Canberra Contemporary Board and Staff respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians of the Kamberri / Canberra and the ACT region, the Ngunawal 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.
the earth is listening (detail), 2024
Charred wood, wood stain, ink, paper, dimensions variable Exhibited in Places and Spaces, Canberra Contemporary 2024
Cover S.A.Adair
Photo by Brenton McGeachie
ANNUAL REPORT
Image Curator Consuelo Cavaniglia installing Clare Peake’s work in witness, collector, archivist, narrator exhibition
September 2024
Photo by Hilary Wardhaugh
WE ARE KAMBERRI / CANBERRA’S LEADING INDEPENDENT CONTEMPORARY VISUAL ARTS ORGANISATION. WE BRING FRESH IDEAS AND BOLD DIRECTIONS IN ART TO A BROAD AND ENGAGED AUDIENCE.
Image Canberra Contemporary in Spring
Photo by Canberra Contemporary
Image witness, collector, archivist, narrator exhibition opening 27 September 2024
Photo by Hilary Wardhaugh
Canberra Contemporary (Canberra Contemporary Art Space) is committed to the growth and development of contemporary art in Kamberri/Canberra. Exhibiting ambitious work that challenges perceptions, our diverse programs engage with communities, peers, and leading artists across local, national and international sectors. We cultivate enthusiastic and informed audiences who value contemporary culture and support our work.
Canberra Contemporary is recognised by artsACT as a leading ACT arts organisation. Canberra Contemporary is a founding member of the Contemporary Art Organisations Australia (CAOA), a national network of 15 esteemed small and medium organisations that are seen as laboratories for testing new ideas and directions for the contemporary visual arts.
Canberra Contemporary exhibitions and related public programs were located at Canberra Contemporary (formerly CCAS Lakeside) and Platform (formerly CCAS Manuka) in 2024. Canberra Contemporary is a not-for-profit association supported by a Board and professional staff that have relevant skills in the arts, governance, finance, business, marketing and academia.
CHAIR’S REPORT
2024 marked the second year of our 2023-2026 strategic plan and of four-year Arts Organisation Investment funding from artsACT (and the final year of four-year Australian Government Visual Arts and Craft Strategy funding, administered through Creative Australia). Our endeavours throughout the year were dedicated to achieving our five strategic goals:
Presenting the best in contemporary art practice through a rich program of well-crafted exhibitions:
• CCAS Manuka (renamed Platform in December) hosted 23 exhibitions featuring 54 creatives (including visual artists, curators, and performers); CCAS Lakeside (rebranded as Canberra Contemporary from December) presented seven exhibitions highlighting 47 artists, showcasing ambitious work that challenged perceptions. Additionally, numerous public programs were offered. Our exhibition openings continued to be vibrant highlights of the social calendar, and our programs and services remained in high demand, pushing us beyond our current capacity.
Growing the audience for contemporary art in Canberra, with a loyal core following and a regular flow of new visitors:
• We saw a 19% increase in overall visitation compared to 2023, welcoming over 15,570 visitors across our two locations. Additionally, our social media followers increased by 12%. Our visitor survey reported that 50% of survey respondents are visiting Canberra Contemporary for the first time, with 37% coming from interstate or overseas.
Developing the careers of artists and arts workers by providing opportunities, support, and guidance:
• Our professional development opportunities include supporting two significant solo exhibitions at Canberra Contemporary and 18 solo exhibitions at Platform – four of which were the inaugural solo shows. Canberra Contemporary provided mentoring and support to our artist-in-residence and interns. In addition, we
supported new voices through the commissioning of essays to accompany our main gallery solo exhibitions, as well as providing opportunities and support to six independent curators.
Increasing long-term financial resilience through grants, collaborations, and a new focus on private giving:
• In 2024, alongside our core funding, Canberra Contemporary successfully secured Creative Australia Plus1 project funding. Thanks to the incredible generosity of our community—68 individual donations, 70% from first-time donors—we exceeded our $12,500 fundraising target for the CCAS NOW Annual Appeal. With the Plus1 program matching the funds, the initiative’s impact was doubled. We also received significant in-kind support from creative agency FINE, who collaborated with us on a bold rebrand designed to better promote our artists and exhibitions, engage diverse audiences, and reinforce our presence within the arts landscape.
• We delivered major projects in collaboration with Craft + Design Canberra, Canberra Art Biennial and Sydenham International, and hosted the MARION 2024 ACT Literary Awards as part of our venue hire collaborations.
Ensuring that CCAS promotes and supports responsible governance:
• Canberra Contemporary retained an engaged, committed, and appropriately skilled Board.
• Our fundraising Committee established in 2024 was a major contributor to the success of our Annual Appeal.
• Our Director, Janice Falsone, took part in the Creative Australia’s SEC Newgate Mentoring and Stakeholder Engagement leadership program.
Throughout the year, Canberra Contemporary engaged productively with the ACT Government and peer organisations to plan for the future Kingston Arts Precinct
(KAP). KAP is a commitment to Canberra Contemporary’s future with dedicated studios, as well as exhibition and office spaces earmarked for Canberra Contemporary from 2027 (or soon thereafter). We have been working closely with the other KAP organisations (Craft + Design Canberra, Canberra Glassworks, M16 Artspace, Megalo Print Studio, and Photo Access), including joint advocacy efforts involving a joint Treasury submission and Case for Support.
I’d like to thank my fellow Board members for their commitment and hard work: Tina Baum, Colleen Kelly (Treasurer), Waratah Lahy, Irene Lemon, Paul Magee, and Adam Peppinck (Secretary).
In addition, thank you to our wonderful Canberra Contemporary staff: Janice Falsone, Alexander Boynes, Dan Toua (who left us during the year), Jane Gillespie, and Sophie McDonald, as well as our team of interns and casuals, and our contract bookkeeper Phil van Zomeren. Director Janice Falsone will be leaving Canberra Contemporary in early 2025 to take up an opportunity interstate. During her tenure, Jan drove significant growth and renewal at Canberra Contemporary, enhancing support for artists and audiences, securing increased government funding and philanthropy, and refocusing our programming. She led the delivery of an impactful exhibition program, providing vital platforms for both local and national artists to create ambitious, career- defining works. Jan also introduced the annual mural commission, revitalised the project space program, expanded the staff team, and directed a major rebranding. Her leadership, marked by a strong commitment to early- and midcareer artists and collaboration, has elevated Canberra Contemporary’s profile and established a solid foundation for its continued growth. While sad to see Jan leave, we are incredibly grateful for what she achieved during her time at Canberra Contemporary. Her arts leadership, professionalism, and commitment to artists has been outstanding. We wish her all the very best in her new role and thank her for her dedicated service.
Finally, thank you to our supporters: the ACT Government, artsACT, the National Capital Authority, Creative Australia, our members, donors, collaborators, and exhibiting artists.
Amanda Biggs Chairperson
Canberra Contemporary
Image Canberra Contemporary Director Janice Falsone and Tara Cheyne MLA, Minister for Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy, speak at the opening of Places and Spaces, curated by Dan Toua 19 April 2024
Photo by Hilary Wardhaugh
DIRECTOR’S
REPORT
2024 was a transformative year for Canberra Contemporary, defined by collaboration, growth, and innovation. Partnerships with organisations such as Canberra Art Biennial, Craft + Design Canberra, and Marion played a key role in expanding our reach and enriching our programs.
A major highlight was our rebranding in December, developed in partnership with leading design studio FINE. This initiative included simplifying our name from Canberra Contemporary Art Space to Canberra Contemporary, reinforcing our identity as bold, experimental, and timeless. As part of this rebrand, CCAS Manuka was renamed Platform, highlighting its distinct role within the Kamberri/Canberra arts ecosystem.
Supporting artists remained a cornerstone of our mission in 2024. We commissioned new works, provided significant exhibition opportunities at both of our venues, and offered professional development for artists, curators, and arts workers, helping to foster creativity and build sustainable careers.
Other key achievements included securing a longer lease for our main gallery, revitalising our project space, expanding our staff team, and increasing private sector support by 125%. We also collaborated with NH Architecture and the Kingston Arts Precinct Steering Committee on plans for Canberra Contemporary’s future home, while working with peers to advocate for the precinct’s development.
Guided by our goal to present the best in contemporary art, we delivered a dynamic and thoughtfully curated program by focusing on four key initiatives:
A well-resourced and impactful Canberra Contemporary main gallery program:
In 2024, Canberra Contemporary (formerly known as CCAS Lakeside until December) delivered a vibrant program of newly commissioned and recent projects by early- and mid-career artists and curators, with a strong focus on practitioners from the ACT region.
The year began with the final two weeks of BLAZE, our emerging artist showcase exhibition, curated by Alexander Boynes. Running from November 2023 to January 2024, this group exhibition celebrated the rising stars of the local art scene. BLAZE concluded with a special Up Late event where artist Zev Aviv invited visitors to engage directly with their work in the gallery.
Our first opening of the year was for With Nature, an exhibition curated by Alexander Boynes that featured local and interstate artists who created works in collaboration with the environment. This was followed by Places and Spaces, curated by Dan Toua, a group exhibition featuring artists who explored tangible and intangible spaces.
Our paired solo exhibitions showcased innovative, experimental projects by Kamberri/Canberra artists Ella Barclay and Nicci Haynes. Barclay’s Unkempt Cognition, her first ACT institutional solo exhibition, presented new work developed during a residency in Berlin. Haynes’s exhibition, RGB, featured ambitious new works exploring the RGB colour model, integral to both screen technology and human vision.
Collaboration took centre stage in the year’s final exhibitions. witness, collector, archivist, narrator, curated by Consuelo Cavaniglia and Brendan Van Hek from the experimental art space Sydenham International, explored diverse interpretations of documenting through the work of 10 artists from across Australia. Presented as part of the 2024 Canberra Art Biennial, Canberra Contemporary served as the festival hub for Kamberri/Canberra’s biennial public art festival.
The program concluded with Pattern Recognition, cocurated by myself and Craft + Design Canberra CEO & Artistic Director Jodie Cunningham. Programmed to coincide with the 2024 Craft + Design Canberra Festival, this exhibition celebrated female and non-binary artists from the ACT region who use abstraction and design principles to explore colour perception, spatial relationships, and the regenerative influence of traditional craft disciplines on contemporary art practice.
Platform (CCAS Manuka) as a site of experimentation and growth:
In 2024, we supported 23 diverse and engaging exhibitions at our project space, focusing primarily on early-career artists and experimental art practices. Highlights included Somwhere I’ve Been, curated by Canberra Contemporary intern Niamh Armstrong, which showcased emerging artists Gemma Brown and Emma Pinsent; and Remake, Remodel, featuring established artist Bruce Reynolds, who returned to the gallery more than 40 years after his first solo exhibition there in 1982, back when it was Bitumen River Gallery (the birthplace of Canberra Contemporary Art Space).
We also continued our artist-in-residence program, hosting ANU School of Art & Design Honours graduate Sophie Dumaresq. Dumaresq capped off a stellar year—having been the only ACT representative at the prestigious Hatched: National Graduate Show 2024 at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art and participating in the Next Wave Kickstarter program—by presenting her first solo exhibition, Punk, Romantic, at Platform in December.
To identify areas for improvement, we gathered exhibitor feedback and data at Platform. Artists reported a 90% satisfaction rate with their exhibition experience, and total artwork sales exceeded $43,500, all of which was delivered directly to the artists as no commission was taken.
A major milestone in 2024 was the transformation of our project space, which included a refreshed exterior with new paintwork, a new mural, and updated name and signage. As part of our call-out for exhibition proposals for the 2025 program, we introduced significant changes: after two decades of operating on a hire-by-the-artist model, Platform will now offer fully subsidised venue hire, making it free for artists to exhibit. Additionally, exhibition durations will be extended from two weeks to three, providing more time for audience and media engagement.
New voices commissioned to write about our exhibitions:
In 2024, building on an initiative launched in 2023 to broaden the voices at Canberra Contemporary and enhance networks for artists, we commissioned essays to accompany our paired solo exhibitions. London-based arts writer and journalist William Kherbek responded to Ella Barclay’s show, while Kamberri/Canberra-based curator, writer, and researcher Denise Thwaites provided an overview of Nicci Haynes’s exhibition.
Six e-catalogues were published to accompany exhibitions at our main gallery, featuring insightful essays and professional documentation. These e-catalogues, available for free online, extend the reach of the exhibitions beyond their physical presentation. Additionally, five Platform exhibitions included accompanying essays, further enriching the program.
Project and artwork commissions to augment our program:
In 2024, public programs were designed to increase understanding, engage diverse audiences, and exchange ideas. Across the year, we delivered 54 public programs, including 25 exhibition openings, 10 floor talk events, eight performances, two workshops, and nine other artsrelated events.
Highlights at Canberra Contemporary included: Word and Pictures an experimental collage workshop with Easton Dunne; “Speed” artist talks held before the openings of With Nature, Places and Spaces, and Pattern Recognition – these informal talks provided an overview of the exhibitions and an opportunity to meet the artists; and a captivating performance by vocalist Shikara Ringdahl in collaboration with Hannah Quinlivan’s artwork at the opening of Pattern Recognition.
Highlights at Platform (CCAS Manuka) included: CHESSMANIA, a chess tournament and closing event for Nathan Nhan’s exhibition It’s Never Quite As It Seems; A Gratitude Practice Workshop held as part of Toni Hassan’s exhibition Trust Me;
and Wrappers, an evolving experimental work by Ham Darroch, which invited visitor contributions both in person and via Instagram, inspiring ongoing alterations to the work presented in the gallery and fostering a dynamic dialogue between artist and audience.
This year also marked the second of our annual mural commissions, with Kirsten Farrell selected through a competitive public call-out to create a new temporary artwork for the Platform façade.
In addition to mentoring and supporting our exhibiting artists and curators, and as well as hosting information and advice sessions at Canberra Contemporary for visual art students, our team also provided professional practice guidance off-site. This included a critical feedback session for Certificate IV in Visual Art students at the Canberra Institute of Technology and a presentation on Canberra Contemporary for students in the Professional Practice course at the Australian National University School of Art & Design.
In August 2024, after six years with Canberra Contemporary, we farewelled staff member Dan Toua. Following her departure, the Gallery Manager + Associate Curator role was restructured into two new positions: Administration Coordinator, and Communications + Engagement Coordinator. In September, we welcomed Sophie McDonald and Jane Gillespie into these roles, joining me and Alexander Boynes (Curator + Program Manager) as the core staff team. This team was further supported by our dedicated casual staff (Gallery Attendants and Installers) and our contract bookkeeper. By the end of 2024, Canberra Contemporary’s Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) staffing increased from 2.5 to 3 (or 2.8 FTE excluding casual and contract staff).
Alongside the efforts of the Board and staff, I would like to acknowledge the generous contribution of the Canberra Contemporary community in 2024, including exhibiting artists, curators, writers, industry peers and collaborators, donors and supporters, visitors, members, and volunteers. Canberra Contemporary is fortunate
to receive multi-year financial support from the ACT Government and Creative Australia, both of which are vital to our sustainability, augmented by additional public and private support. We are grateful for the continued confidence and backing from every one of our supporters.
In January 2025, I will be finishing my time at Canberra Contemporary after nearly three years as Director. It has been a privilege to lead an organisation so deeply committed to supporting and nurturing artists’ practices and careers, while championing speculative and experimental work. I am immensely proud of all that we’ve achieved, and it’s been an honour to collaborate with such talented artists, curators, staff, and peers. I look forward to seeing Canberra Contemporary continue to thrive, and I am truly grateful for the opportunity to have contributed. Canberra Contemporary provides such important opportunities for artists, curators, writers, and arts workers to develop new work and foster sustainable practices and careers.
Janice Falsone Director Canberra Contemporary
Image witness, collector, archivist, narrator exhibition opening 27 September 2024
Photo by Hilary Wardhaugh
TREASURER’S REPORT
In 2024, Canberra Contemporary Art Space Inc (CCAS) recorded an overall operating profit of $31,939. This compares to a profit of $49,268 in 2023 and a $18,204 deficit in 2022. The organisation generated $435,481 of income and incurred expenses of $403,542. The income was 7% higher than the previous year, while total expenses were 13% higher than in 2023.
The operating grants received in 2024 were essential for CCAS’s financial viability. CCAS received $307,114 from the ACT Arts Fund (for 2023-2026 Arts Organisation Investment funding) and $43,994 from Creative Australia (for 2021-2024 Visual Arts and Craft Strategy funding). We also received additional support from the ACT Government as Kingston Precinct Rent Relief of $20,835 and through the Creative Australia CCAS Now project, $12,500 of donation income was matched.
From 2025 – 2028 CCAS has a new four-year organisational funding commitment from Creative Australia: $100,000 per year from 2025-2028. This is $56,006 more than our current annual funding.
Other factors contributing to our improved income level in 2024 include a 19% increase in visitation, significant increases in donations including the successful running of CCAS Now, income from events, collaboration income and bank interest.
The Board expresses its gratitude to all members for their contributions and acknowledged the ongoing financial support provided by the ACT Government through artsACT and the Australian Government through Creative Australia.
The board are aware that for CCAS to achieve further growth, especially in the lead up to the Kingston Arts Precinct, CCAS will depend on private sector fundraising and project grants.
As of 31 December 2024, CCAS had $182,623 in retained earnings. This is equivalent to 42% of our gross annual income. Our current ratio of assets to liabilities at 31 December 2024 was 2.15 to 1. Also, at 31 December 2024
CCAS had reserves of $273,690 which is 68% of the 2024 turnover.
I would like to thank Janice Falsone who worked closely with me and the Board in relation to the ongoing financial matters. Thank you also to the whole CCAS team and the Board for assisting me as treasurer.
Colleen Kelly Treasurer
Canberra Contemporary
Image Somewhere I’ve Been exhibition opening (curated by Niamh Armstrong), artwork by Gemma Brown Platform (CCAS Manuka), 1 February 2024
Photo by Hilary Wardhaugh
2024 at a glance
69 VISUAL artists exhibited
50 public program contributors
6 independent curators supported
Over $43,590 of artworks sold at Platform**
39 volunteers, contributing 900+ hours***
* Compared to 2023 numbers
**Canberra Contemporary’s commission-free model meant 100% of artwork sales went to the artist/s
Presenting RGB at Canberra Contemporary has been an impactful experience, providing opportunities to advance my career and cultivate my skills. Working in a large, clean, and modern gallery space challenged me to refine my improvisational approach and create a work that balanced spontaneity with the scale and sophistication required for such a venue. Canberra Contemporary, as a prestigious gallery, allowed me to present my work at a high level, expand my network, and gain valuable exposure. The support I received, including guidance on funding, professional advice, promotion, and reassurance throughout the process, was invaluable. The professional catalogue essay and documentation from the exhibition are lasting resources I can continue to draw on. The belief and trust Canberra Contemporary placed in my practice allowed me to grow as an artist. It affirmed my ability to create work that is transferable to any professional gallery.
Nicci Haynes
Nicci Haynes’ solo exhibition RGB was presented at Canberra Contemporary (CCAS Lakeside) from 13 July14 September 2024
Nicci Haynes talking at RGB public program: Stacks, Plasticity, Colour and Light: Artistic mediations in a connected world, In Conversation event with artists Ella Barclay and Nicci Haynes facilitated by Denise Thwaites, 14 September 2024 at Canberra Contemporary
Photo by Canberra Contemporary
Image
My first Kamberri/Canberra institutional exhibition, Contemporary provided invaluable support, enabling me to
Working with Canberra Contemporary has provided me with support and access which allowed me to undertake creative risks that have changed my artistic practice for the better. This includes the development and showing of my debut solo exhibition Punk, Romantic at Platform, Canberra Contemporary in 2024. Blaze 2025 allowed me to develop and then perform for the first time ever, my experimental performance work Beached as Bro… (I love you). This opportunity has lead to local and national exposure that has also lead to future performance opportunities of the work that will help me build a sustainable art practice.
Sophie Dumaresq
Sophie Dumaresq was Canberra Contemporary’s 2024 artist-in-residence, a placement offered through the Australian National University School of Art & Design Emerging Artist Support Scheme to Honours graduates. Dumaresq’s exhibition Punk, Romantic was presented at Platform (CCAS Manuka) in December 2024.
Image
Sophie Dumaresq at Punk, Romantic exhibition opening, Platform (CCAS Manuka), December 2024. Photo by Hilary Wardhaugh.
In 2024 I was honoured to be included in the exhibition Pattern Recognition curatedbyJaniceFalsoneandJodieCunninghamat CanberraContemporary.Iwasalsofortunatetobesuccessfulin mybidfortheCCASManuka(Platform)MuralProject.
Havingpracticedasanartistforalmost25yearsIhave experiencedarangeofencounterswithgalleriesandexhibiting institutionsasbothanartistandanartsworker.Icansaywithout hesitationthatCanberraContemporaryisanexemplarofbest practiceinartist-centredexhibitingandexhibitiondevelopment in this country.
IparticularlyappreciatedJanice’sengagementinthe development of my work for Pattern Recognition.Sheputtrust inmyideasandallowedmethespacetomakesomething speculative and which has enabled me to extend my practice inwaysthathavechallengedandsupportedme…Thedelivery oftheexhibition,includingalltheadministrativeaspectssuch as contracts, timelines and payments of the artist fee, was extremelysmoothowingtotheclearcommunicationandcalm command of the process by the whole team.
TheCanberraContemporarymuralcommissionhassimilarly been a dream experience as an artist. It has enabled me to stretch my practice and support an idea in its journey tobecomingapublicartwork.Ifelttrustedandrespected throughouttheprocess…
MyinteractionswithCanberraContemporaryhavebeenahuge boosttomycareer.Thankyoutothewholeteamforsupporting me this year.
Kirsten Farrell
Kirsten Farrell was recipient of the 2024 Canberra Contemporary Mural Commission, and an exhibiting artist in the group exhibition PatternRecognition at Canberra Contemporary (2 November 2024 – 25 January 2025).
Image
Kirsten Farrell giving an artist talk at PatternRecognition exhibition opening, Canberra Contemporary, 1 November 2024. Photo by Hilary Wardhaugh
CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE PROCESS THROUGH WHICH NEW ART BECOMES ART HISTORY. AT OUR MAIN SPACE, WE CREATE MEANINGFUL, HIGHLY ANTICIPATED AND APPRECIATED EXHIBITIONS SHOWCASING THE BEST IN CONTEMPORARY ART PRACTICE.
Subaqueous 2024
Yarn, wire, moulded plastic, dimensions variable
Pattern Recognition exhibition installation
Left Hannah Quinlivan
Right Al Munro Quilt 2 2024
Acrylic paint on boxboard and birch panel, 240 x 340 x 5cm
Photo by Brenton McGeachie
27 January 2024
Image Visitors get up close to Zev Aviv’s Birthing Pool at the Up Late event at Canberra Contemporary (Aviv in foreground)
Photo by Canberra Contemporary
Artistic Program
Canberra Contemporary
Artistic Program - Canberra Contemporary
BLAZE
ZEV AVIV, LUCY CHETCUTI, TILLY DAVEY, ISAAC KAIROUZ, SIOBHAN O’CONNOR, GABRIELA RENEE CURATED BY ALEXANDER BOYNES
4 November 2023 – 27 January 2024 (closed 17 December 2023 – 15 January 2024)
Audience: 2436 (1673 in 2023, and 763 in 2024)
Following a two-year hiatus, BLAZE, Canberra Contemporary’s well-established emerging artist showcase, returned with renewed enthusiasm – celebrating the current scene and the rising stars. Like previous editions, BLAZE highlighted artists connected to Kamberri/Canberra who are at the early stages of their careers and featured bold and provocative artworks. This BLAZE featured six artists working across installation, painting, printmaking, and sculpture. While no grand theme was intended, the works of Zev Aviv, Lucy Chetcuti, Tilly Davey, Isaac Kairouz, Siobhan O’Connor, and Gabriela Renee, collectively explored identity, societal norms, and underrepresented experiences. The exhibition captured a palpable urgency and a feeling of expansiveness, mirroring the difficulties faced by artists during the COVID lockdowns and remote learning. It channelled their reservoir of energy and a burning desire to showcase their potential and connect with the community within the gallery setting.
Public programs and audience engagement:
• BLAZE exhibition e-catalogue available on the Canberra Contemporary website;
• Canberra Contemporary Up Late to coincide with The Little Burley Markets night market and the National Capital Authority’s FLIGHT: Drone Show (27 January). Artist Zev Aviv was on-site in the gallery to discuss their artwork with visitors and encouraged interaction with their work Birthing Pool
Image Gabriela Renee (foreground)
Ties to My Father...Magē Piyā Saman̆ga Bæn̆dīm, 2023
Mixed media, dimensions variable
Photo by Brenton McGeachie
Single channel video, 6:36 duration
Videography by Cian Saunders
Image Megan Cope
Kinyingarra Guwinyanba (On Country) (video still), 2022
WITH NATURE
BRIDGET BASKERVILLE, MEGAN COPE, WENDY DAWES, MARLEY DAWSON, SAMMY HAWKER, ANNIKA ROMEYN. CURATED BY ALEXANDER BOYNES
10 February - 6 April 2024
Audience: 2328
With Nature brought together a selection of contemporary Australian artists who produced works in collaboration with the environment, where the landscape influenced the outcome of the work, to speak of Earth’s transformation due to our influence – Bridget Baskerville (ACT), Megan Cope (QLD), Wendy Dawes (ACT), Marley Dawson (ACT), Sammy Hawker (ACT), Annika Romeyn (ACT). The pandemic demonstrated the power of human collaboration during perilous times, however the unfathomable levels of collaboration at work in the natural environment offers invaluable lessons for contemplation. Featuring a range of artists working in photography, drawing, sculpture and textiles, the exhibition posed the question: how can we collaborate with our natural environment to better understand how to live a sustainable future on this planet?
Public programs and audience engagement:
• With Nature exhibition e-catalogue available on the Canberra Contemporary website;
• Artist talks by Bridget Baskerville, Wendy Dawes, Marley Dawson, Sammy Hawker, and Annika Romeyn, followed by exhibition opening event with Welcome to Country by Ngambri & Ngunnawal custodian Paul Girrawah House (9 February);
• Curator floor talk by Alexander Boynes for the Canberra Institute of Technology Diploma of Visual Art Professional Practice students (7 March). Artistic Program
Artistic Program Canberra Contemporary
Left Above Annika Romeyn Wana Karnu, 2024
Rust and ink on Rives BFK 300gsm paper, 240 x 360cm
Left Below Marley Dawson
Untitled (tumbleweed again), 2013
Tumbleweed, stainless steel, brass, electronics, mechanics, MDF, timber 140 x 140 x 51cm
Above Annika Romeyn Reaction, 2024
Rust on Rives BFK 250gsm paper 233 x 174cm
Photo by Brenton McGeachie
Image Word and Pictures: an experimental collage workshop with Easton Dunne 20 April 2024, Canberra Contemporary
Photo by Hilary Wardhaugh
Artistic Program
Canberra Contemporary
PLACES AND SPACES
S.A.ADAIR, EASTON DUNNE, KATIE HAYNE,
REBECCA MAYO WITH AUNTY DEIDRE MARTIN AND JACOB MORRIS, ELLIAT RICH AND JAMES YOUNG CURATED BY DAN TOUA
20 April - 29 June 2024
Audience: 2678
This exhibition brought together artists who explore the places and spaces around them through installation, sculpture, painting and augmented reality. Featuring local and interstate artists, the exhibition provided a dynamic dialogue between the tangible and intangible spaces we inhabit: our homes, our online realities, as well as the metaphorical spaces we occupy. The artists brought a diverse range of works to this exhibition by invoking the shelter and sanctuary of safe spaces; utilising natural materials of surrounding environments; looking back on hometown experiences through a Queer lens; via technology, questioning access to and use of certain places; and documenting a city’s rapid changes over time. Places and Spaces was an exhibition through which artists S.A.Adair (ACT), Easton Dunne (QLD), Katie Hayne (ACT), Rebecca Mayo (ACT) with Aunty Deidre Martin (NSW) and Jacob Morris (NSW), and Elliat Rich (ACT/NT) and James Young (ACT/NT) provided poignant observations of the places and spaces around them, and consequently, complex studies on their own histories and lived experiences.
Public programs and audience engagement:
• Places and Spaces exhibition e-catalogue available on the Canberra Contemporary website;
• Artist talks by Easton Dunne, Katie Hayne, Rebecca Mayo and Aunty Deidre Martin, and James Young, followed by exhibition opening event with speech by Tara Cheyne MLA (ACT Minister for Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy) (19 April);
• WORDS AND PICTURES: experimental collage workshop with Easton Dunne (20 April);
• Canberra Contemporary Annual General Meeting (8 May);
• Curator Dan Toua in Conversation with artists S.A.Adair, Katie Kayne, Rebecca Mayo with Aunty Deidre Martin and Jacob Morris, and Elliat Rich and James Young (22 June);
• MARION ACT Literary Awards at Canberra Contemporary (27 June)
Above Aunty Dierdre Martin and Rebecca Mayo
Acacia longifolia, 2022-23
Rope, wooden dowel, linen, hemp, mordant printed and dyed with Acacia longifolia, dimensions variable Poem written by Aunty Deidre Martin with Lisa Gorton, 2021-2023
Above Jacob Morris and Rebecca Mayo Arawarra and Cararura, 2022-23
Pope, wooden dowel, linen, mordant printed and dyed with Native Cherry (Exocarpos cupressiformis), 140 x 1300cm
Photo by Brenton McGeachie
Image Ella Barclay
Quiet Serfing 1, 2024
Acrylic, Crocs, blonde wig, beach volleyball, 230 x 120 x 40cm
Photo by Brenton McGeachie
Artistic Program
Canberra Contemporary
UNKEMPT CONGNITION
ELLA BARCLAY
13 July - 14 September 2024
Audience: 3377
Unkempt Cognition was ACT-based artist Ella Barclay’s first Kamberri/Canberra institutional solo exhibition and presented new work developed during a residency at ZK/U The Centre for Art and Urbanistics, Berlin, in 2024. Comprising a series of messy and playful luminous installations and photography, Unkempt Cognition explored common human experiences within connected daily life. From the speculative look and feel of the spatial technoimaginary, to the lived experience of doom-scroll bed-rotting our way through a landscape of escalating catastrophes and clumsy automation.
Public programs and audience engagement:
• Unkempt Cognition exhibition e-catalogue available on the Canberra Contemporary website, featuring a commissioned essay by London-based arts writer and journalist William Kherbek;
• Exhibition opening event (12 July);
• Exhibition tour and professional practice session for students studying Art Theory at Canberra Institute of Technology as part of Certificate IV in Visual Art (20 August);
• Stacks, Plasticity, Colour and Light: Artistic mediations in a connected world, an In Conversation event with artists Ella Barclay and Nicci Haynes, facilitated by Denise Thwaites (curator, writer and researcher and Senior Lecturer at the University of Canberra) (14 September).
Image Ella Barclay
Unkempt Cognition (Canberra Contemporary Art Space exhibition installation), 2024
Photo by Brenton McGeachie
Image Nicci Haynes
RG-Being (still), 2024
Digital video (photos by Andrew Sikorski), 1’00” duration
Artistic Program Canberra Contemporary
NICCI HAYNES
13 July - 14 September 2024
Audience: 3377
Kamberri/Canberra-based artist Nicci Haynes engages in a multifaceted, process-driven experimental practice that spans drawing, performance, print, film, and installation. Her work explores themes of language and communication, examining how these elements intersect and interact across various analogue and digital media. Haynes is improvisational in her approach, and inventive in her use of diverse materials, often repurposing found objects and technology. In her solo exhibition RGB, Haynes deepened her exploration into these themes through the use of the RGB colour model, essential to both screen technology and the mechanics of human vision. This model serves as both a technical and conceptual framework, allowing Haynes to explore nuances of perception, signal transmission, and visual information processing, offering a study of how contemporary visual communication is shaped by technology and human biology.
Public programs and audience engagement:
• RGB exhibition e-catalogue available on the Canberra Contemporary website, featuring a commissioned essay by Kamberri/Canberra-based curator, writer, and researcher Denise Thwaites;
• Exhibition opening event (12 July);
• Exhibition tour and professional practice session for students studying Art Theory at Canberra Institute of Technology as part of Certificate IV in Visual Art (20 August);
• Stacks, Plasticity, Colour and Light: Artistic mediations in a connected world, an In Conversation event with artists Ella Barclay and Nicci Haynes, facilitated by Denise Thwaites (curator, writer and researcher and Senior Lecturer at the University of Canberra) (14 September).
The works in this exhibition were created with support from ACT Government Arts Activities Funding
Image Nicci Haynes
RGB exhibition opening, 12 July 2024
Photo by Hilary Wardhaugh
Image Clare Peake
A Sorcerer’s Dress 2016 - ongoing
Studio scraps, test pieces, failures and project remnants
Photo by Brenton McGeachie
Artistic Program
Canberra Contemporary
WITNESS, COLLECTOR, ARCHIVIST, NARRATOR
TIYAN BAKER, EMMA BUSWELL, LOUISE CURHAM WITH ERIK GRISWOLD, HANNAH DE FEYTER, LEWIS DOHERTY, MELISSA HOWE, ALEX KERSHAW, MP HOPKINS, CLARE PEAKE
Curated by sydenham international (Consuelo Cavaniglia and Brendan Van Hek) for the Canberra Art Biennial and Canberra Contemporary
28 September – 19 October 2024
Audience: 1390
The exhibition witness, collector, archivist, narrator revolved around the various possible interpretations of the action of documenting. The exhibiting artists considered the impulse to document with various approaches – capturing, recording, collecting, narrating, archiving, witnessing, following, tracing, etc. The exhibition brought together existing works in conversation with newly commissioned work, and engaged audiences through a range of outcomes (from sound performances, to socially engaged video work), and connected across a range of communities with local and national content. Artists included Tiyan Baker (NSW), Emma Buswell (WA), Louise Curham (ACT), Erik Griswold (QLD), Hannah De Feyter (ACT), Lewis Doherty (NSW), Melissa Howe (ACT), Alex Kershaw (NSW), MP Hopkins (NSW), Clare Peake (WA), with curators Consuelo Cavaniglia (NSW) and Brendan Van Hek (NSW) of Sydenham International.
A collaborative project presented as part of the 2024 Canberra Art Biennial, Kamberri/Canberra’s biennial public art festival. Canberra Contemporary was the festival hub for the duration of the witness, collector, archivist, narrator exhibition.
Public programs and audience engagement:
• witness, collector, archivist, narrator exhibition e-catalogue available on the Canberra Contemporary website;
• Exhibition opening event, and launch of the 2024 Canberra Art Biennial (27 September);
• Closing event: Curator talk by Consuelo Cavaniglia and sound performance by MP Hopkins (19 October).
Above Melissa Howe
From the series The Crossing 2020-2024
Archival pigment prints mounted on 3mm aluminium composite
Photo by Brenton McGeachie
Above Emma Buswell After Arachne 2020 Wool, cotton and synthetic yarn
Photo by Brenton McGeachie
Image Performance by Shikara Ringdahl, 1 November 2024, with Hannah Quinlivan’s work Subaqueous 2024
Yarn, wire, moulded plastic, dimensions variable
Photograph by Hilary Wardhaugh
Artistic Program
Canberra Contemporary
PATTERN RECOGNITION
LIZ COATS, KIRSTEN FARRELL, NGAIO FITZPATRICK, JENNIFER KEMARRE MARTINIELLO, AL MUNRO, HANNAH QUINLIVAN, EMMA RANI HODGES (AND COLLABORATORS), CURATED BY JODIE CUNNINGHAM AND JANICE FALSONE
2 November 2024 – 25 January 2025 (closed 15 December 2024 – 13 January 2025)
Audience: 2829 (1902 in 2024, and 927 in 2025)
Pattern Recognition celebrated female and non-binary artists from the ACT region who use abstraction and design principles to explore colour perception and spatial relationships, highlighting the variety of ways artists approach colour, geometry, and form. While the artists in the exhibition explore similar visual terrain, embracing non-objective abstraction, repetition and pattern, their underlying conceptual investigations and influences vary and include postcolonial and feminist frameworks, climate activism, architecture, memory, extended pictorial space, mindfulness, and sensory engagement with the materials. The exhibition investigated regeneration and explored the influence of traditional craft disciplines on contemporary art practice. Co-curated by Jodie Cunningham, CEO + Artistic Director of Craft + Design Canberra, and Janice Falsone, Director at Canberra Contemporary.
Pattern Recognition was a collaboration between Canberra Contemporary and Craft + Design Canberra, presented as part of Regenerate, the 2024 Craft + Design Canberra Festival. This exhibition marked the third consecutive Festival in which Canberra Contemporary partnered with Craft + Design Canberra to deliver a project (having previously collaborated in 2020 and 2022), and it is the first to feature a co-curated exhibition.
Public programs and audience engagement:
Pattern Recognition exhibition e-catalogue available on the Canberra Contemporary website;
Artist talks by Liz Coats, Kirsten Farrell, Ngaio Fitzpatrick, Al Munro, Hannah Quinlivan, and Emma Rani Hodges, followed a performance by vocalist Shikara Ringdahl (VIC) in collaboration with the work by artist
celebrating the transformation of Canberra Contemporary Art Space (CCAS) into Canberra Contemporary, in collaboration with the leading design studio FINE
“Pattern Recognition is a survey of artists who push their medium and their practice to its edges. Not only bound by shared interests in materiality and form, the artists' conceptual concerns – feminism, colonialism, the environment – are conveyed materially and conceptually, by recycling materials or drawing from nature...”
Excerpt from Art Almanac magazine (December/January issue) feature essay on Pattern Recognition by art critic and writer Sophia Halloway (pages 32-34).
Artistic Program Canberra Contemporary
Finding Home, Community Project 2024
Mixed media, dimensions variable
Found plastic exclusion tape, cotton thread, installation, dimensions variable
Left Emma Rani Hodges & Collaborators
Right Kirsten FarrelI Shrine 2024
Photo by Brenton McGeachie
PLATFORM (FORMERLY CCAS MANUKA) IS A SITE OF EXPERIMENTATION AND GROWTH, PRESENTING AMBITIOUS PROJECTS BY PREDOMINANTLY EARLY CAREER ARTISTS AND CURATORS, PRIORITISING CANBERRA-BASED PRACTICE.
Image Kirsten Farrell with her mural Titled 2024 5 December 2024, Platform (CCAS Manuka)
Photo by Hilary Wardhaugh
“Jan, Dan and Alexander - Thank you for giving me the opportunity to curate a show! Your guidance, encouragement and most importantly kindness throughout my time interning with you made my honours year that little bit easier.”
Niamh Armstrong
Image Somewhere I’ve Been exhibition opening (curated by Niamh Armstrong), artwork by Emma Pinsent Platform (CCAS Manuka), 1 February 2024
Photo by Hilary Wardhaugh
Artistic Program Platform
ARTISTIC PROGRAM - PLATFORM (CCAS MANUKA)
SOMEWHERE I’VE BEEN
GEMMA BROWN & EMMA PINSENT, CURATED BY NIAMH ARMSTRONG
2-11 February 2024 | Audience: 90
Early-career artists Gemma Brown (ACT) and Emma Pinsent (NSW) reconfigured waste, organic matter, and traces of anthropogenic intervention to explore the complex human-environment relationship. Kamberri/Canberra-based emerging curator Niamh Armstrong, who completed a year-long internship at Canberra Contemporary in 2023 (in partnership with the Australian National University Centre for Art History and Art Theory), curated Somewhere I’ve Been as the culmination of the internship.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event (1 February); Printed catalogue with essay by Niamh Armstrong.
SIMPLE FORMS FOR COMPLEX TIMES
LEEANNE CRISP
16-25 February 2024 | Audience: 212
An exhibition of large watercolours by Lee Crisp (NSW) created between 2019 and 2023 exploring nature’s generative force, drought, fire, and the COVID-19 pandemic, with the artist’s small farm near the Shoalhaven River inspiring meditative marks reflecting the interplay of the human body, nature, and time.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event (15 February); Exhibition essay by Penelope Grist (Assistant Director Programs and Engagement, Art Collections at Australian Parliament House); Artist talk (24 February).
GLITCH CITY – THE GLIMMERS
SCOTT FRANKS
1-10 March 2024 | Audience: 139
An exhibition by ACT-region artist Scott Franks (NSW) that uses abstract painting, dark patterns, and screen glitch motifs to reflect on recent psychological, social, and digital upheavals, with bright fluorescent glimmers symbolising moments of joy amid the darkness.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event (29 February).
Artistic Program Platform
“[What I liked most about exhibiting at Platform was] being a part of the long list of excellent artists that have exhibited at Canberra Contemporary.”
it seems exhibition, 28 March 2024,
Image Nathan Nhan at the opening of It’s never quite as
Platform (CCAS Manuka)
Photo by Canberra Contemporary
Nathan Nhan
MONACHOPSIS
HILARY WARDHAUGH
15-24 March 2024 | Audience: 251
In Monachopsis, Kamberri/Canberra-based photographer Hilary Wardhaugh explored the tension between human impact on nature and nature’s resilience, presenting subtle visual messages of hope amidst seemingly bleak scenarios.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event (14 March); Closing event performance by Kamberri/Canberra-based composer Ruth Lee Martin, inspired by Hilary Wardhaugh’s work (24 March).
IT’S NEVER QUITE AS IT SEEMS
29 March – 7 April 2024 | Audience: 120
It’s never quite as it seems by Kamberri/Canberra-based early-career ceramicist Nathan Nhan weaved together threads of nostalgia, strategy, and cultural exchange. It invited visitors to explore the intersection of personal recollection and strategic contemplation through the lenses of souvenirs and the timelessness of chess.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event (28 March); CHESSMANIA – chess tournament and exhibition closing event (7 April).
12-21 April 2024 | Audience: 166
An exhibition by Meeanjin/Brisbane-based established artist Bruce Reynolds of paintings made of lino on wood panels depicting modernist sculptures in the National Gallery of Australia’s collection. Reynolds’ first solo exhibition was held at Platform (CCAS Manuka) in 1982 when the space was Bitumen River Gallery.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event (11 April); Artist talk (13 April & 20 April).
“The Manuka space clearly remains a very important component of the Canberra art scene.” Bruce Reynolds
Image Sound Explorations performance by Rhys Butler (left) and Richard Johnson (right) Platform (CCAS Manuka), 8 June 2024
Photo by Canberra Contemporary
Artistic Program Platform
TRUST ME
TONI HASSAN
25 April – 5 May 2024 | Audience: 266
The multimedia exhibition Trust Me by Toni Hassan (ACT) explored the physical, psychological, spiritual, and surreal dimensions of her life-altering cancer diagnosis and treatment, while shedding light on the visual culture of hospital care.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event with speeches by ACT Minister for Health, Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA, and Rev. Carolyn Kitto, freedom advocate and friend of the artist (24 April); Artist talk (4 May); Gratitude Practice Workshop (5 May).
UN_SHORE
CAB HUF
24 May – 2 June 2024 | Audience: 94
Un_Shore by Kamberri/Canberra artist Caroline (Cab) Huf, inspired by a recent King Island residency, blended performance, video, and sculpture to explore the liminality of the shore, reflecting on life, death, colonial legacies, maritime narratives, and Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event (24 May); Un-Shore: a microcinema evening featured a performance by Cab Huf and Janet Long (ACT), alongside a lineup curated by Louise Curham (ACT), including a live music and film performance by Curham and MP Hopkins (NSW) and screenings of films by Benjamin Taylor (Montreal), Kirsten Hudson (WA), Artists Film Workshop (VIC), and Malcolm Le Grice’s (UK) new three-channel film Eye of the Dragon (2 June).
SOUND EXPLORATIONS
CURATED BY RICHARD JOHNSON (Director/Curator/Producer, SoundOut Festival) (7pm) 8, 12 & 15 June 2024 | Audience: 63
Sound Explorations showcased Kamberri/Canberra artists specialising in improvisational and experimental music, visual art, and dance, including Brian McNamara (invented instruments), Bruce Spink (guitar / objects), Charles Martin (electronics), Jamie Lambert (guitar / violin), Jesse Twomey (phin / percussion), Karim Camprovin (vocals), Miroslav Bukovsky (trumpet), Nicci Haynes (drawing projections), Paul Wong (guitar), Reuben Ingall (no-input mixer), Rhys Butler (alto sax), Richard Johnson (wind instruments), Stuart Orchard (guitar / keyboard), Yichen Wang (VR electronics / OPO), Zsuzsi Soboslay (dance). Over three nights, they collaborated across sets to create unique, intersubjective performances.
“It was a flexible space that allowed for different installations for our exhibition, and there was very little admin ahead of time and the communication lines were very clear.”
Image Artists Chin Jie Melodie Liu and Chanel Nguyen at Everything I Am Not exhibition opening 4 July 2024, Platform (CCAS Manuka)
Photo by Konstantinos Katsanis
Yona Su
Artistic Program Platform
A SENSE OF FRAGILITY
ALLISON BARNES
21 - 30 June 2024 | Audience: 115
Kamberri/Canberra-based early-career artist Allison Barnes’s exhibition conveyed her personal response to the existential threat of climate change. The works were created with support from the Capital Arts Patrons’ Organisation’s 2023 Boris Property Emerging Artist Award.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event (20 June).
EVERYTHING I AM NOT LYNDEN BASSETT, CHIN-JIE MELODIE LIU, CHANEL NGUYEN, NATASHA TAREEN CURATED BY YONA SU & JOYCE FAN
5 - 14 July 2024 | Audience: 116
The exhibition Everything I Am Not featured collaborative works by two pairs of Kamberri/Canberra-based artists and composers, Lynden Bassett with Natasha Tareen, and Chin-Jie Melodie Liu with Chanel Nguyen. These works reflected the creators’ personal experiences with identity, exclusion, and isolation in Western-dominated industries. By highlighting aspects of themselves that were different, unconventional, and non-white, the artists invited audiences to pause and reflect on who we are, and everything we are not.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event, with live DJ performance by Chanel Nguyen (4 July); Printed catalogue with essays by Yona Su (ACT/VIC) and Joyce Fan (ACT).
CREPUSCULUM ANTON PULVIRENTI
19 - 28 July 2024 | Audience: 90
Crepusculum, an exhibition by Anton Pulvirenti (NSW), reimagined historical images through symbolism and representational drawing to challenge official war narratives, exploring familial trauma and dehumanisation linked to the artist’s grandfather’s World War II internment by combining archival photographs with hybrid animal-human forms.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event (18 July).
“I enjoyed the opportunity to present a solo body of work in a professional space. It was an ambitious task for my emerging experience, but very rewarding once complete.”
Sean Martin
Image Sean Martin at the opening of Anonymous Sentiment 29 August 2024, Platform (CCAS Manuka)
Photo by Canberra Contemporary
ATTITUDES OF MAKING
TOM BUCKLAND, DOMINIC GOWANS, HARRISON LE LIEVRE
2 - 11 August 2024 | Audience: 150
In the exhibition Attitudes of Making, artists Tom Buckland (ACT), Dominic Gowans (NSW), and Harry Le Lievre (ACT), collaborated through form, concept, and attitude, each offering a whimsical perspective on the world around them.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event (1 August).
FABLE ... ONCE UPON A TIME
GERALD JONES
16 - 25 August 2024 | Audience: 130
In the exhibition Fable ... Once Upon A Time, Gerald Jones (ACT) explored queer identity through mythological compositions, blending historical symbols, gender fluidity, and drag ball culture to create a visual language that celebrated self-expression, challenged societal norms, and connected past and present narratives within the LGBTQIA+ community.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event (15 August).
ANONYMOUS SENTIMENT
SEAN MARTIN
30 August - 8 September 2024 | Audience: 113
Anonymous Sentiment, the first solo exhibition by Kamberri/Canberra-based self-taught artist Sean Martin, showcased drawings and oil paintings exploring anonymous sentimentality, transforming personal yet universal scenes from an iPhone camera roll into stripped, evocative compositions that challenged the perception of sentimentality.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event (29 August); Exhibition essay by early-career writer Reba Nelson (ACT).
“Que será, Serra is a study on how the dimensions and textures of our constructed environment influence our relationship to space, an exploration that Vandermark approaches with delightful softness and characteristic wit.”
Excerpt from Sophia Halloway’s review of Peter Vandermark’s Que será, Serra, City News (online) 15 October 2024
Image Peter Vandermark Que será, Serra 2024
Mixed media, dimensions variable
Photo courtesy the artist
WRAPPERS
HAM DARROCH
13 - 22 September 2024 | Audience: 105
Wrappers, was an evolving, experimental work by Kamberri/Canberra-based artist Ham Darroch, that continuously transformed throughout the exhibition. A curved wall installation and central working table set the stage for Darroch’s engagement with visitors, inviting them to suggest themes and concepts. These contributions inspired the alterations Darroch makes on the wrappers, fostering a dynamic dialogue between the artist and audience.
Public programs and audience engagement: Public engagement included a closing event (22 September), and an Instagram account (@wrappers_project) where visitors could contribute ideas directly to the artist.
RECOLLECT
SOPHIA DOUNOUKOS
27 September - 6 October 2024 | Audience: 148
ReCollect by Sophia Dounoukos (ACT) showcased photo-based visual assemblages blending photography, collage, and digital processes to explore identity, memory, and loss, reflecting the tension between order and chaos while navigating personal experiences of caring for her mother.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event (26 September).
QUE SERÁ, SERRA
PETER VANDERMARK
11 - 20 October 2024 | Audience: 134
The exhibition Que será, Serra by established artist Peter Vandermark (ACT) featured sculptures crafted from repurposed objects, blending architecture and design to explore the relationship between function and form, human spatial ecology, and the interaction between life and art in domestic and public spaces.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event (10 October).
Image Visitor at opening event of Am i doing this right? by Sophia Childs, 24 October 2024, Platform (CCAS Manuka)
Photo by Canberra Contemporary
AM I DOING THIS RIGHT?
SOPHIA CHILDS
25 October – 3 November 2024 | Audience: 113
Am I doing this right? by emerging artist and recent ANU School of Art & Design graduate Sophia Childs (ACT), featuring work which was made in direct response to feedback received from a rejected exhibition proposal. The exhibition demonstrated the artist’s determination to continue experimenting with right and wrong ways of making contemporary abstract paintings.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event (24 October).
The exhibition by FiveInk, a collective of five Kamberri/Canberra-based printmakers, showcased works on paper, fabric, and found materials, using the metaphor of seeds to explore themes of growth, displacement, belonging, resilience, and the interplay between personal experiences and global upheavals.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event (7 November).
22 November – 1 December 2024 | Audience: 90
The exhibition by Kamberri/Canberra-based artist Molly Kamenz featured etchings and lithographs that combined her interests in botany and topography, exploring the landscapes embedded in the trunks, limbs, and bark of Canberra’s street trees. Street was Kamenz’s first solo exhibition.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event (21 November).
Image Artist Sophie Dumaresq (second from left) with Canberra Contemporary team (L-R: Janice Falsone, Jane Gillespie, Alexander Boynes, Sophie McDonald) at the opening of Punk, Romantic, Platform (CCAS Manuka), 5 December 2024
Photo by Hilary Wardhaugh
PUNK, ROMANTIC SOPHIE DUMARESQ
6-15 December 2024 | Audience: 133
Punk, Romantic was the first solo exhibition by Sophie Dumaresq (ACT), Canberra Contemporary’s 2024 artistin-residence and a recent ANU School of Art & Design graduate. Dumaresq’s interdisciplinary practice brings perspectives of absurdity, queerness and humour to creative and critical robotics.
Public programs and audience engagement: Exhibition opening event (5 December); Exhibition essay by internationally renowned Australian performance artist Stelarc (WA).
“What makes Sophie’s artwork both intriguing and arresting is that she inserts uncertainty and accepts inevitable failure as a possibility and even as a precondition of her installations and performances.” Excerpt from the exhibition essay by Stelarc.
The works in this exhibition were created with support from ACT Government Arts Activities Funding.
TITLED
KIRSTEN FARRELL
December 2024 – November 2025
The second annual Canberra Contemporary Mural Commission was awarded to Kamberri/Canberra-based Kirsten Farrell, a queer multidisciplinary artist who has a long association with Canberra Contemporary and held her first solo exhibition, Alphabetica, at Platform (CCAS Manuka) in 2002. For the project, Kirsten drew from the Platform archive, particularly exhibition titles, incorporating them into the mural. This approach honoured the site’s long history as a launching pad for many art practices and serves as a bold introduction to the experimental and speculative art showcased at the gallery.
Public programs and audience engagement: Mural launch (5 December).
Image New Name, New Look Canberra Contemporary rebrand visuals by FINE
CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY BOARD
AMANDA
BIGGS Chair
Amanda brings to the Chairperson role a deep understanding of the visual arts landscape in Canberra, as well is skills in governance, people management, policy analysis and research, program evaluation and report writing. Amanda is a former Senior Researcher at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library, and a champion of the arts. She holds a double major (Hons.) in Fine Arts & English from Flinders University, a Graduate Diploma in Librarianship from UNSW and a Masters of Arts from Deakin University. Amanda has written papers for the Parliamentary Library, and reviews and articles for the CAS Broadsheet and Words and Visions art magazine. Amanda has served on the Canberra Contemporary Board since 2017, and is also on the Canberra Contemporary Fundraising Sub-Committee.
ADAM PEPPINCK Secretary
Adam is a solicitor with strong legal, governance, business development and management experience. He is partner at Clayton Utz (Real Estate) and has over 20 years’ experience advising both public and private sector clients on leasing, divestment, acquisition, and property development matters. Adam is Chair of the ACT Law Society’s Property Law Committee, and member of the Property Council of Australia’s Planning and Residential Committee (ACT division). He is also an elected Councillor of the ACT Law Society Council. Adam has served on the Canberra Contemporary Board since 2017.
COLLEEN KELLY Treasurer
Colleen is a Certified Practising Accountant with over 25-years’ experience working in public practice accounting firms providing taxation and business advice to clients in a range of sectors. As a Senior Manager at MGI Joyce Dickson, Colleen assists small to medium businesses to achieve their business and financial objectives. Colleen joined the Canberra Contemporary Board in April 2023, and brings to the Treasurer role considerable financial expertise as well as notfor-profit governance and committee experience.
TINA BAUM Board Member
Tina is from the Gulumirrgin (Larrakia), Wardaman and Karajarri peoples of the Northern Territory and Western Australia with over 30 years’ experience in Australian museums and galleries. Tina is Senior Curator of First Nations Art at the National Gallery of Australia, and has previously worked at the Queensland Museum, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, and the National Museum of Australia. Tina is also a Board member of The Arts Law Centre of Australia. Tina has served on the Canberra Contemporary Board since 2015, and brings to the role significant industryspecific knowledge, as well as indigenous engagement, governance and government funding experience.
WARATAH LAHY Board Member
Waratah is a Kamberri/Canberra-based artist with a PhD in Visual Arts from ANU. Her work features in collections such as Artbank, the Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra Museum + Gallery, and Bundanon Trust. An experienced arts worker, she has served as Outreach Coordinator at ANU School of Art & Design, managing the Emerging Artist Support Scheme, and currently works as Gallery Manager at The Mixing Room Gallery and Exhibition Coordinator at Craft + Design Canberra. Waratah rejoined the Canberra Contemporary Board in April 2023, having previously served over a decade ago, and contributes extensive industry knowledge, networks, and experience in communications, board roles, and patron/ sponsorship management. She also serves on the Canberra Contemporary Fundraising Sub-Committee.
IRENE LEMON Board Member
Irene is a Creative Industries Specialist and experienced mentor and business advisor, and was most recently Business Development Manager Startups at the Australian National University. Irene has helped over 1000 creatives and social enterprises with entrepreneurial skills development to enhance sustainability and viability of creative businesses. Irene is also a performing artist, with 20 years’ experience, and brings to the Canberra Contemporary role significant business development, fundraising, and governance expertise, as well as impact analysis, and cross-artform industry-specific knowledge. Irene joined the Canberra Contemporary Board in January 2023, and is also on the Canberra Contemporary Fundraising Sub-Committee.
PAUL MAGEE Board Member
Paul brings to the Canberra Contemporary Board role communications, strategic planning, management, and governance experience, as well as cross-artform industry-specific knowledge. Paul is a Professor of Poetry at the University of Canberra, where he directs one of the university’s five dedicated research centres, the Centre for Cultural and Creative Research (CCCR). A poet and researcher in poetics, Paul has received Arts Victoria, artsACT and Australia Council funding for his verse, as well as securing Australian Research Council and U.K. Research and Innovation grants for his scholarship. Paul studied in Melbourne, Moscow, San Salvador and Sydney, and has served on the Canberra Contemporary Board since 2012.
GOVERNANCE STATEMENT
Declaration of conflicts of interest
Canberra Contemporary 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 Canberra Contemporary programs until one year following their resignation. People employed by Canberra Contemporary cannot participate in the artistic program, except in exceptional circumstances, which must be approved by the Board.
CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY STAFF
JANICE FALSONE Director
Our current team comprises four part-time core staff, plus casual Gallery Attendants, casual Gallery Installers, and a contract bookkeeper. We also host regular internships and work experience placements.
Janice joined Canberra Contemporary in March 2022, and brings to the Director’s role a deep passion for contemporary visual art along with considerable experience managing arts organisations. Janice is a values driven and entrepreneurial leader who has served in a range of curatorial and arts management roles in Kamberri/Canberra and Meanjin/ Brisbane, including at PhotoAccess (Director, and Manuka Arts Centre Manger), ANCA, M16 Artspace, Australia Business Arts Foundation, Australian Institute of Architects and QLD Artworkers Alliance. Janice is also a Board Director of National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA).
ALEXANDER BOYNES Curator + Program Manager
Alexander is a curator, arts worker and artist, who joined the Canberra Contemporary team in 2010. He oversees the delivery of the Canberra Contemporary program and has curated numerous exhibitions over the past decade, including The Triangle – Political Art in Canberra (2013), 2° Art and Climate Change (2016), Ex Machina (2017), Cageworks (2022), Come Back, All is Forgiven (2022), With Nature (2024), and Carbon Neutral (2022) presented as part of Aquifer a Territory- wide program responding to the current climate crisis.
JANE GILLESPIE
Communications + Engagement Coordinator
Jane joined Canberra Contemporary in September 2024, bringing significant experience in exhibitions, audience engagement and communications within the contemporary art sector. Previously she was Associate Manager, Touring Exhibitions at the National Gallery of Australia, and prior to that worked with several leading artists within their studios. Jane has also held roles at Creative Australia, Mosman Art Gallery, Museums & Galleries of NSW, Firstdraft, Create NSW and the Biennale of Sydney.
SOPHIE MCDONALD Administration Coordinator
Sophie joined the Canberra Contemporary team as Administration Coordinator in September 2024. She is a University of Sydney Graduate with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Art History and Anthropology. In addition to her extensive customer service experience, Sophie has worked closely with artists, clients, and galleries as an Art Valuations Assistant in Sydney at Stella Downer Fine Art Gallery. Sophie is committed to her continuous support of the Kamberri/Canberra arts community in this role.
DAN TOUA
Former Gallery Manger + Associate Curator
Dan is an arts worker and curator, who joined the Canberra Contemporary team in 2018 and left in August 2024 to become Acting Curator Pacific Arts at the National Gallery of Australia. At Canberra Contemporary, Dan managed the customer facing and administrative functions while contributing to the artistic program, co-curating BLAZE 14 (2020) and curating austrALIEN (2021), Texture (2023) and Places and Spaces (2024). Dan holds a Bachelor in International Relations, a Master of Art Curatorship, and a Graduate Diploma in Art History.
THANK YOU
CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY BOARD
Amanda Biggs (Chair), Colleen Kelly (Treasurer), Adam Peppinck (Secretary), Tina Baum, Waratah Lahy, Irene Lemon, Paul Magee.
CANBERRA
CONTEMPORARY STAFF
Janice Falsone (Director), Alexander Boynes (Curator + Program Manager), Dan Toua (Gallery Manager + Associate Curator, until August), Jane Gillespie (Communications + Engagement Coordinator, from September), Sophie McDonald (Administration Coordinator, from September), Phillip van Zomeren (Contract Bookkeeper), Bridget Baskerville, Marley Dawson, Dan Maginnity and Daniel Margules (Casual Gallery Installers), Lillian Austin, India Fletcher, Holly George, Julia Higgs, Edeline Ohk, Poppy Thomson, Sanchia Toua and Leah Walter (Casual Gallery Attendants), and Yong Chen, Ivy Moore, Manpreet (Interns).
ARTISTS
& CURATORS (Canberra Contemporary)
S.A.Adair, Zev Aviv, Tiyan Baker, Ella Barclay, Bridget Baskerville, Emma Buswell, Consuelo Cavaniglia, Lucy Chetcuti, Liz Coats, Megan Cope, Jodie Cunningham, Louise Curham, Tilly Davey, Wendy Dawes, Marley Dawson, Hannah de Feyter, Lewis Doherty, Easton Dunne, Kirsten Farrell, Ngaio Fitzpatrick, Erik Griswold, Sammy Hawker, Katie Hayne, Nicci Haynes, Melissa Howe, MP Hopkins, Isaac Kairouz, Jennifer Kemarre Martiniello, Alex Kershaw, Aunty Deidre Martin, Rebecca Mayo, Jacob Morris, Al Munro, Siobhan O’Connor, Clare Peake, Hannah Quinlivan, Emma Rani Hodges (and collaborators), Gabriela Renee, Elliat Rich, Shikara Ringdahl, Annika Romeyn, Brendan Van Hek, and James Young.
ARTISTS & CURATORS (Platform)
Niamh Armstrong, Allison Barnes, Lynden Bassett, Gemma Brown, Tom Buckland, Miroslav Bukovsky, Rhys Butler, Karim Camprovin, Sophia Childs, Leeanne Crisp, Ham Darroch, Sophia Dounoukos, Sophie Dumaresq, Joyce Fan, Kirsten Farrell, Scott Franks, Dominic Gowans, Nicci Haynes, Toni Hassan, Nicole Henry, Caroline (Cab) Huf, Reuben Ingall, Richard Johnson, Gerald Jones, Molly Kamenz, Jamie Lambert, Harrison Le Lievre, Chin-Jie Melodie Liu, Pamela Manning, Charles Martin, Sean Martin, Brian McNamara, Chanel Nguyen, Nathan Nhan, Stuart Orchard, Emma Pinsent, Anton Pulvirenti, Bruce Reynolds, Giancarlo Savaris, Zsuzsi Soboslay, Bruce Spink, Yona Su, Natasha Tareen, Jesse Twomey, Peter Vandermark, Yichen Wang, Hilary Wardhaugh, Ann Widdup, Paul Wong, and Claire Young.
ACT GOVERNMENT / ARTSACT
Tara Cheyne MLA (Minister for the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy – until November / Attorney-General – from November), Michael Pettersson MLA (Minister for Business, Arts and Creative Industries – from November), Caroline Fulton, Toni Bailey, Hannah Carrigy, Jemma Cavanagh, Libby Gordon, Dr Shireen Huda, Georgia Hobbs, Laurine Kelson, Rebecca Kite, Michael Liu, Ellanor Webb.
AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT / CREATIVE AUSTRALIA
Adrian Collette AM, Michelle Boyle, Megan Exton, Alice Nash, Tegan Richardson, Adelaide Rief, Lisa Rowley, Mikala Tai.
DONORS
Alison Alder, Peter Alwast, Joel Arthur, Alex Asch, Ella Barclay, Allison Barnes, Emma Beer, Abby Benninger, Amanda Biggs, Vivienne Binns, Mark Blumer, Alexander Boynes, Robert Boynes, Matthew Bramhall, David Broker, Gordon Bull and Deb Clarke, Leah Bullen, Anne Buttsworth, Lisa Byrne, Tom Campbell, Rachel Coghlan, Neil Doody, Harriet Elvin , Tracey Ewen, Joseph and Janice Falsone, Christina Falsone, Denise Ferris, Patrick Fitzsimmons, Helen Gee, Katherine Giles, Alexandra Glass, Sally Golding and James Backhouse, Karina Harris and Neil Hobbs, Meredith Hincliffe, Aki Imayasu, Geetha Isaac-Toua, Jeanette Jeffrey, Colleen and Ben Kelly, Joanna Kitto, Vanessa and John Kuczkowski, Waratah Lahy, Victoria Lees, Paul Magee, Dan Maginnity, Paul Murray, Derek O’Connor, Eliott O’Dowd, Tony Oates, Raquel Ormella, Elizabeth Paterson, Daniel Qualischefski, Isobel Rayson, Alex Robinson, Wendy Rowell, Rheina Rutherford, Lucy Stackpool, Nick Stranks, Denise Thwaites, Dan Toua, Beatrice Tucker, Justine Van Mourik, Emily Vearing, Maryanne Voyazis, Hilary Wardhaugh, Lisa Wilmot, The Jetty Crew, and Grill’d Manuka. We also gratefully acknowledge the five donors who chose to remain anonymous, as well as those who supported our programs through on-site contributions.
KINGSTON ARTS PRECINCT (KAP)
artsACT, Suburban Land Agency, NH Architecture, KAP Steering Committee (especially Canberra Glassworks, Craft + Design Canberra, M16 Artspace, Megalo Print Studio, and PhotoAccess).
NETWORK PARTNER
CONTEMPORARY ARTS ORGANISATIONS AUSTRALIA
4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art (NSW), Adelaide Contemporary Experimental – ACE (SA), Artspace (NSW), Australian Centre for Contemporary Art – ACCA (VIC), Blak Dot Gallery (VIC), Centre for Contemporary Photography (VIC), Contemporary Art Tasmania (TAS), Firstdraft (NSW), Gertrude Contemporary (VIC), Institute of Modern Art (QLD), Northern Centre for Contemporary Art (NT), Performance Space (NSW), Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (WA), West Space (VIC).
Canberra Contemporary is a proud member of Contemporary Arts Organisations Australia.
SUPPORTERS
FINE, The Jetty, BentSpoke Brewing Co.
NATIONAL CAPITAL AUTHORITY
Sally Barnes, Karen Doran, Johanna Hamilton, Justine Nagel, Belinda Neame, Adam Robbins, Andrew Smith, Rebecca Sorensen.
Canberra Contemporary Art Space Incorporated is assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts funding and advisory body.
Canberra Contemporary acknowledges the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples, the Traditional Custodians of the Kamberri/Canberra region, and recognises their continuous connection to culture, community, and Country.
