artbank-australia
Artbank
A moving collection…
At the moment an idea takes hold and progresses the often rocky path to becoming reality, the manifest potential of success and failure grips with an even hand on the future. In the case of Artbank, few could have predicted the lasting impact a decision made by the then Fraser Government would have on the development of the visual arts in Australia.
The true scale of this success can be seen in the Artbank of today. Comprised of some of the best examples of Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultural expression, Artbank has grown from a mere 600 works to be one of the most significant collections of Australian art in the world – with in excess of 9000 works across medium – by some 3000 artists.
With a mandate to support and promote Australian contemporary art, Artbank actively collects, commissions, curates and contributes to the visual arts ecosystem. Central to our approach is connecting audiences with the work in our collection – accessible through a national leasing program, supported by creative programming.
The ability for any Australian resident or business to curate their own exhibition, and through the leasing program choose to live with their selection for 3, 6 or 12 months (or longer) has made the Artbank collection the most accessible, active and democratic of all the public collections of the Commonwealth of Australia.
With offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, and the work from our collection on public and private exhibition nationally and internationally, Artbank is truly an institution without boundaries.
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Artbank is moving in Melbourne!
Artbank has two core objectives – supporting artists through the acquisition of their work and promoting that work to the broader community. After more than a decade working out of an office and showroom in Armadale, Artbank has commenced converting of a warehouse in Collingwood that will house the collection, public spaces and staff for the decade ahead.
In a move that reflects the organisation’s increasing relevance and audience reach, Artbank’s new inner-city facility will include a cultural event space for exhibitions, talks, community events and public programs.
“The launch of Artbank’s new Melbourne facility signifies a critical moment in the history of the organisation,” said Artbank Director Tony Stephens. “The expansion will provide increased capacity to service new and existing clients, allowing us to support more artists and in doing so increase the accessibility of Australian visual art for more Australians. The new space will also allow much greater public interface, so we can better connect the work of Australian artists with their audiences”.
Artbank was established in 1980 as a federal government support program for the visual arts. Today, Artbank holds one of the largest and most significant collections of Australian art in the world, which in turn is made publically available through an art leasing program.
“Artbank is in a unique position to not only connect audiences through our leasing program, but to also reimagine how a collection held on behalf of the Australian public can be an inclusive part of mainstream society, a truly democratic collection,” said Artbank Director, Tony Stephens.
“Artbank is more than an art-rental program, it works to support artists and the sector more broadly by engaging diverse audiences who may have no existing alignment or interest with the arts. The new Collingwood facility will be bold, collaborative and open. A centre for the contemporary art and the diverse communities who support it.”
For more information on Artbank call 1800 251 651 or send us an email.
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BRISBANE ARTIST SAM CRANSTOUN AWARDED THE ARTBANK + QPAC COMMISSION 2016
Artbank and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) have announced Brisbane artist Sam Cranstoun as the recipient of the Artbank + QPAC Commission 2016.
This exciting commission provides the opportunity for early to mid-career Queensland based artists to realise the creation of a new, large scale work on paper. Artists and artist collectives were invited to submit proposals to create a two dimensional artwork in photomedia, drawing, printmedia, collage or painting on paper.
As the recipient of the commission, Sam Cranstoun receives $6,000 to produce his winning artwork, which will be on display in the Russell Street Wine Bar of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre Playhouse for a period of twelve months from mid 2016 to mid 2017. It will then be acquired for the prestigious Artbank collection, and will be made available for lease following its return from QPAC in 2017.
Artist Sam Cranstoun’s multidisciplinary practice draws upon a variety of tangentially connected images and objects in a playful examination of shifting cultural values. Cranstoun graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). He has held solo exhibitions locally, including Fox River Rising (2013), and Memphis Tn (2014) at the Milani Gallery. Cranstoun’s work has been presented in group exhibitions such as GoMA Q (2015), Subtropic Complex at the Institute of Modern Art (2014) and Tokyo Downtown Cool Media Festival, Tokyo (2010). He has twice been selected as a finalist for the Archibald Prize and twice been awarded Arts Council of Australia grants.
Says Tony Stephens, Artbank’s Director: “This commission marks the fourth year of our partnership with QPAC, a collaboration developed to promote and support contemporary Queensland artists through commission, acquisition and public display. In the past, we have commissioned exceptional works from artists such as photomedia artist Kate Bernauer (2013), photographer Martin Smith (2014) and photographic artist and costume maker Gerwyn Davies (2015).
“We are delighted to be awarding this year’s commission to Sam Cranstoun’s and look forward to seeing his ideas for an ambitious work on paper come to life. Sam is one of the rising stars of the Brisbane arts scene and his provocative exploration of historical imagery and events should create an exceptional work for the Artbank + QPAC Commission.”
QPAC Associate Director Arts Programming Kirsten Siddle added: “Our ongoing relationship with Artbank has seen QPAC promote Queensland artists’ work through leasing a newly commissioned work from Artbank, alongside additional pieces from their collection, for public display in QPAC’s Russell St Wine Bar. This partnership demonstrates QPAC’s commitment to support and promote artists, not just performers on stage, but within the broader artistic community.”
Says Sam Cranstoun: “I am really excited to have been awarded the 2016 Artbank + QPAC Commission. I have for a long time wanted to create a work on paper that draws on my personal archive of historically based imagery - images that I have collected in developing other projects but ultimately not been able to use - and this commission gives me the opportunity to explore and develop these incongruous and seemingly unrelated images for a series of watercolours. It’s an honour to be showing at QPAC and for the work to be acquired for the Artbank Collection.”
Image: Sam Cranstoun, Collage Fragments I - 2016, Watercolour on paper, courtesy of the artist.
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ARTBANK EXPLORES
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN
Curated by Clothilde Bullen
18 August – 12 November 2016, Artbank Sydney
This August, Artbank collaborates with West Australian curator Clothilde Bullen on an exhibition at Artbank in Sydney: Darkness on the Edge of Town. Drawing largely from Artbank’s significant collection of Indigenous Australian art, Clothilde’s curatorial narrative explores themes of racism, dispossession and the role of art in Indigenous communities.
Clothilde Bullen is a Wardandi (Nyoongar)/ Bibbulmun Indigenous woman who previously held the position of Curator of Indigenous Art at the Art Gallery of Western Australia. She has curated thirteen exhibitions, led the acquisition of a series of significant artworks for the State Art Collection (WA) and is one of the leading voices on the contemporary Indigenous art scene.
Colthilde has drawn together works from the Artbank collection, to create a discourse around contemporary art created by Indigenous Australian artists being viewed as a persuasive tool for change. Clothilde’s view is that Indigenous art can take a powerful stance as it relates to the idea that Aboriginal voices and black lives matter. Her exhibition lends clarity to this concept by displaying works by artists whose narrative is characterised by a sense of unapologetically ‘standing in their own truth’.
Says Clothilde of her exhibition: “Movements led by the marginalised and dispossessed of western countries – in this case Indigenous Australian people – have at their core a sense of being unheard, unseen, of speaking a different language to their oppressors. Art in these cases transcends language and provides a bridge of communication between the two groups. Indigenous Australian lives have been irrevocably affected by the colonial history of this country, but conversely have had a profound effect upon the awareness, appreciation and understanding of who we are as a nation. This exhibition seeks to make that awareness conscious, to challenge the viewer to consider the lives and concerns of the artists and by extension all Indigenous Australians.”
Says Tony Stephens: “We are immensely proud to be working with Clothilde Bullen on this exhibition. Clothilde has a unique approach that presents complex ideas in such a way that also makes them accessible. The colonial history of our country is for all Australian’s to know and understand. For this exhibition, Clothilde has mined the depth of the Artbank collection to create a narrative that both spans time and place and is a must see for every Australian.”
The exhibition features works by some of the most important Indigenous contemporary artists in Australia today: Balga Resin (2008) by Christopher Pease; What are you saying (2007) by Clinton Nain, Agula in the Antbed (2006) by GILGI, God is on our side (1991) by Karen Casey and Borun Inside My Brain (1998) by Lesley Murray.
Darkness on the Edge of Town will run from 18 August – 12 November at Artbank Sydney. More info via: artbank.gov.au/exhibitions
Image: GILGI, Agula in the Antbed 2006.
#consider#artbankau#clotildebullen#artbankexhibition#indigenousaustralianart#darknessontheedgeoftown
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ARTBANK LAUNCHES ‘THE ARTBANK ROADSHOW’ TO SUPPORT FUTURE TALENT
Today, Artbank announced the launch of an unprecedented new initiative that will provide unrepresented Australian visual artists with the opportunity to have their artwork seen and possibly acquired for the Artbank collection, one of the largest collections of Australian contemporary art in the world. The Artbank Roadshow will see Artbank visit twelve metropolitan and regional locations around Australia between June 2016 to June 2017; meeting with artists in short 20 minute appointments to give artists the chance to ‘pitch’ their work.
The Artbank collection includes some of the finest examples of Indigenous and non-Indigenous contemporary artwork produced over the past four decades. As the largest collector of Australian art in the country, Artbank’s support for artists is often applied early in their careers, with further acquisitions made at regular intervals to form an extensive and constantly evolving collection of Australian contemporary art. The Artbank Roadshow will enable artists who do not have commercial gallery representation to introduce/reintroduce themselves to Artbank and pitch their work – with the possibility of it being acquired for the Artbank collection.
Says Tony Stephens of the initiative: “The Artbank collection is unique in that it represents possibly the most comprehensive cross-section of Australian contemporary art practice – year in, year out. This initiative will ensure Artbank’s support for Australian visual artists extends beyond those who have commercial representation and in doing so, assists us to continue building a significant public collection of Australian art that is truly representative of Australian cultural practice.”
Key dates and the locations for The Artbank Roadshow are:
· Hobart, June 2016
· Cairns, July 2016
· Brisbane, July 2016
· Darwin, August 2016
· Alice Springs, September 2016
· Sydney, October 2016
· Newcastle, November 2016
· Adelaide, February 2017
· Melbourne, March 2017
· Kandos, April 2017
· Perth, May 2017
· Canberra, June 2017
For further information on The Artbank Roadshow, visit artbank.gov.au/roadshow or freecall 1800 251 651.
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NEW ERA FOR ARTBANK MELBOURNE
ARTBANK ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF THE NEW ASSISTANT DIRECTOR - MELBOUNE: EMMA CRIMMINGS
Emma Crimmings, award-winning documentary filmmaker and current Director of Gertrude Contemporary, is to join Artbank in the newly created role of Assistant Director – Melbourne.
Emma’s wealth of leadership experience includes roles working most recently as Director of Gertrude Contemporary and previously as a Producer for ABC TV Arts, a curator at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image and the Australian Centre for Photography and as Acting Director and Program Manager of Cultural Affairs at the Australian Embassy in Washington DC.
Last year Emma was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to undertake international research on artists’ residences programs and creative place making. A graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts’ School of Film and TV, Emma also has a Bachelor of Arts in art history and criticism, and has authored numerous books and publications on film and the visual arts.
Director of Artbank, Tony Stephens, explains that the new role of Assistant Director – Melbourne presents as an expanded opportunity and marks a new strategic direction and vision for Artbank’s operations in Melbourne:
“Emma’s appointment to this newly created role marks the next chapter in the evolution of Artbank and its Melbourne operations. Charged with spearheading Artbank’s support for Australian artists in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, Emma will connect new audiences through the art leasing service and in doing so increase the accessibility of Australian visual art to more Australians. I am confident that Emma’s mix of professional experience and entrepreneurial approach will greatly contribute to Artbank delivering on our objectives in new and interesting ways. We are very excited to have her joining the team”.
"I am completely thrilled to be joining Artbank at such a dynamic time in its history. I am very attracted to the forward thinking, entrepreneurial model of Artbank and the scope inherent within it. The opportunity to cultivate new audiences and expose them to one the country's largest collection of Australia contemporary art provides unprecedented potential to significantly increase the support for individual artists, and the visual arts sector more broadly" says Emma.
Emma will begin her role as Assistant Director - Melbourne in March 2016.
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Artbank Program 2016
Last Thursday at Artbank record crowds were welcomed to the opening of Counter Compositions. The first of four exhibitions programmed for 2016, Counter Compositions is a collaborative project between Artbank and emerging Australian artists Kate Vassallo and James Lieutenant. The artists worked closely with Artbank’s curatorial team to paint a series of vibrant colour compositions directly onto the walls of Artbank’s Sydney Gallery in response to accompanying works from the Artbank collection.
Speaking to an audience of close to 300 guests on the night, Tony Stephens, Director of Artbank, explained that “Counter Compositions is effectively a ‘discussion in art’. It is an organic evolution stemming from a ‘call and response’ between artist and institution – taking some of the finest examples of Australian contemporary art collected by Artbank over the past thirty five years - and contextualising them within the dynamic colour compositions of Vassallo and Lieutenant’s wall-based work.”
Tony also took the opportunity to launch Artbank’s ambitious program for 2016. This included announcing new partnerships with Artbank’s Official Conservation Partner, International Conservation Services and a creative partnership with DesignBUILD in Melbourne. Guests were delighted to hear that following Counter Compositions Melbourne Theatre Company’s Artistic Director, Brett Sheehy AO, will be curating an exhibition on ‘beauty in the political’ followed by an exhibition of Aboriginal artworks from the Artbank collection curated by Clotilde Bullen. The exhibition program for 2016 will conclude with a thrilling collaboration with four Australian designers working in interiors, architecture and fashion who will each partner with one of Artbank’s Art Consultants to create four distinct and immersive rooms.
Perhaps one of the most anticipated events is the return of Renny Kodgers to a host a performance art exhibition at the Beresford in April. Building on the success of the trivia night hosted by Renny in 2013, this event will be sure to sell out so stay tuned for more information on ticket sales.
And be sure to keep your eyes peeled for issue five and six of Sturgeon magazine, an exciting new video commission in partnership with Melbourne Theatre Company as well as the return of the Artbank Social Club, bigger and better than before.
For more information on Artbank’s full program of activity for 2016, contact [email protected], call 1800 251 651 or visit artbank.gov.au
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Robert Campbell Jnr: History Painter
We are pleased to announce the release of the first monograph of the work of Robert Campbell Jnr - published following the occasion of the Artbank survey exhibition History Painter, curated by Djon Mundine OAM. Featuring essays by Mundine and art historian Professor Ian McLean, Robert Campbell Jnr: History Painter includes reproductions of over forty works spanning his brief period of artistic production in the 1980s and 1990s.
To say Robert Campbell Jnr (1944–1993)was an important Aboriginal storyteller would be an understatement. A primarily self-taught painter, his work embodies an artistic life that sought to deal with the social discrimination he witnessed growing up in south eastern New South Wales, as well the continuing impact of Australia’s colonial past. The selection of Campbell’s paintings in these pages, canvas still pertinent issues of dispossession, disempowerment and cultural and historical dematerialisation, disappearance, and a codified form of Aboriginal collective memory, a ‘collective consciousness’.
$25 - Order it from Artbank: [email protected]
Stockists:
National Gallery of Australia
Art Gallery of New South Wales
National Gallery of Victoria
Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art
Art Gallery of South Australia
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Announcing... a very special commission for the collection by the Ken Sisters from Amata in the APY Lands, working at Tjala Arts. This stunning two-panel work has just been completed and is almost immediately out the door to a very happy client.
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Visible Storage at Artbank’s Sydney gallery is now open. Take a look at how this yellow beast was put together. Get in soon as the works are fast leasing, emptying the space almost as rapidly as it was installed.
Gallery hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10-5 pm.
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'Visible Storage’ – coming soon! Curated by the Artbank team, our latest show brings together hundreds of works from the recesses of the collection store. Like this one, a Cubist influenced work by Pasquale Giardino, ‘Dr Jekyll and Everybody Hide’ 1990, selected by Assistant Director & Head Curator Daniel Mudie Cunningham. Snappy fact: Giardino was one of the founding members of the Roar group of artists including David Larwill that formed in Melbourne in the early 1980s.
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Get ready for Visible Storage, our next exhibition at Artbank in Sydney. Installation is currently underway… Yellow walls – check✔️💛
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Have you dropped in to Artbank in Sydney to check out our spectacular Ross Manning? ‘Spectra VII’ was commissioned in 2014 to celebrate the opening of our new space in Waterloo, and is currently on display in the dramatic 14 metre tower at the entrance. Don’t forget to look up!
Photograph Zan WImberley
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NEW ACQUISITION
Gareth Sansom, Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe, 2014
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Announcing: Artbank's involvement with the NSW Arts and Disability Partnership, supported by the NSW Department of Family and Community Services and Arts NSW. Through the support of this program we have the opportunity to build our collection while providing increased support to NSW artists who identify as having a disability. Our research has begun so if you know anyone who fits the bill - drop us a line.
Here's a happy snap from a great visit by Sydney based artists John Demos, Jessica Fesic and Adam Jones, as well as Arts Development Manager at Accessible Arts, Kristina Tito, and Louise Anderson, Associate Partner at the artist run initiative Big Fag Press.
#artbank#artsnsw#ArtsandDisabilityPartnership#curate#collect#australianart#contemporary art#AccessibleArts#bigfagpress
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Perth based Thea Costantino's haunting piece for Sturgeon #3 takes inspiration from Sophie Calle’s iconic 1979 work ‘Suite venitienne’.
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Get your hands on a copy of Sturgeon #3. Inside you’ll find Jenny Orchard’s delectable 'Marilyn' 2007 - one of the ceramic works featured in Miriam Kelly’s curated pictorial celebrating the recent renaissance of an ancient medium. By the way, this work is available to lease from Artbank for annual rental of $605.
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Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales from fashion label Romance Was Born get together with artist Rebecca Baumann to discuss their recent collaboration 'Reflected Glory', an installation exploring ritual, initiation, celebration and marking time. Check it out! http://sturgeonmagazine.com.au/reflected-glory/
Romance was Born & Rebecca Baumann ‘Reflected Glory’ 2014
Installation at Carriageworks, Sydney
Photography Zan Wimberley
#consider#stugeon magazine#artbank#romance was born#rebecca baumann#carriageworks#zan wimberley#australian art
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