Search

Australian comic artist Tommi Parrish and international artists Ron Regé Jr and Emma Talbot have arrived in Perth, ahead of this weekend's opening of the Comic Tragics: the exploding language of contemporary comic art exhibition. The visiting artists have a full event schedule during their stay, launching with this Thursday's preview and ending with an artist panel talk on Sunday afternoon, hosted by AGWA curator Robert Cook. Los Angeles-based artist Ron Regé Jr has been invited to create a large-scale mural in one of AGWA's new activity spaces, the Imagination Room.

The Art Gallery of Western Australia is delighted to announce that the winner of the 2016 Luminous: Tom Malone Prize for contemporary glass artists is Gabriella Bisetto for her work Becoming. Now in its fourteenth year, the Tom Malone Prize is a highly respected and eagerly anticipated event for contemporary Australian glass artists.

Comic Tragics is an international exploration of the inner life of the contemporary comic artist and their incredibly intense, personal and affecting comic works that connect with audiences in unexpected and powerful ways. This free exhibition features more than 150 examples of the most moving and compelling comic work being made in the world today from some of the medium’s most exciting practitioners.

The next exhibition in the Art Gallery of Western Australia's WA Focus series is a joint display of works by three Western Australian artists known for their long-standing interest in abstract forms. Trevor Richards, Alex Spremberg and Jurek Wybraniec have created new works across various media including painting, works on paper and sculpture for the WA Focus program.

The Art Gallery of Western Australia will beat with the pulse of young artists when Year 12 Perspectives opens on 12 March. This highly anticipated annual exhibition provides Perth with its yearly taste of art by some of the most talented graduating high school artists in the State. An annual barometer of what our youth are thinking and feeling, it is also a rich celebration of the role the arts play in the development of individual identities. 58 works by 57 students from across Western Australia were selected by this year’s judging panel.

Now in its fourteenth year the Tom Malone Prize is a highly respected and eagerly anticipated event for contemporary Australian glass artists. This is reflected in the high quality of the prize winners and the competitive shortlists. This year's prize brings together many of Australia's best glass artists. The display features the work of fourteen artists short-listed for the annual acquisitive award.

In an innovative cross-arts partnership between the Art Gallery of WA and WA’s newest contemporary dance company, Co3, Gallery visitors will experience their State Art Collection re-interpreted through contemporary dance and collaborative performance. This new partnership will see Co3 as AGWA's first performance artist in residence for 2016. Over the course of the next two years, Co3 will develop segments of a new work, Reason for Being.

Forming part of the 2016 Perth International Arts Festival Visual Arts program, this Perth debut of Trecartin’s work features AGWA’s major new acquisitions, the movies Sibling Topics (section a) 2009 and CENTER JENNY 2013. These works were acquired with funds accrued through the Art Gallery of Western Australia Foundation’s highly successful TomorrowFund campaign. Ryan Trecartin is widely considered to be the artist of our moment. Calvin Tompkins of the New Yorker recently dubbed him 'a video art visionary’ whose work is full of ‘breaking news from the future'.

At an exclusive launch event last night, the Art Gallery of Western Australia revealed its 2016 exhibition program ‘See things differently’ featuring diverse major new exhibitions, new partnerships, a reaffirmed commitment to contemporary Western Australian artists and the launch of two new Micro Galleries.

Graham Miller is one of Western Australia's most important photographers. He is known for his richly atmospheric images that combine cinematic vision with the eye-for-subtle-detail of a short story writer. AGWA's WA Focus display presents works spanning more than fifteen years of Miller's output. It comes together around two distinct threads: a body of landscape works and a group of portraits. 

Striking portraits and people emerge as recurring figures in Resistance, a subtle yet powerful exhibition of works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, opening at the Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) on Saturday. Forty-five works across a mix of mediums, including large-scale paintings and filmic works, demonstrate an incredible range and raise important themes of identity, justice and action. 

Minister for Culture and the Arts John Day and AGWA Director Stefano Carboni, unveiled the Art Gallery of Western Australia's latest exhibition Treasure Ships: Art in the Age of Spices at an exclusive preview at the Gallery this morning, ahead of tonight’s official opening. This highly anticipated exhibition, the result of a collaboration between the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) and AGWA, features the spectacular and exotic art produced for global markets from the 1500s to early 1800s.

Sandra Hill from Balingup, WA, has won the People’s Choice Award of $5,000 in the Western Australian Indigenous Art Awards 2015. Sandra Hill received the highest number of votes from the public. Sandra Hill is a Wardandi/Minang/Ballardong/Wilmen woman. Hill has exhibited extensively in Australia and internationally, her talent extends across various media including collage, printing, sculpture, installation and public art. 

Get down to the Art Gallery of Western Australia between 28 October – 8 November for a series of exciting public events happening for the first time in AGWA galleries and back courtyard as part of Proximity 2015. Proximity’s PARTY FOR 1 opening event returns on Saturday 31 October, with secret one-on-one performances, underworld experiences, and a bloc party featuring some of Perth’s best local DJs. Toastface Grillah treats and Volstead Union’s small batch cocktails will be available for purchase on the night. Everyone’s invited. Pre-sale tickets $15 are now on sale.

Tickets are now on sale for the Art Gallery of WA's summer exhibition Treasure Ships: Art in the Age of Spices which opens at AGWA on 10 October. This exhibition, the result of a collaboration between the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) and AGWA, features the spectacular and exotic art produced for global markets from the 1500s to early 1800s.

Australia’s first Festival of one-on-one performance returns for its fourth year, taking over the Art Gallery of WA from Wednesday 28 October. Proximity Festival 2015 is twelve days of experimental performances, intimate gallery tours, caffeine-fuelled discussions, workshops, and a very special opening party. 

After launching with an exhibition by Abdul and Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, AGWA's WA Focus gallery space returns on 15 August with an exhibition of works by mid-career artist Helen Smith. The WA Focus display will feature a selection of Smith's paintings and photographs from the State Art Collection where her work is well represented from 2000 to 2014. The exhibition includes her early Bordello series of photographs and other important paintings and photographs from her emerging career, together with new paintings she has created in the last year.

After extensive work by AGWA’s conservation team, Brett Whiteley’s iconic painting The American dream 1968-1969 is back in all its fractured splendour to feature in a two-part Collection display American dream, American nightmare. American dream, American nightmare will be displayed in two parts, examining the duality of the American experience: the dream and the nightmare.

Australia’s only one-on-one performance event is back with a bold program of new intimate experiences by twelve national and international artists as part of Proximity Festival 2015. Taking place at the Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) the Festival will run 28 October – 8 November and involve a curated program of opening celebrations, experimental performances, talks and workshops.

Megan Cope is the recipient of the 2015 Western Australian Indigenous Art Award of $50,000, one of the nation’s richest Indigenous art prizes for exceptional achievements by an Australian Indigenous artist. Cope was selected from 118 nominations received from across Australia. Megan Cope was born in Brisbane, Queensland and now lives and works in Melbourne, Victoria. She is a Noonuccal/Ngugi woman from Stradbroke Island.

Combining people, art and live entertainment, ARTBAR presents another exciting season of international and national acts at the Art Gallery of Western Australia.
ARTBAR – where music, food, wine and art come together!
The Preatures – 20 August
Guy Pearce & Darren Middleton – 15 October
San Cisco – 29 October (outdoor)
Clare Bowditch & The Royal Jelly Dixieland Band – 26 November (outdoor)

The Year 12 Perspectives 2014 People's Choice Award was awarded to Liam Strickland whose work Portrait of the Artist as a Year 12 was voted the most popular by Gallery audiences. Liam was awarded with a $500 voucher towards the purchase of art supplies to encourage and support his ongoing creative journey. Liam attended Hale School and the graduating students who study Visual Art at the school will also all receive tickets to attend Treasure Ships: Art in the Age of Spices, opening at the Art Gallery of WA in October.

Launching Wednesday 22 April is AGWA's new series WA Focus, a space dedicated to displaying the diverse work of Western Australian artists. WA Focus will feature projects that showcase and celebrate the diverse voices (contemporary, historical, Indigenous and non-Indigenous) that comprise this State’s vibrant arts scene. The Gallery will work closely with local artists and the WA arts community to present exhibitions that display the depth of the State’s creative talent, through a mix of gender, discipline and experience.

For Love of Country marks the Gallery’s contribution to Perth’s commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the First World War and the Australian Gallipoli campaign. Drawn from your State Art Collection, this exhibition presents a compelling mix of historical works from the First and Second World Wars, together with contemporary works that reflect on wider issues and conflicts.

This year’s Sculpture by the Sea at Cottesloe Beach marks a ten year involvement by AGWA’s Voluntary Gallery Guides. The Guides have been active in their support of this significant cultural event from helping in visitor information through to providing tactile tours for the vision-impaired.

The Art Gallery of Western Australia is delighted to announce that the winner of the 2015 Tom Malone Prize for contemporary glass artists is Cobi Cockburn for the work Close to white. Now in its thirteenth year, the Tom Malone Prize is a highly respected and eagerly anticipated event for contemporary Australian glass artists. This is reflected in the high quality of the prize winners and the competitive shortlists.

Year 12 Perspectives is your yearly taste of art by some of the best, brightest and most talented graduating high school artists in the State. An annual barometer of what our youth are thinking and feeling, it is also a rich celebration of the role the arts play in the development of individual identities. 65 students from across Western Australia were selected by this year’s judging panel, with works spanning a variety of subject matter and media, ranging from painting and drawing to sculpture, digital moving image, photography and textiles.

2015 represents the first year of a new direction for AGWA – driven by a refreshed vision and focus for the future. More will unfold in 2016 and following years, but I am greatly pleased by the first steps that we are undertaking in 2015. From showcasing local talent to broadening our horizons by presenting the art of Australia alongside that of our international counterparts, to stimulating ideas and encouraging conversations, we strive to provide a hub for visual arts in WA.

On Sunday February 8, the Art Gallery of Western Australia opens the first Australian solo exhibition by one of the most important artists of our time, Mariko Mori. Tokyo-born, New York and London-based, Mori's work resonates with audiences around the world through the exploration of themes such as life, death and rebirth.

The Art Gallery of WA has announced the fourteen finalists who will be represented in the exhibition of the Western Australian Indigenous Art Awards 2015. This year's selection panel included Amy Barrett-Lennard, Director of the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Kimberley Moulton, Project Officer for Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre at Melbourne Museum and Clotilde Bullen, Curator of Indigenous Art at AGWA.

The Art Gallery of Western Australia expresses its condolences to the family of Betty Churcher who passed away on 31 March, 2015. Churcher was the Director of AGWA from 1987 to 1990, and her contribution to the Gallery and the Western Australian and national arts community remains significant and inspiring to us all today.

READ MORE

Summer is shaping up at AGWA with a strong line-up of contemporary art exhibitions, a stunning display of artefacts recovered and restored from the Jewish Ghetto of Venice, extended opening hours, artist performances and events. Also making its debut is Screen Space, a permanent display space for the Gallery’s steadily increasing filmic acquisitions. A different work will screen every two months.

The Art Gallery of Western Australia was pleased to accept into the State Art Collection a set of fifteen boab nut casts engraved by artists from the Waringarri Aboriginal Arts Centre. Receiving the gift on AGWA’s behalf was AGWA Board Chair, Fiona Kalaf, who said, “I am delighted to accept this set of engraved boab nut casts on behalf of the Art Gallery of WA and I congratulate Waringarri Arts Centre and Wesfarmers Arts on their successful partnership resulting in the BOAB100 project." 

Restored by Venetian Heritage. In 1943 a number of precious silver and bronze objects dating from the 1700s to early 1900s were hidden from the approaching Nazi armies by a couple of elderly Venetian Jewish religious leaders who never returned from the concentration camps.

Following extensive planning, consultation and research the Art Gallery of WA has launched a new website desertriversea.com.au for its Desert River Sea: Kimberley Art Then & Now project made possible through a $1.8 million, 6-year partnership with Rio Tinto. This nationally relevant website is a growing online resource that will record and share the visual arts of the Kimberley as part of the most significant Indigenous cultural program undertaken by the Gallery.

The Art Gallery of Western Australia is excited to announce the first Australian solo exhibition by one of the most important artists of our time, Mariko Mori. Tokyo-born, New York and London-based, Mori’s work resonates with audiences around the world through the exploration of themes such as life, death and rebirth.

Minister for Culture and the Arts, The Hon John Day, recently announced that Mr Andrew Forrest has been appointed to the Board of the Art Gallery of WA. Mr Forrest has commenced his two year appointment, which will see him retire from his position as Chair of the Art Gallery Foundation, although he will remain on the Foundation Council.

READ MORE

new passports, new photography is a celebration of the Gallery’s recent acquisitions of contemporary photography around the theme of portraiture. It brings together over one hundred works – the majority of which will be on display for the first time – which explore how photographers use the camera to reflect, construct and challenge identity.

Two projects designed to assist Indigenous West Australians preserve and maintain ownership of their culture have joined together to film interviews with leading Indigenous artists from the Kimberley. The Art Gallery of WA’s (AGWA) Desert River Sea: Kimberley Art Then & Now is a six-year research program to map current and emerging Kimberley Aboriginal art practices. The program is supported by principal corporate partner Rio Tinto.

ARTBAR - where music, food, wine and art come together! An exclusive live show featuring Katie Noonan, Angie Hart, Melody Pool and Sam Buckingham performing under the stars in the Perth Cultural Centre to see out the 2014 ARTBAR season.

AGWA and The Telstra Perth Fashion Festival (TPFF) are proud to present Fashionable Photography: when art and fashion collide in an evening of art and entertainment. This is an exclusive opportunity to view the stunning exhibition Richard Avedon People after hours with commentary from TPFF and AGWA guests on the dualism between fashion and photography. TPFF fashion photographer Christian Blanchard and AGWA Curator of Contemporary International Art Robert Cook, will feature as guest speakers for the event. 

The Western Australian Indigenous Art Awards is a national award founded in 2008 to celebrate the breadth, diversity and excellence in art from all corners of Indigenous Australia. The awards acknowledge the significant and ongoing contribution Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists make to Australian art, culture and society. Nominations close at 5pm (WST) on Tuesday 18 November 2014.

This exhibition pays tribute to the legacy of Peter Fogarty through a collaboration of works from the Peter Fogarty Design Fund. The Fund was initiated in 2004 by Art Gallery of Western Australia Foundation Governor Dr Tim Jeffery in memory of his late partner, Peter Fogarty. This exhibition displays all of the objects acquired through the ten years of the Fund.

Following the successful first look at the Richard Avedon People exhibition at this morning’s media launch the Gallery is gearing up ahead of the official VIP opening tonight. Guests will be treated to an exclusive preview of this stunning photographic showcase before it opens to the public on Saturday 2 August. Richard Avedon People is on display at the Art Gallery of WA until 17 November 2014. Richard Avedon People celebrates the work of American photographer Richard Avedon (1923 to 2004).

2014 marks the 25th anniversary of the Art Gallery of Western Australia Foundation. To celebrate the anniversary of this vital body, a showcase of significant works acquired through the Foundation is on display until 1 December 2014. Since its inception in 1989, the Foundation has enabled the Gallery to bring more than 4,500 works into the State Art Collection, representing 25% of AGWA’s holdings. In the last 5 years, the Foundation has accounted for 80% of all acquisitions.