x 150 cm.
2011 Exhibition Catalogue – PDF Download
Image: Knitted Comforts booklet. Image courtesy Albury City Collection.
It was a time of great change for the people of NSW. For some, supporting the war effort led to adventure, love, lasting friendships and new experiences. For others, wartime meant loss and hardship. There’s a War On! World War II at Home showcases the varied experiences of the men, women and children who fought the war on the home front. A Museums and Galleries NSW touring exhibition. Museums and Galleries NSW is assisted by the NSW Government through Arts NSW.
Image: Max Dupain, Grocer serving sugar (detail), 1948.
9 July to 7 August 2011
Max Dupain (1911–1992) is widely considered one of Australia’s greatest photographers. This exhibition showcases the diversity and breadth of Dupain’s commercial career, tracing his development as a photographer and artist from the 1940s to the 1970s.
A Touring Exhibition from the National Archives of Australia.
10 to 14 August 2011
This tour of three Tibetan monks and two assistants is travelling across Australia. In Cowra, they will create a unique sand mandala in the gallery over five days, using traditional patterns. This is a rare opportunity to meet Tibetan artists.
Daily Schedule
Wednesday 10 August
9.30am Welcome & blessing of the space
10am – 4pm Beginning the mandala
Thursday 11 August
9.30am Chanting mediation with the monks
10am – 4pm Monks create the mandala
Friday 12 August
9.30am Chanting mediation with the monks
10am – 4pm Monks create the mandala
Saturday 13 August
9.30am Chanting mediation with the monks
10am – 4pm Monks create the mandala
Sunday 14 August
9.30am Chanting and mediation
10am – 2pm Monks complete mandala
2pm Mandala dissolution ceremony
Monks accommodation kindly supported by the Vineyard Motel, Cowra.
Jeff Mincham, Edge of the Day 2009 multi-glazed, mid-fired earthenware 47 x 64 x 19cm. Photographer: Grant Hancock. Image courtesy Object
The fifth exhibition in the ongoing series, Living Treasures: Masters of Australian Craft. Produced by Object: Australian Centre for Craft and Design, the Living Treasures series celebrates the achievements of the most influential and iconic figures of the Australian crafts movement. Mincham is an artist in his creative prime: his most recent works showcase the unique results of his passionate research and experimentation with surface textures and firing techniques. The work he is creating today is new, exciting and, at times, exquisite.
2009 Watercolour Winner: Jane Paterson, Lachlan River Bend to Bend 2009 watercolour. Image courtesy Gwen Clark
These Awards are open to art enthusiasts living within 100 kilometres of Cowra. This distinctive biennial exhibition presented by the Cowra Art Group has been running since the 1960s and is a unique opportunity for local artists to show their work in a public gallery.
Rachel Ellis Brick house, Bathurst (detail) 2011. Oil on linen.
In March 2009, the Cowra Regional Art Gallery launched the Central West Regional Artists Award. The award is $2,000 (non-acquisitive) and the winner is invited to have an exhibition of new work at the gallery. The 2010 award winner, Bathurst-based artist Rachel Ellis, will present new paintings and drawings responding to the city of Bathurst and environs.
Fiona Hall Green Ant Nest 2006 etching 33 x 24.5cm Courtesy Nomad Art Productions
This exhibition straddles the boundaries of science and art, showcasing the remarkable world of plants found in tropical areas of northern Australia through six indigenous and non-indigenous Australian printmakers and a photographer. Artists represented in the exhibition are: Winsome Jobling from Darwin, Debra Wurrkidj from Maningrida, Marita Sambono from Nauiyu, Irene Mungatopi from the Tiwi Islands, Fiona Hall from Adelaide, and Judy Watson from Brisbane. Each artist explores the unique characteristics of native plants that survive and prosper in the climatic extremes of Australia’s tropical north.
Image: Esther Wilson Why Should We Be Proud of a Country That Isn’t Proud of Us? Anonymous (detail) 2010 charcoal drawing on paper (winner 2010 Merit Award Year 12).
This is the eighth annual Youth Art Exhibition and Awards presented by the Cowra Regional Art Gallery focusing on the work by young artists from Central West high schools in years 10, 11 and 12. Award categories include painting, drawing, mixed media, photography and 3D art.
Peter Alwast Trees, Waterfall, Back 2010 (winner 2010 JADA). Collection Grafton Regional Gallery.
This premier biennial arts event promotes excellence and innovation in Australian drawing. The exhibition’s diverse and outstanding works from a wide cross-section of established and emerging artists from across the nation give it broad appeal. The 2010 JADA consists of works by 46 finalists, selected from 429 entries. The JADA is a Grafton Regional Gallery touring exhibition.
