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The Tweed Regional Gallery is launching its Winter program today with a multi-opening event of three highly anticipated exhibitions.
The opening event will showcase the eagerly awaited touring exhibition from the National Gallery, Know My Name: Australian Women Artists. The exhibition tells a new story of Australian art, looking at moments in which women created new forms of art and cultural commentary.
Renowned curator and writer Julie Ewington noted the exhibition represents a shift in collective consciousness, that has led to the renewed recognition of female artists and their cultural significance throughout history.
“One hundred years ago, art museums were seen as sanctified spaces for art from the past; repositories of recognised greatness. That recognition was almost entirely gender-specific: the great artists of the past were male – or so went conventional wisdom,” Ms Ewington said.
“Today those certainties have been swept away; society has changed profoundly in the past 50 years and women have been claiming their place in every area of cultural life.”
Know My Name is part of an ongoing series of gender equity initiatives by the National Gallery to increase the representation of women artists who have often been omitted from published histories and public collections.
Curated by Senior Curator Australian Art Elspeth Pitt and Assistant Curator Australian Art Deirdre Cannon, the exhibition is drawn from a two-part presentation held at the National Gallery between 2020–2022 which was among the most comprehensive exhibitions of art by women assembled in Australia to date.
The exhibition enables everyone to celebrate and know the names of Australian women artists through their art and stories.
Also opening on the night as part of the Gallery’s regional artist showcase, are two solo exhibitions by Northern Rivers artist Anthony J. Walker and Gold Coast-based artist Anna Carey.
Anthony J. Walker, award-winning artist from the Yiman, Ghungalu and Gooreng Gooreng people of Central Queensland, draws inspiration from the landscape and coastlines of Southern Queensland, Northern New South Wales, and his grandparents’ Country.
His exhibition Saltwater Currents: First Nations Seascapes and Contemporary Artefacts from Saltwater Country is an invitation to be immersed in the coastline of the Northern Rivers.
“Drawing on my training as an Indigenous Park Ranger, these works are an expression of my deep appreciation for the environment and my firsthand experiences of caring for Country, particularly Saltwater Country,” Walker said.
Walker’s work includes themes of sharing, respect, collaboration, communication, and protection. Although subtle, the pattern work in his paintings is inextricable from the view – a covertly political acknowledgement of First Nations inherent sovereignty.
“I’ve chosen to paint in a style that purposefully appropriates colonial impressionist landscape painting techniques. By doing so, I’m claiming space in an arena – contemporary Australian figurative landscape painting – and contributing to the diversity of perspectives shared through this genre.”
Gold-Coast based artist Anna Carey will open her exhibition Madam Mystery. Known for her photographs of miniature architectural models, Carey’s latest series explores notions of escapism and memory.
“My works are a combination of architectural spaces from numerous places worldwide, they are local yet global, evoking a strange feeling of déjà-vu. The homogenised spaces create a memory that cannot be precisely pinpointed but instead give us a sense of coming from something within us,” she said.
Carey's constructed mis-en-scenes were started during the 2020 Covid-lockdown while she was based in Los Angeles. A boom in fortune-telling businesses was reported at this time, drawing Carey’s attention to their characteristics of neon signage, exotic names and use of fonts to communicate with viewers. Her works question the future of signage in the landscape as we continually rely more on our own devices to navigate to our destinations.
Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre Director Ingrid Hedgcock said the Winter Program conveyed important cultural topics across an expansive and varied body of work.
“We are thrilled to showcase the works of renowned Australian women artists alongside two of our incredible regional artists this Winter. These exhibitions include important themes relevant to all of us and we encourage everyone to visit and join us on one of the many related events,” Ms Hedgcock said.
All three exhibitions will be officially opened to the public on Friday 31 May with Gallery doors open from 6.15 pm.
Bookings are recommended via the Gallery website. Guests are invited to enjoy a pre-drink with spectacular views from the Apex Dining balcony before the official opening commences. Dinner reservations are to be made online via the Apex Dining website.
Public Programs:
Know My Name: Australian Women Artists Curator’s Floor Talk
Friday 31 May | 5 pm – 6 pm | $15/$10
Join Deirdre Cannon, Assistant Curator of Australia Art, National Gallery of Australia, for a fascinating exhibition floor talk. Be the first to see the exhibition and enjoy a celebratory drink in the Gallery Foyer. Stay afterwards for our Winter Opening Celebrations.
Bookings essential: events.humanitix.com/knmft
Winter Opening Celebrations
Friday 31 May | 6.15 pm for 6.30 pm speeches | Free
Join us for the opening celebrations for Know My Name: Australian Women Artists, a National Gallery Touring Exhibition; Madam Mystery by Anna Carey; and Saltwater Currents: First Nations Seascapes and Contemporary Artefacts from Saltwater Country by Anthony J. Walker.
Bookings recommended events.humanitix.com/may31
Meet the Artist: Anthony J. Walker in conversation with Robert Appo
Sunday 2 June | 2 – 3 pm | Free
Join Yiman, Ghungalu, Gooreng Gooreng artist Anthony J. Walker in conversation with Robert Appo, Aboriginal Project Officer, Byron Shire Council, as they discuss caring for Country and the exhibition Saltwater Currents: First Nations Seascapes and Contemporary Artefacts from Saltwater Country. Stay for a cuppa and afternoon tea in the Gallery Foyer.
Bookings recommended: events.humanitix.com/mtaaw
Art Play inspired by Anna Carey’s Madam Mystery
Wed 26, Fri 28 June (QLD School holidays)
Wed 10, Fri 12 July (NSW School holidays)
11 am – 1 pm | Free
Create a miniature architectural model inspired by Anna Carey’s exhibition Madam Mystery. Take your artwork home with you or leave your creation at the Gallery to be part of our imaginary streetscape.
No bookings required.
Gallery Playdate
Wednesday 7 August |9.30 – 10.30 am | $5
Fun, art-making session for children aged six months to five years and their carers. Based on the exhibition, Madam Mystery by artist Anna Carey. The session uses creative play to develop imagination and skill.
Bookings essential events.humanitix.com/trg-gpd-winter
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