May 3 - 9, 2015: Issue 212

 Manly Art Gallery & Museum May - June 

Juliet Holmes À Court: A Sense of Here  Saltwater Artists Connecting to Country

Juliet Holmes À Court: A Sense of Here

8 May – 28 June 2015

Manly Art Gallery & Museum is to host an exhibition of new works by prize‐winning artist and experienced art educator, Juliet Holmes à Court.

The exhibition, titled ‘a sense of here’, documents Holmes à Court’s fascination with the ‘transformation of the tangible into the intangible’ in a series of large, allegorical oil paintings.

The artist’s paintings are not programmatic studies of the landscape, flora and fauna; rather, she reveals how the nature of the Manly area ‘feels, so that like a shell to your ear, it will whisper a song of the seaside.’

The exhibition ‘A sense of here’ will be launched on Friday 8 May 2015 ‐ 8pm at Manly Art Gallery & Museum by Michael Hedger, Director, Manly Art Gallery & Museum.

Ms. Holmes à Court’s explains further;

‘Living by the coast gives me a feeling of continual movement. The on and off shore winds, the constant breaking of waves, the shifting high and low water marks leaving their cartographic trail, together the sea map the shore.

‘These same map lines are chiselled into the cliff crags, which dip, jut and curve, feathering like wind flicked wings reacting to a gust. The same winds pick up and play with tossed bark, tumbled shells and jostled blossoms. All are floating like a lost scarf, blown off a Manly ferry.’

Artist Talk: Sunday 24 May, 2 – 3pm

Join Juliet Holmes à Court for a special illustrated talk about her ideas, inspiration and techniques

RSVP: 9976 1421 or artgallery@manly.nsw.gov.au

Creative Workshop: Monday 1 June, 10am – 3pm

Led by artist and experienced educator, Juliet Holmes à Court, artists will be shown through the creative processes to develop a painting inspired by nature and the imagination. 15pp max

Cost: $90 includes some materials and refreshments 15pp max.

Bookings essential: artgallery@manly.nsw.gov.au or 9976 1421

Saltwater Artists Connecting to Country

Manly Art Gallery & Museum is delighted to present Saltwater Country, a major touring exhibition of contemporary Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. Showcasing more than 50 works by 16 of Queensland’s most acclaimed Indigenous artists, this multidisciplinary exhibition features evocative images of Queensland’s coast, sand and sea and examines its cultural importance and connection to country.

Saltwater Country opens at Manly Art Gallery & Museum following its successful international viewing at the Embassy of Australia, Washington DC, USA, and AAMA, Museum of Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Saltwater Country features celebrated Queensland artists Vernon Ah Kee, Michael Cook, Daniel Boyd, Fiona Foley, Rosella Namok, Mavis Ngallametta, Laurie Nilsen, Napolean Oui, Brian Robinson, Ken Thaiday, Alick Tipoti, Ian Waldron, Judy Watson, and new talents Megan Cope, Ryan Presley and Erub Arts.

The term ‘country’ has come to be understood as an all-encompassing word explaining the intrinsic nature of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and creative expression as a reflection of the connection to land and place of birth. What is less known and understood is the equally strong cultural connectedness to the sea and waterways on the coastal edge and how these connections profoundly shape Indigenous cultures and identities.

Curated by Michael Aird and Virginia Rigney, Saltwater Country offers audiences a unique insight into the historical, environmental and personal concerns of the artists and their strong cultural connections to ‘their’ saltwater country – Queensland’s coastline, sea and waterways.

Virginia Rigney said, ‘The saltwater country is a place of bounty and these places facilitate movement and contact, with tidal and seasonal flows structuring the rhythms of the day and the year, with dramatic times of flood and storm bringing renewal and change. The coastal edge is also currently charged with concerns over environmental change, pollution and human impact. In making artworks about these issues artists are redefining the practice of caring for this meeting point between land and sea…”

Saltwater Country opens at Manly Art Gallery & Museum on 8 May where it will be exhibited until 28 June 2015.

Saltwater Country is a touring initiative developed in partnership between Museums & Galleries Queensland and Gold Coast City Gallery. The exhibition is travelling to ten public galleries across Australia in 2015 - 2017. Each of these venues has a strong local culture around the sea, waterways and country.

LAUNCH

Saltwater Country will be officially opened on Friday 8 May 2015, 6 - 8pm at Manly Art Gallery & Museum by Collette Brennan, Director of International Development, Australia Council for the Arts.

PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Curator’s Talk and Catalogue Launch: Sunday 10 May, 2pm

Join exhibition co-curator Virginia Rigney for a talk about the genesis and collaborative process of this exhibition project, and conversation with Megan Cope about the ideas that have informed her art practice. This will be followed by the official launch of the catalogue for Saltwater Country.

Venue details: Manly Art Gallery & Museum, West Esplanade, Manly

Exhibition launch: Friday 8 May 2015, 6 ‐ 8pm

Exhibition dates: 8 May – 28 June 2015

Open: 10am ‐ 5pm Tues‐ Sun

Entry: Free

Saltwater Country is a travelling exhibition developed in partnership between Museums & Galleries Queensland and Gold Coast City Gallery. Curated by Michael Aird and Virginia Rigney. Saltwater Country has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body; and is supported by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory governments. This project has received financial assistance from the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland’s Backing Indigenous Arts program. The project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia International Cultural Council, an initiative of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; and by the City of Gold Coast.