Northern Rivers Community Gallery & Ignite Studios
ANNUAL PROGRAM JAN UAR Y - D EC EM B ER 2022
CONTENTS About Us
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Mayoral Message + Welcome
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Exhibition Program
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Artistic Program
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Artist-In-Residence Program
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Ignite Studios
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Getting Involved
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Support Us
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About Us The NRCG, with Ignite Studios is a community-engaged cultural hub in the Northern Rivers region working with local, regional and national communities. We collaborate with artists, communities and organisations to build capacity, create opportunities and drive social change. We are a regional contemporary arts space providing a platform for important conversations and cultural exchange. Our professional cultural facility includes four exhibition spaces, subsidised creative studios, accessible workshop and event spaces enabling the production and presention of culturally relevant programs and creative works with, for and by local, regional and national communities and artists. Images: (cover) Miriam Salomon, Survivors, 2021; (above) Awakenings: The Making of Things Impossible (video still), (right) Exhibition Installation view, A SPRUNG!! + Andrew Christie Collaborative Project, 2021 Exhibition Program.
NRCG - a place where community conversations and cultural celebration happen.
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Mayoral Message The 2022 program of upcoming exhibitions looks diverse, vibrant and exciting, highlighting the outstanding works that the Northern Rivers Community Gallery is famous for. After the difficulties the Gallery faced in 2020/21, due to the pandemic, it’s really pleasing that all facets of the Gallery and Ignite Studios will be back on track delivering the best of exhibitions and workshops with wonderful artistic programs on offer. Hopefully 2022 exhibitions will return to the great opening nights from pre-covid times. Hearing the artists telling of inspirations behind their works adds substantial meaning to each exhibition. Thanks to all our volunteers and I hope that you again offer your valuable services after your forced break. Without your valuable help, the Gallery would not operate as well as it does. I would invite any prospective volunteers to communicate with the Gallery if you have time to spare and you enjoy a stimulating workplace. Again I congratulate Lee and her dedicated staff, as well as our incredible volunteers, for making the Northern Rivers Community Gallery a must see for any visitor to the region. The delightful food experience garnered from the Gallery Café works hand in hand with the Gallery in promoting a wonderful tourist destination.
Mayor David Wright
Welcome Once again I welcome visitors and community to visit or get involved in one of the many programs we have planned for the year ahead during 2022. The last few years have thrown us in the arts industry a few curve balls to say the least - but like a fresh dewy morning after a storm I’m excited by the opporutnity to re-imagine what was and road test new and exciting ways to engage our audiences with arts and cultural experiences. This year’s program will showcase some outstanding talent from across the region and beyond; welcome back our workshop programming along with some yet to be announced special events still in development to be announced later in the year that are sure to delight audiences of all ages. If you’re not already... I highly recommend connecting with us via socials or signing up to our e-news because you seriously don’t wan’t to be the last to hear about what we have lined up for the year ahead. Myself, the team and volunteers look forward to reigniting your creative life in 2022! Lee Mathers Co-Ordinator Gallery + Ignite Studios Image: Light Graffiti, Youth Mentorship Program, 2019
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exhibition program
Breaking Through: Transition to Transformation Anne Leon, Potts, Michael Baker + Belle Budden
In Absentia Jill Runciman, Katie Alleva + Rebecca Tapscott
JANUARY EXHIBITIONS 12 January - 6 March 2022
This exhibition is a cross-cultural artistic exploration of the processes of healing through fire, flood and COVID-19. Uniquely, this exhibition is an innovative collaboration between four local multi-disciplinary artists who originally came together for a community arts project for Aboriginal Women, will document and reflect on their journeys from isolation to connection. Image: Michael Baker + Belle Budden, Sudden and Irreversible Change (detail), 2021
In Absentia looks at the impact absence has on the physical, environmental and emotional landscape. Using a vast variety of media, including painting, printmaking, and photographic techniques, each of the artists explores the idea of absence to create uniquely different yet complementary works exploring the emotional and aesthetic power of absence and loss in all of its interpretations. Image: Katie Alleva, In Her Absence (detail), 2021
My Hands Hold Everything Portia Sarris
My Hands Hold Everything is a body of work that aims to reduce the disparity of what is felt and what is communicated. The delicate and disorientating age of adolescence is explored through collage and handwritten text, overlaying photographs that emphasis the enduringly sensitive and intricate body and mind. Image: Portia Sarris, Red Rocks (detail), 2019
3 Jodi Woodward, Katrina Hill + Eliza McInnes
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3 is an investigation into colour and pigment – three artists, three colours, three works each - creating a cohesive installation bound together, yet individually considered - combining the known and unknown. Image: Eliza McInnes, Untitled (detail), 2021
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exhibition program
Verringern Judith Leuenberger
MARCH EXHIBITIONS 9 March - 1 May 2022
Judith Leuenberger is an English Artist. Inspired by the North Yorkshire stormy skies. This exhibition of landscape paintings reflects her fascination with natures changing moods. These paintings explore the quality of light in the Australian skies compared with the moody and often turbulent British Skies. Image: Judith Leuenberger, Evening shimmer, 2021
Dressed for Desire Lauren McCartney
Dressed for Desire explores the guilt associated with the stillness of the female body during lockdown periods and the pressure put on women to not only survive COVID-19 but to ‘refine’ our bodies as we do so. Drawing from indulgence, excess and the abject, the body is framed as absurd homewares in a parody of women’s roles. Image: Lauren McCartney, Bloom, 2021
12 Gauge Rae Saheli
Rae Saheli’s art work is defined by a process in which she uses a 12-gauge shot gun aimed at various supports to create explosive and gestural artworks. Saheli has been using this technique since 2019 and it represents a synthesis between her passion for the sport of shooting and the power of art to be at once dynamic and beautiful. Image: Rae Saheli, Explosive Shot, 2020
Wun-ga-li Ngurrambaa Winanga-li (Return to Birthplace to listen, hear, know, remember) Debbie Taylor Worley 06
Returning to Gamilaraay country in order to reconnect both bodily and spiritually to the places of her Ancestors and sites significant to her childhood, Debbie Taylor Worley sits in Winanga-li, the principle of sitting meditatively on country, to listen, learn and to remember. Wun-ga-li Ngurrambaa Winanga-li draws the artist back to home, to reflect the power and survival of Indigenous culture and nature, amid the destruction caused by capitalism, greed, and disrespect for our mother, the earth. Image: Debbie Taylor Worley, When the creeks flow, 2020
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exhibition program
Earthly Delights Kade Valja
MAY EXHIBITIONS 4 May - 26 June 2022
Kade Valja continues to explore the human experience from the inside-out with this collection of work inspired by the simple and oftentimes overlooked depth and wisdom encrypted on the surfaces of earthly forms as well as the decay of man-made materials. Image: Kade Valja, Buoyancy 2, 2021
Souvenirs for the Present Julia Champtaloup
Images in Souvenirs for the Present seek to encourage people to observe the living world more closely, to be aware in the present moment what comfort might be found close at hand in local ecosystems and in the regeneration of fire affected landscape. Finding beauty in the present moment during uncertain times is also a metaphor for finding closer connections with those around us and our local community. Image: Julia Chaptaloup, Green and Black, 2020
Threads Penny Bennett
The artist creates a tempting tactile quality in this series of works by combining layered and textured pen, paper, and textiles. Utilizing diverse techniques such as stippling, sewing, and felting to explore Abstraction, the artist reflects on their relationship with time, movement, and nature. Image: Penny Bennett, Blue Circle 1, 2020
Beyond the Bucket List Lea KannarLichtenberger
Antarctica, the iconic landscape on many a travellers ‘Bucket List’ is the focus of this exhibition. Lea KannarLichtenberger explores through a range of different mediums how our contemporary consumer culture through tourism is impacting on this remote location. Lea’s interdisciplinary vision gives an examination of the juxtaposition between wanting to preserve an environmentally critical ecosystem and the travellers desire to go and explore such sensitive areas. Image: Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger, Unhappy Feet, 2018
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exhibition program
SCU 2021 Graduate Award Max Taylor
JULY EXHIBITIONS 29 June - 21 August 2022
Presented in partnership with Southern Cross University (SCU), this exhibition showcases the work of a recent graduate from the Bachelor of Art and Design (BAD) Undergraduate program. The award supports the promotion and development of outstanding emerging graduates from the BAD undergraduate program and presents exciting emerging art practices to local audiences. Image: Max Taylor, 2021 Award Recipient, Bezos Lightyear, 2021
Noumenal Imaginary: Landscapes of the inner world Michael Chapus
The question, ‘how could inner workings of the body be expressed visually?’ arose during a visit to the hospital, while observing the electro cardiogram displaying the vital signs in slow moving waves. Those fleeting images, being electronic impulses without representable form, non-phenomenal or noumenal, can only be grasped with the faculties of the mind. We might say we can think of it without being able to have references to abstract ideas. Image: Michael Chapus, Reminiscence, 2019
Renew Mary Dorahy
Along open tracks by the sea and through the forests of the Northern Rivers, Dorahy observes landscapes where destruction is followed by resilience, defiance and regeneration. The idea of renewal is reflected in her practice of reviving discarded prints with new ideas and new images. Image: Mary Dorahy, Goonengerry, 2021
The Annual Grace Cruice Memorial Exhibition BACCI
Presented by the members of the Ballina Arts & Crafts Centre Incorporated (BACCI), this exhibition is a tribute to Grace Cruice and her vision showcasing the best works created by BACCI members. Image: Rosie Kaplan, Over There, 2021
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exhibition program
Origin Nathalie Dahlgren
SEPTEMBER EXHIBITIONS 24 August - 16 October 2022
Nathalie is a Swedish born artist based locally in the Northern Rivers. Her paintings explore her Scandinavian origins and the ancient past with references to stone carvings, birch forests and Norse culture. Image: Nathalie Dahlgren, Norrland (Northland) (detail), 2021
Stories of the Big Scrub Tom Wolff
Only 1% of the lowland subtropical rainforest known as the Big Scrub still remains on Bundjalung and Githabul Country. Wide-scale deforestation has reduced these majestic forests to isolated remnants scattered across the region. This exhibition of 35mm film photos, seeks out the stories embedded in these surviving pockets – a living lineage to Gondwana. Image: Tom Wolff, The Forest Reclaims (detail), 2021
Into the Canopy Claire Yerbury
In this body of work, Claire reaches up, out and through the canopy, exploring this world and how it changes with the flow of day and night, growth and decay, movement and stillness. She seeks to honour its beauty and natural ability to thrive way above and beyond the bumbling of human chaos below. Image: Claire Yerbury, Night Moves, 2021
In the Meantime Miriam Salomon
An immersive installation borne of the artist’s ludic explorations of the no-longer-useful. Image: Miriam Salomon, Tenuous, 2021
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exhibition program
BSA Graduate Award
NOVEMBER EXHIBITIONS 19 October - 11 December 2022
Presented in partnership with the Byron School of Art (BSA), this exhibition showcases the work of a recent graduate as part of the NRCG’s Annual Program. Now in its sixth year, the award supports the promotion and professional development of outstanding emerging graduates from the BSA three year course and presents exciting new talents to local audiences.
Image: BSA Graduate Exhibition installation view, 2019
Paddock Bashing Nikki Morgan-Smith
This exhibition explores how dyslexia impacts and influences ways of understanding and interpreting the landscape through art practice. As a dyslexic, I am interested in exploring how my ability to think in pictures rather than words (which is typical of dyslexia). This work explores place and space and how being dyslexic is a catalyst to insight and innovation in understanding landscape/place and space rather than only a means to dysfunction and disability. Image: Nikki Morgan-Smith, Expanded Feel 2, 2021
BAM Finalist Art Prize 2022
Presented by Byron Arts Magazine (BAM) in partnership with Northern Rivers Community Gallery (NRCG). The BAM Art Prize promotes awareness of the arts in the Northern Rivers by presenting a national art prize within the region. The Finalist Exhibition showcases finalist artworks shortlisted for the 2022 prize.
Image: 2021 BAM Finalist Exhibiton installation view, 2021
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artistic programs lifelong learning
For young makers and curious adults, NRCG artistic programs will spark your imagination and unleash your inner artist. Programs are led by professional artists and diverse creative partners in an accessible, supportive environment. Develop a creative skill, meet your creative community and enjoy some art-making with friends, families or fellow artists. Visit the ‘What’s On’ section of the NRCG website and sign-up to our E-News for information on upcoming events, community intiatives, workshops and more nrcgballina.com.au Bookings essential to secure a place in all workshops and events.
Image: (left) Ignite Youth Animator, The Unbeatable Pac-Man’s Last Race - Stop Motion film still; (top) Behind the Scenes, Southern Cross Distance Education Students, 2021
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artistic programs Ignite Studios
artistic programs Ignite Studios
Artist-in-Residence (AiR) Program
Creative Studios
The AiR initiative offers residencies between 4 -12 weeks, to allow artists time and space to expand on their artistic practice, research and experiment with new ideas or ways of working, and engage with community. Northern Rivers Community Gallery (NRCG) works closely with the local community, and places emphasis on collaboration of all kinds. We encourage creative practices that connect with people and place. Resident artists have the opportunity to engage with the NRCG annual artistic program activities including lectures, artist talks, workshops, open studios, exhibitions, performances, site-specific activations or collaborations with local community groups and organisations.
Ignite studios aims to build creative capacity and entrepreneurship, by offering subsidised work spaces for creative businesses. Studio spaces are available with the option to renew on a six or twelve month lease agreement in Ballina’s newest creative hub.
Applications are open to Australian and international arts or cultural professionals from all creative disciplines, both emerging and established, from the quirky to obscure.
Ignite Creative Studios and Visiting Artist program provides our community an opportunity to observe professional arts practitioners creating and making in their studios, or participate in visiting artist community outreach programs, masterclasses, professional development and events. Image: Introduction to Abstraction workshop with Imbi Davidson, Ignite Studios, 2020
Image: Works-in-progress, Visiting Artist-in-Residence Carolyn Cardinet Studio, Ignite Studios, 2018
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artistic programs events
February - March 2022
Saturday 26 - Sunday 27 February 2022
Weaving Circle I Jugan Dandii
Join local weavers Tania Marlowe and Deb Cole from Jugan Dandii in a series of weaving circles throughout the year. Participants will be guided through a range of new techniques over a two day program each circle gathering session. This session will focus on coil basketry with foraged fibres. Join one or all circles to build your skills and techniques. (Attendance to both days essential) Adult (15 yrs +) Facilitator/s: Tania Marlowe + Deb Cole Image: Jugan Dandii, Weaving Circle, 2020 (photo: Andrew McDonald)
Saturday 26 March 2022
Shaping Place Debbie Taylor Worley
Participants will be taken on a journey to explore personal and shared ecological histories through the creation of terracotta pots that will then be carved or apply sgriffito technique to create texture. Debbie Taylor Worley is a Gamillaraay woman, originally from north west NSW and now residing in Banora Point. The artist’s practice reflects on the power and survival of Indigenous culture and nature. Her mixed media exhibition will be showing in the Gallery during March and April 2022. Adult (15 yrs +) Facilitator: Debbie Taylor Worley Image: Debbie Taylor Worley, Artist at Work, Hanging Rock, 2020
Weaving Circle II Jugan Dandii
Saturday 9 - Sunday 10 April 2022 Join local weavers Tania Marlowe and Deb Cole from Jugan Dandii in a series of weaving circles through-out the year. Participants will be guided through a range of new techniques over a two day program each circle gathering session. This session will focus on twining technique with with foraged fibres for bags, mats and structural objects. Join one or all circles to build your skills and techniques. Adult (15 yrs +) Facilitator/s: Tania Marlowe + Deb Cole Image: Jugan Dandii, Weaving Circle, 2020 (photo: Ben Wyeth)
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artistic programs events
Young Explorers SPECIAL SCHOOLS PROGRAM Lea KannarLichtenberger
June 2022
Wednesday 22 June 2022 Spanning art and science visiting artist Lea KannarLichtenberger will guide young explorers how to observe and represent the local river environment. Participants will use images of the local area to create drawings that talk not just about nature but also how humans have and are impacting on it. Facilitator: Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger Bookings Essential Image: Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger, Livington Sky Island, 2020 (photo: courtesy of the artist)
Artist Talk Lea KannarLichtenberger
Thursday 23 June 2022 Join artist Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger as she explores the environments of the Galapagos Islands, Lord Howe Island and Deception Island Antarctica. She will talk about her artistic exploration in her current exhibition showing in Gallery 4 as she looks through the lens of science in the hope to raise awareness about how humans’ impact on these environmentally sensitive areas. Facilitator: Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger Image: Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger, Whalers Bay Deception Island, 2020 (photo: Tristan Tyrrell)
Drawing the Journey Lea KannarLichtenberger
Saturday 25 June 2022 Visiting artist Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger will guide participants in the use of charcoal and graphite on paper to explore ways of representing the local river front. Participants will use images of the local area to create drawings that talk not just about nature but also how humans have and are impacting on it. Adult (15 yrs +) Facilitator: Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger Image: Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger, Drawing the Journey Workshop
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artistic programs events
Weaving Circle III Jugan Dandii
August - December 2022
Saturday 6 - Sunday 7 August 2022 Join local weavers Tania Marlowe and Deb Cole from Jugan Dandii in a series of weaving circles through-out the year. Participants will be guided through a range of new techniques over a two day program each circle gathering session. This session will focus on creating melon and framed baskets with local fibres. Join one or all circles to build your skills and techniques. Adult (15 yrs +) Facilitator/s: Tania Marlowe + Deb Cole Image: Jugan Dandii - Weaving Circle 2020 (photo: Andrew McDonald)
Weaving Circle IV Jugan Dandii
Saturday 8 - Sunday 9 October 2022 Join local weavers Tania Marlowe and Deb Cole from Jugan Dandii in a series of weaving circles through-out the year. Participants will be guided through a range of new techniques over a two day program each circle gathering session. This session will focus on creating melon and framed baskets with local fibres. Join one or all circles to build your skills and techniques. Adult (15 yrs +) Facilitator/s: Tania Marlowe + Deb Cole Image: Jugan Dandii - Weaving Circle 2020 (photo: Ben Wyeth)
Weaving Circle V Jugan Dandii
Saturday 10 - Sunday 11 December 2022 Join local weavers Tania Marlowe and Deb Cole from Jugan Dandii in this special festive weaving circle to create seasonal wreaths with local vines and native flora plus a day of random weave or melon baskets for small gift or harvest hamper baskets. Join in on this special last weaving circle for 2022. Adult (15 yrs +) Facilitator/s: Tania Marlowe + Deb Cole Image: Jugan Dandii - Weaving Circle 2020 (photo: Ben Wyeth)
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The Gallery Shop The NRCG Gallery Shop features locally handcrafted jewellery, giftware and greeting cards and is a popular destination for locals and visitors seeking special and unique gifts and homewares. If you are a local designer, artist or craftsperson and would like to apply to sell product in the Gallery Shop please contact the Gallery Services Officer via email at nrcg@ballina.nsw.gov.au.
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getting involved Applying to Exhibit The NRCG welcomes exhibition proposals from artists, designers, curators, community and cultural groups in all art forms that display innovative ideas and approaches to contemporary arts and cultural practice. Applications are accepted all year round and assessed once a year, at the end of August, for the following year’s exhibition period. Exhibitions are rotated every eight weeks. The NRCG features four professional exhibition spaces and works with both emerging and established artists to support professional development opportunities. Apply online via the ‘Apply Now’ section of the NRCG website nrcgballina.com.au
Volunteering at the Gallery Volunteering is a fantastic opportunity to further develop your skills within the industry, support your studies, meet arts industry contacts and immerse yourself in all things art. If you are interested in volunteering at the Gallery, please download the NRCG Volunteer Registration Form from our website at www.nrcgballina.com.au For more information contact the Gallery Services Officer via phone on 02 6681 0530.
Donations and Sponsorship We believe all members of our community deserve access to dynamic artistic and cultural experiences and creative opportunity. The NRCG is endorsed with ‘deductible gift recipient’ status through the Australian Taxation Office and all donations of $2 or more are tax deductible. Donations assist Northern Rivers Community Gallery to provide new and wonderful cultural experiences that support, educate and inspire lives of our visitors and artists. You can make a one-off tax deductible contribution or make regular monthly, quarterly or annual donations. Image: (top) Sacred and Glorious Mundane Exhibition Installation view, Katka Adams + Anna Freeman, 2016 (photo: Ben Wyeth); (below) Gallery volunteer Maria Suarez (left) with Gallery Exhibitions Officer Emma Pinsent (right) - NRCG reception.
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Ballina Gallery Cafe The Ballina Gallery Cafe is one of Ballina’s most popular local eateries and is open for breakfast, morning tea and lunch from 7.30am Wednesday to Sunday. alow Bang
For reservations and function enquiries phone (02) 6681 3888 or visit www.ballinagallerycafe.com.au
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Northern Rivers Community Gallery
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44 Cherry Street, Ballina NSW 2478 Bu rne phone 02 6681 0530 | email nrcg@ballina.nsw.gov.au tS t nrcgballina.com.au
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Opening Hours: Wednesday to Friday 10.00am – 4.00pm Saturday & Sunday 9.30am – 1.00pm Closed Public Holidays Free admission
NRCG is a cultural initiative of Ballina Shire Council
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