WELCOME TO THE COWRA REGIONAL ART GALLERY

ABOUT THE GALLERY The Cowra Regional Art Gallery offers visitors a diverse and lively program of major touring exhibitions from state and national sources, and in-house exhibitions, including regional projects, collection exhibitions and presentation of the annual Calleen Art Award, a national acquisitive art prize for painting which takes place from early May to mid-June.

The Gallery actively promotes an appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts through a guest speaker program and workshop activities for children and adults.

The Gallery prides itself as a friendly and welcoming public gallery, with a gift shop that offers a unique range of cards from major Australian art institutions, art and local history publications, and selected jewellery and merchandise by artists from the region.

VISIT USThe Cowra Regional Art Gallery is about a 60-minute drive from Bathurst and Orange NSW, and a 2-hour drive from Canberra.

STAY CONNECTEDFor further information about special events, talks and workshops follow the Gallery on Twitter and Facebook or visit www.cowraartgallery.com.au

LOCATION77 Darling Street Cowra NSW (opposite the Australian World Peace Bell). Tel: (02) 6340 2190.

Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 10am–4pm, Sunday 2pm–4pm. (Mondays closed)

GENERAL ADMISSION: FREE

The Cowra Regional Art Gallery is a cultural facility of the Cowra Shire Council and supported by the NSW Government through Arts NSW.

FEBRUARY – JULY 2016

Warakurna: All the stories got into our minds and eyes An exhibition of contemporary paintings and sculptures documenting a new art movement emerging from the Western Desert community of Warakurna. These paintings combine familiar Western Desert symbols and dots with a new, more figurative style, to recreate scenes of everyday life and to tell historical and contemporary stories.

Western Desert people were among the last Aboriginal people to have contact with Europeans. Warakurna lay in the middle of the flight path of missiles launched from Woomera in the South Australian desert in the 1960s.

A National Museum of Australia Travelling exhibition, supported by Visions of Australia, an Australian government program supporting touring exhibitions by providing funding assistance for the development and touring of Australian cultural material across Australia.

COMING UP 25 June to 31 July 2016

Above: Camel Cull, 2012, by Eunice Yunurupa Porter, courtesy Warakurna Artists, from the collection of the National Museum of Australia.

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COMING UP 13 February to 13 March 2016Selling An American Dream: Australia’s Greek CaféThis major photography exhibition explores an important chapter in the development of Australian culture.

The exhibition curator’s photographer, Effy Alexakis, and historian Leonard Janiszewski, have utilised a revealing interplay of historical and contemporary photographs to present a social history exhibition that has powerfully resonated with audiences across the country.

The exhibition celebrates the golden age of Greek-owned cafés in Australia – from the 1930s to the late 1960s. For anyone who remembers enjoying a milk-shake, ice-cream sundae, milk chocolate treat or hamburger at their favourite café, this exhibition is not to be missed.

COMING UP 19 March to 24 April 2016Wild

COMING UP 19 March to 24 April 2016The Wilkins Collection: A SurveyThis survey exhibition of Higher School Certificate student artworks from The Wilkins Collection focuses on landscape and figurative works acquired during the past 15 years. It presents a unique range of vibrant and inspiring artworks by young artists from across NSW.

The Wilkins Collection (named in honour of William Wilkins (1827–1892), the first permanent head of the Department of Education in New South Wales) was established in 1974 and has over 900 artworks after 40 years of collecting. The collection is owned by the Arts Unit, Specialist Programs, Department of Education, and each year, it continues to purchase approximately 10 new bodies of work from students exhibiting in the annual ARTEXPRESS exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW. The Arts Unit also organises an annual tour of ARTEXPRESS to regional galleries in NSW. This exhibition is a collaborative exhibition project with the Arts Unit, Specialist Programs, Department of Education.

COMING UP 30 April to 19 June 2016Calleen Art Award The Calleen Art Award is an annual acquisitive award for contemporary painting in any subject or style. It was established in 1977 by Mrs Patricia Fagan OAM and is made possible with the generous support of the Calleen Trust.

The winner of the 2016 Calleen Art Award will be awarded $19,000 in prize money and their winning work joins the Calleen Art Collection, an integral part of the Cowra Regional Art Gallery’s permanent collection. Recent winners include Peter Gardiner, Gladdy Kemarre, Naomi White and Yvonne Boag in 2015.

The 2016 Calleen Art Award Judge is John Cheeseman, Director, Mosman Art Gallery. Visitors to the Calleen Art Award can vote in the People’s Choice Award (non-acquisitive) with the winning artist awarded $500 in prize money.

This solo exhibition by Nic Mason references her long background in conservation management and ongoing relationship with the Australian landscape, specifically the bush and big skies of the Blue Mountains and west of the Great Dividing Range. This environmental focus by Mason who lives in Napolean Reef near Bathurst is mixed with stories from her domestic and family life. The two combined echo Mason’s disquiet about the impact of

introduced pest animals on threatened Australian fauna and convey her immersion in living and bringing up a family within this landscape. Narrative and symbolism are integral to this work, where Mason plays with the rendering of animal masks and her recurring red bag. Wild is the first substantial body of work shown by Nic Mason and hosted by Cowra Regional Art Gallery, following her win of the 2015 Central West Regional Art Award.

Above: Nic Mason, Fox and numbat, oil on canvas, 2015, 76 cm x 76 cm.

Laura Rose Morris, The Ponds, 2013, painting, 80 x 129 cm.

Astoria Café interior, Hunter Street, Newcastle, NSW, late 1940s (detail). Photo courtesy N. Raftos, from the ‘In Their Own Image: Greek Australians’ National Project Archives, Macquarie University.

Above: Anita West, Sandalwood Country (detail), 2015, acrylic on linen, 100 x 200 cm. Winner of the 2015 People’s Choice Award (Calleen Art Award).