Exhibitions
Portrait of a Lady brings together, for the first time, a stunning selection of paintings of women by one of Australia's most highly regarded portrait painters, Sir John Longstaff. In the late 19th and early 20th century only the affluent and those of a certain social standing were able to have their portraits painted, and the works in this show thus provide a fascinating insight into Australian history. Many of the portraits are of the wives of wealthy, notable men, yet several had distinguished careers of their own, including suffragette Rose Scott, the distinguished flower painter Rowan Ellis and the writer, poet, radio broadcaster, and Longstaff biographer, Nina Murdoch.
The portraits selected for this exhibition offer an opportunity to review the tradition of portrait painting through the career of a particularly talented and gifted painter, and to observe the development of Longstaff's style and technique over a period of five decades. Featuring works from SAM's collection as well as loans from the National Gallery of Victoria, the Art Gallery of NSW, the National Library and numerous private collections, this is one of the most significant exhibitions of Shepparton's most celebrated artist ever staged.
The 2011 Indigenous Ceramic Art Award (ICAA) celebrates and supports the rich, vibrant and diverse use of the ceramic medium by Indigenous Australian artists. With a combined prize pool of $33,000 the ICAA is the premier award for Indigenous Australian ceramic artists. This year's award includes work by 18 artists from across Australia: from the Tiwi Islands to the Central Desert region, and from city suburbs to the Torres Strait.
The 2011 ICAA also pays tribute to the generosity and achievements of Thapich Dr Gloria Fletcher AO, patron of the ICAA, in an accompanying exhibition of the artist's work from SAM's collection.
A program of workshops and talks will accompany the 2011 ICAA exhibition.
Melbourne-based Polish artist Gosia Wlodarczak will be undertaking the first Drawing Wall project for 2012 to coincide with the launch of SAM, on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 February. Wlodarczak will be creating a site-specific performance based drawing translating what she sees into an automatic drawing across the Drawing Wall.
Check out Gosia's website www.gosiawlodarczak.com
ABC Open Producers Matt Dowling and Benj Binks interviewed Gosia on her work and The Drawing Wall. Check it out here: http://vimeo.com/37102248
Permanent SAM exhibition
The redevelopment of the Art Museum included the construction of six new collection galleries across the first floor. The new spaces have been specifically designed to showcase the strengths of the collection and provide themed rooms that highlight the breadth and depth of SAM's holdings while allowing a far greater proportion of the collection to be displayed at any one time.
Historically SAM's collections have been exhibited separately,
with ceramics on the ground floor and important paintings on the
first. Conversely, the new hang integrates the collections,
enabling them to provide context to each other and
for ideas to be explored across mediums. For example, John Perceval
and Arthur Boyd's painting and works on paper are exhibited
alongside their ceramics for the first time, providing insight into
the intersections between the development
of ceramic art forms and Australian art more broadly. The
Collection exhibition also features historical paintings (including
work by Fred Williams, Arthur Streeton and Frederick McCubbin),
contemporary art in all media (including work by Aleks Danko,
Patricia Piccinini, Tracey Moffatt and Sam Jinks), together with a
display focussing on highlights of 100 years of Australian
ceramics.
Providing a new direction in the delivery of arts education in the Hume region, Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) partnered with Numurkah Primary School to deliver a 20 week ceramic art project during semester 2. SAM education staff and renowned artists have worked with Numurkah teachers to inspire creative ideas in art making and skills development while promoting social engagement and personal learning through the arts.
Selected Little Treasures from each student will be on display at the Launch Party of Shepparton Art Museum on Saturday 18 February 2012 until April 2012. With the reopening of the Art Museum students will be further encouraged to run some of their own workshops and exhibition tours for the general public. A Little Treasures exhibition catalogue will also be published.
The Little Treasures: Exploring Ourselves Through Clay program, was funded through Arts Victoria's, Education Partnerships: Extended School Residencies program. It is one of seven successful arts based proposals to receive funding and support through this program in 2011.
