23 May - 23 June 2009

CHILDREN'S GALLERY

A CHILD'S EYES: VAN SOWERWINE

Van Sowerwine is a multi-disciplinary artist who works with video, photography, sound, installation and sculpture. She has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally including Art Cologne and the ICA in London and had work screened in the Sundance Film Festival, USA. A Child’s Eyes presents a selection of her work exploring the state of childhood using tableaux, diorama, interactivity and the moving image.

Sowerwine’s works examine the polarities of human behaviour via the context of childhood play. Her characters innocently move through the world, negotiating the real and imagined, the seen and unseen. Viewers are invited to interact with the works offering an alternative engagement with childhood memory, our physical and social environments and our innate desire to play.

Curated by Kent Buchanan

LEARN MORE

Download Essay (57.2kb)

Download Activity sheet (597kb)

Van Sowerwine

Still from Expecting 2003

A collaboration with Isobel Knowles and Liam Fennessy 

Interactive installation. MDF and felt, interactive stop motion animation.

An Experimenta New Visions commission

Courtesy the artist.

4 April - 10 May 2009

DUBBO REGIONAL GALLERY - THE ARMATI BEQUEST

GREAT COLLECTIONS

Picture the thrill of seeing Jurassic period fish specimens, Captain Cook’s sextant, an Arthur Streeton painting, bushranger Captain Moonlite’s death mask, along with major contemporary artworks for the first time in your home town.

Curated by John McPhee for Museums & Galleries NSW, this exhibition supports and promotes the vital role communities play in safeguarding their cultural heritage, and highlights the important work local and state government does in preserving and providing access to cultural material through their galleries, libraries and museums.

Drawn from the magnificent collections of New South Wales’ eight premier cultural institutions, these significant items are representative of Australia’s vibrant history. They shape our psyche, record our development, provide insight into our national spirit and inspire us for the future.

The Art Gallery of NSW, Australian Museum, Botanic Gardens Trust, Historic Houses Trust of NSW, Museum of Contemporary Art, Powerhouse Museum, State Library of NSW and State Records NSW have embraced this ground-breaking exhibition’s innovative vision and made cultural material from their extensive collections available for inclusion.

This landmark exhibition brings iconic treasures together for the very first time and showcases them to metropolitan, regional and interstate audiences.

GREAT COLLECTIONS is an initiative of Museums & Galleries NSW (M&G NSW). M&G NSW is the key support agency for the museum and gallery sector in NSW.

Image top:

William JOHNSON, photographer

Henry Lawson c1910

8 x half-length portraits, gelatin silver photograph 11.2 x 15.8 cm photograph

Image courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

CHINA, Yuan dynasty 1279 - 1368

Maitreya (Buddha of the Future) 1300s

gilt bronze

69.0 x 40.0 x 31.0cm

Art Gallery of New South Wales

Purchased 1996

Image bottom:

THE KINGPINS

Welcome to the Jingle 2003

2 channel digital video, transferred to DVD, edition 2/4 5.25 minutes

Image courtesy Museum of Contemporary Art

© the artists

7 February - 29 March 2009

MUSEUM SPACE

JUST ADD WATER: SCHEMES & DREAMS FOR A SUNBURNT COUNTRY

Water. Not a day goes by when we don’t think about it, talk about it, drink it, or in some cases pray for it. It’s a valuable resource. In Australia, we’ve stored more in dams per person than any other country. We’ve piped it, pumped it, and even dragged it down from the clouds, becoming a nation of plumbers in the process. This National Archives of Australia Exhibition taps into their vast collection to present this travelling exhibition which examines our historical relationship with water.

Devil’s Gate Dam, part of the Mersey-Forth hydro-electric scheme, Tasmania, 1971 

National Archives of Australia: A1200, L96132

14 February - 22 March 2009

CHILDREN'S GALLERY

ARTIST AT WORK: CHIRSTINE MCMILLAN
This second Artist At Work exhibition focuses on the practice of Kandos-based artist Christine McMillan. Christine uses materials that she finds near her home to create her artworks, arranging, ordering and manipulating them to create new forms and relationships. She also describes the built environment (the buildings and footpaths) and how it influences our lives. Some of the materials that the artist uses are grass seeds, echidna spines and cotton gauze. The stories told in the artworks are about our environment and natural world.

Get involved with Christine's project through her blog-site or watch her work on the weekends beginning 28 Feb and 7 March from 11.00am to 1.00pm.

Christine McMillan, Breeze Block 1, xanthorrhoea seeds on paper.
Image © Christine McMillan