An exhibition many years in the making

Thursday 5 December, 2024

Tamworth Regional Gallery will be hosting an official opening event for the launch of its newest exhibition, “50 to 100 – Many Years in the Making.” This is a celebration of 50 years of Tamworth’s textile exhibitions and over 100 years of the Gallery’s collection.

The exhibition will run until Sunday 26 January, 2025, offering visitors a unique opportunity to explore the Gallery’s rich history.

Director Gallery and Museums Bridget Guthrie says “This is a very special exhibition as it is one of the Gallery’s own. We’ve been planning this for a while and are thrilled to share with the community some of our collection that we house”.

“Not only that, but all of the artworks were created by female artists. This is important to showcase as our Gallery collection is made up of 53% of works created by women – which is considerably high in comparison to many other galleries”, she says.

To launch the exhibition, an Artist Talk event will be held at the Gallery on Thursday 5 December from 5pm, with featured artist Jeanette Stok. This event is free for the public to attend, and will lead into the official opening of the new exhibition.

The official opening event will take place from 6pm to 8pm and will feature Dr. Roslyn Russell, an esteemed art historian, editor, curator, and co-author, as the guest speaker.

The exhibition itself draws inspiration from the National Gallery of Australia’s Know My Name program, bringing works by women artists in the Gallery’s collection to the forefront. By showcasing their contributions, “50 to 100” reinforces Tamworth Regional Gallery’s commitment to gender equality.

Visitors can expect to see a diverse range of works that reflect the strengths and breadth of the Gallery’s collection, highlighting decades of creativity and innovation in textile art while celebrating the role of women artists in shaping the cultural landscape.

Coinciding with “50 to 100” is the ‘Minyaminyabul garaybaraay: Everything has Story’ and ‘Synergy – Pattern and Patina’ exhibitions. The Minyaminyabul garaybaraay exhibition showcases the Gomeroi Culture Academy students’ work and will be on display until Sunday 5 January, 2025; and Christine Murphy and Sandra McMahon’s Synergy exhibition presents ceramic pieces on display from Saturday 7 December to 2 February, 2025.