Curator of Australian First Nations Art at John Curtin Gallery, Michelle Broun, provides a brief overview of the exhibition she created in collaboration with Dr Helen Idle and senior Noongar cultural advisors.

Tracing the art of a Stolen Generation: the child artists of Carrolup, was presented at the Portico Library in Manchester and the Memorial Chapel at Glasgow University in collaboration with The Hunterian, closing on the 10th November.  The exhibition, presented alongside an extensive public program, prompted a call-out for Carrolup artworks which were sold in the UK in the early 1950s by English Philanthropist Mrs. Florence Rutter.  Part of the UK/Aust Season of Culture supported by DFAT and the British Council, it provided an opportunity to explore our shared histories and explore the theme of ‘Who are we Now?’.  It interrogated racism and the impact of colonialism on Aboriginal people, and encouraged conversations between Noongar Elders, and curators, writers and performers from England, Scotland and Australia.  After 70 years, UK audiences were re-introduced to this story of resilience and hope which still reverberates in Aboriginal communities today.  As Goreng Elder Ezzard Flowers states, the story of child artists of Carrolup are still creating ‘ripples in the pond’ around the world.

Duration: 1hr

Date: Wednesday 23 November, 12.30pm – 1.30pm

Cost: FREE

For those who are able to help support our community with subsidised access to critical dialogue and cultural exchange we welcome combinations of $5 donations via Tap ‘n Go at the front desk.

JOHN STRINGER PRIZE

7 October – 4 December 2022

The John Stringer Prize was inaugurated by The Collectors Club in 2015 in celebration of the memory of one of Australia’s most acclaimed art curators, the late John Stringer. A long-term friend and mentor to its members, he established The Collectors Club in Perth in 1996 to promote informed collecting and patronage of Western Australian art. The John Stringer Prize strives to continue his important legacy and since 2018, the John Curtin Gallery has been proud to present this annual exhibition celebrating artists making a major impact on contemporary practice in Western Australia.

Each year, a panel of three leading arts professionals are tasked with selecting six Western Australian-based contemporary artists whose practices they deem worthy of recognition. The panellists for this year’s prize were: Helen Carroll, Manager, Wesfarmers Arts; Jane Chambers, Revealed curator, Fremantle Art Centre and Sarah Wall, curator, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art (PICA). The six artists are invited to produce a new artwork in any medium for inclusion in the exhibition. In the months leading up to the Prize, members of The Collectors Club visit each of the nominated artists’ studios and intimately come to know their work. Club members then vote at this exhibition by way of secret ballot to decide on the Prize recipient.

John Stringer Prize 2022 finalists are: Amanda Bell, Bruno Booth, Jacky Cheng, Guy Louden, Katie West and Holly Yoshida.

Recent Acquisitions

7 October – 4 December 2022

Following the success of our 50fifty Acquisition Initiative which ran from 2017-2020, the John Curtin Gallery has continued to acquire important works that reflect the world in which we live. This exhibition presents works acquired over the last two years that have not previously been on display at the gallery, covering painting, photography, mixed media, textiles, ceramics, video, drawing and print. Included are significant purchases and donations of artworks by leading contemporary artists such as James Angus, Brent Harris, Joan Ross, Christian Thompson and Aida Tomescu; as well as important Western Australian artists, recent Curtin Fine Art graduates, and significant First Nations artists, including a major Spinifex Women’s collaborative. We thank all our Donors who have made these acquisitions possible.