Palm Beach
ART Gallery On Palm Beach
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/artgalleryonpalmbeach
Situated 1095 Barrenjoey Road, Palm Beach.
Artist run gallery of art, ceramics, sculpture. 20 professional and prize winning artists creating work for the Barrenjoey peninsula, tourists and locals. Affordable original art.
Exhibitions by Georgia Mansur and Michelle Henry coming up soon.
Wonderful collection of original fabulous artworks in the gallery ready for a hot weekend in Palmy.
Gallery opening 10-3.00 Thursday to Sunday.
Georgia Mansur solo exhibition
December 1st to 6th 2020; Wonderful artwork by resident artist Georgia Mansur of local scenes
Careel Bay - Avalon Beach
Be Brave Art Space
Website: www.bebraveartspace.com.au
Unit 15/5-7 Careel Head Rd, Avalon Beach
Gallery and Workshop
Mon-Wed Closed | Thurs/Fri 11.00-3.00 | Sat/Sun 10.00-4.00
Located in Avalon, we have a variety of solo and group exhibitions throughout the year, in Painting, Ceramics, Jewellery, Sculpture and Photography. Each exhibition runs for two to four weeks. On street level it is a light, spacious gallery, and downstairs is a workshop and studio for creators to have the opportunity to be bold and fearless. Be Brave Artspace is a space where artists can exhibit, create, connect and be inspired.
December 2020 I AM WOMAN
10-20th December 2020
Opening event: Thursday 10th December 4-8pm
An group exhibition showcasing the artwork of over 30 women - featuring an extensive group of talented female painters, makers and creatives.
Artists; Matilda Dumas, Susan Peacock, Coco Elder, Vivienne Storey, Jane Park, Petra Pinn, Fiona Mitchell, Vicki Ratcliff, Wendy McCready, Wendy Cummins, Nina Paine, Eva Frengstad, Catherine Ell, Tracy Strizaker, Anna McClure, Christine Sadler, Catherine Ell, Karen Hick, Kate Robinson, Adrienne Richards, Kirsty Gautheron, Brenda Mackenzie-Haig, Christina Frank, Samantha Dollar, Dianne Bradley.
10% of all sales will be donated to the Northern Beaches Women’s Shelter https://nbws.org.au/
Julie Hickson Show - 1-10 January 2020
Brilliant local artist Julie Hickson will be taking over the Be Brave Artspace in Careel Bay for new works and prints - don't miss this!
Avalon Art Gallery - Art Depot
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Avalon-Art-Gallery-Art-Depot
39 Old Barrenjoey Road (Avalon Cinema Arcade)
Hours may vary - 9.30am-6.30pm. Also open by appointment.
Instagram: avalonartgalleryartdepot
Avalon Art Gallery was formerly Art Depots' Chelsea Lane Gallery which operated from 2013 through till late 2015 out of a premises that was shared by a small cafe in Chelsea Lane Avalon. Chelsea Lane Gallery and the former Avalon Art Gallery amalgamated in late 2015 and can now be found in The Avalon Cinema Arcade at Avalon Beach NSW. We provide gallery services and custom framing, there are limited art supplies available and there is an express order-in art supply service.
Exhibitions of Artist works.
Newport:
Kids Art Classes Are Coming To Newport
Just in time for the January school holidays on the 11th, 12th and 13th. Two hours per day for 3 days @$100. A chance to use your Creative Kids Voucher.
Term classes are also staring up on Wednesdays. They will be held at Pittwater Presbyterian Church Hall. For more info go to: thepurplecowartstudio.com
Michael Reid Northern Beaches
Website: michaelreidstudiodirect.com.au/northern-beaches
2/358 Barrenjoey Road, Newport
Wednesday to Sunday 10am till 5pm
Ph: 8353 3505
Michael Reid Gallery Christmas Group Show - 4th - 19th December
Michael Reid Northern Beaches will host Studio Direct, which showcases a selection of emerging Australian painters; and Michael Reid CLAY, a gateway for inspiration, insights and the acquisition of collectable ceramic and pottery art. Both programs are directed by Amber Creswell Bell and offer a unique collecting experience that connects art collectors with artists at the developing stages of their creative careers.
Michael Reid Northern Beaches will, on occasion, additionally host exhibitions originating from our sister galleries Michael Reid Sydney & Murrurundi.
Over Summer Sophie Nolan, Ben Waters and other local Artists will be on exhibition.
Silo Gallery
Website: www.elosilo.com.au
Robertson Rd, Newport
A Space to Show Create Inspire
Always something new - always something great
Let’s Hang Pop Up Shop - Saturday 5th December
Visit: https://www.letshang.com.au/
Mona Vale:
Sydney Art Space
Website: www.sydneyartspace.com
64 Darley Street, Mona Vale
SYDNEY ART SPACE END OF YEAR EXHIBITION 2020
19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd December
10am - 4pm daily
As difficult as this year has been, we have decided to celebrate all our hard work whilst following COVID rules! So the End of Year Exhibition will be held at Sydney Art Space from 10am Saturday 19th December until 4 pm Tuesday 22nd December. There will be voting for the Peoples’ Choice Award and the exhibition will be held inside the studio and the back courtyard, with people allowed in 12 at a time every 20 minutes to view the artworks, vote and potentially purchase :) Many artworks will be for sale as well as Sydney Art Space vouchers for that special Christmas present!
SUMMER SCHOOL JANUARY 2021
Summer School will commence on Wednesday 13th of January. There will be offerings for adults, teens and children across the genres of drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking and embroidery! Be sure to enrol and not miss out, people have already started booking!!
Please go to https://www.sydneyartspace.com/courses/school-holiday-program/ for all workshop overviews and enrolment options.
CREATIVE KIDS REBATE
Don’t forget that you can use your child’s $100 Creative Kids Voucher when enrolling your child in a full day program, i.e. morning and afternoon workshops on the same day, with free lunchtime supervision!
TERM 1 COURSEWORK 2021
Sydney Art Space Term 1 courses start on January 29th 2021 and will be up on our website by December 14th 2020. Please see our flyer below and visit our website to explore what courses and enrolment options are available: www.sydneyartspace.com
EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT TERM 1 COURSEWORK 2021
Receive 5% off your course fee with our early bird offer for TERM 1 2021 ending January 15th.
Mona Vale School Of Visual Arts
Website: www.mvartschool.com.au
Shop 6 / 18-20 Park Street Mona Vale
Mona Vale School of Visual Arts has Term Art classes, Holiday workshops and Art parties for people of all ages from pre-schoolers to adults.
Some lovely Doctors had their work Christmas party in the Studio last night. They plan on hanging these fab paintings in their office! They had amazing food catered by Ivvy foods to create a perfect end of year celebration.
Church Point:
Willi Michalski Ceramics
Website: wmceramics.com.au
For commissions, private lessons or to make an appointment to visit the studio please send an email to willimichalski@hotmail.com
For the past 30 years master ceramicist, Willi Michalski, has been creating one-off pieces in his studio on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
Willi has spent decades researching and refining his technique for glaze-on-glaze decoration and, gas reduction firing, with resounding success. Over the years he has developed his own unique style, often creating generously sized pieces, with immediately identifiable sculptural forms.
For almost as long as he has been potting, Willi has been teaching others the skills required to see a ceramic creation through to completion. He has taught literally thousands of students throughout his time at Mosman Evening College, and through private lessons. It brings him great joy to see the excitement on the faces of his students as they see their finished piece for the first time.
Over the course of a long career, Willi has been highlighted in solo shows, group exhibitions as well as his well-attended annual home show. His works are represented in public collections in Australia, as well as in private collections both in Australia and overseas.
Willi Michalski is known particularly for his subtle yet beautiful glazes and for his remarkable large-scale platters and sculptural pieces. He continues to pot from his home studio tucked away amongst the trees in Church Point, NSW.
Willi Michalski Ceramics are individually hand-made by the artist in his Sydney studio. To commission a unique Willi Michalski Studio piece please CONTACT US.
Shipping: Pick up is from Sydney’s Northern Beaches or shipping via Australia Post at additional cost.
YawaY Gallery
Narrabeen RSL
116 Nareen Parade, North Narrabeen
Facebook page is Yaw waY platform
Website: www.yawway.art
The name 'Yaw Way' stems from 'Yaw'; meaning (of a moving ship or aircraft) twist or oscillate about a vertical axis; A yaw rotation is a movement around the yaw axis of a rigid body that changes the direction it is pointing, to the left or right of its direction of motion + 'Way' - meaning 'your way' and for everyone, and aligned to the nautical theme from which the gallery runs as an extension of, the Sunk Bar in the Narrabeen RSL.
This is a fresh dynamic approach to presenting our local Creatives.
Opening Night: ''With 80% of sales going directly to the artist and 10% going to charity, we are aiming to change things up ! Our aim is for Yaw waY to go Your Way ! We want to hold space for creatives to express, teach, learn and meet.''
Yaw waY platform is an artist run, not for profit initiative based in the depths of Narrabeen RSL, known as the friendliest little club on the peninsula, in the valley of North Narrabeen. The gallery has black walls and kooky pipes coming out of the ceiling, a contemporary industrial space.
Yaw WaY Entrance
Yaw WaY Interior
Narrabeen RSL, in its current location, is a 65 year old live music venue with many pockets of rooms and spaces. The first Narrabeen RSL was alongside the Narrabeen SLSC and burnt in 1954 - more on that in 2021, but, from the pages of the past:
Fire Destroys R.S.L. Club
Fire early this morning gutted the clubhouse of the North Narrabeen branch of the Returned Servicemen's League. The clubhouse was a two storey weatherboard building in Ocean Street, North Narrabeen. The fire broke out shortly after midnight and flames quickly spread throughout the building. Firemen fought for nearly an hour to control the blaze and prevent it spreading to clubrooms of the North Narrabeen Surf Club which is nearby. Hundreds of people, many in night attire, watched the blaze. Fire engines from Manly, Narrabeen, and Deewhy fought the fire. Fire Destroys R.S.L. Club (1954, April 29). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 1. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18423039
Kat Schultz, the founder of Yaw waY has worked in the onsite cocktail bar, Sunk bar, for 5 years and came up with the idea of having a gallery for local artists in a room out the back. The space had been used for speakeasy events, where local and regional bands played intimate shows.
With the help of Narrabeen RSL, Council and a bunch of amazing volunteers this team made things happen.
Kat Schultz
Kat's dream was to fill under utilised spaces with good quality art and to add a grungy twist on curating - little did she know that Yaw waY would receive so much support from the community and show how much the beaches needs more Art Partying.
“We have so many talented artists here on the beaches” Kat says “pulling them out from the hills and celebrating their existence is what we aim to do, the cheer from the local community and council is overwhelming and so dam exciting, if we had our way, every empty shop front and ally way would be displaying local skills.”
“As Yaw waY grows we hope to take on more shop fronts and shows”
With support of local Artists and the RSL staff and board, Yaw waY came to be in early 2019 and has held six massive art shows so far, selling over $10, 000 of art for Northern Beaches Artists.
Founding Artists
Katika Schultz: Director and Founder, Printmaker and Painter
Jason Jones: Muralist and Visual artist, Co-curator of 'Hooded Habitat'
Holly Gibbs: Face & Body Painter
Jackelyn Bickell: Mixed Media Artist
Ruby Smith; Artist and Model
Kate Mack and Claire Morris and Luke Holland
The Core Members
Carina Capone: Sculptor and Ceramicist, Curator Sculpture Walk on the Green 2020
Thomas Sandberg: Sculptor
Matt Gald: Artist
Contributors
Sharon Billinge: Muralist and Painter, Mastermind of the Stairwell Mural Project
Sharon Billinge, working on the Stairwell Mural installation
Rafael Morris and Katika Schultz - working on the Stairwell Mural installation
Holly Gibbs - working on the Stairwell Mural installation
Stairwell Mural
In late 2019 Kat and mural artist Sharon Billinge won a Northern Beaches Council grant to create a three story stairwell mural involving all the groups that use the club such as the fishing club, bridge club, tango and jive dance clubs. This was an intergenerational and diverse project, empowering locals to learn about large scale painting and creating a sense of ownership and pride in their club.
The local response was amazing and we had so many volunteers helping out and enjoying the project.
Past Exhibitions
Hooded Habitat - opened Friday 24th May 2019: A street art exhibition.
Wild at Heart Nature Bound - opened Friday 19th July 2019: An exhibition showcasing artists that work from nature.
Broadway Takeover - July-August 2019: One month takeover at the entrance of Broadway shopping centre.
"Shot" - Friday 27th September 2019: An exhibition of local photographers and film makers.
The Concept of Home - Friday 22nd November 2019: Salon style show with live body art and music.
Stairwell Mural Project - May - September 2020: Collaborative mural project at Narrabeen RSL masterminded by Sharon Billinge.
Street Artists
The Northern Beaches Council released another round of grants to help creatives during Covid. Kat won a small grant to engage 10 local mural artists to deign and paint 5 walls on site at the RSL.
In January the gallery will hold a festival of murals exhibition, where they will invite the public to come see the completed murals and an exhibition by the Artists involved. This exhibition will run for 1 month and the murals will stay up and be seen in different parts of the club.
''We are so grateful to the Narrabeen RSL and Northern Beaches Council for their encouragement and support.'' Kat said this week.
One of the core crew members, Carina Capone is curating a sculpture walk. This opens on December 3rd at 5:30pm and closes Sunday the 6th at 7pm. Utilising one of the 3 bowling greens at Narrabeen RSL and featuring the works of 14 local Artists, this will be a showcase of local genres you can explore in the laid-back atmosphere this club is known for.
''We hope to do this sculpture walk annually, for it to grow and be something to look forward to each year.'' Kat explains
The Yaw waY community is continually growing. The tapestry of talent is thick in the Northern Beaches and Yaw waY wants to support the under represented.
Our aim is to give voice to artists that haven't studied at art school, street art and mural artists and people who have a different stance. Generally the gallery system can be quite challenging and intimidating, we hope to bring clarity and fun to something usually serious. A bit grunge, a bit punk, a bit different = a lot of fun!
Locals and artists can get involved in what's coming up at Yaw Way by writing to yawwayplatform@gmail.com or following @yaw_way_platform on Instagram.
Our Facebook page is Yaw waY platform - to keep up to date with all upcoming Exhibitions
Our Website: www.yawway.art
Cromer
DiversARTy
5/161 South Creek Rd Cromer
Website: www.diversarty.com.au
diversARTy - a new Art Studio & Gallery on the Northern Beaches with a diverse collection of works by New & Established Artists
Welcome to our virtual exhibition of art currently hanging at the gallery.This tour will be updated fortnightly or when there is a major change in displays. All art links directly to the piece in our stockroom to view in more detail or to purchase. Visit: https://www.diversarty.com.au/now-on-show/
Diversity hosts Katie Thomas Art
Brookvale
If U Like Art
Website: www.ifulikeart.com
1a Powells Road (cor Mitchell Road), Brookvale
If u like ART operates within a spacious studio providing a safe and clean environment for all students, teachers and parents. We provide hand sanitiser stations, practice good hygiene and encourage social distancing.
Welcome to If u like ART - A leading visual arts school on Sydney's Northern Beaches for children, teens and adults. If u like ART offers weekly art, drawing and fashion & sewing classes Monday to Friday, Saturday morning and afternoon.
At If u like ART, we provide a fun and stimulating learning environment in an inspiring and spacious studio, that supports creativity, independence, resilience, patience and perseverance. We place a strong emphasis on developing and extending skills in the visual arts with step-by-step instructions using different media such as painting, drawing, sculpture, mosaic and printmaking. Fundamental to teaching technical art skills to students is encouraging them to learn how to draw a variety of subject matter, including still life, portraits, landscapes and animals, as well as abstracts and gestural drawings.
Our art program accommodates beginners and those with more artistic abilities across all ages. Our team of qualified tutors (who are also practising artists) are experienced and passionate about passing on their artistic skills and supporting students in creating their best artwork. This enables us to teach students a diverse range of topics and styles using many and varied mediums. Each staff member has the appropriate Working With Children Checks.
If u like ART offers weekly art and drawing tuition, creative birthday parties, school holiday workshops and school curriculum based art extension workshops. We also cater for high school students participating in the Duke of Ed program selecting the visual arts as a skill to learn. Daphne Katos is an accredited assessor for Duke of Ed students.
Art is a rewarding experience, so try one of our classes or workshops today or contact us to purchase a gift voucher for someone creative. We believe everyone can be creative! If u like ART is a Creative Kids Registered provider, so claim your $100 voucher each year with us.
If u like ART offers an After School Pick Up Bus Service for students in Years K (age 5+) to Years 6 enrolled in one of our weekly 3.50-5.20pm art, drawing, fashion and sewing classes. Download our After School Bus Service Schedule to find out which days we pick up from each school and contact us for bookings. Our bus drivers are friendly, reliable and have Working With Children Checks.
School Holiday Workshops
Every school holidays, If u like ART offers a new and extensive art workshop program catering for children aged 5 to 14. Half day workshops run from 9.30am to 12.30pm and full day workshops typically from 9.30am to 3pm. Before care is available from 8am and after care until 4pm. Every child creates finished artwork to take home with creative guidance, using a variety of materials
Our holiday workshops are fun, creative and suited to all interests and skill levels. There are plenty of different activities to interest both boys and girls. These include canvas painting, animal drawing, clay making, sewing, mosaic, fashion sketching, superhero, street art and manga painting, free choice painting, outdoor sketching, craft and more.
Our 2020/21 Summer School Holiday Art Workshop program is out now
Download our upcoming December and January schedule/booking forms here.
Workshops run from Monday 21st to Wednesday 23rd December and recommence on Monday 4th to Friday 22nd January. Book early as our workshops fill fast.
Daphne Katos - Creative Director, Founder & Artist (Diploma of Teaching, Bachelor of Education).
Gallery Cats Studio
Website: www.gallerycatssydney.com
1/121 Old Pittwater Rd, Brookvale
Enquiries: gallerycatssydney@gmail.com
Gallery Cats Sydney have art classes for all ages and all levels from the absolute beginner to the advanced artist that wants to learn new techniques.
We are located at different locations on the northern beaches depending on the class, (Mona Vale, Seaforth, Cromer, Nth Curl Curl). Gallery Cats Sydney offer regular art classes and workshops for both children and adults. We also run kids holiday art workshops, children’s parties, adult art parties, and corporate team building events. Visit the timetables here for the classes we offer, times and locations.
Curl Curl
Creative Space
105 Abbott Rd, North Curl Curl
Website: https://www.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au/creative-space/whats-on
Inception: Northern Beaches Artist Studios Exhibition
Thursday, 3 December 2020 - Sunday, 13 December 2020 - 10:00am to 4:00pm
This exhibition showcases and eclectic mix of contemporary work, created by the artists in resident at Creative Space.
Featuring: Kevin Diallo, Goya Torres, Laurie McKern, Tina Hunter and Elise Cooke
Opening hours: Thursday - Sunday (10am - 4pm) *Extended opening hours on Thursdays (10am - 8pm)
Please register your visit upon arrival.
Image- Kevin Diallo
Manly
Manly Art Gallery & Museum
Website: http://www.magam.com.au/
West Esplanade Reserve, Manly
Phone: 9976 1421
Nicholas Harding: The Theatre Sketchbooks
Friday, 4 December 2020 - 10:00am to Sunday, 14 February 2021 - 4:00pm
A unique exhibition selected from the thousands of drawings and dozens of sketchbooks created by Archibald-winning artist Nicholas Harding, as he drew actors, directors and creatives during their rehearsals and performances at the Sydney Theatre Company (STC).
Nicholas Harding in his studio
Granted access to the rehearsal room to sketch the actors and creatives behind Waiting for Godot, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Present and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Harding also created lively portraits of actors out-of-character, including Hugo Weaving, Richard Roxburgh and Philip Quast. Harding has also drawn some of Australia’s most renowned theatre directors and production creatives. These artworks are now a vibrant legacy of the STC’s recent productions.
Harding's original sketchbooks, displayed alongside his larger drawings, will have regular page turnings and the exhibition will coincide with the publication of the artist’s new book of theatre sketches From the Wings.
Nicholas Harding, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui-Hugo Weaving
Mayor Michael Regan said the exhibition included remarkable portrait sketches selected by the artist and MAG&M curator Ross Heathcote.
“I know people, not just avid theatre goers, are going to mesmerised by these sketches of some very well-known faces in Australian theatre and film.
Ross Heathcote said Harding’s theatre drawings are fascinating works of art, but they also present an intimate insight into the workings of the theatre world.
“From thousands of drawings and dozens of sketchbooks, we have selected works for the exhibition from Nicholas Harding’s theatre ‘residencies’. The original sketchbooks, displayed alongside larger drawings developed from the sketches, will have regular page turnings.”
In 2001 Harding was awarded the Archibald Prize for his portrait of actor John Bell as King Lear.
Nicholas Harding: The Theatre Sketchbooks, Artist ‘in conversation’ Tour
Join Nicholas Harding and curator Ross Heathcote on a walk through the exhibition to look at the sketches in detail.
Sun 6 December, 3.00 PM - 4.00 PM - Book online
Laura Jones: The Garden
Friday, 4 December 2020 - Sunday, 14 February 2021 - 10:00am to 4:00pm
Laura Jones’ continuing connection to the Hawkesbury, Ku-ring-gai and Blue Mountains regions has led to the creation of a new body of work in response to these unique landscapes. Combined with works from her recent Arcadia series, this exhibition is a personal exploration of the fragility and resilience of ecosystems and of the cycle of life.
Artist-led tour
Join Laura on a walk through her exhibition to look at the paintings in detail and to discuss the ideas she explores through her work. 2 sessions are available on Saturday 5 December; 3pm and 4pm - Book online
Laura Jones, Arcadia, 2020, oil on linen diptych, right panel, 183x198cm
The Garden Exhibition has been developed with the artist especially for MAG&M, and reflects Laura Jones’ close connection to these regions.
A bold colourist, Jones is known for her increasingly diverse interests; from exploring the floral still-life genre to the impact of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef and Antarctica.
Mayor Michael Regan said the exhibition explores Ms Jones’ personal observations of both the fragility and resilience of ecosystems and the cycle of life.
“Laura Jones is clearly inspired by the natural wonder of the Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury and Ku-ring-gai areas and this is very much reflected in her works.”
The exhibition is accompanied by a printed catalogue, with an essay penned by arts writer, Elli Walsh, which sheds light on Jones’ work and artistic practice.
“Fusing the tenors of Romanticism with Realism, Laura Jones poeticises the beauty of these landscapes whilst reflecting on the ruination of the Black Summer bush fires, which directly affected her family, friends and community.”
Laura Jones is primarily a painter, but she also produces drawings, prints and sculptures. She has regularly exhibited in public and commercial galleries since 2011. Residencies include travel to two scientific research stations: The Australian Museum’s Lizard Island Research Station and the University of Queensland's Heron Island Research Station.
She has also been Artist in Residence at The Glasshouse Regional Art Gallery and the Byron Bay School of Art, completed extensive private residencies in New York and Japan, and was artist on board the 2018 WWF Expedition to Antarctica.
Jones has been a finalist in several art awards, including the Archibald Prize, the Portia Geach Memorial Award, the Kings School Art Prize, the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship and the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. Her work is held in the Artbank collection and private collections in Australia and overseas.
History Repeats – Q Station
4 December to 14 February 2021.
Three contemporary artists have drawn upon the site and stories of the former Quarantine Station at Sydney’s North Head to create an immersive exhibition experience in response to issues around migration, quarantine and place. Working with paper, textiles and paint, Jo Neville, Julie Paterson and Fiona Chandler have each created forty panels representing the original forty day quarantine period of detention or isolation. Presented in partnership with Q Station Manly.
Associated Events
- History Repeats, EverySevenDays2020 workshop on Saturday February 6th; Join Julie Paterson for EverySevenDays, an ongoing 6 month international art project she created in July 2020 as a response to Covid.
- Artists In Conversation on Sunday February 7th - 3pm to 4pm or 4pm to 5pm
- History Repeats, Native Flowers workshop on Sunday February 14th; Join Jo Neville on site at Q Station and discover all about engineering a native paper botanical from plant to workroom.
Julie Paterson, Curative, 2020, fabric print paste and cotton thread on canvas, 60x60cm
When three artists began working on an exhibition of sketches exploring life under lockdown at Sydney’s quarantine station in decades gone by, little did they know, they would have real life experience to draw on as well.
Working with paper, textiles and paint, artists Jo Neville, Julie Paterson and Fiona Chandler have each created forty panels representing the original forty-day quarantine period of detention or isolation imposed on those arriving in Sydney on ships suspected of carrying infectious diseases in their exhibition, History Repeats, which begins at MAG&M on 4 December.
Mayor Michael Regan said the concept of the exhibition which initially seemed anchored in the past, quarantine, suddenly had become very current.
“All three artists began to rethink their approach to the exhibition and their artworks, looking at the contrasts and similarities between quarantine then and now, and have come up with some fascinating artworks.”
Senior Curator Katherine Roberts said the cross-media arts project was inspired by the desire to bring together artists who also practice as designers.
“We look forward to seeing how the 120 panels come together on MAG&M’s walls, floor and suspended in the air and how the audience engages with the installation.”
“The artists have brought to their works their own personal and socio-historical narratives in parallel with each other at this unprecedented time in Australian history.
“This timely exhibition is presented in partnership with Q Station, Manly, to whom we are most grateful for the site access they provided to the artists and for the enthusiasm with which they embraced what is our third partnership project in the past five years,” Katherine Roberts said.
The artists in a collaborative statement said: “Making forty artworks each was a lot to make and we all found it hard to get a foothold, especially early on in the NSW lockdown. But all three of us are designers as well as artists, and we are good at spotting the patterns and opportunities, and cracking on to meet a brief.”
“Gradually, we noticed four themes emerging in our work (Space, Surveillance, Signs and Still Life), ideas that linked the historical and contemporary experiences of quarantine. It’s in these themes that we saw how history repeats.”