EXHIBITIONS Emma Young (image by Michael Haines)
EXHIBITION REBOOT: 2022 AFTER TWO YEARS OF COVID DISRUPTIONS, FOUNDATION & FRIENDS IS REINVIGORATING ITS EXHIBITION PROGRAM WITH A DOUBLE DOSE OF ARTISANS IN THE GARDENS AND A NEW EVENT HIGHLIGHTING ENDANGERED SPECIES. DAVID CARROLL REPORTS.
A
rtisans has traditionally been Foundation & Friends’ most successful exhibition, attracting major crowds and raising vital funds. For the first time, two separate shows will take place this year – the first in March and the second in late October. Due to lockdowns, last year’s Artisans exhibition was restricted to an online event, which Exhibition Project Manager Julia Sparkes says was surprisingly successful, with strong sales of smaller, easily-shipped works, particularly homewares and jewellery. “We learnt a lot from the success of the online event, which made the smaller artworks accessible to a wider
8
THE GARDENS AUTUMN 2022
audience, including people located right across Australia,” says Sparkes. “As a result, we are working towards loading more artworks onto our online store, Botanic Gardens Gallery, and making those works available yearround. We will also, during the physical exhibitions, include more information online about the featured artists and their work, so that people can learn more about them.” While the response to the online exhibition was pleasing, Sparkes says a digital gallery is no substitute for seeing artworks in person. “There is certainly an overwhelming desire among the artists and the public
to return Artisans to the Garden this year in order to reconnect with a treasured public space. The two Artisans events will also have their own distinct personalities, providing even more opportunities for leading artists to show their works.” Planning has also begun on Endangered, a new exhibition due to open in 2023 and designed to further expand a portfolio of scientificallythemed shows that currently includes Botanica, Fungi and Transformation. Sparkes says artworks chosen for the show will reference threatened Australian species and environments – from plants to animals and insects.
