David Corbet's National artnotes appear in edited form in Art Monthly Australia (www.artmonthly.org.au)
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ABC
Arts cuts update
Following the ABC’s decision to
discontinue the Art Nation program and
disband the TV arts unit, protests have been widespread. A senate enquiry has
been launched into, among other things, “the implications of this decision on
Australian film and television production in general, and potential impact on
quality and diversity of programs”. Some have accused the committee of acting
with indecent haste (submissions closed on 9 September) with its report due on
12 October.
www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/ec_ctte/abc/info.htm
At press time, an open letter to the
ABC board had been signed by 59 prominent arts figures, stating that the
decision “will diminish the ABC’s irreplaceable role as the nation’s cultural
memory”. Signatories include Peter Carey, Helen Garner, Tim Winton, David
Malouf, Nick Cave, Nobel laureate J.M. Coetzee, Oscar winners Geoffrey Rush and
Adam Elliot, and Edinburgh Festival director Jonathan Mills. The letter adds
that “without a strong in-house unit to create and to commission arts
programming, the national broadcaster will fail its charter responsibilities.
And it will fail us, by not reminding us that our national character is
informed and shaped by the imagination and creativity of artists”.
Auction
action
Two out of three major fine art
auctions in August were cause for cautious optimism in a sector that has been
somewhat soft in recent times. Sotheby's (Important Australian &
International Art) sold Arthur Boyd’s The
Frightened Bridegroom (1958) for a record $1.2 million, and Arthur
Streeton’s Ocean Blue, Lorne (1921)
for $276k, achieving a total of $4.9 million across 67 lots, a clearance rate
of 78%. Deutscher and Hackett (Important Australian and International Art) also
managed a respectable 78% by volume, total sales of $4.8 million across 165
lots, with John Brack’s The Fertility
Goddess (1974) fetching $600k. Bonham’s (Australian Art) sold a more modest
40% of offerings. Topping their results was Brett Whiteley’s Nobby's Head and the Entrance to Newcastle
(1991) at $576k, while his Vincent
(bought for $1.02m four years ago) was passed in. This was an even worse
clearance rate than Bonham’s disappointing result in June (Aboriginal Art),
which sold 68 of 147 lots (46%) totalling $744k. Commentators have suggested
that Bonham’s relative inexperience in the Australian market may be to blame
for what appear to be under-trend results.
In other news, Deutscher and Hackett have
announced that their New Albion Gallery (NAG) has secured the current Sydney
premises of the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation (SCAF) from 2013, with Doug
Hall AM, Australia’s current Venice Biennale Commissioner, as Consulting
Curator. SCAF will continue to be based at the adjoining annexe and will
operate its popular Culture and
Ideas forums from this location, with future exhibition projects relocating
to the new Sherman-benefacted galleries at Gateway@COFA (see AMA 243).
National
Cultural Policy
The Federal Government’s National
Cultural Policy discussion paper is now available. Have your say on the future
of arts, culture and the creative industries in Australia. Comments close 21
October.
www.arts.gov.au
National Gallery
The NGA Canberra has announced its
summer blockbuster: Renaissance:15th & 16th Century
Italian Paintings from the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo (9 Dec – 9 Apr 2012).
It is hoped the exhibition, featuring works by Raphael,
Botticelli and Titian among a host of others, will
prove a big draw for the gallery this summer. Despite opening a new wing, the
NGA has struggled to repeat the spectacular attendance of its 2010 Masterpieces from Paris exhibition,
which attracted a record 476,000 visitors.
National
Museum
The NMA Canberra has announced two new
exhibitions: A New Horizon: Contemporary
Chinese Art (from 30 Sept) features works from the National Art Museum of
China, featuring painting, sculpture and new media art created since 1949. Off the Walls (from 28 Oct) features
work by such artists as Rover Thomas, Narritjin Maymuru and Fiona Foley, drawn
from the collections of various government bodies, made between 1967 and 2005.
Opening on 16 November is Inside: Life in
Children’s Homes and Institutions, featuring the voices and personal
objects of the forgotten Australians and former child migrants who experienced
institutional care as children.
National Portrait Gallery
The NPG Canberra has announced two
upcoming exhibitions for its summer programme. Of kings and men: Celebrating 100 years of the Historic Memorials
Collection
(3 Nov - 5 Feb 2012) celebrates 100 years of the Historic
Memorials Collection and its role in commissioning portraits of parliamentary and
judicial figures in Australia. Impressions:
Painting light and life
(25 Nov- 4 March 2012) presents portraits by, and
of, artists at the heart of Australian impressionism including Tom Roberts,
Arthur Streeton and Frederick McCubbin, featuring well-loved icons of late
nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century Australian art, as well as
rarely-exhibited works drawn from public and private collections. The $25k
National Photographic Portrait Prize 2012 (16 March to 20 May and touring) is
now open to entries, closing on 31 October.
www.portrait.gov.au
London Museum Fellowships
Two Australians will travel to London
to continue work on the repatriation of Indigenous ancestral remains as part of
new fellowship positions at the Natural History Museum. Arts Minister Simon
Crean announced that Carol Christophersen from Darwin and Emma Loban from
Thursday Island will spend six months with the Museum working on projects
associated with the repatriation of human remains to their community of origin.
Creative
Australia Artists Grants
OzCo has launched the Creative
Australia Artists Grants, a five year program which delivers on the Federal Government’s
budget commitment of $10 million in new funding to the arts. The program will
support artists across all artforms to deliver new artistic works, undertake
fellowships and create additional presentations to Australian audiences over
the next five years. The focus will be on
attracting applications from artists facing access barriers such as artists
with a disability, artists from non-English speaking and culturally diverse
backgrounds, and artists in regional and remote areas.
www.australiacouncil.gov.au/grants/creative_australia
Indigenous
Art Code update
Indigenous Art Code Ltd is conducting a
renewed recruitment drive. When the Code was first released in mid-2010 it
quickly received almost 100 signatories, an enthusiastic first response. Now
that the Code has more resources in staff and marketing funds, CEO John Oster
is currently travelling and meeting with artists, dealers and galleries across
Australia. One of the priorities is to enlist the support of the leading
institutions and arts agencies for the principles of the Code, as well as artists
and other stakeholders.
www.indigenousartcode.org
Sport
and Art
Australian
artists are invited to participate in the International Olympic Committee’s
Sport and Art Contest, in two categories: Sculptures and Graphic works. The
theme of the contest is ‘Sport and the Olympic Values of Excellence, Friendship
and Respect’. The contest consists of a national phase from August 2011 –
January 2012 and an international phase from March – June 2012. Participants
must submit their work for the national phase to the AOC by Tuesday 31 January
2012. There is no age restriction. For further information contact Frances
Cordaro on 02 9247 2000 or email frances.cordaro@olympics.com.au
WetlandCare Australia National Art and
Photography Competition
The
Wetlandcare Australia National Art and Photography Competition is now open for
entries. With five categories available, there is a chance for people of all
ages to submit their photographs and artworks on paper exploring the theme of
Wetlands, Tourism and Recreation for the chance to win great prizes.
www.wetlandcare.com.au
