Power Play: from the Collections
6 June to 12 October 2024
‘Power Play’ brings together works from the collections that have a connection (abstract or otherwise), or are partly influenced and inspired, by Liddell Power Station and surrounds.
After almost 52 years, Liddell Power Station, opened in 1971, will be no more than memories – lived, remembered, and here captured through art. The station played a critical role in powering homes and businesses across the nation and made a significant contribution to the Upper Hunter.
‘Power Play’ is a nod to the passing of an industrial icon that provided thousands of jobs for generations of people. It is a salute to the folk who worked in the industry and those who throughout the years have captured a time, a moment, an image related to, or an aspect of Liddell Power Station – to those who were part of a bigger picture of juxtaposed landscapes and objects, country and industry, related services, employees, and of course some characters who lives were inextricably connected to Liddell in one way or another.
Christine Pike, ‘Open Cut #1’ 2012, charcoal, ink, pastel and gesso on paper, 107 x 79cm, Muswellbrook Shire Art Collection, Finalist, Muswellbrook Art Prize 2013, purchased by Muswellbrook Shire Council
Powering Our Future: Muswellbrook Preschool
6 June to 12 October 2024
Marking the closure of the Liddell Power Station after over 50 years of powering the Upper Hunter Region and beyond, the children from Muswellbrook Preschool celebrate the possibilities that lie ahead for each of them. Just as Liddell Power Station powered our lives, our children will power our future. The artworks created in ‘Powering our Future’ capture the aspirations of future scientists, artists, teachers, and philosophers – an invitation to imagine their future, and a call to nurture their dreams.
Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize 2024
15 August to 12 October 2024
The Australian Photographic Society’s Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize is a national $30,000 acquisitive prize that seeks to find Australia’s best conceptual photographic works. Finalists of the prize are exhibited annually at Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre with the prize-winning work joining the Muswellbrook Shire Art Collection, and a collection of contemporary photographic works acquired through the Muswellbrook Photographic Award (1987 – 2014). Means of work presentation are unrestricted, inviting photographers to illustrate the intent of their works through a myriad of mediums.
The 2024 Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize is made possible by the Australian Photographic Society in partnership with the Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, and with the support of the Australian Photography Magazine, Bengalla Mining Company, MACH Energy, Malabar Coal, and Ilford Photo.
View the Gallery of Finalist here: https://www.artgalleria.com/view-room/42357
Tamara Dean, ‘Blowin in the wind’ 2024, archival inkjet on cotton rag, 160 x 120cm, Finalist, Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize 2024
Simone Rosenbauer, ‘LIKE ICE IN THE CLOUDS I #106, (JAPAN)’ 2024, fine art pigment print, 164 x 164cm, Finalist, Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize 2024
Contemporary: APS Contemporary Group
15 August to 21 December 2024
The Australian Photographic Society (APS) Contemporary Group draws together a committed and passionate group of photographers in an exchange of ideas and images, fostering the development of photographic expression and broadening artistic horizons. Members seek to illustrate concepts beyond aesthetics, dedicated to working on thematic projects and embracing new challenges by breaking any and all traditional rules and integrating photography with mixed media.
Roger Skinner, founding Chair of the Contemporary Group in the mid-1980s, sought to involve Contemporary Group members in regional galleries, an initiative not pursued before by the APS, with exhibitions held at Muswellbrook, Dubbo, and Manning regional galleries, and L&P Photographic gallery. Curated by Roger, ‘Contemporary’ sees a renewed focus on this initiative – a celebration of contemporary photography and a call to photographers to push the boundaries of their own craft.
Lisa Saad, ‘Letters of Life’ 2020, photography and digital illustration, 80 x 80cm
