IMAGinE Exhibitions Nominations Part Two

The 2011 IMAGinE award nominations have closed and as always we have been inundated with entries from throughout NSW. With less than two weeks to go we continue to highlight the nominees in each category as we warm up for a glamorous night of canapes, wine and awards at the Australian Museum's Terrace Room.

This week we're highlighting the second half of the nominees for Exhibitions and Public Engagement. 

EXHIBITIONS AND ENGAGEMENT: 5-20 STAFF

Campbelltown Arts Centre

Edge of Elsewhere is a major contemporary arts project that commissions artists from across Australia, Asia and the Pacific region to produce new works in partnerships with communities across Sydney. The Project is committed to the development of long-term relationships between the community and artists, sustaining these relationships for the duration of the project and beyond.

The River Project was a major contemporary arts project held at Campbelltown Arts Centre and at sites along the Upper Georges River, Sydney, Australia from 21 August – 31 October 2010. The River Project brought together Australian and international artists to explore the contemporary relationship of cultures to, and the issues facing, river systems in Asia and the Pacific. The project comprised an exhibition, publication, performance and community engaged projects, education and public programs.

Casula Powerhouse

Body Pacifica was successful in cementing the Casula Powerhouse Art Centres’ commitment to the Pacific Communities of Western Sydney and the broader community whilst generating partnerships across the creative and cultural sector. Body Pacifica was a celebration of contemporary and traditional pacific island cultures and also featured seven exhibitions in collaboration with the Australian Museum and the National Rugby League.

Mosman Art Gallery & Community Centre

Australian Accent: The designs of Annan Fabrics and Vande Pottery in the ‘40s & ‘50s revealed a part of Mosman's heritage which linked closely with the development of Australian design history and a growing sense of a modern national identity. This exhibition strengthened relationships between the Mosman Art Gallery and the museum and industry design sector and broke new ground in Gallery programming. This exhibition was the first time that Mosman Art Gallery (in collaboration with Mosman Library) had initiated a design based exhibition.

Newcastle Regional Art Gallery

Curious Colony, a twenty first century Wunderkammer was an exhibition held at Newcastle Region Art Gallery (NRAG) in 2010 as part of the 200th anniversary of Lachlan Macquarie’s swearing-in as Governor of New South Wales which was commemorated with a statewide celebration program. The selection of exhibition items included colonial works of art and objects referencing the era as well as the commission of a contemporary Wunderkammer reflecting on the Macquarie Collectors’ Chest, created in Newcastle, New South Wales around 1818 for Governor Lachlan Macquarie, and currently held in the NSW State Library

Sydney Jewish Museum

Serving Australia: Jewish Involvement in Australian Military History commemorates the wars in which Australia has participated, recognising the roles played by Jews serving in Australia’s defence forces and those supporting the Australian war efforts from home. The exhibition draws upon a large collection of diverse objects donated by the community. Each item tells a story of service, commitment and courage representative of the significant contributions made by Jews to the Australian Military.

Sydney University Museums (University Art Gallery)

The Japan in Sydney project included a curated exhibition, a bilingual catalogue (hard-copy and online pdf) and an extensive public and education program. The exhibition featured the University's collection of Japanese pre-World War II modernist prints, and a selection of works by prominent European and Australian modernist artists, sourced from public and private collections. The fully-illustrated, bilingual catalogue presented concentrated research by Australian and Japanese art historians and scholars, on European, Australian and Japanese modernism in prints

Tweed River Art Gallery

Surface Tension: the art of Euan Macleod 1991 - 2009 was initiated and developed by Tweed River Art Gallery and curated by Gavin Wilson. It is the first major touring exhibition of work by an artist considered to be one the finest painters of his generation. This survey exhibition of 47 works traces Macleod's oeuvre from both the Australian bush and his homeland of the South Island of New Zealand. Surface Tension presents major works drawn from public and private collections, the paintings showcasing the best of Macleod's practice

EXHIBITIONS AND ENGAGEMENT: 21+ STAFF

Australian Museum

Rituals of Seduction: Birds of Paradise is a traveling exhibition and invites the visitor to consider - are we more like birds than we think? This exhibition looks at how both birds and people engage in a variety of decoration, display and dance to draw attention to themselves (for the birds this is usually part of courtship rituals) - and at the close relationship between birds of paradise and people. It features magnificent still photography, film footage and mounted specimens showing the species’ range of eccentric attributes. Also on display are items from the Museum’s anthropology collection including wigs made from human hair and several magnificent feathered headdress.

Australian National Maritime Museum

On their own – Britain’s child migrants' is a traveling and online exhibition that traces the history of child migration schemes from Britain to Australia and Canada in the 19th and 20th centuries. This significant – and previously hidden – part of Australia’s history has not been explored in a major exhibition before. The story of British child migration is placed within the global thematic framework of immigration and child welfare policy. The personal experiences of child migrants are balanced alongside material illustrating the schemes, their motivations and their often tragic impact. 

MCA

The Begin-Again was a two-night art walk through Hurstville CBD. The event, created by Australian artist Angelica Mesiti, was commissioned by Hurstville City Council in collaboration with C3West. Mesiti created four site-specific videos and one performance that directly involved more than 90 local residents as performers in the story of their area. Each one of these works responded to community concerns such as the increase in high-rise development, traffic congestion and growing population, and how they affect Hurstville’s sense of connectedness.

The Museum of Australia Democracy

The Museum of Australia Democracy commissioned an artwork, in partnership with the Canberra Glassworks, to reflect the celebrations of Federation in 1901. Our aim was to create a work that embodied Australian communities’ celebrations of Federation, both in the artwork itself and, through community engagement, in the process of its creation. The resulting artwork, The Illuminations by Wendy Fairclough, is a collection of 20 blown glass vessels which echo contemporary domestic glassware, with a panorama of night-time celebrations sandblasted onto them. The panorama was inspired by research and hand-coloured photographs in an album in the museum’s collection

State Library of NSW

In 2010 New South Wales celebrated the bicentenary of the governorship of Lachlan Macquarie. The Governor: Lachlan Macquarie 1810 to 1821 project included a major exhibition with over 100 original items, presented at the Library in Macquarie Street; a touring exhibition with 40 original items hosted by regional galleries and museums; a display presented in western Sydney public libraries; public events held in 10 regional public libraries, presented by specialist Library staff and a display at NSW Parliament House highlighting the state-wide bicentennial celebrations.