Exhibitions

Five textile artists interpret the theme Off the Beaten Track, providing a starting point from which the concept of difference can be explored. The works produced have historical and contemporary references. Some artists use unusual techniques in a traditional manner, while others use traditional techniques in unusual ways.

A biennial open art competition that helps to raise awareness of mental health and illness in the Shoalhaven region. This competition is open to all living in the Shoalhaven region regardless of having a mental illness or not. The aim is to reduce prejudice, discrimination and stigma in the community and create hope for persons with any mental health issues. The theme for 2019, Vital Connections highlights the importance of people and connections in personal recoveries .

The Forest stands quietly in the Gallery space, reminiscent of a forest after a fire or the stillness found during an early morning bush walk. An installation of freestanding Sumi Ink and paper tubes 2 metres high form a forest. This exhibition highlights Hancock’s concerns regarding deforestation and the subsequent loss of rainfall associated with the practice of clear felling. These works of immense beauty create a moving memorial to the lost Great Forests of the planet.

Unspoken Words is a series of figurative paintings and drawings which explore an emotional response to the female form and the landscape. An imagined narrative is entwined in the landscape and a recurring theme of animals, music, and women run through the works. The imaginary joins reality in this quirky, illustrative exhibition. The artist’s technique of using a limited colour palette helps to create an underlying sense that we are all alone in some way, that there is a secret part of us that no one knows.

This large annual exhibition, coordinated by Shoalhaven Art Society, draws entries Australia wide, with a particular focus on local talent. The exhibition explores painting in all its forms and invites a large variety of subject matter. A number of prizes are awarded, including a junior section for artists between the ages of 14 - 18. All works are for sale in this unique showcase of talented artists.

This local, non-competitive exhibition provides an opportunity for local artisans to share their gifts and talents with others, extending their enjoyment in their craft. This year’s exhibition responds to the theme ‘Field and Forest’.

Iya-nla means big mother. Using laborious techniques such as crochet and hand beading, Paula combines domestic cloths passed down from women in her family with recycled fabrics and yarns. The works function as sensorial triggers to explore the intersections of Paula’s family history with the Atlantic slave trade, colonisation and migration.

NOW Contemporary Art Prize aims to inspire artists to consider contemporary art as more than something created recently, and to reflect on the ways contemporary art has, and continues to, push boundaries and comment on our world and the artist’s place in it. This year’s selected artworks will respond to the exhibition theme "pushes boundaries, responds to our world, is dynamic and personal"

These works are a response to a moment in time in the cycle of life in a wild place.
Nature is engrossed in an ever-becoming cycle and these works intercept that cycle, if only for a moment.

A series of works juxtaposing impressions of the Shoalhaven River with the MacDonald River, a tributary of the Hawkesbury. After a residency at St Albans Michelle was inspired to return to the more familiar Shoalhaven sites with a new awareness of the historical narrative to record the mood and atmosphere and discover what lies beneath the surface of appearances.

Altered States explores Australian identity and our changing relationship with our environment through photographs of the Australian Landscape which have been modified by the hand of the artist. By adjusting the expected vista, with the addition of foreign objects, figures or projections, these artists cause us to look twice at their works and question the land we inhabit and how we relate to it, now and throughout history.