Artspace Mackay on international touring circuit

For the very first time, Artspace Mackay will be transforming the walls of its McAleese Gallery to enhance a very special touring exhibition from Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA).

Entire sections of the gallery will be painted in colour according to MCA specifications during changeover week after the popular Namatjira to Now exhibition departs this Sunday, October 31 for its next destination.

Community Services and Facilities portfolio councillor Karen May said Artspace Mackay will be changing its wall colours inside the McAleese Gallery for the first time since it was built in 2003.

“It’s a really exciting step to take, and we’re all looking forward to seeing the gallery in an entirely new light,” Cr May said.

In yet another coup for Artspace Mackay in 2010, the gallery is extremely proud to be the only one in Australia outside a metropolitan area to be offered the opportunity to show Simryn Gill: Gathering.

MCA is touring this exhibition to Australian and international venues including the Anne and Gordon Samstag Museum of Art (Adelaide), Queensland Art Gallery (Brisbane), Galerie Petronas (Kuala Lumpur) and Artspace Mackay.

Cr May said the fact that residents have a cutting-edge contemporary art exhibition of this kind showing in our region is truly marvellous, and demonstrates that our gallery staff operates our regional gallery on a level that holds the respect of its metropolitan peers.

“Local students and artists, both established and emerging will no doubt take deep inspiration from this internationally acclaimed artist’s work,” she said.

The exhibition, Simryn Gill: Gathering features photography, objects, collections, books and text works by this internationally renowned artist.

Gill’s art practice considers how we might experience place as an intersection of personal and collective histories and geographies. In making the photographic work ‘May 2006’, for example, the artist took more than 800 photographs over a month of walks around her neighbourhood, using a roll of film a day.

The film stock had recently been discontinued and was nearing its expiry date; Gill’s work recorded the passing of a particular material as well as documented the artist’s deepening connection to her locality.

Gill has exhibited widely throughout Australia and internationally including the 2006 Singapore Biennale, the 2008 Biennale of Sydney, and the 1999 Venice Biennale. Her work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Tate Modern, London and the Smithsonian Institution, Washing DC.

Also showing in the Artspace Mackay Foyer is Printbank Mackay’s second annual printmaking award.

The 2010 Print Award has attracted entries from throughout the region including works by popular local artists Raye Williams, Tracey Heathwood, Heather Walker, May-Britt Mosshammer, Tony Druery and Lesley Kane.

Winners of the 2010 Print Award will be announced at the opening of the exhibition and a People’s Choice award will be announced at the end of the exhibition.

Simryn Gill: Gathering and the 2010 Print Award will be showing in the McAleese Gallery and foyer at Artspace Mackay from Saturday, November 5 to January 9, 2011.

Opening celebrations will take place on Friday, November 5 at 6pm with a floor talk the following day (November 6) at 11am.

Contact: Melissa Dunn

Phone: 1300 MACKAY (1300 622 529)