CCAS 2020 Annual Report

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE

ANNUAL REPORT 2020

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Cover JAMES TYLOR From an untouched landscape (detail), 2018,

Framed Inkjet prints on hahnemuhle paper with hole removed to black velvet void, colonial and Indigenous wood objects, dimensions variable

Photo Brenton McGeachie

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Canberra Contemporary Art Space Board and Staff respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians of the Canberra and ACT region, the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples on whose unceded lands our galleries are located; their Ancestors, Elders past and present; and recognise their ongoing connections to Culture and Country. We also respectfully acknowledge all traditional custodians throughout Australia whose art we have exhibited over the past 40 years, and upon whose unceded lands the Board and Staff travel.

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Image HARIJS PIEKALNS Looking for a red 2, 2020, 9 NSW Far South Coast earth pigments, Gesso Sottile ground on birch faced plywood panel, 30 x 30cm

Photo Brenton McGeachie

Annual Report 2020

Contents

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Executive Summary Artistic Program CCAS Artistic Program CCAS Manuka

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Events and Public Programs

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Statistics

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Board and Staff

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Thank You

Image DESIGN Canberra Opening at CCAS

Photo Dan Toua

CANBERRA’S CENTRE FOR INNOVATION, NEW IDEAS AND DIRECTIONS IN CONTEMPORARY VISUAL ARTS

Canberra Contemporary Art Space (CCAS) is Canberra’s flagship contemporary arts organisation. It promotes and presents new ideas, new art forms and delivers accessible contemporary art for all.

CCAS supports contemporary art in Canberra by presenting innovative exhibitions that challenge perceptions. It enables artists to connect with national and international peers and expand their practice. Exhibitions are supported by programs that engage with diverse audiences to examine and promote understanding of contemporary culture.

Recognised by artsACT as a Key Arts Organisation, CCAS is one of a national network of contemporary arts organisations that can be seen as laboratories for testing new ideas and directions for the contemporary visual arts. CCAS exhibitions and related public programs were located at Ainslie+Gorman Arts Centre and CCAS Manuka in 2019. CCAS is a notfor-profit association incorporated in 1984 and is supported by a Board and professional Staff that have up-to-date skills in the arts, law, finance, business, marketing and academia.

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Executive Summary

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Chair’s Report It would be an understatement to say that 2020 was a momentous year for CCAS. After many years of planning and lengthy negotiations with The Ainslie + Gorman Arts Centre (A+GAC), the ACT Government (artsACT) and the National Capital Authority (NCA), in late February Staff were finally able to move into East Space on Queen Elizabeth Terrace in Parkes. The move was hampered by dense smoke from nearby bush fires and extreme temperature conditions, however, CCAS was finally in a position to enter into the next exciting phase of its forty year history. CCAS had ambitiously planned to open with BLAZE FOURTEEN in mid-March as the threat of COVID-19 loomed large, spreading across the nation with increasing numbers of deaths reported in Victoria and New South Wales. CCAS thus found itself in the unenviable position of closing its doors before opening the new space. Staff began working at home from March 16th following the ACT Government’s declaration of a Public Health Emergency that is still in place (at time of publication).

The CCAS Board has been particularly active throughout the crisis providing continuous support to Staff as the consequences of the pandemic began to unfold. Zoom meetings were organised fortnightly throughout the year to assist with planning and adapting the organisation to any problems that might arise. We are grateful to the Federal Government for the JobKeeper Payment scheme, which has paid a portion of wages and the NCA who suspended rent payments until December 2020. artsACT provided non-financial support assigning one Staff member to CCAS with a view to discussing any adverse impacts that might arise. Regular zoom meetings with Contemporary Arts Organisations of Australia (CAOA) and ACT arts organisations lessened the damaging effects of isolation and maintained Staff morale throughout the year. Staff also held regular meetings with FaceTime ensuring that CCAS activities and basic day to day tasks could continue in some form. From home Staff were also able to construct a new website, create a comprehensive digital archive, maintain reporting requirements, and create and implement new work policies such as a COVID-19 Return to Work Safety Plan and Workplace Health and Safety Policy. During this period the office/storage area could be constructed without interrupting gallery activities. Similarly, the kitchen and toilet have been refurbished, and flood damage around the reception area was repaired in our Manuka Gallery, thanks to a “Screwdriver-ready” Grant from the ACT government’s inspired program to renew infrastructure across the city and keep people employed. Unfortunately CCAS Manuka has been closed due to difficulties in monitoring COVID-19 safety off site, however, the refurbish has eliminated other safety issues arising from years of wear and tear.

Planning for the Kingston Arts Precinct (KAP) has moved at a slower pace over the year with residents’ monthly meetings employing Microsoft Teams to provide regular updates from stakeholders including artsACT, The Suburban Land Authority, Fender Katsilidis and Geocon (Judd Studio). While progress may have slowed, CCAS’s position within the precinct has been secured and plans drawn for a generous gallery space, artists’ studios, office area, storage/ holding area, roof top garden and kitchen/bathroom facilities have been generally approved by the Board. Importantly, plans for the overall precinct have not been finalised and individual facilities have not yet been costed. CCAS has also

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Executive Summary

been involved in several workshops focussing on community consultation and one facilitated by artsACT to discuss management models. Notwithstanding the obvious challenges 2020 has placed in the path of everyone involved in this exciting project, there has been progress and we look forward to working with the KAP Residents and other stakeholders in 2021.

The 2020 Annual General Meeting was postponed until 30 June and conducted in unusual circumstances with strict social distancing requirements and 30 members and Staff in attendance. In the interests of continuity there was no movement of Board members in 2020, acknowledging the importance of stability in such uncertain times. The situation was further exacerbated by the lateness of the audit, giving no time for the Treasurer to process the financial report and explain complex new accounting standards to members. The members did not approve the Auditor’s Report until further information was provided requiring that the Chair, Treasurer and Director met with Phillip Miller of Vincents Accountants to discuss accounting issues, the lateness of the audit and how this impacted on CCAS. We are fortunate that artsACT, The Australia Council for the Arts and Australia Charities and Not-for-profits Commission showed patience and flexibility, extending reporting deadlines for organisations throughout Australia.

The opening of the first exhibition on September 5 heralded the beginning of a new era for CCAS in which we would see a significant increase in audience numbers in spite of the fact there was limited publicity, no overseas tourists and few interstate visitors. Visitors to the gallery for the first three exhibitions September to December, BLAZE FOURTEEN, DESIGN Canberra and The Unsolicited Proposals Unit numbered 6,928 compared with 1,933 at A+GAC during the same period in 2019. On 11 October CCAS opened its doors on Sundays for the first time in decades and it immediately became our busiest day. While personnel numbers and budgets remain the same, CCAS’s public profile has undergone major transformation and Staff engagement with the audience often dominates daily routines. The demographic of visitors has also changed from a largely young (under 30s) at A+GAC to a mature (over 40s) audience from surrounding areas such as Kingston Foreshore, Kingston, Griffith, Barton, and Manuka areas for whom lake side walks are a regular form of exercise. CCAS is now at the centre of a hub where people exercise, meet for coffee and food, sharing audiences with the National Gallery of Australia, National Portrait Gallery, National Library of Australia and Questacon. While the year ended on a positive note, the Board remains acutely aware that CCAS has not been able to implement plans for diversifying income streams, reopening Manuka and taking advantage of opportunities that the new location provides. Recovery and sustainable regrowth will be the focus of Board members in 2021/22.

Amanda Biggs Chair

Executive Summary

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Director’s Report: Program Evaluation The five-month closure of CCAS’s gallery spaces in Parkes and Forrest and uncertainty in respect of the length of lock down severely compromised programs for 2020. While CCAS was able to reopen in the last week of August there was a backlog of commitments, and programs such as The Unsolicited Proposals Unit from Adelaide, Violent Salt from Mackay and a third Brazilian Residency were either postponed or no longer feasible due to border closures and a worsening global epidemic.

CCAS Manuka closed after one exhibition, Negative Space, and remained closed for the year as it was impossible to apply and/or monitor CCAS’s COVID-19 Safety Plan in a space where the Staff are not present. Manuka is a small space of 45m sq, which would have placed significant limits on audience numbers and made openings difficult for artists to manage. Reopening the Manuka Gallery was a recurrent agenda item at CCAS Board meetings throughout 2020 and it is hoped that the gallery will be up and running again by April/May 2021.

Negative Space 6-16 March (CCAS Manuka) Audience: 113 Negative Space, curated by Sophia Holloway who was CCAS’s intern from Art History and Curatorship at ANU School of Art and Design (ANU SOA+D). Sophia was awarded this exhibition space to assist her professional development and add value to the Internship program. She was also awarded the 2019 Capital Arts Patrons Organisation (CAPO) Curatorial prize, which was unfortunately postponed until 2021. In Negative Space, Sophia explored concepts of negative space through the work of Cathy Zhang and Alberto Gabellone. “Negative space”, says Sophia, “refers to the space around an object (i.e. the gallery space), or the space within that emphasises form. … These spaces are at once absence and presence, on the cusp of being and nothingness.” Negative Space is an exhibition that moved away from notions of 2 and 3D, bringing drawing and sculpture into “space” that essentially defines the work by rejecting definition. Alberto’s works used scale, line tone and colour to create non-specific spaces where abstraction morphs into sculptural form. Cathy’s introspective ceramic forms examined human relationships with the world. Her spectacular metal “plinths” launch these quiet works into the gallery spaces we occupy commanding attention and contemplation through their contradictory invisibility.

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Executive Summary

BLAZE FOURTEEN 5 September – 1 November Audience: 3148 The year began with BLAZE FOURTEEN, CCAS’s annual exhibition of emerging ACT artists in its 14th iteration. In years previous artists have gone on to participate in prestigious exhibitions interstate and overseas including Primavera at the Museum of Contemporary Art, The Sydney Biennale and The National Digital Portrait Prize. BLAZE has become synonymous with propelling local artists onto the national and international stage; and is a sought-after entrée into the art world for recent graduates.

This version of BLAZE brought together four graduates of the Painting and Sculpture Workshops at ANU SOA+D. They participated in exhibitions around Canberra throughout 2019: at ANU SOA+D, Belconnen Arts Centre, CCAS Manuka, the Gallery of Small Things, M16 Art Space, Megalo Print Studio + Gallery, Smith’s Alternative, Tributary Projects and in Contour 556, Canberra’s festival of public art. They were recipients of the CAPO Emerging Artist Prize and the ANU Emerging Arts Support Scheme award.

It was always intended that BLAZE FOURTEEN would the first show at CCAS’s new home because of its exclusively local content and CCAS’s reputation for supporting emerging practices. Curated by Alexander Boynes and Dan Toua, the exhibition featured Romany Fairall, Belle Palmer, Harijs Piekalns and Rachel Theodorakis. What brought this exhibition together, apart from fitting the loose criteria of showcasing the best of local emerging art, was the obsessive nature of all the works. Meticulously woven, glued, drawn and stenciled, the past year forced us to stay in our houses and reflect on our inner worlds, and has no doubt encouraged obsessive practices to sustain artists through a difficult time.

Fairhall’s small and intimate, low relief wall works were produced in colourful waves of glued glitter; Palmer’s interactive drawing machine continued her investigation into kinetic mark marking and audience participation; Piekalns used ochre pigments and employed 15th Century production techniques to create large scale contemporary paintings; and Theodorakis’ delicate hanging installation featured 52 small found objects, meticulously woven in black cotton thread to conceal the contents.

The artists in BLAZE FOURTEEN faced some mammoth setbacks during 2020, and yet, managed to overcome, excel and create engaging, fresh work. Even during the lockdown and the pandemic, art was created and presented that excites and inspires, and more than anything, reminds us why experiencing it in the flesh is essential. More than ever, it has been essential to support our emerging artists at the outset of their careers, beacuse they have chosen one of the toughest fields to succeed in. CCAS is proud and fortunate to present these artists in the new space, and provide a dedicated space for contemporary art in the Parliamentary Triangle. With this in mind, we hope that one day the compelling, provocative, exciting and clever work presented at CCAS will find its way up the hill, and find its place in a national collection.

Executive Summary

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DESIGN Canberra 7 November – 29 November Audience: 1705

Following the close of the festival on 29th November, DESIGN Canberra gathered the data and analysed the audience

research discovering there was so much more to celebrate than simply the opportunity to deliver a festival against the odds: “DESIGN Canberra engaged 84,731 people over all spaces throughout the festival. This was a 25% decrease on

2019’s record attendance, however, an extraordinary outcome in the context of social distancing, border closures and venue limits during ACT Health Stage 3.2 restrictions. The response to the pandemic allowed DESIGN Canberra to deliver more outdoor events, and more small group tours and talks. This helped to connect more meaningfully

with audiences and find new, and in many cases, better ways to deliver our festival messages and celebrate and promote Canberra as a global city of design. This strategy paid off. Tour attendance was up, as was open studio and workshop attendance.”

CCAS hosted four DESIGN Canberra festival exhibitions as well as openings, artists talks and the closing party.

HOME:MADE HOME:MADE featured a curated selection of new furniture, homewares and jewellery by some of the most exciting early-career designers and makers from across Australia.

Featured artists: René Linssen (Craft ACT) / Krystal Hurst (Craft ACT) / Madisyn Zabel (Craft ACT/Canberra Glassworks) / Chloe Goldsmith (Australian Design Centre) / Timothy Robertson (Australian Design Centre) / Zoe Grigoris (Guildhouse/Jam Factory) / Danielle Barrie (Guildhouse/Jam Factory) / Jordan Leeflang (Jam Factory) / Calum Hurley (Jam Factory) / Samantha Dennis (Design Tasmania) / Scott van Tuil (Design Tasmania) / Chi Yusuf (Sturt) / Kazu Quill (Sturt) / Jenna Lee (Craft Victoria) / Kristin Burgham (Craft Victoria) / Peta Berghofer (Artisan) / Minqi Gu (Artisan) / Eunice Napanangka Jack (Central Craft) / Mavis Marks (Central Craft) / Keturah Zimran (Central Craft)

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Executive Summary

Sweet Suburbia: 2020 Photography Competition The 2020 DESIGN Canberra photography competition responded to the theme of ‘This is Suburbia’ to celebrate Canberra’s suburban identity. A panel of judges that included Beatrice Smith (Editor, HerCanberra), Davey Barber (Photographer, 5 Foot Photography) and Darren Bradley (Photographer) selected six finalists who had their photographs on display alongside the 100 semi-finalists. These photographs presented intriguing perspectives and diverse responses to our city’s suburban character.

This is Suburbia In his debut exhibition local photographer Davey Barber explored and photographed the place where he grew up, Canberra’s suburbs. Commissioned by Craft ACT for the 2020 DESIGN Canberra festival, this photo series documented Canberra’s photogenic neighbourhoods. While most photographers use suburban streets to get to their destination: on this occasion the streets were the destination. It was Barber’s intention to document the unique characteristics that make the suburbs instantly recognisable to residents and travellers, from the type of dwellings, shops, laneways, parks and the residents themselves. To emphasise Canberra’s ‘Bush Capital’ title, the photographs also documented the four very distinct seasons of our city.

From an untouched landscape Artist James Tylor highlighted the contemporary absence of Aboriginal culture within the Australian landscape and how this phenomenon is a direct result of the impact of European colonisation. As he explained, the first European colonists forced the local Aboriginal people off their traditional lands and onto small Christian missions and government reserves. This allowed the new European arrivals free access to clear the land for settlements, forestry and agriculture.

This clearing of Aboriginal people from the landscape resulted in the removal of Indigenous cultural artifacts and identity from the Australian landscape. Today the absence of Aboriginal culture within the Australian landscape is censored by this process of colonisation and has left much of the Australian landscape with the appearance that it was ‘untouched’ before European arrival.

James Tylor is an Australian multi-disciplinary contemporary visual artist. He explores Australian cultural representations through the perspectives of his multicultural heritage that comprises Nunga (Kaurna), Māori (Te Arawa) and European (English, Scottish, Irish, Dutch and Norwegian) ancestry.

James’s work generated enormous interest with DESIGN Canberra audiences and because he recently moved to Canberra from Adelaide, From an untouched landscape was held over and included in The Unsolicited Proposals Unit.

Executive Summary

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The Unsolicited Proposals Unit 5 December – 20 December, 19 January – 28 February Audience: 2075 The Unsolicited Proposals Unit is the first of CCAS’s capital city collaborations bringing together artists from the principal cities of Australian States and Territories, in this case Adelaide/Canberra. CCAS received $15,000 from the South Australian Government contributing to artist’s fees, freight, travel and accommodation. The Unsolicited

Proposals Unit was to be the second show of 2020, however, its progress was plagued by COVID-19 restrictions, lockdowns and border closures. An outbreak of COVID-19 in Adelaide and 6 day lockdown from 18 November meant

that Adelaide artists were not able to come to Canberra for the installation and opening. As a result the purpose of the project “to connect peers in other cities” could not bear the intended outcomes. A planned closing in February to

be attended by all artists, was also marred by uncertainty and reluctance for artists to leave home in case of sudden border closures. In spite of disappointments, Adelaide based curator Eleanor Scicchitano managed to install the

exhibition remotely providing instruction on FaceTime and in February she was able to attend the attend the Meet and Greet.

Within the State Government of South Australia there exists the Unsolicited Proposals Unit. This crack team of assessors takes in the proposals that arrive unasked for, weighing them against standard guidelines, and giving a thumbs-up

or a thumbs-down to their progress. But what of the proposals that are made, but not submitted? Artists work yearround to develop new ideas. Unasked, they explore and present new ways of looking, reflecting and revising our past, present and future. When displayed in a gallery or public space, they are opened up for assessment by viewers. Each of the artists in the exhibition speculate, their works promote questioning and contemplation as they present us with a

revised view of what was, and new ways of approaching what could be. Roy Ananda (Adelaide), Jacqueline Bradley

(Canberra), Saskia Haalebos (Canberra), Bernadette Klavins (Adelaide), Raquel Ormella (Canberra), Margaret

Richards (Adelaide) and James Tylor (Canberra/Adelaide) are seven artists who continue to ask questions, reframing our world. Their works are brought together here to present new ways of seeing, proposals submitted to the audience for their assessment.

From an untouched landscape (2018), draws our attention to the erasure of Indigenous people from the Australian landscape and history. Capturing the natural world in black and white, James Tylor uses the language of censorship, bars and redacted areas, to cover and delete parts of these landscapes. Margaret Richards has painted the many rock holes (tjukula) that can be found in her desert home of Pipalyatjara, in the far northwest of South Australia, a

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Executive Summary

vital resource for survival. Jacqueline Bradley explores the connections between her body and the natural world. Her work in The Unsolicited Proposals Unit began with questions about reproduction and regrowth, the backyard and home gardening, and how we collaborate with nature in these spaces. In Failure Pattern (2020) Bernadette Klavins took as her subject a pot-hole, a visible scar on the urban landscape, a demonstration of the cycles of time, weight, compression and expansion, collapse and growth. In Problematic Fragments #2 (Deakin) (2019) Raquel Ormella carefully picks apart an Australian flag, leaving behind words written by Alfred Deakin, Australia’s second Prime Minister, in his personal journal in 1913. His journal muses on an imperfect system and laments that ‘the promised land of humanity still lies far out of sight’. With the Insult Generator (Ya farkin’…) (2020) Saskia Haalebos injects her work with humour and childhood nostalgia. Upon noticing that politics increasingly degenerates into petty point scoring, minor arguments, pedantic gripes and name calling, she has helpfully created the insult generator. Roy Ananda’s series of annotated images draw our attention to Parliament, while connecting these systems to a multitude of fictional counterparts. Beginning with images of the government, The Senate, The House of Representatives, he has expanded the series to include other artefacts that go to support this system and its work.

How Local Art Made Australia’s National Capital: ANU Press Book Launch September 25 Audience: 65 The question How Local Art made Australia’s National Capital was answered during a Q&A conversation with author, Dr. Anni Doyle Wawrzyńczak and Deborah Clark, moderated by Alex Sloan. Anni’s book, which started out as a Ph.D thesis has been published by ANU Press and CCAS, hosted the launch. This important book focuses on the development of contemporary art in the Australian Capital Territory from the 1920s to the present day. At the centre of this story is the Bitumen River Gallery, on the current site of CCAS Manuka, which later become known as Canberra Contemporary Art Space. While Anni’s book has the capacity to generate waves of nostalgia for local players the story is presented in the context of the emergence of contemporary art spaces across Australia in the late 1970s and early 1980s when artists created their own spaces to show their work. Canberra was in the unique position of being a national cultural centre with a growing local scene that reflected the politics of artists and arts establishments within the environment of federal politics. This evocative account brings together the characters of the past, artists, curators, activists, movers & shakers, public servants, teachers, politicians and larrikins weaving a fascinating tapestry of local colour with incisive analysis.

Executive Summary

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Emeritus Professor Helen Ennis, ANU Centre for Art History and Art Theory, delivered an inspiring speech that outlined the value and impact of Anni’s research project to the Canberra community which many people consider to be legendary, if somewhat neglected by the rest of Australia. How Local Art made Australia’s National Capital burst the Canberra bubble with tales of local, national and international intrigue that the rest of the country has no doubt missed. And what a great privilege to be able to launch this book at a time when CCAS has just entered a new era at East Space on the way towards Kingston Arts Precinct.

David Broker

Director / Public Officer

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Executive Summary

Executive Summary

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Treasurer’s Report CCAS achieved an overall operating profit for the year totalling $33, 067 as compared to a deficit for 2019 of $36,768.

The Board would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the ongoing financial support CCAS receives from both artsACT and the Australia Council for the Arts (AusCo). Grants were received totalling $199,654 (operational) and $49,735 from the Visual Arts and Crafts Strategy (VACS), ACT Government, and $37,875 from AusCo (VACS).

This support is greatly appreciated and fundamental to the financial viability of CCAS. While CCAS, like many similar arts organisations faced unusual challenges in 2020 it was also a year in which the association could consolidate finances and begin the process of recovery following our departure from A+GAC and move to East Space. That said, the Board is acutely aware that during the COVID-19 Health Emergency CCAS has not had the opportunity to earn income from functions, events and CCAS Manuka. We are grateful to the Federal Government, however, to have been eligible for JobKeeper payments of $70,342 and to the NCA for waiving rent payments until December 2020. In the fourteen weeks CCAS remained open audience numbers increased significantly from the previous year and with it came donations of $2179 and member subscriptions of $3,606.

Although CCAS did not pay rent between April and December 2020, $59,000 depreciation covers payments of $36,912 to NCA and A+GAC and the depreciation of leases at both venues as per accounting standards AASB 16 introduced in 2019.

Although the Board is pleased with unqualified financial statements in 2020 it is also aware that in the current circumstances recovery from a major move and health emergency may be slow. As a result the Board has met to discuss strategic directions that will ensure the sustainability of CCAS in its new circumstances. Moving from A+GAC to East Space saves over $30,000 per annum on an ongoing basis. We plan to use the higher profile lake front location to promote fund raising activities. The gallery only reopened in late 2020 and audience numbers are up nearly fourfold. No fundraising events have yet been held due to COVID-19 but we are very confident in our ability to raise an additional $30,000 per annum when we return to “normal”.

Ian Whyte

Treasurer

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Image RACHEL THEODORAKIS Omega, 2020,

Bone, cotton thread, bee’s wax, 75 x 50 x 10cm

Photo Brenton McGeachie

Artistic Program CCAS

Artistic Program CCAS

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Artistic Program BLAZE FOURTEEN Romany Fairall, Belle Palmer, Harijs Piekalns, Rachel Theodorakis Curated by Alexander Boynes and Dan Toua 5 September - 1 November 2020

BLAZE FOURTEEN (CCAS’ annual survey of the best emerging local contemporary artists) heralded in the new era of CCAS as our first exhibtion at our new home on the lake. Curated by Alexander Boynes and Dan Toua, this iteration of BLAZE featured new work by Romany Fairall, Belle Palmer, Harijs Piekalns and Rachel Theodorakis.

Fairall’s small and intimate, low relief wall works were produced in colourful waves of glued glitter; Palmer’s interactive drawing machine continued her investigation into kinetic mark marking and audience participation; Piekaln’s used ochre pigments and employed 15th Century production techniques to create large scale contemporary paintings; and Theodorakis’ delicate hanging installation featured 52 small found objects, meticulously woven in black cotton thread to conceal the contents.

BLAZE artists have continued on to participate in prestigious exhibitions interstate and overseas including Primavera (Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney), The Sydney Biennale, New (Australian Centre of Contemporary Art, Melbourne, Hatched (Perth Institute of Contemporary Art) and The National Digital Portraiture Prize (National Portrait Gallery, Canberra).

Image HARIJS PIEKALNS and BELLE PALMER BLAZE FOURTEEN installation photograph, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, 2020

Photo Brenton McGeachie

Image ROMANY FAIRALL Weft Belt, 2020,

Glitter and gel medium on board, 40 x 120cm

Photo Brenton McGeachie

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Artistic Program CCAS

Image JAMES TYLOR From an untouched landscape (detail), 2018,

Framed Inkjet prints on Hahnemuhle paper with hole removed to black velvet void, colonial and Indigenous wood objects, dimensions variable

Photo Brenton McGeachie

Artistic Program CCAS

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FROM AN UNTOUCHED LANDSCAPE James Tylor 7 - 29 November 2020

Artist James Tylor highlights the contemporary absence of Aboriginal culture within the Australian landscape and how this phenomenon is a direct result of the impact of European colonisation in From an untouched landscape.

As Tylor explains, the first European colonists forced the local Aboriginal people off their traditional lands and into small Christian missions and government reserves. This allowed the new European arrivals free access to clear the land for settlements, forestry and agriculture. This clearing of Aboriginal people from the landscape resulted in the removal of Indigenous cultural artifacts and identity from the Australian landscape.

Today the absence of Aboriginal culture within the Australian landscape is censored by this process of colonisation and has left much of the Australian landscape with the appearance that it was ‘untouched’ before European arrival.

James Tylor is an Australian multi-disciplinary contemporary visual artist. He explores Australian cultural representations through the perspectives of his multicultural heritage that comprises Nunga (Kaurna), Māori (Te Arawa) and European (English, Scottish, Irish, Dutch and Norwegian) ancestry.

In 2011 he completed a bachelor of Visual Arts (Photography) at the South Australian School of Art in Adelaide and in 2012 he completed Honours in Fine Arts (Photography) at the Tasmanian School of Art in Hobart. He returned to Adelaide in 2013 and completed a Masters in Visual Arts and Design (Photography) at the South Australian School of Art.

Image JAMES TYLOR From an untouched landscape (detail), 2018,

Framed Inkjet prints on Hahnemuhle paper with hole removed to black velvet void, colonial and Indigenous wood objects, dimensions variable

Photo Brenton McGeachie

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Image DAVEY BARBER Untitled 6, 2020

Photographic print on rag paper, 50cm x 61cm

Photo courtesy the artist

Artistic Program CCAS

Artistic Program CCAS

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THIS IS SUBURBIA Davey Barber 7 - 29 November 2020

Local photographer Davey Barber (5 Foot Photography) has set out to explore and photograph the very place that raised him, the Canberra suburbs of yesterday, today and tomorrow for his debut exhibition This is Suburbia.

Commissioned by Craft ACT for the 2020 DESIGN Canberra festival, this photo series documents the ridiculously photogenic city of Canberra. Most photographers use suburban streets to get to their destination: on this occasion the streets are the destination. Barber draws on his own 30 years of life experience in the suburbs.

The photographer’s intention is to document what unique characteristics make the suburbs instantly recognisable to residents and to people just passing through, from the type of dwellings, shops, laneways, parks and the residents themselves. To emphasise Canberra’s ‘Bush Capital’ title, the photographs also document the four very distinct seasons of our city.

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Image DAVEY BARBER This is Suburbia installation photograph, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, 2020

Photo courtesy the artist

Artistic Program CCAS

Artistic Program CCAS

Image DAVEY BARBER This is Suburbia installation photograph, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, 2020

Photo courtesy the artist

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Image RENÉ LINSSEN Sola Coffee Table, 2020

Powdercoated steel, marble, 85 x85 x 40cm

Photo Brenton Colley

Artistic Program CCAS

Artistic Program CCAS

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HOME:MADE Various Artists

7 - 29 November 2020

HOME:MADE features a curated selection of new furniture, homewares and jewellery by some of the most exciting early-career designers and makers from across Australia.

HOME:MADE is a signature exhibition for DESIGN Canberra presented by Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre. In 2020, we will present this showcase exhibition in association with the Australian Craft + Design Centre network.

Featured artists: René Linssen (Craft ACT) / Krystal Hurst (Craft ACT) / Hannah Gason (Craft ACT) / Chloe Coldsmith (Australian Design Centre) / Timothy Robertson (Australian Design Centre) / Zoe Grigoris (Guildhouse/Jam Factory) / Danielle Barrie (Guildhouse/Jam Factory) / Jordan Leeflang (Guildhouse/Jam Factory) / Calum Hurley (Guildhouse/Jam Factory) / Samantha Dennis (Design Tasmania) / Scott van Tuil (Design Tasmania) / Chi Yusuf (Sturt) / Kazu Quill (Sturt) / Jenna Lee (Craft Victoria) / Kristin Burgham (Craft Victoria) / Peta Berghofer (Artisan) / Minqi Gu (Artisan) / Eunice Napanangka Jack (Ikuntji Artists) / Mavis Marks (Ikuntji Artists) / Keturah Zimran (Ikuntji Artists)

Image VARIOUS ARTISTS HOME:MADE installation photograph, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, 2020

Photo Davey Barber

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Artistic Program CCAS

Artistic Program CCAS

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THE UNSOLICITED PROPOSALS UNIT Roy Ananda, Bernadette Klavins, Margaret Richards, Jacqueline Bradley, Raquel Ormella, James Tylor, Saskia Haalebos Curated by Eleanor Scicchitano 5 December 2020 - 28 February 2021

An unsolicited proposal originates from a private entity (either for profit or not-for-profit) that does not fit into existing procurement processes and is submitted without formally being requested by the government.* Artists create unsolicited proposals throughout their practice; unbidden, they explore and present new ways of looking, and speculate about our past, present and future. These explorations revitalise mediums and materials, draw our attention to histories that have been overlooked, and speak to a new future in the grips of climate change.

The Unsolicited Proposals Unit is an exhibition that brings together works by seven artists from South Australia and the ACT, to be presented at Canberra Contemporary Art Space. Curated by Eleanor Scicchitano, the exhibition takes the work of the Unsolicited Proposals Team, who are part of the South Australian Government Treasury and Finance Department, using their guidelines as a framework through which to present and discuss the exhibition works. Artists: Roy Ananda (SA), Bernadette Klavins (SA), Margaret Richards (SA), Jacqueline Bradley (ACT), Raquel Ormella (ACT), James Tylor (SA and ACT) and Saskia Haalebos (ACT). *Source: Guidelines for the assessment of Unsolicited Proposals, September 2018 https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/ business-and-trade/doing-business-with-government/unsolicited-proposals The Unsolicited Proposals Unit is generously supported by the South Australian Government through the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Image MARGARET RICHARDS Tjukula Tjuta 2020,

Acryliuc on canvas, 198 x 241cm

Photo Brenton McGeachie

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Artistic Program CCAS

Image SASKIA HAALEBOS Insult Generator (Ya farken’...) 2020,

Three laptops with 150 words on random code, duration: infinite

Photo Brenton McGeachie

Artistic Program CCAS

Image JACQUELINE BRADLEY Apricot Niche 2020,

Timber, linen, apricot stones, 210 x 160 x 70cm

Photo Brenton McGeachie

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Artistic Program CCAS

Image RAQUEL ORMELLA Problematic Fragments #2 (Deakin) 2020,

Reworked nylon flag, 150 x 250cm

Photo Brenton McGeachie

Artistic Program CCAS

Image ROY ANANDA Annotated exchange rate graph 2020,

Giclee print and ink on paper, 37 x 37cm

Photo Alexander Boynes

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Artistic Program CCAS Manuka

Artistic Program CCAS Manuka

NEGATIVE SPACE Alberto Gabellone, Cathy Zhang, curated by Sophia Halloway 21 February - 3 March

Negative Space explores a relationship between Scandinavian and Chinese concepts of negative space and how this manifests in an Australian landscape through the work of Alberto Gabellone and Cathy Zhang.

Negative Space, in regard to sculpture, refers to the space around an object (ie the gallery), or the space within that emphasises form. Gabellone and Zhang’s practices in drawing and ceramics respectively manifest in sculptural pieces that rely on proportion, line, scale and geometric qualities to emphasise form. Curated by Sophia Halloway, the exhibition examines the complimentary and conflicting aspects of the artists’ respective practices, encouraging contemplation of the space within.

Image CATHY ZHANG Quantity of Being, 2019,

Mixed media, dimensions variable

Photo courtesy of Yangyang Yin

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Events and Public Programs

Events and Public Programs

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Events and Public Programs Visitation 65

‘How Art Made the National Capital’ Book Launch 25 September

42 BLAZE FOURTEEN Artist Talk 31 September 60 Capital Arts Patron’s Organisation

VIP Awards Night 7 November 12 Kayannie Dennigan Artist Talk

as part of DESIGN Canberra 12 November 33 James Tylor Artist Talk

as part of DESIGN Canberra 15 November 75

HOME:MADE Opening Event as part of DESIGN Canberra 15 November

19 Davey Barber Artist Talk

as part of DESIGN Canberra 22 November 95 DESIGN Canberra VIP Closing Event 28 November 17 Campbell High School Visit 17 November

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Statistics

Statistics Exhibition and Programming

CCAS

CCAS Manuka

Total visitors

6928

113

Total exhibitions

5

1

Total artists

34

3

Total programs/events 9

Gender spread 24

10

1 Women Men

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

5

Artist Origin

0 International 22 Interstate 12 Local

2 Women 1 Men

0 International 0 Interstate 3 Local

Statistics

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Statistics Social Media Members 250 Paid Members 2.1K Followers Instagram 2.7K Followers

25-34 Primary Age Range

69.4% Women

30.6% Men

Facebook

5171 4.5K 25-34 68.9% 31.1%

Followers Page Likes Primary Age Range Women Men

Twitter 1K Followers 1.6K Tweet Impressions 326 Visitors

CCAS Website 6.2K Users 7.9K Sessions 23K Page views

25-34 Primary Age Range

61.4% Women

38.6% Men Social Pages 254 Followers

2,915 Page Views 1,248 Visitors

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CCAS Board and Staff

CCAS Board and Staff

CCAS Board AMANDA BIGGS Chair Amanda is a passionate supporter of contemporary art. Scarcely a night goes by when you won’t see Amanda Biggs at an arts event or looking to add to her extensive collection. She previously worked as a gallery assistant for the Contemporary Arts Society in Adelaide, before moving to Sydney and working as a freelance cartoonist. By day Amanda is a senior researcher at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library, researching and advising Parliamentarians on health and social policy issues. She graduated from Flinders University with a double major (Honours) in Fine Arts and English, and later completed a Graduate Diploma in Librarianship from UNSW and a Master of Arts from Deakin University. She has written numerous papers on health policy for the Parliamentary Library, as well as reviews and articles for the CAS Broadsheet and Words and Visions art magazine.

IAN WHYTE Treasurer Ian is a Chartered Accountant and Financial Adviser with over 40 years experience in Financial Services. He trained with international accounting firms KPMG and Deloitte for 9 years before establishing his own boutique practice – Whyte & Di Placido which he operated until 2004. In 2005 and 2006 Ian was General Manager of Sydney based multi media company Spinifex Interactive. Ian returned to Canberra in June 2007 and commenced a financial planning and SMSF advisory business Capital Advisory. This business was sold in 2018.

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KARINA HARRIS Secretary Karina Harris is an award-winning Landscape Architect based on Ngunnawal country and a passionate supporter of the arts in Canberra.

A founding partner of Harris Hobbs Landscapes, Karina was president of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects ACT Chapter from 2012-2014. She has taught design at the University of Canberra and The Canberra Institute of Technology for over two decades. Over the last 30 years Karina and her partner Neil have amassed a significant collection of Australian and international art. Their collection was featured in Art Collector magazine in 2019 and was the subject of the 2007 exhibition ‘Good Thing’ at CCAS. Karina has been a CCAS Board member since 2008 and sat on the DESIGN Canberra Festival committee in 2015 and 2016. As a philanthropist she has supported major commissions and prizes including the ANU School of Art and Design Postgraduate Materials Award since 2007.

TINA BAUM Board Member Tina Baum is from the Gulumirrgin (Larrakia), Wardaman and Karajarri peoples of the Northern Territory and Western Australia with over thirty years’ experience in museums and galleries in Australia. Tina previously worked at the Queensland Museum, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, National Museum of Australia and has been Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art at the National Gallery of Australia since 2005. Tina curated the Defying Empire: 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial, 2017 and the Emerging Elders exhibitions in 2009. She is a current recipient of the Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Leaders Program, 2020 and has participated in the NGA and Wesfarmers Arts, Indigenous Arts Leadership and Fellowship programs since its inception in 2010 as a mentor to the alumni and as a presenter and organiser.

CCAS Board and Staff

CCAS Board and Staff

ADAM PEPPINCK Board Member Adam is a partner in Mills Oakley’s Property team in Canberra. He has more than 15 years’ experience acting on a range of structured property transactions, in which he has advised public and private sector clients in relation to the leasing, licensing, divestment, acquisition, and development of real property. In addition to advising in relation to property law matters, Adam also regularly advises clients in relation to environmental, planning, heritage, and native title aspects. Adam has been listed every year since 2014 in the Best Lawyers publication and is again featured in the 2020 edition for Real Property Law, Leasing Law, and Government Practice, including being recognised as the 2020 Canberra Real Property Lawyer of the Year. Adam is the Chair of the ACT Law Society’s Property Law Committee and is a member of the ACT Division of the Property Council of Australia’s Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee.

PAUL MAGEE Board Member Paul first book of poems, Cube Root of Book (John Leonard Press: 2006) was shortlisted in the Innovation category of the 2008 Adelaide Festival Awards for literature. His second, Stone Postcard(John Leonard Press: 2014) was named in Australian Book Review as one of the books of the year for 2014. He is also the author of the surrealist ethnography From Here to Tierra del Fuego (University of Illinois Press: 2000). Paul studied in Melbourne, Moscow, San Salvador and Sydney. He is Associate Professor in Poetry at the University of Canberra, and is currently working on Rapid Eye Movements in the U.S.A., a travel book focused on what New York and San Francisco look like with your eyes closed.

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CCAS Board and Staff

CCAS Staff DAVID BROKER Director David has previously worked as Administrator and co-editor of Broadsheet magazine at the Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia, Adelaide, and Deputy Director of Brisbane’s Institute of Modern Art from 1996-2006.

Having completed a Bachelor’s Degree Visual Arts majoring in Photography and Film at the University of South Australia, David developed a parallel career as an arts journalist. His articles and reviews have been regularly published in periodicals such as Artlink, Art Monthly, Broadsheet, Eyeline and Photofile. He has also contributed to numerous books including Shoosh! A History of the Campfire Group, (IMA Brisbane 2005) and The Thrill of it All, Karin Hanssen, (MER Paper Kunsthalle, Antwerp 2010).

For many years David also produced and presented arts radio shows on 4ZZZ in Brisbane and 5UV in Adelaide.

David has curated and managed varied exhibition projects including, Beauty 2000 at the IMA in 1998, Primavera 2002 at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the IMA/Ssamzie Space International Residency Exchange in Brisbane and Seoul in 2004, QPACifika, (with Professor Pat Hoffie) Griffith University 2005 and in 2008, Streetworks an exhibition of work by Shaun Gladwell and Craig Walsh toured by Asialink to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. More recently he contributed to the Centenary of Canberra (19132013) with Science Fiction: Monster and Kynic, Erica Seccombe and Benjamin Forster, two exhibitions that explore notions scientific reality and mutations within popular consciousness and media.

In 2017 he worked with the Photomedia Faculties at Queensland College of the Arts, Griffith University and The University of South Australia School of Art Architecture and Design on an exhibition called Parallel Latitudes that explored the impact of divergent political administrations on contemporary art in Queensland and South Australia since the 1970s. At the ANU School of Art and Design Gallery in 2018 David curated Tulisi an exhibition by Wellington based artist Christopher Ulutupu focusing on issues affecting New Zealanders of Samoan descent as well as heartin-hand by Brenda Croft and Does she know the revolution is coming? by Amala Groom during NAIDOC week.

CCAS Board and Staff

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ALEXANDER BOYNES Curator, Program Manager Alexander Boynes completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) at the Australian National University in 2004. Recent exhibitions include Hi-Vis Futures (Canberra Museum + Gallery, 2019-2020), Slow Hope (Beaver Galleries, 2019), Rewriting the Score (Latrobe Regional Gallery, 2019) , Gaia Hypothesis (Belconnen Arts Centre, 2019), Sydney Contemporary (Carriageworks, 2018), and As Above, So Below (MAYSPACE, 2018.

He is represented in the collections of the Center for Art + Environment, Nevada Museum of Art (USA), Artbank Australia (VIC), the ACT Legislative Assembly (ACT), the University of Canberra (ACT), the Macquarie Group Collection (NSW) and numerous private collections throughout Australia and in the UK. Boynes is a Curator and Program Manager at the Canberra Contemporary Art Space. His most recent curatorial projects include BLAZE 14 (opening post COVID-19 closure, CCAS East Space), Unfinished Business (CCAS Gorman Arts Centre, 2019) and Straight Outta Canberra (MAYSPACE, Sydney, 2018).

In 2013 Boynes established PRAXIS a multidisciplinary art collective with choreographer/dancer Laura Boynes, and cellist/composer Tristen Parr to explore the link between visual art, performance, and sound. Their most recent work Dark Matter was presented at the State Theatre of Western Australia in 2016.

Boynes has also produced a series of major collaborative painting, moving image and sound works with Mandy Martin and Tristen Parr. These politically-charged works examine the ongoing and cumulative effects of industry on landscapes, fragile ecosystems and human conditions. Canberran audiences had the opportunity to experience these works for the first time in November 2019, when Boynes and Martin presented their exhibition Hi-Vis Futures at Canberra Musuem + Gallery.

Alexander Boynes is represented by Beaver Galleries in Canberra.

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DAN TOUA Curator, Gallery Manager Dan completed a Graduate Diploma of Art History (2015) and Master of Curatorship (2016) at The University of Melbourne, with an accompanying thesis exploring the curation of art and art objects from the Pacific Region (focusing on techniques utilised by the National Gallery of Australia and Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa), She was a founding member of the Art History Students Society at The University of Melbourne and gained a great deal of experience volunteering at Melbourne based art spaces Blindside, Westspace, The Ian Potter Museum of Art and The Grainger Museum, as well as interning at Tristian Koenig. Dan was a regular contributor for the .JPG journal, and her writing was included in By all Mens curated by Chiara Scafidi at The George Paton Gallery in 2017. In the same year with Hanann Al Daqqa and Kat Kohler, Danielle co-curated We are a Sanctuary at Kings Artist Run. Dan brings over 10 years’ worth of managerial knowledge to CCAS from her previous administrative roles in general practice and specialist centers, biometrics consultancy and at the Australian National University.

ALEX ASCH Installation Alex Asch was born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA and was involved in University art programs in Los Angeles and New York before moving to Australia and studying art at the Australian National University in 1988.

He has provided technical assistance to a number of arts organisations around Canberra, and has exhibited extensively in solo and group exhibitions throughout Australia and overseas. In 2008, Alex was awarded the Rosalie Gascoigne Award by CAPO in 2009. Alex was a finalist in

CCAS Board and Staff

CCAS Board and Staff

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Bondi’s Sculpture by the Sea, and was invited to represent Australia in Sculpture by the Sea in Denmark the same year. In 2013 was invited to take part in Centenary celebrations and exhibited at Canberra Museum and Gallery, Canberra Glassworks, Canberra Contemporary Arts Space and ANU Canberra School of Art. He exhibited work at the Inaugural Sydney Art Fair in 2013 and was a finalist in the Blake Prize. Alex’s work is in corporate collections in Australia, USA, UK and Netherlands as well as Artbank, the ACT Legislative Assembly, the Wesley Art Foundation and Canberra Museum and Gallery and National Australian Gallery. Alex is represented by Beaver Galleries.

FAY DUFFEY Bookkeeper Fay was Gorman Arts Centre bookkeeper and receptionist for many years before the current CCAS Staff even arrived on the scene. It’s a similar story with her involvement at CCAS and what she doesn’t know about the finances isn’t worth knowing.

GOVERNANCE STATEMENT Declaration of conflicts of interest CCAS has strict policies in respect to conflicts of interest that require Board members to declare potential conflicts at the beginning of each Board meeting. The Board’s decisions with regard to conflicts of interest are recorded in the minutes of the relevant meeting. Board members are unable to benefit in any way, pecuniary or otherwise, from CCAS programs until one year following their resignation. People employed by CCAS cannot participate in the artistic program, except in exceptional circumstances, which must be approved by the Board. There were no conflicts of interest declared at Board meetings in 2019.

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Thank You CCAS BOARD Amanda Biggs (Chair) Ian Whyte (Treasurer) Karina Harris (Secretary) Tina Baum Paul Magee Adam Peppinck CCAS STAFF David Broker (Director) Alexander Boynes (Curator/Program Manager) Dan Toua (Gallery Manager) Alex Asch (Installation) Fay Duffey (Bookkeeper) ARTISTS (CCAS) Romany Fairall, Belle Palmer, Harijs Pieklans, Rachel Theodorakis, René Linssen, Krystal Hurst, Madisyn Zabel, Chloe Goldsmith, Timothy Robertson, Zoe Grigoris, Danielle Barrie, Jordan Leeflang, Calum Hurley, Samantha Dennis, Scott van Tuil, Chi Yusuf, Kazu Quill, Jenna Lee, Kristin Burgham, Peta Berghofer, Minqi Gu, Eunice Napanangka Jack, Mavis Marks, Keturah Zimran, Davey Barber, James Tylor, Eleanor Scicchitano (curator), Roy Ananda, Bernadette Klavins, Margaret Richards, Jacqueline Bradley, Saskia Haalebos, Raquel Ormella, Rachael Coghlan (curator), Madisyn Zabel (curator), Kate Nixon (curator) ARTISTS (CCAS Manuka) Alberto Gabellone, Sophia Halloway (curator), Cathy Zhang ARTSACT, THE ACT GOVERNMENT Gordon Ramsay MLA Minister for the Arts, Creative Industries and Cultural Events, Tara Cheyne, MLA Minister for the Arts, Sam Tyler, Jenny Spear, Robert Piani, Jacqui Vardos, Libby Gordon

Thank You

Thank You

Thank You THE AUSTRALIA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS, THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT Laura McLeaod, Frank Panucci, Mikala Tai, Tegan Richardson DONORS Vivienne Binns, Meredith Hinchliffe, Mandy Martin, Chaitanya Sambrani, Justine van Mourik NATIONAL CAPITAL AUTHORITY Justine Nagel, Kate Still BGIS APAC Alison Malmberg, Garry Robson, Luke Saltmarsh KINGSTON ARTS PRECINCT artsACT, GEOCON, Fender Katsalidis, Suburban Land Agency ACCOMODATION Anni Doyle Wawrzyńczak CONTEMPORARY ARTS ORGANISATIONS AUSTRALIA 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney Ace Open, Adelaide Artspace, Sydney Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney Blak Dot, Melbourne Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne Contemporary Art Tasmania, Hobart Firstdraft, Sydney Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin Performance Space, Sydney Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Perth West Space, Melbourne

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CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE 44 QUEEN ELIZABETH TERRACE PARKES, CANBERRA ACT 2600 TUESDAY - SUNDAY, 11am - 5pm

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www.ccas.com.au

CCAS IS SUPPORTED BY THE ACT GOVERNMENT, AND THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT THROUGH THE AUSTRALIA COUNCIL, IT’S ARTS FUNDING AND ADVISORY BODY.