News and Media

Come check out our new digs in Collingwood at our Open House!

The Artbank Open House gives you the opportunity to go behind the scenes and take a look at some of the best Australian art in the world. Explore over 2,000 artworks from the Artbank collection.

There’ll be killer tunes courtesy of DJ Tanzer, delicious street food from Beatbox Kitchen, plus prizes, giveaways and more!

Be one of the first people to also check out our new community programming and cultural event space and the artist studio, all designed by local legends Edition Office. We’ll be announcing more about how you can access these spaces later in the year… so if you’re an artist, creative, arts lover, academic or

community group come on down for a sticky beak at what might just become your local. Or even if you just want to see some damn good architecture and art…why not drop by!

It’s going to be big. It’s free. And everyone’s invited!

Check out our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for regular updates.

Zanny Begg awarded inaugural  Artbank + ACMI Commission  

ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image), together with Artbank, is excited to announce artist and activist Zanny Begg as the recipient of the inaugural $70,000 Artbank + ACMI Commission for her proposed video installation The Beehive about the murder of Sydney activist Juanita Nielsen. 

“I am so excited to have been awarded this incredible opportunity from ACMI and Artbank. I hope to work with the legacy of Juanita Nielsen to explore the fate of our inner-city neighbourhoods. 'The Beehive' was chosen as a title to reference Juanita’s distinctive hairdo, but also a poetic disjunction embedded within the ways we think about the city; it is both an industrious, utilitarian, hierarchical hub and a dark sweet cooperative womb,” said Zanny Begg. 

Based on the unsolved murder of famous Sydney anti-development campaigner Juanita Nielsen in 1975, The Beehive examines themes of gentrification, corruption, sex-work, feminism and non-conformist lifestyles. Created using an algorithm, the film will be randomly compiled from a reservoir of scripted fictions, documentary interviews and choreographed sequences exploring the implications of this infamous cold case and how they can applied today. Using the tropes of true crime, the work will morph and evolve with each viewing, offering audiences different glimpses and interpretations of the crime.  

ACMI Director and CEO Katrina Sedgwick said: “Zanny Begg is a thoughtful voice the forefront of a generation of filmmakers examining radical, queer and unruly bodies. Her proposed work 'The Beehive' is not only topical but a sorely needed examination of the consequences of gentrification and the role cities play in our lives. We’re thrilled, together with Artbank, to award Begg the Artbank + ACMI Commission, providing her with the support to pursue and extend her practice. Begg’s probing cinematic artworks defy categorisation, and it’s exactly these types of works that the Artbank + ACMI Commission was designed for.”

“Zanny is at the vanguard of artists working at the intersection of visual arts and filmmaking in Australia and her outstanding application, The Beehive, shows just why she continues to dominate in this arena. Examining themes of gentrification, corruption and forensic architecture, 'The Beehive' will be shot in Kings Cross and prove a timely examination of urban politics past and present. Artbank, together with ACMI, is proud to announce Zanny as the first recipient of the Artbank + ACMI Commission, an initiative to support Australian creatives, and we look forward to connecting the outcomes of this project to the broader public through our art leasing program,” said Director of Artbank, Tony Stephens. 

Established in partnership with Artbank, the federal government’s flagship support program for Australian contemporary artists, the Artbank + ACMI Commission is a three year commissioning program that will enable Australian artists and filmmakers to create new works that are conceived at the intersection of art and cinema.   

This partnership further expands ACMI's vibrant commissioning program, which through a series of vital collaborations – with Artbank, Ian Potter Foundation, City of Melbourne and the Mordant Family – will directly fund Australian artists with $650,000 worth of financial support to create new work over the next three years and then exhibit it to thousands of people at ACMI and beyond. 

The Beehive will be exhibited at ACMI in 2018. For more information, visit acmi.net.au/commissions

Background:

ACMI is rapidly expanding its commissioning capacity of new screen-based works. The $100,000 biennial Ian Potter Moving Image Commission, supported Angelica Mesiti’s The Calling (2014), Daniel Crooks’ Phantom Ride (2016) and was most recently awarded to Soda_Jerk. Its exhibitions program have premiered commissioned works including Julian Rosefeldt’s Manifesto (2015) which played at Sundance to critical acclaim, and Yang Fudong’s The Coloured Sky: New Women II (2014). The inaugural $80,000 Mordant Family VR Commission, established earlier this year to support established visual artists to create a new work for VR, was awarded to contemporary artist Christian Thompson in May 2017. 

ACMI is increasingly exploring new territory by commissioning works that transform live performance into VR experiences, expanding the possibilities of theatre, dance and puppetry through new technology. In 2016, ACMI co-commissioned and premiered virtual reality experiences of Sandpit’s play Ghost, Toast and the Things Unsaid with Google Creative Lab and Grumpy Sailor, and Stuck in the Middle With You, an immersive dance experience by renowned choreographer Gideon Obarzanek and award-winning filmmaker Matthew Bate. Most recently in September 2017, ACMI premiered a third cross-disciplinary VR co-commission Prehistoric VR by Sydney-based puppetry company Erth. 

About ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image)

The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) is Australia's national museum of film and television, video games and virtual reality, digital culture and art. Distinct in the museum landscape in Australia, ACMI celebrates the moving image and its profound impact over the last 120 years as it transports, challenges and entertains people of all ages and backgrounds, right across the globe. 

Established by the State Government in 2003, and situated at the very heart of Melbourne in Federation Square, ACMI explores the rapid evolution and astonishing creativity of the moving image with a vibrant, multilayered program of exhibitions, screenings, installations and commissions, festivals, and public, industry & education programs.

ACMI presents its stories and objects in unique ways, spanning the conventions of traditional museums and reflecting the innovation and evolution in our fast-moving world. It is the most successful museum of its kind in the world, attracting over 2 million visitors to its museum and international touring programs in 2015/2016. More at acmi.net.au  

About Artbank

Established in 1980, Artbank’s two core objectives are to support Australian contemporary artists through the acquisition of their work and to promote the value of Australian contemporary art to the broader public. The Artbank collection is comprised of approximately 10,000 works by over 3,500 artists, across media, and includes some of the best examples of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia art produced over the last four decades. Artbank makes this work accessible through an art leasing program which is accessed by corporate, private and government clients nationally and internationally. More at artbank.gov.au  

Congratulations to Eleanor Scicchitano and Talia Smith on their successful applications to Artbank’s Emerging Curator Call-Out for 2017. Artbank received so many strong applications from curators across Australia that Director Tony Stephens today announced not one but two successful recipients, Eleanor and Talia, who will each receive financial support and curatorial mentorship to deliver an ambitious exhibition in Artbank’s 2018 program.

Eleanor Scicchitano

Eleanor’s curatorial practice commonly involves working with artists to explore identity and the body, examining how the body is used as a vehicle in contemporary art and the way in which artists represent, challenge and explore who they are.

With a specific interest in exploring gender, feminism, cultural identity and Australian identity, Eleanor will draw on the Artbank collection to curate an exhibition that explores the way in which artists have used gesture and the body to explore time and space in Australian art.

Eleanor is an Adelaide based freelance curator and the Visual Arts Program Curator at Country Arts SA. In 2012 she completed a Masters in Curatorial and Museum Studies at Adelaide University and has previously worked as co-director at FELTspace ARI and founding co-director at onesixteenth ARI. She is a Board member at ACE Open and spent 5 weeks in Venice in 2015 working in the Australian Pavilion at the Biennale.

Talia Smith

Talia Smith is an artist and curator of Samoan, Cook Island and New Zealand European descent. Originally from New Zealand she is now based in Sydney, Australia. Her visual arts and curatorial practice utilises the mediums of photography and video to examine the emotional and physical traces we leave behind on the landscape, the histories we build and the ruins we leave.

Talia’s successful application As the ruin falls will see her curate an exhibition exploring modern day ruins through the work of artists in the Artbank collection. As the ruin falls will examine landscapes and by extension the body to question the effect that we have had on our environments and what may come in the future.

Talia has exhibited and curated shows at artist run spaces in Australia, New Zealand, Germany and New York with solo shows in both Australia and New Zealand. Smith is the founder and Co-Director of new artist run initiative Cold Cuts, was 2017’s emerging curator at Firstdraft and will be completing a residency with Bundanon Trust in August, 2017. She currently works at Carriageworks and Campbelltown Arts Centre as an Educator.

We are incredibly thankful to our partners International Conservation Services (ICS) for their work conserving Sydney Ball’s painting Absaroka Light (1973) with assistance of students from the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation at the University of Melbourne. This important preventive conservation project was made possible through the support of ICS as part of our partnership.

Artbank was also fortunate to recently host an ICS talk on contemporary art conservation in our collection store as part of Sydney Contemporary. Presented by ICS Conservation Manager Adam Godjin the talk proved hugely popular and provided an insight into the world of contemporary art conservation and the expertise of the ICS team.

For more information on ICS’ services click here or call (02) 9417 3311.

ARTIST CLAUDIA MOODOONUTHI’S POWERFUL AND PERSONAL WORK REVEALED FOR FIFTH ANNUAL ARTBANK + QPAC COMMISSION

For immediate release – Tuesday 26 September, 2017

Artbank and Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) today revealed Brisbane artist Claudia Moodoonuthi’s large-scale work Mapping the Modern (2017) as the Artbank + QPAC Commission.

This annual commission, now in its fifth year, 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, Claudia received funding to produce her work, which has been acquired for the Artbank collection and will be on display in the QPAC Russell Street Wine Bar for a period of twelve months from late 2017. It will then be available for lease following its return from QPAC in 2018.  

A recent graduate of Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art at Griffith University, Claudia’s body of work to date reflects a strong connection to country, having spent the first seven years of her life on Bentinck and Mornington Islands in the Gulf of Carpentaria until relocating to Aurukun in 2003. Claudia’s bold and colourful paintings are greatly influenced by her language, tribe, history, and family, including her late great-grandmother May Moodoonuthi and the late Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda (Mrs Gabori). The artist’s relaxed style  allows her to create intimate close-up portraits that reflect her experiences in remote communities.   

Mapping the Modern was inspired by Claudia’s visit to Bentinck Island in 2012. Claudia depicts the island and the fish traps, influenced by her family of painters. The painting is a spiritual reference to her time with her mentor Netta Loogatha and Kaiadilt family. It depicts Netta’s stories about the moon man coming up from the ocean into the sky and coming down again and also references Netta Loogatha’s Dog Woman, another story from her Kaiadilt family about a special location north of Bentinck Island in Queensland’s Gulf of Carpentaria.    

Says Tony Stephens, Artbank’s Director: “This commission marks the fifth year of our partnership with QPAC, a collaboration developed to promote and support contemporary Queensland artists through commission, acquisition and public display. The awarding of this year’s commission to Claudia recognises her as an artist with a strong early career practice and very bright future ahead of her. We are certain audiences will enjoy the work as much as we already do and thanks to the ongoing commitment of QPAC to supporting Queensland based creatives, everyone will have the opportunity to view the work later this year.”   

For further information, please contact Artbank via enquiries@artbank.gov.au or call 1800 251 651.  

About Artbank

For over 37 years, Artbank has been at the forefront of the Australian contemporary art sector. Established in 1980 as a federal government support program, Artbank provides direct support to Australian contemporary artists through the acquisition of their work and promotes the value of Australian contemporary art to the broader public. Artbank funds its operations through a unique leasing program; working with individuals, companies, governments and embassies in over seventy countries across the globe. With approximately 10,000 works by over 3,500 artists, Artbank holds one of the largest collections of Australian contemporary art in the world which, includes some of the best examples of Indigenous and non-Indigenous 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.   

About Queensland Performing Arts Centre 

The Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) is located within Queensland’s vibrant cultural precinct at South Bank, Brisbane. The Centre is focused on creating a world where the performing arts matter to everyone. Welcoming around 1.3 million visitors and presenting around 1200 performances annually the QPAC experience extends beyond the theatre with a range of unique spaces to eat, drink, and enjoy free live entertainment.

NSW visual artists vie for $50k Create NSW Fellowship in partnership with Artbank
 

Thursday, 7 September 2017

Seven artists have been shortlisted for this year’s NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Midcareer/Established), with one artist or partnership set to receive a cash amount of $30,000 from Create NSW, a major Artbank commission of up to $20,000 and a residency at a NSW regional gallery. 

The work of Zanny Begg, Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro, Jonathan Jones, Eugenia Raskopoulos, Keg de Souza and Justene Williams will be featured in an exhibition at Artbank in Sydney (26 October 2017 – 16 February 2018), with the Fellowship recipient to be announced on the opening night of the exhibition. 

The Fellowship is awarded annually to provide a mid-career or established artist with the opportunity to undertake a self-directed program of professional development. It is supported by Artbank and delivered in partnership with the Murray Arts Museum Albury (MAMA), and the Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Arts Centre (TRGMOAC) in the Northern Rivers. 

In addition to the $30,000 funding from Create NSW, Artbank will fund the creation of a major commission for the Artbank collection to the value of $20,000. The Fellow can also elect to undertake a five-week residency at one of the supporting regional galleries. 

Create NSW CEO Michael Brealey said that investment and support for mid-career and established artists is essential for the continued strengthening of the arts and cultural offering across the state. 

“The impressive shortlist for the Fellowship shows just how exciting the NSW visual arts space is. By offering new opportunities for artists to continue to develop, we can help them to thrive and share their expertise with new audiences and organisations across the state.” 

Minister for the Arts Don Harwin added, “I am delighted to see such a talented list of NSW artists gaining recognition through this opportunity, and I’m excited for them that their impressive works will be showcased to the public through Artbank. I wish all of the artists the best of luck in the run up to this exhibition.” 

Artbank Director Tony Stephens commented, “We are extremely proud to again be part of this year’s Fellowship. In addition to its alignment with Artbank’s core objectives it also provides essential support and acknowledgment for mid-career and established artists and highlights the need to invest in creative practices at all stages of their career. 

“The first exhibition featuring the shortlisted artists at our gallery in Sydney was a huge success and we are very much looking forward to launching the second in October where this year’s Fellow will be announced,” Mr Stephens said. 

For further information on arts, screen and cultural funding, including targeted support opportunities, visit www.create.nsw.gov.au or email arts.funding@create.nsw.gov.au  

MEDIA CONTACT: Kristoff Clark / kristoff.clark@create.nsw.gov.au / 02 8289 6408 

The shortlisted artists / partnerships for the 2018 Create NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Mid-career/Established) are:

• Zanny Begg (Bulli) is an artist and film-maker who creates works that are influenced by the traditions of documentary as well as the creative tensions between artifice and realism.
• Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro (Blackheath) work collaboratively to create art that repurposes accumulated objects into extraordinary sculptures and installations with a distinctive humour and aesthetic.
• Jonathan Jones (Bondi) creates site-specific installations and interventions that focus on the exploration of Aboriginal practices, relationships and ideas using a range of mediums including printmaking, drawing, sculpture and film.
• Eugenia Raskopoulos (Bardwell Park) focuses on ideas of identity, the fragmented body, language, translation and transcription, exploring the margins of photography and video that synthesizes performance, writing, drawing and large-scale installation.
• Keg de Souza (Waterloo) works with multiple mediums including temporary architecture, food and dialogical projects to explore the politics of space.\
• Justene Williams (East-Hills) current practice focuses on the creation of elaborate handmade sets and costumes for both live performances and large scale sensorial video installations. 

Artbank Presents: 

Emerging Curator Callout

Artbank opened an exhibition space as part of the development of its headquarters in Waterloo in 2014. Since then, a number of curated exhibitions have been undertaken by internal and external curators as a means to unpack the richness of the Artbank collection – providing points of access, exploring narratives in individual and bodies of work.

Exhibitions at Artbank are slightly different from other cultural institutions. One of the main ways Artbank utilises its collection is through an art leasing program that engages government, corporate and private clients with the work of Australian artists. Exhibitions are considered with this in mind and ‘evolve’ over the life an exhibition as works are rented from the walls and ‘understudies’ are hung in their place. This results in a dynamic and ever-changing show that allows a curator to consider their concepts in a less static manner.

As part of Artbank’s support for visual artists and the professionals with whom they work, we are currently seeking expressions of interest from individuals and collectives who identify as being in the early stages of their career, to curate an exhibition in our Sydney gallery.

If you define your curatorial practice as being within the ‘early career’ designation, we invite you to present your ideas for potential inclusion in Artbank’s 2018 exhibition program. This is a unique chance to gain experience within a professional institutional environment, working with one of largest collections of contemporary Australian art in the world.

To download a floor plan and equipment list for Artbank’s Sydney Gallery, just click here.

To find out more information and to apply, please download the application form below, complete and submit along with the requested support material by midnight (AEST) Monday 21 August 2017.

The successful project will be exhibited in the Artbank Gallery in Sydney from 24 May to 17 August 2018.