Curator Drew Halyday is excited for people to visit the gallery’s newest exhibition 50 Years / 50 Treasures. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
Since opening its first exhibition at the Old Council Chambers in 1975, The Wagga Art Gallery has moved twice, housed thousands of artworks and grabbed the attention of many tourists from across the country.
The gallery continues to showcase world-class pieces and is a home for emerging artists to demonstrate their talents.
To celebrate its 50 years of service, it will unveil two new exhibitions: 50 Years / 50 Treasures – which surveys important artworks from the gallery’s collections, including glass, painting, printmaking, sculpture, ceramic and textile art – and Riverina Life Stories: Aunty Fay Clayton and Uncle Bill Wallace.
“50 Years / 50 Treasures will showcase some extraordinary highlights from the art gallery’s permanent collection, including the Margaret Carnegie print collection and the National Art Glass collection, some of which are unexpected and rarely exhibited,” gallery director Dr Lee-Anne Hall said.
“Local artists featured in the exhibition include Arthur Wicks, Juanita McLauchlan, Robert Harris and April Glasser-Hinder, alongside national artists such as Lloyd Rees, John Olsen, and Sydney Ball, and international artists Clarice Cliff and Lucien Freud.
“Not only does 50 Years / 50 Treasures celebrate the gallery’s collections, it also celebrates the people who have helped make the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery a vibrant and thriving cultural hub and place to visit since 1975, including the artists, educators, donors, volunteers and staff.”
Curator of the 50 Years / 50 Treasures exhibition Drew Halyday said he had seen the gallery change dramatically over the 20 years he had served as a curator.
“The gallery is a jewel in the crown of Wagga Wagga,” he said.
“This wonderful art gallery, and it’s a consistent, constant space of evolving ideas for people to come together, shines a mirror to this wonderful cultural city. It emboldens the artists that live in the city, and supports the artists that live in the city, encouraging comment and discussion.
“In my time here, I’ve seen changes in styles of collecting. I’ve seen changes in styles among artists. I’ve seen more political commentary on art. I’ve seen more risk. And we’ve also embraced a lot of new technology here. So, new media work has become a major factor for this gallery and is embracing experimental and highly provocative works.”
Mr Halyday said a lot of consideration went into choosing which pieces were showcased as part of the exhibition.
“There are a number of levels,” he said.
“One’s an aesthetic level, an aesthetic level of choosing works that we think are going to work well together with other works, but also about hitting the high points of collection over the years in the gallery and really paying homage to some of the very important Australian artists who have donated works for the gallery.”
Alongside the 50 Years / 50 Treasures exhibit, the gallery will also be launching Riverina Life Stories, a new exhibition with pieces from First Nations elders Aunty Fay Clayton and Uncle Bill Wallace.
“Wiradjuri elder, Aunty Fay Clayton is a treasure of our Riverina community,” Dr Hall said.
“She has long used art for healing, telling her stories and advocacy as a member of the Stolen Generations.
“We are delighted to honour Aunty Fay and her partner, Uncle Bill Wallace, with this amazing exhibition.”
The exhibition will be holding a free-to-attend launch and celebration at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery on Saturday 10 May, 2 to 4 pm.
