ART#2

Going up the country…again
ACCA Regional Tour #2 (ART#2)

The second in a series of regional exhibitions curated by the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) around the State will kick off in May at Horsham Regional Art Gallery.

Launched last year, the ACCA Regional Tour (ART) series is designed to bring the latest works from Melbourne’s leading contemporary art space to regional Victoria.

The inaugural ART#1 exhibition saw works from ACCA’s pool of artists and commissions programs displayed concurrently at Shepparton Art Gallery, Wangaratta exhibitions Gallery and Benalla Art Gallery. Not your average ‘art in a box’ touring exhibition, the ART program is curated to suit each regional gallery’s collections, audience, architecture and ambitions.

In 2011, the fun continues with new programs designed by ACCA’s curatorial team for the Horsham, Hamilton and Warrnambool regional galleries and communities.

ART#2 will open on May 6th at Horsham Regional Art Gallery with an exhibition of works that respond to the photographic focus of the Horsham collection. Artists Stuart Ringholt, Nicholas Mangan, Bianca Hester, Joshua Petherick, Fiona Abicare, Benjamin Armstrong, Matthew Griffin and Damiano Bertoli will each present works that explore image making through collage, cut-ups and photograms. Video artists TV Moore, Laresa Kosloff and Justene Williams will also exhibit recent works that question the stability of the image and archive.

The ART#2 Horsham season will culminate on the Queens Birthday Long Weekend with a two day festival of art events, interventions, happenings and activities in Horsham and nearby Natimuk.

Helen Johnson will present a mural at the Horsham Post Office that references symbols and motifs from the Horsham area; Nathan Gray will perform with the local Brass Band to entertain busy Saturday morning shoppers; and Laresa Kosloff and Andy Thomson will partner with the Bowling Club to broadcast a sporting commentary. Over the weekend a new, locally-made documentary by artist Gabrielle de Vietri will be screened along with newspaper and radio interventions by Sydney artist Agatha Gothe-Snape.

Then in July, ART#2’s attention will turn to Hamilton, where Alex Pittendrigh will undertake a two week residency in the Hamilton Art Gallery and create a major blue-tac wall mural that responds to the gallery’s decorative art collection. Melbourne artist Kate Daw will also spend time in Hamilton, immersing herself in the local history and craft, and working with the local Embroiderers Guild to create a new work that responds to nearby Edna Walling-designed gardens.

And in September, a series of events and exhibitions will be launched at the Warrnambool Art Gallery, closing on November 6th. More to come on that!

ACCA is Australia’s major centre for contemporary art, which showcases the latest developments in the national and international contemporary art scenes. It also acts as an essential facilitator for emerging Australian contemporary artists, and over the past nine years has commissioned over 70 new works.

ACCA’s touring program aims to bring the best of contemporary art to galleries around Victoria, offering regional audiences the opportunity to engage with the very latest developments in new art in Australia.

The ART#2 exhibitions will be accompanied by a series of tailored curator and artists talks, publications with newly commissioned texts on the artists and specially prepared resources for school and tertiary groups.

For further media information:
ACCA: Katrina Hall on 03 9697 9999, mobile 0421 153 046 or email khall@accaonline.org.au