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!

Thanks to everyone who helped make our winter a little more colourful as part of the Clarence Valley Guerrilla Knitting Project a Grafton Regional Gallery community arts project. Here are just a few groovy things that appeared around the gallery courtyard as part of the project.

Paranormal Activity - The results are in!!!

Queensland Paranormal Research and Analysis Group ( QPRAG ) have reviewed the data collected during the investigation at the Grafton Regional Gallery and have concluded that there is in fact paranormal activity occurring at the gallery.

The group were fortunate to catch what they call Class 1 EVP's (actual unexplained voices) and a few other strange noises.

During a locked -off period equipment was set up upstairs in prentice house, 2 of devices activated at the same time indicating a presence. Also during this locked off period two of the investigators were sitting quietly downstairs and both heard and recorded a voice as well as other unexplained noises. A recording device set up on the stairs captured a voice and unexplained noises.

Footage captured on an infrared camera while focussed on a candle in the dining room shows the camera moving from air current but the candle itself did not flicker

The conclusion is the Gallery is rated a Category 2 (Paranormal Activity captured but no visual evidence).

For a full write up on what happen during the evening check out Dominic Zietsch's article in the Daily Examiner 8th February 2011 http://www.dailyexaminer.com.au/story/2011/02/08/who-you-gonna-call-ghost-hunting-cemetery/

A new public artwork by Cass Samms has been installed at Yamba at Turners Beach near the old quarry. Cass Samms Furcula 2011 is four stylised bronze wishbone pieces which interconnect with one another creating an interactive space. The sculpture which is approximately 1.6m wide, 2.7m long and 1m high sits on the edge of the rocks overlooking the beach and river crossing.

The Furcula or wish bones are inspired by the old tradition of pulling a wishbone with a friend to make a wish. These wishbones will bring luck for a safe crossing of the river.
I'm sure that a tradition of rubbing the sculpture for luck will be something my children grow up with - in fact I might start that tradition this weekend.
Thanks Cass for another beautiful sculpture.

Lesley Apps meets the Hon Julie Gillard at Grafton Shoppingworld

Lesley Apps, Member of the Grafton Regional Gallery's Advisory Committee, had the pleasure of meeting the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, at Grafton Shoppingworld when the PM was visiting the Clarence Valley to view the impact of the major flood in January 2011.

2010 JADA Acquisitions

The announcement of the $15,000 prize and $15,000 of acquisitions was made at the gala opening by the judge of the 2010 JADA Julie Ewington, Curatorial Manager, Australian Art at Queensland Art Gallery. General approval was given by the 130 guests who had gathered in the gallery for the event.

The acquisitions worth at least $15,000 in total were Anna Hoyle’s Lucky Prince and Pretty Princess, Lisa Jones’ Replicator and Miles Hall’s Baignade Rose (out of the dead land).

Anna Hoyle Lucky Prince and Pretty Princess

Lucky Prince and Pretty Princess by Anna Hoyle was the first of three drawings acquired from the JADA. This brassy, playful work aggregates images and media in a busy all over pattern found in wrapping paper or textiles to explore the flashy media driven world of consumer culture. Anna Hoyle, who lives and works in Brunswick in Melbourne, has been a finalist in the JADA since 2004.

Lisa Jones Replicator

The second acquisition, Replicator by Lisa Jones, is a carefully crafted drawing about networks, from internal structures of the human body to the social networks of cyberspace. Lisa, who has lived in Sydney since moving in 2002 from England, sees networks of all types as part of our evolving population.

Miles Hall Baignade Rose (out of the dead land)

Brisbane based artist, Miles Hall, took out the final acquisition with Baignade Rose (out of the dead land), a sensitive and evocative work. Inspired by T.S. Eliot’s poem Burnt Norton (Four Quartets), Baignade Rose or red bath or dip was first drawn in charcoal then dipped in pink acrylic to envelope the lower half of the image.

PETER ALWAST WINS 2010 JACARANDA ACQUISITIVE DRAWING AWARD and $15,000.

Peter Alwast has taken out the major prize of the $30,000 2010 Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award as a first time finalist with his drawing entitled Trees, Waterfall, Back.

The artist is honoured and delighted to win this major drawing award. Peter indicated that the $15,000 winning prize which is sponsored by the Friends of the Gallery has come at a great time as he is about to commence a residency at Artspace in Sydney for six months.

The announcement of the $15,000 prize and $15,000 of acquisitions was made at the gala opening by the judge of the 2010 JADA Julie Ewington, Curatorial Manager, Australian Art at Queensland Art Gallery. General approval was given by the 130 guests who had gathered in the gallery for the event.

The acquisitions worth at least $15,000 in total were Anna Hoyle’s Lucky Prince and Pretty Princess, Lisa Jones’ Replicator and Miles Hall’s Baignade Rose (out of the dead land).

The winning work and three acquisitions will join the Grafton Regional Gallery JADA Collection which contains an impressive selection of contemporary Australian drawing.

2010 JADA Gala Opening 6pm Fri 29 Oct

Wear your sparkles and favourite kit to the gala opening of the 2010 JADA at 6pm Friday 29 October at the Grafton Regional Gallery.

Julie Ewington, Curatorial Manager of Australian Art at the Queensland Art Gallery, is the 2010 JADA judge. She will be announcing the $15,000 winnner of the JADA and the artists whose work has been acquired (Julie had $15,000 to spend on the acquisitions!).

John Macdonald, art writer and art critic for the Sydney Morning Herald, is our special guest speaker.

Fine wines, nibbles (includes cheese) and music round out this very traditional gallery opening.

$20 or $15 if you are a Friend of the Gallery (you can join then pay for the JADA) or if you take a punt that there is still space (unlikely) you pay $25 on the night. Limit of 150 people. Phone 02 6642 3177 to book in.

Today artist Frances Bell Parker brought some work in to the gallery to show to a few collectors. The sale of artwork is to celebrate her newfound freedom as an artist after leaving her role as the Indigenous Arts Officer at Arts Northern Rivers. It was a chance to grab a bargain as work went for well below recommended retail price.
Jude picked up a set of lino prints from a limited edition, which also feature in the print collection of the National Gallery of Australia.
There are still beautiful works on offer by contacting Frances at franclub@gmail.com .

OK if you are after the dates for the JADA 2010 here they are.

2010 $30,000 Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award

Launch and entries open Friday 30 April
Entries will be posted out to artists registered on our database.
Entries are available as an insert in Art in Australia May edition.
Entries can be downloaded from this web site from Friday 30th April
Entries will be available from the gallery.

Entries close Friday 6 August 2010

Selection and notification to artists mid August

Exhibition Dates at Grafton Regional Gallery
29 October – 11 December 2010
Official Opening: 6.00pm Friday 29 October 2010

Touring Dates
December 2010 – January 2012 (subject to change)

Proudly sponsored by The Friends of the Gallery

Image: John Philippides Portrait 2 winner JADA 2008

Volunteers
Last Night Grafton Regional Gallery hosted our first ever volunteers info evening. The night was a great success with plenty of interested people hearing about all the different volunteer roles on offer at the gallery. Avron our volunteer coordinator was particularly thrilled.

Volunteers man the front desk and gallery shop, tend the gallery, help hang exhibitions and conduct guided tours, as well as perform a myriad of activities that we just couldn’t functions without. Our volunteers are valued members of the gallery family

If you have ever thought volunteering at the gallery might be for you, now’s the time- we are on a role.

Allan and Henk help hang a show

Sparkles Everywhere

On Wednesday 17 we unveiled the new sculpture Spare parts in the Sphere by Cass Samms at a sparkling event at sunset.. The magnificent aluminium sphere, which floats over the garden under our much love Golden Rain tree was commissioned by the Gallery Foundation to celebrate their first five years of operation.
The company was glittering and the conversation flowed as people enjoyed the beauty of the new sculpture.
Inspiration for Spare Parts in a Sphere comes from shapes found in nature, especially insects. The lacework like construction of the piece hi-lights the negative spaces and enhances the dappled light falling on the sculpture through the trees. The sculpture is supported by three legs that allow it to float over the surface of the garden like a dream or fantastic apparition.

We are thrilled with our new sculpture by this talented young artist. Cass Samms is one to watch!!!!

Kay Alden George Burkitt Jude McBean & Cass Samms at the Sculpture Launch 17 Feb 10

What a Night

On Friday 5th February over 100 people gathered for the openings of five new exhibitions
My Favourite Australian
The Ken Done Print Collection
Phil Greed & Ray Rixon: Pandanus Tectorius
Katka Adams: It is not common for hens to have pillows
Ulmarra Public School: A Bend in the River
All the shows remain on display until 14 March 2010
We had great artist talks from Ken, Phil & Ray and Katka as well as toasting the whole affair with a glass of bubbles.
With the new licenses all organised the gallery are thrilled to once again be able to have a bar.
A great night was had by all- we hope to see you at one soon.

New temporary exhibition space in relocated historic Yamba church

Historic Yamba church moving to a new life

In early May this year the old Presbyterian Church in Yamba was moved to start a new life as a lively temporary exhibition space next to the Story House Museum in River Street Yamba.

When the federal government’s infrastructure development program was announced late last year the Member for Page, Janelle Saffin, successfully sought the support of the Clarence Valley Council for the project on behalf of the Port of Yamba Historical Society.

This project is one of 24 projects being carried out by the Clarence Valley Council with the support of the Federal Government’s Community Infrastructure Program. This program has provided the funds to repair, restore and fit out the church and connect it to the museum. The Council is managing the project in collaboration with the Port of Yamba Historical Society.