Near record JADA entries

The 2012 Jacaranda Acquistive Drawing Award

The 2012 JADA received 418 entries, near the record set in 2008 of 439. Everyone associated with the award is delighted with the entries which came from all states and territories in Australia.
The selection panel, Sandra McMahon, Director, Tamworth Regional Gallery, John Walsh, Director, Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Angela de Martino Rosaroll, Curator, Grafton Regional Gallery and myself chose with much debate 52 drawings by 52 artists.
A great variety of media and content will see the 2012 JADA challenge and excite all our visitors at the Grafton Regional Gallery and consequently on its nine venue tour through Queensland and New South Wales over the next two years.
So there are 52 happy artists getting their works framed and delivered to the gallery by mid October for the big opening on Friday 26 October. Our official opening is always one of the biggest events in our events calendar - everyone wants to know who will win the $15,000 first prize and what the further $15,000 of acquisitions are! See you there!

The story of the Lindt collection

The Story of the Lindt Collection at the Grafton Regional Gallery


A book on the story of the events and activities that form the Lindt Story at the Grafton Regional Gallery is being launched on Friday 6 July 2012. Everyone is invited to attend this free event from 11.30am. An artist talk by Graham Nudge Blacklock, a barbeque lunch and a forum discussing the Lindt Research outcomes are the main events. See you there! Book in on 6642 3177 so we know how many sausages to grizzle.

Graham Nudge Blacklock  The Point, The Georges River  2010

Behaving with grace and intelligence

Art is really large with the billboard by Steven Geise installed near Woodburn on the Pacific Highway. The very graphic work uses the instantly recognised colours and style of road signs. Behave with Grace and Intelligence references famous Australian artist Rosalie Gascoigne.

The edict like statement is presented by the artist to elicit a strong effect. The statement 'Behave with grace and intelligence' is direct and mysterious, didactic and ironic - all at the same time. I am sure there are many questions being raised by passing motorists.

The artist has purposely used yellow and black to give it authority and used minimal and poetic language to provoke thought about 'something profound, to promote an idea that is beyond politics and religion, an idea that has universal acceptance. It is also an aspiration for our distracted lives.'

Steven Geise, who lives and works in Clunes, near Bangalow, says, 'Edicts such as this have been used throughout history to influence the behaviour of people. The earliest were possibly archaeological pieces such the Rosetta Stone or the edicts of King Ashoka in India. More recently artists such as Jenny Holzer and Barbara Kruger have used language for effect in both private and public spaces. Australian artist Rosalie Gascoigne used the strategy of text on a yellow background for a great visual effect.'

The Art at Large project is a multi-site billboard project that presents a significant opportunity for artists to display their work in a high profile format outside the gallery walls. The project has been running since early 2011 and showcases the work of artists on billboards along the highways of the valley and surrounding regions.

Details of all the billboards included in the project and their locations is available on the Grafton Regional Gallery website at www.graftongallery.nsw.gov.au  The Art at Large project is possible through the support of the Clarence Valley Council and Arts NSW.

Are we there yet?

Clarence Valley artist, Robert Moore, has installed his artwork on a billboard as part of Art At Large.

Are we there yet? depicts the classic Grafton scene of cars piled high with surf boards, as locals and holiday makers stop to pick up supplies on route to one of our many beach side destinations. Are we there yet? being a common cry from the back of a car heading for a much anticipated holiday.

The work has been installed on a billboard just North of Grafton on the Pacific Highway.

Art at Large is a multi-site billboard project that presents a significant opportunity for artists to display their work in a high profile format. The project has been running since early 2011 and showcases the work of artists on billboards along the highways of the valley and surrounding regions.

Details of all the billboards included in the project and their locations is available on the Grafton Regional Gallery website at www.graftongallery.nsw.gov.au  The Art at Large project is possible through the support of the Clarence Valley Council and Arts NSW.

Art at Large

To complete our first year of big art out and about John Witzig’s iconic surfing photograph at Angourie, Fresh Mullet, was pasted up on a billboard at New Italy, early in the New Year.

Expressions of interest (EOI) are sought from artists and or groups of artists who live and work within the Clarence Valley or who are represented in the Grafton Regional Gallery Collection. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists who are represented in the Grafton Regional Gallery collection or living in the Clarence Valley are encouraged to apply.

Art at Large is a multi-site billboard project that aims to convey the strong visual arts culture of the Clarence Valley.

Previous and current billboards and all details about submission requirements and the Art at Large project are online at http://www.graftongallery.nsw.gov.au/ Submissions for the 2012 Art at Large project close on Monday 5 March 2012.

Our Collection is Online!

The Grafton Regional Gallery's collection is online. Check our website and let us know what you think of it! It took a year to get the project completed as we had to stocktake, photograph and create new image files for our artworks.

Not all our artworks are up. Where an artist has multiple works we post two or three up and for our beautiful O'Grady Collection we posted a selection from over 2,ooo items. Enjoy!

Who is going to win the 2011 CVIAA?

Danielle Hurford won the 2009 Clarence Valley Indigenous Art Award. Who is going to win the $5,000? The exhibition is up for a week before being judged by Bruce McLean, Associate Curator of Indigenous Art, Queensland Art Gallery (pictured). Bruce announces the winner and the highly commended award (worth $1,000) at 10.30am Wednesday 2 November at the gallery.

In the meantime the staff are running a raffle. Guess who the winner is and you could win a Jacaranda Hamper full of goodies to help you celebrate the Jacaranda Festival.

The 2011 CVIAA will be open to the public from 10am Wednesday 26 October so come in and do your selection.

Check out how your selection compares to the judges - we will be blogging the outcome!