The 2020 Goulburn Art Award exhibition can be viewed online while the Goulburn Regional Art Gallery is closed. Photo: Supplied.
With self-isolation in full effect due to COVID-19, there are so many adjustments we have had to make in how we currently live. For artists, the challenge of being able to show their work is immense considering the importance of tactility, materiality and presence of an artwork.
With Goulburn Regional Art Gallery closed and public programs halted, they are moving their annual Goulburn Art Award online.
Opening today (17 April), more than 40 works of art including paintings, sculptures, textiles and photography will be displayed on the gallery’s website, with the opening being streamed on Instagram TV (IGTV) at 6:00 pm.
The live opening will include a welcome from gallery director Gina Mobayed, plus judge Karen Quinlan’s announcement of the winners of the Goulburn Art Award, Young Artist Award and Highly Commended award.
“Today and likely into the future, we will be facing challenging times,” said Ms Mobayed. “Many of the ways we are used to living and the adjustments we need to make are changing day by day. We want to acknowledge this and send a message of health and hope to everyone in our community and beyond.
“We are really pleased we’ve been able to stage this year’s Art Award. Not only do people need arts and culture more than ever right now, but artists’ work must be acknowledged and brought to the front of the conversation.
“More often than not, we turn to the arts as a way to cope, as a reprieve from challenging times and a salve for humanity. We stand by our artists firmly and will award the entire prize pool, as well as host several talks and events online to get their work out to new audiences.”
Goulburn Art Award logo. Image: Supplied.
Ms Quinlan has been the director of the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra since December 2018, following 18 years as director of Bendigo Art Gallery.
This year’s exhibition showcases a broad range of themes. Artists within a 120 km radius of Goulburn who work across any medium were eligible to apply.
The 2019 Goulburn Art Award was won by Mittagong artist Mark Kelly for his black and white photographic print, Ghosts of the Past.
2019 Goulburn Art Award winner Mark Kelly with his photographic piece, Ghosts of the Past. Photo: Supplied.
Goulburn Art Award main category finalists:
Karen Alexander, Grace Blake, Julie Bradley, Kelcie Bryant-Duguid, Emma Collins, Patrice Cooke, Tamara Dean, Sophie Dumaresq, Michele England, Liam Fallon, Mirabel FitzGerald, Lynne Flemons, Alison Ford, A-F Fulgence, Aart Groothuis, Freya Jobbins, Lizzie Hall, John Hart, Mahala Hill, Tony Hooke, Robbie Howard, Fran Ifould, Ian Jones, Mark Kelly, Robyn Kinsela, Birte Larsen, James Lieutenant, Lucinda McDonald, Kerry McInnis, Tina Milson, Ray Monde, Kim Morrison, Judy Mylonas, Barbara Nell, Helen Oprey, Bohdana Palecek, Petros Papoulis, David Ryrie, Sally Simpson, Di Smith, Beverly Smith, Naomi Taylor Royds, Peta Thurling, Kate Vassallo, Libby Wakefield, Iona Walsh and Naomi Zouwer.
Young Artist Award finalists: Ashleigh Deaton, Jess Eddy, Evan Goad, Rose Moor and Katie Simpson.
Also currently on online display in the Goulburn Regional Art Gallery is an exhibition of works created through the Arts Access program, working with the psychogeriatric unit at Kenmore Hospital.
Artists have provided practical workshops onsite to people with limited physical access to the gallery and its programs. The exhibited works in this program were created with the assistance of Lynne Flemons, Penny Saxton and Pauline Mullen at the gallery.
In The Window, an exhibition expressing the contemplative curation of Mark Kelly. After taking out the 2019 Goulburn Art Award, the photographer shares his affinity with the natural world, as well as providing an acknowledgement of its fragility and a sensation of urgency towards its preservation. Selecting works from Guy Warren, Kerry McInnis and Steven Hartup, Kelly’s exhibition shows a diverse range of approaches to capturing the vitality of the natural world.
Visit the Goulburn Regional Art Gallery website for the links to the Goulburn Art Award online opening.
Original Article published by Alex Rea on About Regional.
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