Just like the walls, floors and ceiling of Platform Arts in Geelong will be this month, regional Victoria's arts calendar is overflowing this August.
August is the time that galleries across regional Victoria open their doors not only to visitors but to artists to compete in multiple prizes and join exhibitions. From The Young Portrait Prize taking place at Warrnambool Art Gallery to the Geelong Contemporary Art Prize held at Geelong Gallery, and of course the open call After Walter Hopps at Platform Arts, you can be both the artist and the explorer.
Here is our guide to the best in arts and design across Regional Victoria this month.
Young Portrait Prize
Budding young artists living in South West Victoria are at the forefront of the Young Portrait Prize. Open to those up to the age of eighteen, portraits will represent someone they know personally who is special to them. As well as encouraging creativity in young artists and giving them a platform to show their talents, twelve winning portraits will be selected for WAG’s Young Portrait Prize calendar. Interested parties should know entries close at 5pm on 16 August.
The Young Portrait Prize will be on display at Warrnambool Art Gallery from 24 August through 20 October
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Geelong Contemporary Art Prize
For eight decades, Geelong Gallery has awarded acquisitive prizes for paintings, watercolours and prints, stretching back to 1938 and the Geelong Centenary Art Competition. The Geelong Contemporary Art Prize is a signature event, one that not only assists with the ongoing development of the Gallery’s collection, but also nurtures Australian artists and contemporary painting practice. A full list of the 2024 finalists is available through geelonggallery.org.au.
The Geelong Contemporary Art Prize will be on display at Geelong Gallery from 10 August through 3 November
Rob McHaffie: We Are Family
Whether it’s family life, pop culture references, relationships or the quirks of contemporary times, the observations of everyday life and the performativity of our public and private selves fill the canvases of Rob McHaffie. McHaffie won the Geelong Contemporary Art Prize in 2014 and has exhibited throughout Australia and New Zealand for two decades. We Are Family will feature recent and new paintings, as well as collage, works on paper and ceramic sculpture.
Rob McHaffie: We Are Family will be on display at Bendigo Art Gallery from 10 August through 27 January 2025
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Diokno Pasilan: Imprint
A founding member of the artist-run space Kurb Gallery in Perth, Ballarat-based Diokno Pasilan’s art world includes painting, printmaking, installation, video, performance and music. Here, in Imprint, he uses found images from magazines and books from the 1930s to present to print onto wood using gel medium technique. His idea is to examine memory in relation to belonging, drawing upon childhood memories of growing up in a boat-making community in the Philippines.
Diokno Pasilan: Imprint will be on display at Art Gallery of Ballarat from 31 August through 13 October
After Walter Hopps
In 1978, at Washington’s non-profit Museum of Temporary Art, museum director, gallerist and curator of contemporary art Walter Hopps (1932-2005) hung all works delivered to the gallery by local artists across a 36-hour period. Honouring his legacy, After Walter Hopps will allow artists from Geelong, Surf Coast and Bellarine, as well as surrounding areas, to install and exhibit their artwork on a first come, first serve basis across eighteen days.
After Walter Hopps will be on display at Platform Arts, Geelong from 12 August through 20 September
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Portraits from the Collection
Exploring the play of light on skin and fabric is at the heart of this current exhibition and includes paintings by Polly Hurry, Arnold Shore, W.D. McInnes, Hugh Ramsay, Mary Cecil Allen, A.M.E. Bale and May Vale. Also part of the exhibition is James Henry’s 18 Families which represents the living culture of the Jaara and Dja Dja Wurrung community, as well as various photographs and cartoons from CAM’s Historical Museum Collection.
Portraits from the Collection is currently on display at Castlemaine Art Museum until 15 September
Explorations in Printmaking
A lot can change over a short period of time. In an exhibition that showcases the skills developed and styles refined over the course of the semester, second-year students at Federation University will step outside the familiarity of uni with this carefully curated selection of works. Exhibiting outside of the university is an invaluable experience. Your artists are Alyssa Goodwin, Jennifer Hart, Brielle Hogan, Clayton Keefe, Rachel King, Blythe Plier, Tahlia Roberts and Izzie Sterk.
Explorations in Printmaking is currently on display in Unicorn Lane, Ballarat until 21 August
Dimensions: Art & Sound
Does that place actually exist in this reality, or is it a place from another realm? Who and what do we experience when we visit these realms? These are the questions asked in Dimensions, an exhibition inspired by the places artists go inside their minds when creating works. This group show features Anni Laloba, Cat Richardson, Daniel Armstrong, Declan Armstrong, Danni Sandford, Pollyanna Day, Sam Lee and Steph Drewry.
Dimensions: Art & Sound will be hosted by Arts Inc. Gallery, Apollo Bay from 30 August – 1 September
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Stay up to date with what’s happening within the region’s art scene here.
