ReCoil: Change & Exchange in Coiled Fibre Art

This exhibition introduces some of the most recent, innovative and important developments in contemporary Australian fibre practice. Central to these developments has been the rapid spread and diversification of the coiled basket making technique, especially among Aboriginal women in remote communities. The spread of coiling has also been influenced by creative partnerships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous practitioners, and to highlight this, ReCoil profiles the work of thirteen Aboriginal and three western textile artists though a diverse range of baskets, bags, mats, paintings and sculptures.

Touring nationally November 2007 - May 2010. Supported by Visions of Australia.

This exhibition is supported by Visions of Australia, an Australian Government program supporting touring exhibitions by providing funding assistance for the development and touring of Australian cultural material across Australia.

REPLANT: a new generation of botanical art
Supported by Nomad Art Productions, NT Government, the Australia Council, Wildlife in the Northern Territory and Artback NT

Replant is a ground breaking exhibition which straddles boundaries between science and art.

The exhibition reinvestigates botanical drawings through its six diverse and renowned Australian artists: Fiona Hall (SA), Judy Watson (QLD), Winsome Jobling (NT), Deborah Wurrkidj (NT), Marita Sambono (NT), Irene Mungatopi (NT) and photographer Peter Eve from the Northern Territory.

Working with the Northern Territory Herbarium, artists explored the scientific, cultural and social aspects of Indigenous plant species with traditional knowledge custodians from the Daly River region. Images were then developed as 26 limited edition etchings.

Touring nationally June 2008 - December 2011.

This exhibition is supported by Visions of Australia, an Australian Government program supporting touring exhibitions by providing funding assistance for the development and touring of Australian cultural material across Australia.

Locked Inside

Locked Inside is a compelling exhibition exploring what it means to be a refugee in detention. Ibtihal Samaray draws on her own experiences as an Iraqi artist who lived in refugee camps in Iran and Turkey before arriving in Australia. In a series of 8 huge padlocks (they stand as tall as a person), the artist uses images of detention and freedom, ID cards, real letters from detainees, children and family photographs, media coverage of detainees and protesters, images of adults and children waiting for a better life, a dove in a cage and artworks of asylum seeker artists and children who have experienced detention in Australia.
 
"The detainees experiences need to be communicated to the public and I feel a deep responsibility as an Iraqi refugee to support them. My own work comes from my experiences as an Iraqi artist who lived in refugee camps in Iran and Turkey before gaining a permanent visa in Australia, and thus did not experience detention in Australia."

Touring the Territory June - September 2008.

Promotional image supplied by Kultour – Office of Multicultural Arts, Victoria

Togart Contemporary Art Award NT 2008

Following the opening in June 2008, Artback will be touring the Togart Contemporary Art Award NT 2008 to Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and Katherine. The Togart award seeks to showcase the best from the NT and surrounding regions in order to strengthen the place and the identity of the visual arts from this area. In order to enable broad audience participation in the people's choice voting, the ballot box will remain open for the duration of the tour.

"Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea" chronicles some of my experiences at Stokes Hill Wharf from the first three decades of my life- childhood, teens and twenties. Darwin has undergone many radical changes in the last 20 years, I often wonder what will become of it. That why it's important to me to leave a lasting record of the stories and places that have made it what it is during my lifetime." Chayni Henry

Touring the Territory September - December 2008.

Togart Tour Itinerary

Artist : Dion Beasley
Title: Dangerous Dog 2008
Screenprint with wash, 625 x  825mm

Photo Credit: Angus Cameron

Dogs Life

Many people will be familiar with Dion’s work from the Cheeky Dog tee shirts that adorn the backs of many Northern Territorians and tourists alike. Dion Beasley is a 17 year old Indigenous artist from Canteen Creek near Tennant Creek in the N.T. Dion was born profoundly deaf and has muscular dystrophy. With his friend and mentor Joie Boulter, Dion has been producing Cheeky Dog images for tee shirts and bags for a number of years. This exhibition sees a whole new side to Dion’s work.
Ten large limited edition hand coloured prints give a humorous and astute observation into the community life of Canteen Creek’s camp dogs and introduces several new characters. The works were printed at Julalikari Arts in Tennant Creek under the guidance of Alan Murn.

These works captivate and delight and highlight the wonderful contribution artists with disabilities make to our cultural and artistic life. Murn says “The works on print are more than very, very good drawings of dogs. Dion’s line work is very confident and very skilful. His use of space that he works within is very clever, and his perspectives and perceptions are highly developed for someone without any training.”

Touring the Northern Territory, September 2008- February 2009

Available for Touring beyond 2009-11

Gilt Bracelet
Artist: Felicity Dalgleish
Photo: Courtesy Territory Craft