MPRG WELCOMES TWO EXHIBITIONS EXPLORING AUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE AND LANDSCAPE 6 MARCH – 23 MAY
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he Overwintering Project: Westernport, is a long-term environmental art project that unites artists around Australia to raise awareness for our most endangered group of birds, migratory shorebirds, and their habitat, coming to Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, 6 March – 23 May. The Overwintering Project: Westernport focuses on Westernport as an internationally significant migratory shorebird habitat. The exhibition features 16 artists who have produced new work in a variety of media inspired by the local Westernport environment. These will be shown in conjunction with the Overwintering Project Print Portfolio, a growing collection of 300+ original prints made by artists from Australia and New Zealand in response to the unique nature of their local migratory shorebird habitat. Exhibition curator Kate Gorringe-Smith’s work is print-based; Eastern Curlew, Westernport Icon is a homage to the complex Westernport environment and to the Eastern Curlew, our most endangered migratory shorebird, that makes its home here. Featured artists include: Alexis Beckett, Andrej Kocis, Beverley Meldrum, Byron Scullin Heather Hesterman, Cathryn Vasseleu, Dominic White, Hank Tyler, Helen Kocis Edwards, Jan Parker, Kate Gorringe-Smith, Khue Nguyen, Lindy Yeates, Liz Walker,
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April 2021
Magda Miranda, Rea Dennis, Simeon Lisovski and the artists of the Overwintering Project Print Portfolio. Kate said: “I began to use migratory shorebirds in my work for my first solo show in 2010, in particular the Bar-tailed Godwit. These birds travel annually from Australia, where they avoid the harsh northern winter, to Siberia, where they breed. Ever restless, they never settle – neither destination is their true home. These tiny birds can fly for eight days straight without stopping to rest or eat; they can navigate an entire ocean without any landmarks; they can fly in their lifetime further than from the earth to the moon, and they link the 23 countries of the East Asian Australasian Flyway with their journeys. Since my first shorebird and migration inspired solo exhibition in 2010, I have continued to work with migratory shorebirds as my major theme, they fascinate me and I find them endlessly beautiful.” The intention of the exhibition is to engage people with a local environment they may already know and love, sparking recognition and wonder for this unique place that we share with such amazing creatures. The Overwintering Project: Westernport also celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, is part of the 2021 Art+Climate=Change Festival, and is dedicated to the memory of Dr Clive Minton OAM, father