Event description

Join us for the Exhibition OPENING NIGHT of Art in Conflict | Stitched and Bound

OPENING NIGHT: 6pm- 8pm, Friday 23 May 2025

EXHIBITION DATES: 24 May - 10 August 2025

VENUE: Geraldton Regional Art Gallery, 24 Chapman Road, Geraldton, WA, 6530

Image: Susan Wanji Wanji, Bombing of Darwin, 2016, ochre on linen, AWM2016.251.1. Image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial

Art in Conflict

An Australian War Memorial Touring Exhibition

OPENING NIGHT: FRIDAY 23 May 2025 | 6-8PM
EXHIBITION DATES: 24 May - 10 August 2025

Art in Conflict is a touring exhibition of contemporary art from the collection of the Australian War Memorial. Three major bodies of work debut in this exhibition: two recent official war art commissions – Susan Norrie (Iraq, 2016) and Megan Cope (Middle East, 2017) – and a landmark commemorative work by Angelica Mesiti. The exhibition will tour nationally until 2026, before its display in the Australian War Memorial’s new galleries.

A showcase of diverse responses to war, the exhibition includes more than 70 paintings, drawings, films, prints, photography and sculptures. Leading Australian artists are represented such as Khadim Ali, Rushdi Anwar, eX de Medici, Denise Green, Richard Lewer, Mike Parr and Ben Quilty. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, a collection priority for the Memorial in recent years, is featured, with works by Tony Albert, Paddy Bedford, Robert Campbell Jr, Michael Cook, Shirley Macnamara and Betty Muffler.

Read more: Art in Conflict | Australian War Memorial

Curator Talk with Anthea Gunn | Art in Conflict - An Australian War Memorial Touring Exhibition

Join Dr Anthea Gunn, Senior Curator of Art Australian War Memorial

RSVP: https://bit.ly/4d3ikCG
Event Date: 10am -11am, 24 May 2025
Venue: Geraldton Regional Art Gallery, 24 Chapman Road, Geraldton, WA,

ABOUT DR ANTHEA GUNN, SENIOR CURATOR OF ART AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL:
Dr Anthea Gunn completed a PhD in art history for her thesis Imitation Realism and Australian Art in 2010 at the ANU. She worked as a social history curator at the National Museum of Australia (2008-13) and joined the Memorial's art section in 2014. She has published in the Journal of Australian Studies and the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art, among others. She has curated contemporary commissions and exhibitions and was lead curator of Art in Conflict.

Image detail: Lake Ballard by Barbara Weeks

Stitched and Bound 2024/25

OPENING NIGHT: FRIDAY 23 May 2025 | 6-8PM
EXHIBITION DATES: 24 May - 10 August 2025
RSVP required and free

Stitched and Bound is The West Australian Quilters Association Inc. (WAQA) Contemporary Exhibition. It is a biennial, juried exhibition showcasing the innovative range of work being produced by Western Australian artists who challenge the usual concept of the ‘quilt’ medium.

“Stitched and bound 2024/25 is the fourteenth West Australian Quilters Association Inc. (WAQA) Contemporary Exhibition. It showcases 48 innovative works by Western Australian artists. Individually and collectively, the artists challenge the traditional concept of the quilt medium; in concept, design, size, and execution, including the use of unconventional materials and techniques.
The history of quilt-making (and textiles more broadly) has been extensively documented; I will refrain from reviewing that in detail here. Suffice to say that the linguistic roots ‘text’ and ‘textile’ are the same; the Latin word textus, meaning ‘woven’. Textile-related metaphors are woven throughout the English language; we speak of the social fabric of a community, of tying the knot, of feeling a little frayed at the edges. We encounter textiles daily, yet their largely utilitarian nature means that they are usually taken for granted.” Martien van Zuilen, Contemporary Felt Artist, Textile Artisan, Community Artist, Educator, PhD, Anthropology – Textile Material Culture, UWA 2013

Photo credit: Stitched and Bound 2024, at Midland Junction Arts Centre. Photographer: Brad Coleman.

Logos of various organizations including the Government of Western Australia, Lotterywest, Geraldton Regional Art Gallery, and the City of Greater Geraldton.

Please note that photographs and footage will be taken throughout the evening. These will be used by the Gallery for publicity and reporting in our publications, on our website and in social media. Young people aged under 18 years must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Contact the host of OPENING NIGHT: Art in Conflict | Stitched and Bound