Art Almanac May/June 2020 Issue | SPECIAL EDITION

Art Almanac May / June 2020 $6

Prudence Flint Friendship as a Way of Life NIRIN

Art Almanac May / June 2020

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Contact Editor – Chloe Mandryk cmandryk@art-almanac.com.au Assistant Editor – Alice Dingle adingle@art-almanac.com.au Art Director – Paul Saint National Advertising – Laraine Deer ldeer@art-almanac.com.au Digital Editor – Melissa Pesa mpesa@art-almanac.com.au Editorial Assistant – Penny McCulloch listing@art-almanac.com.au Accounts – Penny McCulloch accounts@art-almanac.com.au T 02 9901 6398 F 02 9901 6116 Locked Bag 5555, St Leonards NSW 1590 art-almanac.com.au

We acknowledge and pay our respect to the many Aboriginal nations across this land, traditional custodians, Elders past and present; in particular the Guringai people of the Eora Nation where Art Almanac has been produced.

This special edition of Art Almanac celebrates art as an essential experience. With galleries and events prioritising our collective wellbeing, Art Almanac’s role as a guide to ‘what’s on’ has expanded to the digital realm and to hold space for the emotional and financial value of art.

Our features in this print issue on ‘NIRIN’, Prudence Flint’s new paintings, the show ‘Friendship as a way of life’ and two reports on funding (or lack thereof) for the arts, as well as the effect of cancellations and postponed shows, encircle and reflect the importance of community, a founding principle for us as a magazine, and also a renewed focus in our everyday lives.

Speaking of connection, we revisit touring exhibitions that continue online and in new regions of Australia. As always we spotlight artist and industry opportunities, and send our best wishes for your applications to be realised.

The team at Art Almanac extend a big thank you to the galleries and artists who supported this issue for May and June. Your community is vital to Art Almanac, which at almost 50 years now feels like family.

Cover

Prudence Flint, The Wish, 2020, oil on linen, 122 x 102cm Courtesy the artist and Fine Arts, Sydney

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Head On(line) Photo Festival In a first for Sydney’s annual ‘Head On Photo Festival’ the 2020 iteration delivered its diverse public program solely online. From 2 to 17 May, audiences engaged with over 100 exhibitions capturing the complexities of contemporary life, from politics to expressions of identity, sexuality and ageing. Web events included live stream artist talks, panel discussions, critiques and photography workshops conducted by prominent photographers such as Obed Wagenstien and industry experts from Adobe and Sony.

Festival Director, Moshe Rosenzveig OAM said ‘In these challenging times when community is needed more than ever, the 2020 Festival offers a platform for learning, discussion, new ideas and community support.’

In conjunction with the festival, on 1 May, the Head On Awards were presented. Australian photographer Fiona Wolf took out the Portrait Prize, Mullengudgerybased Marcia Macmillan was awarded the Landscape Prize, and Joel Parkinson received the 2020 Student Prize. head-on.com.au Anna Bedynska, from the series ‘Clothes for Death’ Courtesy the artist and Head On Photo Festival 2020

Prototype Care Package Prototype, an independently-run online cinematheque, is delivering a series of projects in response to lockdown; direct to your inboxes, weekly. The ‘Prototype Care Package’ provides audiences with creative encounters, community and solace during home isolation with new or reedited experimental short films, moving image art, video essays and the undefined.

Artists Sarah Hadley, Robert Nugent, Sam Smith, Pilar Mata Dupont, Esther Carlin, Malena Szlam, Leyla Stevens, Tiyan Baker, Amelia Hine, Sari Braithwaite, and Allison Chhorn offer reimagined possibilities of the present by exploring new landscapes and modes of communication.

From ‘outback picnic stands’ and mineral extraction sites, to racing pigeons and flying mail, the psychoanalysis of a fictitious tyrant, and restraints of language, as well as social distancing themes of distance, touch and disgust. youaretheprototype.art Robert Nugent, Picnic Places Courtesy the artist and Prototype

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Art Without Borders Touring exhibitions play a pivotal role in connecting the arts community. They provide access to collections, and permit collaboration between cultural bodies, ensure access to a broader audience and encourage artistic dialogue with our neighbours. So what happens when we batten down the hatches, not only at home but from state to territory? When enforced restrictions disconnect us from physically viewing art, how do we respond?

With touring programs currently on hold as galleries across the country are temporarily closed, we look to new modes of transport; the offline becomes online, and the physical shifts to virtual, proving that accessibility to the arts is boundless. Below is a selection of touring exhibitions, previously published in Art Almanac; to read, view, and explore from the comfort of your home, or to add to your arts calendar.

Defying Empire: 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial ‘We defy: By existing; By determining our identity; By asserting our histories; our culture; our language; By telling our stories, our way; By being one of the oldest continuous living cultures in the world,’ states Tina Baum, NGA Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art. ‘Defying Empire: 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial’ brings the works of 30 contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists from across the country into the national spotlight. “Defying Empire’’, writes Yolande Norris, ‘is fierce, uncompromising and impactful.’ It focuses on the ongoing strength of Australia’s Indigenous people, exploring issues of identity, racism, displacement, country, nuclear testing, sovereignty and the stolen generations, and the power of activism.

‘It’s defiance clear from the outset, heralded by Reko Rennie’s video installation OA_RR, 2017. Taking control behind the wheel of a vividly painted vintage Rolls Royce, Rennie careens over the landscape, turning burnouts in the red dust, leaving clouds to settle. The video sets a tone that simmers beneath the work of the 40

triennial’s 30 artists across a diverse array of media; an electricity, a tension and assertiveness.

Throughout there is a directness of intent and boldness of scale – with works of great size, skill and structural complexity. Pieces by master weaver Yvonne Koolmatrie, shell necklaces

by Lola Greeno and the commanding Eastern Island Warrior headdress (2014) by Ken Thaiday Snr are immediate examples of cultural practice in deft contemporary motion.

Early on the show begins to examine the strength in reclamation – or a RE FORMATION, in keeping with the title of Megan Cope’s eloquent installation – forming new narratives and readings of history and the present. Recent works by Jonathan Jones, Brook Andrew and Tony Albert are arresting with alternate interpretations of historic imagery and ephemera.

Others, including Raymond Zada, scrutinise, disrupt and interrupt matters of race and identity in the digital age and era of image saturation. As outlined in the accompanying wall text, “By resisting rigid notions of what Indigenous art is, refusing populist views of history and challenging stereotypes, artists continue to use their art as visual tools of resistance, replacing physical weaponry with wit, satire and juxtaposition to challenge and confront.”

– Yolande Norris, Art Almanac, July 2017 On show at the National Gallery of Australia in 2017; Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory and UQ Art Museum in 2018, followed by Western Plains Cultural Centre and Mildura Arts Centre in 2019, and currently at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney from 23 May to 18 October 2020.

Yvonne Koolmatrie, River Dreaming, 2012 National Gallery of Australia, Canberra Purchased 2016 Reko Rennie, OA_RR 2017, 3-channel high-definition film, sound, duration 8 mins Photograph: Justin McManus Courtesy the artist and Blackartprojects Courtesy National Gallery of Australia, Australian Capital Territory

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Create Australia’s Future Alice Dingle Art asks important questions and in doing so reminds us of the world we want to create. Art is a model for policy innovation, and the time for advocacy is now.

As Australians, we are currently in a fortunate position with avenues of financial support at a national level, devised to reduce the burden COVID-19 is driving. In terms of targeted stimulus relief for the arts, the federal government announced on April 9 a $27 million package – made up of $10 million for regional artists and organisations, $7 million to support Indigenous artists and art centres, and $10 million for Support Act, a charity that delivers crisis relief to artists, crew and music workers. State, Territory and Local Governments around the country have also redirected or reinstated funding for arts related activities of varying sums and qualifying factors.

Where does this place in line with international responses?

Germany has elected to invest AUD$84 billion in culture, with a special focus on freelance workers, the UK have announced a AUD$320 million arts package, and in Canada AUD$550 million will be directed to its arts, culture and sports sectors. In terms of cultural funding, Australia ranks 26th out of 33 measured in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations.

Conservative estimates from a report produced in April 2020 by The Australia Institute found that the creative arts contributed $14.7 billion to Australia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2017-18 (approximately 0.8% of the total GDP). More broadly, the Bureau of Communications and Art Research found that cultural and creative activity contributed $111.7 billion (6.4%) to GDP in 2016-17.

In 2019, 193,600 Australians were employed in creative arts – more than finance (190,600), accommodation (97,500), electricity supply (65,000) or coal mining (49,600). We promote ourselves as a creative nation, in recent reports the Australian Trade Commission spruiks arts and entertainment industries to foreign investors and importers with artists such as Ben Quilty and Tracey Moffatt.

Despite this, in the ten-year period from 2007/8 to 2017/18 government arts funding fell 18.9% in real terms (considering inflation and population grown) found a study conducted by 50

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Behind Closed Doors Laraine Deer

Social distancing measures put the onus on galleries and artists to rapidly re-think how to share their work with audiences. For most, the answer was to close and thrive online. However, artists whose work was either scheduled to open, or already on display, felt the sting of this swift, yet necessary response. Meanwhile, with a second wave of upcoming exhibitions due to be installed also postponed, they were gifted some extra time to digitise their shows. I spoke with several artists who work with drawing, painting and sculpture to comment on the extraordinary situation that they found themselves in.

At Australian Galleries, Sydney, all the preliminary work had finished and the show had been hung. It was opening night for Camie Lyons who was uncertain of what to expect. Her fears allayed when many people did attend to share in the celebrations of the artist’s first exhibition with the gallery. Delighted with the audience response who ventured out on that night, she commented ‘it was still a beautiful evening and I felt way more supported than expected, people must have decided to come out for one last hurrah before shutdown. I was grateful so many felt that way.’

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Melbourne Art Fair Online Viewing Rooms 1 to 7 June, 2020

Following the postponement of the 2020 Melbourne Art Fair, one of Australasia’s most progressive forums for contemporary art and ideas, the Melbourne Art Foundation in partnership with Ocula presents a new digital viewing platform, showcasing artworks intended for this year’s fair.

Participating galleries such as Anna Schwartz Gallery, Despard Gallery, GAGPROJECTS | Greenaway Art Gallery, Jan Murphy Gallery and Sullivan+Strumpf will host a series of digital experiences including studio visits, collector interviews and exhibition viewings.

Kate Tucker, Combiner, 2020, linen, calico, watercolour, acrylic, acrylic medium, paper, cardboard, earthware base, 44 x 33 x 10cm Photograph: Matthew Stanton Courtesy the artist and Daine Singer, Melbourne

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recess presents ACE Open Until 24 July, 2020 South Australia From digital to physical space, and back again; ‘recess presents’ was to be shown in the ACE Open gallery, forming a dedicated investigation of experimental video in a physical space. Now, in what curator Olivia Koh calls a circular turn, the exhibition can be seen online. Each week, a new video screen will appear, streaming for two weeks only; ‘As one work is phased out another appears, so that the sequenced works inform each other like a string of sentences, or a body spinning in the landscape.’

James Nguyen, The Magic Pudding/Bánh Thần (still), 2019 Courtesy the artists: James Nguyen, Nguyễn Thị Kim Dung and Nguyễn Thị Kim Nhung, and ACE Open, South Australia

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Nick Santoro

Not Young or Free!

The Egg & Dart 1 to 13 June, 2020 New South Wales

Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative Online

Nick Santoro has developed a colloquial ‘jokey’ language in his practice, a product of his interest in different cultural worlds and their coding. His super flat paintings with fragmented cultural and historical references reposition the global with, and within the local. Health fads, office technology, motor vehicles and kitchen remnants are strewn outside urban scenes, with recognisable figures precariously wedged between. For Santoro’s solo exhibition, The Egg & Dart have crafted a richly illustrated online catalogue of exhibited works.

Responding to the 250 year anniversary of Cook’s arrival in Australia and its debilitating effects, this exhibition presents two key ideas tabled by Boomalli; ’We are not young: As Aboriginal people, we come from the world’s oldest living culture. We are not free: Since colonisers stepped foot on this land, Aboriginal peoples have faced the forefront of this so-called great arrival, which has led to devastation and mistreatment of Aboriginal peoples in Australia.’

Culburra 626, 2020, acrylic on board, 50 x 50cm Courtesy the artist and The Egg & Dart, New South Wales

Dennis Golding, Beyond the coastal watch, 2019, digital image Courtesy the artist and Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative, Sydney

Bessie Davidson & Sally Smart Two artists and the Parisian avant-garde Bendigo Art Gallery Until 21 June, 2020 Victoria

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Affirmation Koorie Heritage Trust Until 26 July, 2020 Melbourne

Bessie Davidson was an Australian artist who moved to Paris to pursue art in the early 20th century. Explore her ‘modern French impressionist’ style of painting – with lightfilled domestic interiors, landscapes and women at leisure – displayed in the gallery, and viewable online; alongside works by her great-niece, Sally Smart. Interviews with the contemporary artist, curator Tansy Curtin and exhibition essays are also accessible, with an excerpt from Smart’s new film installation that draws on Davidson’s relationship with artist and friend, Margaret Preston.

‘Affirmation’ is a phrase that encapsulates both truth-telling and the feeling of validation.

It’s also the name of a photographic group exhibition celebrating the stories of First Nations peoples, historically obscured and manipulated. Paola Balla (Wemba Wemba, Gunditjmara), Deanne Gilson (Wadawurrung), Tashara Roberts (Dja Dja Wurrung, Yorta Yorta) and Pierra Van Sparkes (Pibbulman) – multidisciplinary Indigenous artists will share what is personal to narratives about place, ancestral identity and cultural pride. Live stream tours are available online as well as a video exhibition and catalogue.

Sally Smart, Paris Performance: Twilight (still) with dancers Deanne Butterworth and Jo Lloyd, 2019 Photograph: Jeff Busby Courtesy the artist and Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria

Paola Balla (Wemba Wemba, Gunditjmara), The Mok Mok Cooking Show II, 2016, digital pigment print on 188gsm photorag, 60 x 84cm Collection of the artist Courtesy the artist and Koorie Heritage Trust, Melbourne

Thank You Our sincere thanks go to the galleries and artists listing in this issue of Art Almanac.

Please note that due to spatial distancing restrictions at the time of printing, not all listings will appear in this issue.

Be sure to check our website for changes, or contact the gallery.

Art Almanac is proud to showcase our vibrant and resilient art community.

Thank you for sharing your art with Australia!

To list in our next issue, send your material to listings@art-almanac.com.au

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Artist Opportunities We have selected a few galleries and funding bodies calling for submissions for Art Awards, Artist Engagements, Grants, Public Art, Residency Programs, Exhibition Proposals and more.

Enjoy, and good luck!

The Alice Prize 2020

We congratulate Arrernte and Kalkadoon artist Thea Anamara Perkins, who was announced as the 2020 winner of the 41st Alice Prize for her work Tent Embassy. The acquisitive Prize is one of Australia’s oldest and most prestigious regional contemporary art prizes.

Perkins’ winning entry, an acrylic on clayboard painting, was inspired by a photograph of her grandfather and aunt, taken during a land rights protest held outside Old Parliament House, Canberra.

She explained that ‘This image is reflective of the way that politics was personal for my grandfather, and that he dedicated his life to the fight for justice for our people.’

Tent Embassy is now part of the Araluen Art Collection, which includes 192 artworks acquired by the Alice Springs Art Foundation since the inception of the Alice Prize in 1970 – the longevity of the Prize has resulted in the Araluen Art Collection cataloguing shifts and developments in Australian contemporary art. Since the Prize’s origin 50 years ago it has been judged by leading figures of the Australian art industry.

The judge of the 2020 iteration and Art Gallery of South Australia Director, Rhana Devenport ONZM said that Perkins ‘Has honed her attention on a singular moment in time that has both great personal and political potency. Her exquisite jewel-like embrace of painting and its potential reinvigorates realism and conveys both familial tenderness and profound historic change in this country.’

Highly Commended entries were awarded to works from Gerwyn Davies, Grace Kemarre Robinya, Fiona Foley and Peter Mungkuri.

In light of the COVID-19 restrictions, the exhibition of finalists can be viewed online. aliceprize.com

City of Melbourne Assistance for Creatives during COVID-19 Our congratulations go to the 226 artists who are the first round recipients of the newly founded ‘Coronavirus Response Community Grants’ from the City of Melbourne, which will assist individual artists and creative organisations impacted by the pandemic.

During this challenging time, the quick financial relief for Melbourne-based creatives will support them to develop new works, translate artistic works and performances to a virtual space, and provide support while social distancing measures are in place.

Grant recipient Joseph O’Farrell (JOF) Photograph: Tom Salisbury Thea Anamara Perkins, Tent Embassy, 2020, acrylic on clayboard, 40.5 x 30.5cm Courtesy the artist and Alice Springs Art Foundation

Melbourne Lord Mayor, Sally Capp said ‘The arts sector is intrinsically linked to Melbourne’s brand and supports jobs in our night time economy and our Art & Industry 87

Federation Square CBD West End Art Space

137 Adderley Street, West Melbourne 3003.

T 0415-243-917.

E westendartspace@gmail.com W www.westendartspace.com.au Director: Anna Prifti. H Open by appt.

Like an alchemist in the lab, Jenny Reddin strives in her studio to produce what she couldn’t possibly achieve using traditional methods. From time to time she will accept a commission to paint a portrait which counts as an intellectual exercise, but she loves to return to the process of chance, accident and randomness and the use of gravity as her paintbrush.

Flinders Lane Anna Schwartz Gallery

185 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 3000.

T (03) 9654-6131.

E mail@annaschwartzgallery.com W www.annaschwartzgallery.com Director: Anna Schwartz.

H Due to COVID-19 the gallery is currently closed until such time as is safe to reopen.

Continuing Groups + Pairs 2016-2020 by John Nixon.

Stephen McLaughlan Gallery

Level 8, Room 16, 37 Swanston Street (cnr Flinders Lane), Melbourne 3000.

T 0407-317-323.

E st73599@bigpond.net.au W stephenmclaughlangallery.com.au Director: Stephen McLaughlan.

H Currently closed.

The original 2020 exhibition list remains on the gallery website for the time being. Once normalcy returns and light is glimpsed at the end of the tunnel all shows listed after “April 15th” will be part of a refreshed 2020-2021 program (with the exact order and dates to be determined).

Jenny Reddin, symmetry, 2019, mixed media on canvas, 150 x 120cm Courtesy the artist and West End Art Space Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, December 1994; ‘View’, inaugural group show featuring, Kevin Lincoln’s Two Guitars Courtesy Stephen McLaughlan Gallery

102 Melbourne

Civic Inner North ANCA Gallery

1 Rosevear Place, Dickson 2602.

T (02) 6247-8736.

E gallery@anca.net.au W www.anca.net.au H Currently closed but open online.

ANCA’s website is also hosting studio tours, public symposiums, art making activities for artists, students and families, an ANCA Book Club, Sunday Session exhibition archive insights with ANCA’s Gallery Attendants and ANCA publications, all free and launched online during May/June.

Greater Canberra Belconnen Arts Centre

118 Emu Bank, Belconnen 2617.

T (02) 6173-3300.

E hello@belcoarts.com.au W www.belcoarts.com.au H Currently closed but open online.

Belco Arts is proud to present our first online exhibition, F A C E Unframed. Visit online and vote for your favourite work for the $500 People’s Choice Award: belcoarts.com.au/face-unframed During COVID-19, Belco Arts is programing a series of exciting new online exhibitions, workshops and performances to continue to support artists and communities throughout this challenging time.

Foreshore Southside Beaver Galleries

81 Denison Street, Deakin 2600.

T (02) 6282-5294.

E mail@beavergalleries.com.au W www.beavergalleries.com.au Directors: Martin & Susie Beaver (member of ACGA).

H Canberra’s largest private gallery is currently open by appointment. Please view our extensive gallery stockroom on our website. Online exhibitions: to June 24 Graham Fransella paintings and works on paper.

Also, Benjamin Edols and Kathy Elliott studio glass.

May 28 to June 14 Peter Boggs landscapes and interiors paintings, plus contemporary porcelain – a group exhibition with work by Alice Couttopes, Neville French, Shannon Garson, Keiko Matsui, Prue Venables and Kevin White.

Rachel Roberts, Gracie, nearly 105 Courtesy the artist and Belconnen Arts Centre

Graham Fransella, Crossing, gouache, 150 x 200cm Courtesy the artist and Beaver Galleries

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