2022 At A Glance

Total Visitation ⬆ 95% *†

Membership ⬆ 15%*

Social media followers ⬆ 17%*

Website views ⬆ 115%*

91 artists exhibited 35 volunteers, contributing 900+ hours**

*Compared to 2021 numbers

† Total visitation ⬆ 62% from pre-pandemic 2019 numbers

**Includes CCAS Manuka invigilation

Testimonials

CCAS provides a matchless opportunity in Canberra for artists to be speculative as it does not require artworks to be saleable. This experimental environment sanctions adventurous outcomes by artists and encourages an edgier form of philosophical discussion about issues of current interest.

I was invited to exhibit at CCAS in 2022 as an established Canberra-based artist. The resulting exhibition Remnants, investigated the nature and fragility of ecotones between bush, farm and garden landscapes. The exhibition was deemed successful by visitor response and critical review. The success of Remnants was made possible through the foresight, responsiveness, and professionalism of CCAS staff.

CCAS was established in the late 1980s as a place for Canberra artists to explore and communicate cutting edge creative ideas. Today CCAS has peer institutions and creative connections across Australia and internationally while still providing a distinctive and essential experience for Canberra artists and audiences and a place for progressive intellectual and cultural debate to take place within the local community. I value Canberra Contemporary Art Space as an important and highly relevant creative entity.

WENDY TEAKEL

Teakel’s solo exhibition Remnants was presented at CCAS in 2022

I am an artist from Aotearoa New Zealand and AURORA was my first international exhibition. The CCAS team was the most professional, organised and engaged gallery that I have had the privilege of working with. CCAS supported the exhibition financially, curatorially, and logistically throughout the 18 months that we worked together. Their generous and highly professional support was critical in facilitating my largest and most ambitious exhibition to date.

During my 10 days visiting Canberra I was able to meet and engage with the local art community. I experienced first-hand how important CCAS is to its local artists, curators, and writers as a community platform for local, national, and international contemporary art.

Based on my experience in establishing and running an art space in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, as well as working in a commercial art gallery, I believe that CCAS’s commitment to its artists and community is outstanding. It was such a refreshing experience working with them and their hospitality was amazing. The team were devoted to helping me install the work, driving me to Bunnings on multiple occasions, going to openings together and all worked after hours the day before the exhibition to get it all completed.

I look forward to Canberra Contemporary Art Space’s future as the gallery is in an excellent position to expand and support young artists and their communities for future generations.

Throughout my 14-year career as an artist, CCAS has always been there when I needed it. From supporting my experimental performance practice when I was a fresh-faced graduate, to being the space that I first exhibited drawings (and made my first artwork sale) many years later, and then allowing me to play and risk when I wanted to try collaborating with my partner and fellow artist James Lieutenant by making our first wall painting. As an institution, CCAS has provided me the space to experiment and progress my artistic practice when I needed it the most, as well as providing me opportunities that have supported my professional development. An art career can be seen as a set of building blocks, these blocks that CCAS provided helped build to the opportunities that I’ve been lucky enough to pursue since.

In 2022 I held a solo exhibition at CCAS Manuka and was curated into group exhibition Cageworks at CCAS Lakeside. Participating in both these exhibitions has helped me feel more connected to the Canberra community. I had felt somewhat distant from any community, since moving to Sydney in 2011 and returning to Canberra in 2018. Since exhibiting with CCAS in 2022, I have been curated into multiple shows at other local art spaces, solidifying this sense of community, connection, and support. Feeling reconnected and supported by a greater community is a key motivator in continuing to practice as an artist, persevering through hardship and rejection.

Kate Vassallo

Vassallo's solo exhibition Tangents and Signals was presented at CCAS Manuka in 2022, and her work was also included in Cageworks at CCAS Lakeside in 2022

CCAS IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE PROCESS THROUGH WHICH NEW ART BECOMES ART HISTORY. AT CCAS LAKESIDE, WE CREATE MEANINGFUL, HIGHLY ANTICIPATED AND APPRECIATED EXHIBITIONS SHOWCASING THE BEST IN CONTEMPORARY ART PRACTICE.

Artistic Program, CCAS Lakeside

Carbon Neutral

G.W. BOT, JON CAMPBELL, THE RIVER YARNERS, ANDREW STYAN, LOUISA WATERS, MARZENA

WASIKOWSKA, ANNE ZAHALKA, CURATED BY ALEXANDER BOYNES

3 March – 2 May 2021

Audience: 2705

Carbon Neutral showcased contemporary Australian art addressing the Climate Crisis. The exhibition was part of Aquifer, a Territory-wide program of events and exhibitions coinciding with the Australian National University’s Climate Update 2022. Through their art, the artists in Carbon Neutral aimed to inspire hope and optimism to face the challenge of Climate Change. Initially, the exhibition ambitiously required artists to offset the carbon emissions produced in their studio practices to create artworks that were carbon neutral. However, due to COVID-19, this became difficult for artists. The exhibition aimed to provoke meaningful dialogue around the existential threats of fire, drought, and ecocide due to human-induced Climate Change.

Many people have taken steps such as living off-grid, recycling, growing their own veggies, and switching to green alternatives to fight global heating. This is part of "Slow Hope," as termed by Prof. Christof Mauch, which involves taking small steps to turn the tide and save the planet. Carbon Neutral artists contributed to this effort by dedicating their practices to the most urgent issue of our times, inspiring reflection, and optimism for the future.

Public programs and audience engagement:

Exhibition opening event (18 February 2022); Book launch of Jon Campbell: No Planet B, with musical performance by artist Jon Campbell (12 March 2022); Craftivism session with The River Yarners (12 March 2022); Extended hours during Enlighten Festival – Carbon Neutral After Dark (4-14 March 2022).