Touring Tapestry to Melbourne

Image: Marie Cook, 'Sunbather (1977), woven tapestry; wool, cotton, Ararat Regional Art Gallery collection, purchased with the support of the Crafts Boardl of the Australia Council, 1978, Photo: Terence Bogue

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Ararat Regional Regional Art Gallery's touring exhibition, 'About Time: Australian Studio Tapestry 1975-2005', is presented at the Bundoora Homestead Arts Centre until 16 April 2012. The exhibition was launched at Ararat Regional Art Gallery in August 2010 and has since toured to three regional galleries. This is the fifth and final presentation of the touring exhibition.

The exhibition has been expanded and re-designed in response to the various rooms that comprise the main exhibitions at Bundoora Homestead. Some recently donated drawings and samples by Kay Larence will occupy one room which focuses on the design of her 'House/Self' tapestry. Kate Derum's 'The Midnight Tapestry' is another addition to the show that will hang alongside its companion piece, 'In the Heat of the Moment' from the Ararat collection. The exhibition also has new text panels to connect the different rooms.

To see photos of artist-weaver Sara Lindsay's recent talk, visit the Bundoora Homestead Arts Centre Facebook page.

About Time in Horsham

(l to r) Anthony Camm, Mardi Nowak and Adam Harding at Horsham Regional Art Gallery ( l to r: tapestries by Valerie Kirk, Kate Derum and Gerda van Hamond)

Our touring exhibition, 'About Time: Australian Studio Tapestry 1975-2005' was officially opened at Horsham Regional Art Gallery on Sunday 20 February at 3pm. The exhibition looks great in the gallery's temporary home. It was nice to see many people from Horsham's textile community in attendance and the inclusion of a Horsham community tapestry at the entrance to the exhibition was a nice reminder of the importance of the community tapestry movement in the studio tapestry story. Horsham Regional Art Gallery Director, Adam Harding was a great host and with his colleague Michael Shiell has done a great job in presenting and promoting the show.

We are thrilled that Mardi Nowak, who is an artist-weaver featured in 'About Time', has agreed to deliver public programs to support the exhibition's tour throughout regional Victoria. The day after the opening, Mardi presented a very successful talk in Horsham to over 50 high school students from across the Wimmera. Thanks Mardi! Mardi is also Curator of the Town Hall Gallery in Hawthorn.

The 'About Time' catalogue essays are now available to read on-line at Craft Victoria's 'Craft Culture' respository of craft writing. Ararat Regional Art Gallery Director, Anthony Camm's essay provides a response to the works in the show and their place in the rise of the studio tapestry movement. Essays by notable artist-weavers, Professor Kay Lawrence AM, Sara Lindsay and Hilary Green, from a section of the catalogue called, 'Reflections from the Field', can also be read on-line.

The Horsham show closes on 6 March, after which the exhibition will travel to Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery (1 July-14 Aug)and Central Goldfields Art Gallery in Maryborough (4 Sept-9 Oct). 'About Time' is funded by the Regional Exhibitions Touring Initiative and its catalogue is sponsored by the Gordon Darling Foundation.

Australian Studio Tapestry

Above: Tim Gresham with his tapestry 'Triptych from Red (2002)
Below: (l to r) Cresside Collette, Gerda van Hamond, Marie Cook, Sara Lindsay

Ararat Regional Art Gallery’s latest exhibition, “About Time: Australian Studio Tapestry 1975-2005” was officially opened on Saturday 14 August 2010 at 2pm by tapestry artist and Head of Art, South West TAFE, Warrnambool, Marie Cook. Marie, whose work is represented in the exhibition, joined tapestry artists from Melbourne and across Victoria at the opening.

“About Time” features 23 mostly large-scale tapestries in a rare survey of independent tapestry practice. The exhibition draws on the Gallery’s substantial holdings of studio tapestry, alongside some selected loans from other public galleries and private collections. While the exhibition does not tell the complete story of studio tapestry in Australia, it does aim to promote a greater understanding of the movement and acknowledge those who have been important in establishing and advancing this field of contemporary craft practice.

Since 2008 the Gallery’s studio tapestry sub-collection has been strengthened with acquisitions of major tapestries by important artists Kate Derum and Sara Lindsay. The “About Time” exhibition opening provided an opportunity to announce the Gallery’s successful funding application to the Robert Salzer Foundation, through the Public Galleries Association of Victoria, to support the acquisition of Tim Gresham’s ‘Triptych from Red’ from 2002.

“Triptych from Red” explores the tension between the immediacy of photography and the slowness of the weaving process. Tim, who is also a professional photographer, has distilled compositional elements from his photographs of the built environment to create this stunning abstract tapestry in three parts. Tim’s ambitious tapestry, which is presently on display in the “About Time” exhibition, took a year to weave and featured in the National Gallery of Victoria’s prestigious Colin and Cecily Rigg Craft Award in 2003. “About Time” continues until 26 September 2010.