News

Entries now open - Shoalhaven Mental Health Fellowship Open Art Competition

The Open Art Competition is just that – open to all, irrespective of whether you are living with mental illness or not. The aim is to reduce prejudice, discrimination and stigma in the community and create hope for persons living with mental illness.

The 2021 theme is Tuning In: be it to the planet, wildlife, people or things of significance. Works will be on display at the Gallery from 17 April - 5 June.

1st Prize $700, 2nd Prize $500, 3rd Prize $300

Download an entry kit here or pick one up from the Gallery today!

2021 Community Exhibitors Announced

We are delighted to announce the 2021 community exhibitors. This year there was a huge response to the call out, with over 30 expressions of interest received for only 7 available spaces in the exhibition program. This does mean the chosen exhibitions are of an exceptional standard and the Gallery is excited to share them with you next year!

You may know the work of well-respected artist John Downton OAM. Over an illustrious 50-year career John has established himself as a leading artist of the area with his stunning oil paintings, and was awarded the Order of Australia in 2017 in recognition of his valuable contribution to Australian art. The Gallery will celebrate John through a survey exhibition of his Shoalhaven landscapes.

Bonnie Porter Greene & Adrian Baiada will present a selection of paintings exploring the effect of the recent bushfires on our relationship with nature.

Claire Cavanna & Caroline McIntyre also reflect on these events, celebrating the resilience of nature through a series of abstract paintings.

For Keith Tubb it is the healing power of nature that inspired a collection of work drawn from visits to Booderee National Park.

Julie Love will explore memory through a series of small sculptures relating to experiences in her life.

Judith Reardon’s multimedia works explore the narrative of coloniser denial running through our society, and the moral choices we make which uphold that narrative.

Anna Nangle has created an intriguing installation - a mystic diagram of one thousand different coloured squares, which spatialise an ancient text in praise of the Goddess Lalita.

Image: John Downton, 'Shoalhaven Overview' (detail) from the Shoalhaven City Art Collection

New Artworks Commissioned for 'the TERRA within'

We are excited to announce that we have commissioned three local artists to create new artworks for the upcoming exhibition ‘the TERRA within.’

Kirli Saunders’s work ‘Re-gentrification’ speaks to the respectful return of First Nations people as residents and home-owners on Dharawal land. Envisioned during renovations of a Port Kembla Cottage, this work pays homage to the original inhabitants who cared for the land and repeatedly fought government occupation.

Noel Wellington will create a modern carved shield, drawing on his family and cultural history of making shields for battle and protection. As a traditional custodian within the Yuin Nation and the Jerringa Wandi-Wandian Clan of the South Coast People of NSW, Noel’s work reflects his Aboriginal Ancestral history and draws on images of storytelling and cultural practices from this area.

Jaz Corr is a Dhawaral woman that resides in Kiama. Her work ‘The Terra Within: A True Australian flag’ will illustrate the ignored history of Aboriginal people embedded into Australian culture. It is designed to provoke thought on the desecration of Aboriginal culture, country and people.

The commissions have been made possible thanks to the Gibbon Foundation. the TERRA within is curated by Warwick Keen is now open, until December 5.

WONDER + DREAD New Artwork Commission awarded

We are delighted to announce that Lara Merrett has been commissioned to create a new artwork for our summer exhibition WONDER + DREAD: Art in the Land of Weather Extremes.

Lara is known for her large scale works, which use painted drop sheets to create an immersive environment of colour. Her new work will respond to the recent Shoalhaven fires by exploring the ‘precious, delicate, rare and raw’ landscape left behind near the artist’s home at Bendalong.

You can see Lara's work at the Gallery from December 12 2020 - January 30 2021

Shoalhaven Regional Art Gallery’s Response to COVID-19

We are looking forward to welcoming you back to the Gallery! Coming to visit will be a bit different as we adapt to this new world.

No exhibition openings – sorry, as much as we all love the chance to eat, drink and celebrate great art for the moment we can’t have crowds in the gallery
Limited numbers in our spaces – to keep us all safe we have to ensure everyone can be distanced appropriately. That means no more than 65 people across our galleries and shop space at any one time. We’ll be counting numbers and let you know if you need to wait for someone to leave before coming in.
Extra cleaning – we’ll be doing lots of extra cleaning to keep you safe, and ask that you do some too – sanitise your hands on entry please and practise good hand hygiene to keep us all healthy.
Record keeping – we are required to keep a record of everyone who comes into the gallery, so we’ll be asking for your name and contact details as you come in. These are kept secure and destroyed after 28 days. We will only provide this information to public health officials if they need to do contact tracing.
One way in, one way out – we’ll be asking you to enter and exit through different doors. It’s our way of trying to help you keep your distance from others. Please follow the arrows on the floor and the signage for entry and exit.
Tours and groups from July – we’re taking a bit of time to get used to all the new requirements and restrictions before we start welcoming tours and groups back to the gallery, from July we’ll be able to welcome groups of up to 10 for gallery tours.

Artwork Commission Awarded

Shoalhaven Regional Gallery is pleased to announce the winner of the major art commission for the upcoming exhibition The Terra Within, is Illawarra based artist Peter Hewitt.

The Council called out for expressions of interest to create a major work of art for the exhibition - which is a response to the 250th Anniversary of Cook’s voyage to chart the east coast of Australia, and the impacts of this period on local indigenous communities Six proposals where reviewed by the panel, consisting of Chloe Gibbon (philanthropist), Warwick Keen (exhibition curator) and Bronwyn Coulston (Manager Arts and Culture SCC). The panel were impressed with the variety of responses and the detail and consideration given by the artists to the exhibition and themes.

Peter Hewitt’s work stood out as a work of scale and ambition that was clearly contemporary while still grounded in a cultural framework. The panel were impressed with his proposal to reference smoke in the artmaking process. An element the artist describes as ‘integral to Yuin culture because it helps heal our traumas and it is used in ceremony and it is Country’.

Warwick Keen, curator, notes that Hewitt’s work ‘has a strong individual style and is very contemporary while still holding land and nature as integral to the art making process’.

Shoalhaven City Council would like to thank the Gibbon Foundation for providing the funding to support this commission and the acquisition of the work produced for the Shoalhaven City Art Collection.

The Terra Within exhibition will run from 10th October – 5th December 2020. While it is hoped the gallery will be open to the public at that time, should public health restrictions still be in place the exhibition will be available through digital platforms.

Image: Peter Hewitt courtesy University of Wollongong

SRGN Exhibitions on Tour!

Anna Glynn - Promiscuous Provenance

Anna Glynn's Promiscuous Provenance will be on display at the following venues:

Australian National Botanic Gardens, ACT, 17 January - 1 March 2020

Hahndorf Academy SA, March 21 - July 12 2020

Swan Hill Regional Gallery VIC, July 17 - August 30 2020

Jervis Bay Maritime Museum, NSW, 12 December 2020 - 1 March 2021

Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, NSW, 16 April - 13 June 2021