Exhibition opening: Saturday 8 July, from 2pm; to be opened by Joe De Luca, CEO, Multicultural Council of the NT Inc.

Runs daily 9am-5pm until Sunday 6 August

Offsite venue: Darwin Entertainment Centre Gallery, 93 Mitchell St, Darwin City

Fresh from its debut showing in Alice Springs and at its new host venue, the Araluen Arts Centre, (8 April - 12 June 2017), the NT's much-beloved annual Portrait of a Senior Territorian Art Award returns to Darwin with its impressive 2017 field of entrants, 33 in total. Since its inception in 1999, the award has captured the imagination of Territorian artists of all ages and stages of practice, just as the subjects have come from all walks of life. It remains the only portrait award exhibition in the country to put a spotlight on seniors which resonates with the culturally embedded notion of 'elder' in the Territory.

Artists: Dennis Bezzant, Julia Broad, Iain Campbell, Rita Cattoni, Deborah Clarke, Esther Copier, Janelle Fisher, Marianne Foster, Anni Fritz, David Gardner, Stuart Gluth, Matthew Grant, Melanie Gunner, Heather Hupalo, Trevor Jenkins, Apples Kemp, Blake Kendall & MK Turner, Baz Ledwidge, John Lewis, Angus McIvor, Jesse Milne, Jan Milner, Dan Murphy, James Nasir, David Nicholls, Natasha Perkins, Penca Rafiqi, Carol Randall, Henry Smith, Kellie Sobieralski, Al Strangeways, Jennifer Taylor, Garifalitsa Maria Zaimakis

Judges: Marlene Rubuntja, Artist, Alice Springs; Russel Goldflam, Lawyer, Alice Springs; Therese Ritchie, Artist, Darwin

Congratulations to all winning and commended artists (detailed opp.); the People's Choice Award winner will be determined at the end of the exhibition's Darwin season.

Screenroom

In the artist's words, 'Australia, long before it had that name is designed to take the viewer on a journey along the painted make-believe landscape, based on the country some of us now live in and others have been in for a long time. It will start at the beginning of time and by the inclusion of certain evidence of humans, animals, and plants, it will bring the viewer up to relatively recent times.'

Katherine Bradley is a Darwin-based artist with a landscape painting-based practice which dates from the late 1980s when she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the South Australian College of Advanced Education. Katherine has held numerous solo exhibitions around Australia beginning with Shelter in an Australian landscape (1995, Geraldton Regional Gallery) and, most recently, Australia, before it had that name (Series 1) (2014, Framed Gallery, Darwin) which laid the foundation for her current exhibition to occupy NCCA's Screenroom as a 30-plus-metre frieze. Also strongly informing the exhibition is a 2016 residency at Territory Wildlife Park which enabled the artist to closely study local flora and fauna and seasonal changes (across 6 Top End seasons).

Katherine also holds a Master of Fine Arts (1992, University of Tasmania) and she is a previous finalist in the Togart Award (2013).

Golden Years commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum through the work of two Indigenous women artists: Karina Coombes (Pirlangimpi, Melville Island) and Joanne Nasir (Darwin). 'Golden' also evokes their shared ochre palette as painters and the sense of 'old' and recent work, particularly with the selection of Joanne's paintings which span a much longer art career. The seed for this exhibition was born at the 2016 NT Expo where Karina and Joanne were displaying their work at nearby, separate stalls, their parallel interests in bold and innovative composition apparent. While their work does not directly address the 1967 Referendum, it shares its central themes of social justice and self-determination. Joanne's work has, for example, focused on histories of incarceration and forced removal in commemorating the 100th anniversary of Kahlin Compound in 2013. Both artists celebrate their particular Indigenous cosmologies and continue to give it new and original form.

Joanne Nasir (b. 1961) has been making art in earnest since the mid-1980s. She is primarily a painter who has also worked across a range of graphic and textile design mediums. She has family affiliations across the NT: Garrawa (Borroloola), and Djugan/Yawuru (Broome), and with connections to the Tiwi Islands as a descendant of the Stolen Generations. Joanne set up her first design company Yurra Yiminga (Two Suns) in the late 1980s and saw success at the International Textile Trade Expo (Darling Harbour, Sydney) and the first Northern Territory Aboriginal Trades Expo. Joanne has held 6 solo exhibitions (in Broome, Darwin, and Sydney) and been involved in group exhibitions throughout Australia and internationally. She has been awarded numerous design commissions (for eg., Careflight's recent Reconcilation Action Plan) through her business Joanne Nasir Art and Design. Joanne also works a a senior trainer for Tanyah Nasir Consulting Service. Joanne cites close friend and mentor fellow Aboriginal artist Harold Thomas as a key influence along with fellow artists Jimmy Pike, Bronwyn Bancroft, Lin Onus, Trevor Nichols, Brenda Croft and (the late) Shane Pickett.

Karina Coombes (b. 1982) is a Tiwi artist from Pirlangimpi (Garden Point) on Melville Island who works through Munupi Arts. Her artistic career began in 2010 under the direction of her grandfather, the late Justin Puruntatameri, a revered artist and ceremonial leader whose own remarkable career as a painter was also then beginning in his late eighties. The Yirrikipayi (Crocodile) is a strong feature of Karina’s work which includes paintings of other animals such as her totems Jarrikalani (Turtle), and Takaringa (Mullet). Karina also paints the night sky as it appears over the Tiwi Islands.

 Joanne Nasir, 'Kahlin 100 years on', 2013, acrylic on linen; image courtesy the artist

Saturdays in the Wet was NCCA’s offering during our 1-month ‘shutdown’ period, with the gallery open on Saturdays to coincide with Parap Market, and with work showing in Gallery 1 and the Boxset (31 Dec 2016 – 28 Jan 2017).

Gallery 1 included Amina McConvell’s wall painting/mural: Exploded Stuff - The Meaning Attributed to Identity is Fleeting (For Sadat Laope); a selection of paintings by senior Tennant Creek artist Susannah Nelson, and ABC journalist Conor Byrne’s SS Opposition boat made from campaign placards. The Boxset was graced by Mandala series 1, a suite of six paintings by Darwin-based artist Daniel Coloe.

Conor Byrne is producer/presenter for breakfast/morning shows at ABC Radio Darwin (105.7). He is a graduate in journalism (Masters) from the Dublin Institute of Technology, and a graduate in technology (wood science, wood products/pulp and paper technology) from the University of Limerick; Daniel Coloe is a largely self-taught artist from Melbourne who is currently based in Darwin. He is primarily a painter and has also worked as a tattoo artist; Amina McConvell is an early-career Darwin-based artist with an experimental, research-based practice often expressed through large-scale sculptural installations which combine mural painting with drawing and sculpture. More recent examples have also included sound and light as with her 2015 solo exhibition Colour Masses in the Fourth Dimension at Tactile Arts, Darwin (sound collaboration with Mats Undén). Susannah Nelson, also known as Susannah Nelson Nakamarra, is a senior Warramangu and Warlmanpa artist from Tennant Creek. She is one of the more prolific painters in recent years to emerge out of the visual arts centre/program through Barkly Regional Arts (BRA).

The Curtain Breathed Deeply presents an immersive collection of video and sculptural work by artist Justene Williams. Her largest and most ambitious undertaking to date, Williams uses found objects and waste materials to create dazzling theatrical environments, seducing visitors through a variety of hypnotising sets and performative video installations.

The Curtain Breathed Deeply was curated and developed by Artspace and is touring nationally in partnership with Museums & Galleries of NSW.

The generous bequest of the Catalyst: Katherine Hannay Visual Arts Commission has enabled Artspace to support Justene Williams in the development of this major new work at a pivotal moment in her career. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.

#JusteneWilliams #TheCurtainBreathedDeeply

Artists chose their portrait subjects by way of a ballot or free choice.

PRIZE A: One Year Subscription to Artlink
Artlink is a quarterly themed magazine covering contemporary art and ideas from Australia and the Asia-Pacific.Special thanks to Artlink’s Executive Editor Eve Sullivan for offering a one year subscription to Artlink.

PRIZE B: $500 Freight with COPE Sensitive
COPE Sensitive are our preferred freight company, transporting artwork for us to and from all over the country. We couldn’t do what we do without them! COPE are also longstanding supporters of our Members’ Shows and this year is no exception with a generous donation of $500 complimentary freight to a winning artist. Planning a show interstate? COPE has you covered!

PRIZE C: Flights to Sydney for The National: New Australian Art
The national is a new initiative between three of Sydney’s premier cultural institutions - the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), Carriageworks and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA). Over the next 6 years, these institutions with partner for The National: New Australian Art, a survey of the latest ideas and forms in contemporary Australian art. Our very own Karen Mills has been selected as one of the first nine artists to exhibit their work in The National 2017 (30 March-18 June 2017), and we are flying one of our winning artists to see the show!

PRIZE D: Two Month Artist/Curator Opportunity with the City of Darwin Public Art Platform Program


One of the three new commissioning models of the City of Darwin’s Public Art Pilot Plan is their Public Art Platform program. This involves commissioning local curators to program public art platforms throughout the city. These platforms may include LED screens, free standing light boxes, display cases and other varied infrastructure for the presentation of and engagement with contemporary art. The platforms will be curated through an expression of interest process and artists are encouraged to be edgy, forward thinking and to provoke discussion.



The City of Darwin is offering the winning artist the opportunity to present their own work or curate a two month program for the Public Art Platform program, with a budget of $5000 to make it happen! This is an exciting opportunity and NCCA is proud to partner with the City of Darwin in bringing this opportunity to a winning PEER REVIEW artist.

Judges

Sahn Cramer
Sahn has worked in the arts for more than 26 years having started out as a fledgling young artist in Sydney studying at the National Art School in Darlinghurst in the early 90’s before heading to Tasmania where she completed her Fine Arts Degree. Over the years she moved into arts management, was Director of the Carnegie Gallery in Hobart, she managed the City of Hobart national art prize, before becoming a public art manager.  She has worked across the country in various roles including time as a consultant in Cape York in re-establishing the Western Cape Cultural Centre before coming to Darwin. As a practising artist she understands the creative process, as an arts manager she understands the demands and opportunities for artists and with this knowledge she is currently working with the City of Darwin to support and enable the contribution artists make to the cultural life of this City.

Carmen Ansaldo
Carmen Ansaldo is an art writer and activist from Brisbane who has been based in Darwin since the middle of this year. Her published works span the last decade and have been featured in local, national and international online and print publications. She has graduated in Fine Art (Painting) from the Queensland College of Art, receiving the Gertrude Langer Prize for Contribution to the Arts and Griffith University Award for Academic Excellence. She is also an honours graduate in Art History from the Queensland College of Art, receiving the UMAP scholarship to study at the State University of New York, Long Island to further investigate her thesis focusing on the intersection between contemporary art and protest movements.



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Headshots is a installation which features an array of ceramic balloon-like heads and light projections. The balloon-heads are inspired by the artist’s recent visit to this home country of the Philippines, where a new craze had sprung up consisting of giant brightly coloured inflatable toys. Vendors lined the streets, some of which were so full almost everything else was obscured from view.
 
“These toys, sold for next to nothing and made for less, lined the streets. On some streets there were so many vendors that the inflatable toys obscured almost everything else from view. Cheap, synthetic, short-lived and easily replaced, the inflatable toys seemed to encapsulate many of my anxieties about change in my country.”

Mark Valenzuela's (Philippines/Australia) practice combines painting, drawing and ceramic installation. Internal and external conflict, anxiety and repetition are residing themes that Valenzuela explores to reveal the ways that an individual adjusts, conforms and rebels against his/herself and the society in which they live.

Valenzuela has exhibited widely in his home country of the Philippines, Australia, and internationally. Most recently, Valenzuela has exhibited at Vargas Museum (Philippines) and the 3rd Jakarta Contemporary Ceramics Biennale at the National Gallery of Indonesia, and Asian Art in London with One East Asia.

This is Valenzuela’s second showing at the Northern Centre for Contemporary Art (Australia) after his inclusion in the group show Dress Me Featherless (2015) curated by Fiona Gavino.

Valenzuela is a recipient of the 2015 Cultural Center of the Philippines Thirteen Artists Awards and the Arts SA Individual Development Grant (Australia). His solo exhibitions Warzone and Zugzwang were shortlisted for the 2008 and 2012 Ateneo Arts Award respectively.

In addition to his own artistic practice, Valenzuela has organised and curated numerous exhibitions over the past decade. In 2013, Valenzuela co-founded Boxplot, a flexible arts project aimed at supporting opportunities for collaboration between Australian and Southeast Asian artists.

Valenzuela is represented by Artinformal, Manila.

Inheritance is an exhibition of wood and metal sculpture by emerging artist Joel Mitchell, featuring large-scale seedpods that have been made from reclaimed, discarded wood. Sustainability is an important aspect of Mitchell’s practice, in which he never cuts down living trees or takes from existing habitats, preferring found wood that has often been dumped or discarded.
 
“I find the process of seeing potential in discarded wood, then cutting, carving, grinding and sanding until it is realised, a deeply therapeutic process. This practice has many parallels in seeing the potential within myself and others.”

Mitchell’s inspiration comes from “Darwin’s unique and diverse landscape”, although his love of nature was cultivated growing up in the Blue Mountains, NSW. Themes from his work with youth, in outdoor education and reflections on parenthood also feed into his practice; correlating concepts of hope, restoration, beauty, brokenness and inheritance with his personal experiences and the natural world.
 
“I am intrigued with seed pods, as their primary function is to grow, protect, nurture and release life to the next generation.  A tiny seed holding all the DNA of the parent plant, lays dormant, until the conditions are right to germinate. Only then do we see its full potential and beauty (or destructive nature) realised.”

Joel Mitchell holds a Bachelor of Creative Arts and Industries from Charles Darwin University, he won first prize in the 2013 Wetlands Australia Photography Competition (Flora) and has recently had a public artwork installed in a leisure precinct in Darwin . Inheritance marks Mitchell’s first solo show at the Northern Centre for Contemporary Art.