The Gathering

Bundaberg Regional Galleries First Nations Collection

14 September to 3 November

Gallery One
Opening event: Friday 13 September | 5.30 pm

Drawn from the Bundaberg Regional Galleries First Nations Collection, The Gathering showcases works by contemporary First Nations artists that have been acquired by the Galleries over the past 25 years.

Scheduled to sit alongside the annual Milbi Festival, this exhibition represents the diversity of First Nations arts practice that exists in Australia, and the Galleries' commitment to acquiring works that speak to these practices.

The Gathering features works by Brian Robinson | Dylan Mooney | Dylan Sarra | Imuna Kenta | Judith Pungarta Inkamala | Julie Appo | Kyra Manktelow | Lionel Doyle | Michael Cook | Nangawarra Ward | Peter Robinson | Polly Pawuya | Ron Hurley | Roger Saunders | Teho Ropeyarn.

My Bothways Identity

Dr Pamela Croft

14 September to 3 November

The Vault
Opening event: Friday 13 September | 5.30 pm
Art walk with Dr Pamela Croft: Wednesday 30 October | 10 am

Dr Pamela Croft is a Kooma clan Euahlayi Nation descendent, the Wiradhuric dialect Yuwaalaraay language, from Southwest Queensland Australia. Dr Croft has practised as an independent visual artist since the mid-eighties, producing artworks that reflect her lived experience, guided by her Aboriginality and training in both Aboriginal and Western traditional art forms.

As an artist she is often described as a bricoluer, creating conceptual installations and visual narratives that are constructs of a land-centred, Bothways philosophy to create alternative story sites for identity and displacement, histories, sense of place and the effects of colonisation.

In My Bothways Identity, Dr Croft reimagines one of her earlier installations, encompassing works on paper, sculptural assemblage, found objects, pigment, plant dyes and fibre.

"Through my work, I am committed to an educational and social transformation that empowers the inherent strength of Australia's people and cultures. I tell stories highlighting similarities and differences. The challenge is to embrace those differences rather than reject them. I ask people to truly listen and absorb in order to move to a place of understanding of our world."

In 2003, Dr Croft was the first Aboriginal person to gain a Doctor of Visual Arts, and since then has exhibited extensively throughout Australia and overseas in solo, group and collaborative projects. Now retired from academia, Dr Croft lives and works from her Bundaberg studio on the lands of the Gooreng Gooreng, Taribelang Bunda, Gurang, and Bailai peoples.

HERE + now 2024

Curated by Kate Tuart, Director, Gympie Regional Gallery

14 September to 3 November

Gallery Two
Opening event: Friday 13 September | 5.30 pm

Now in its sixth year, HERE + now 2024 celebrates the vibrant and evolving arts scene in the Bundaberg region. This exhibition, curated by Gympie Regional Gallery Director Kate Tuart, features the work of 27 artists with connections to our region.

The diversity of artforms in the exhibition ranges from sculptural to textile, digital, painting, drawing, and printmaking.

HERE + now 2024 features works by Annette Tyson | Ariella Anderson | Carmel Birchley | Cate Verney | Cody Schubel | David McColl | Debbie Bennett | Debra West | Donna Lamprecht | Emily Kresew | Emma Woodbright | Georgia Haupt | John Andersen | Judith Hopwood | Judy Blackshaw | Kate Niblett | Kate Neal | Kerrie Doolan | Kevin Dekker | Larissa Dabrowski | Maxine Harwood | Michelle Gray | Morgan Everett | Natalie Hall | Robert Andrews | Rosemary Anderson | Vivien Hillocks.

Red Dirt

Bundaberg Regional Galleries Collection

1 November to 16 February 2025

Childers Arts Space
Curator's Talk: Thursday 7 November | 10 am

Reflective of the red volcanic soil that colours our region, Red Dirt features works from the Bundaberg Regional Galleries Collection that celebrate our rich agricultural history and dynamic landscape.

From the richly hued painting of cane fires by Charles Hazzard, to the reflective patchwork of fields depicted in the work by Cyril Gibbs, this exhibition is testament to the vista that the region is known for, and pays heed to its rich and fertile lands.

Swap Shop

Sue Loveday

18 October to 9 February 2025

ImaginArts

Sue Loveday is Brisbane based illustrator and visual art facilitator dedicated to creative play and community collaboration.

Whilst staying in Bundaberg, Sue observed the main street and noticed that shopping is changing. Not only the way we shop but also the look of where we shop.

Inside ImaginArts, you will enter our very own Swap Shop based on the Bundaberg CBD, where you can make, display and swap your art with other artists and shoppers.

Creation Station:
A Retrospective

Childers Visual Arts Group

20 July to 27 October

Childers Arts Space

Creation Station: A Retrospective celebrates the creative community that is the Childers Visual Arts Group.

Started over 20 years ago in Alice McLaughlin's garden at Apple Tree Creek, this group encapsulates the true essence of artist collectives - creative learning, mentoring, camaraderie, and a passion for art.

In Creation Station: A Retrospective each artist was challenged to select artworks that reflect their creative journey, with the final selection being curated into a whole by Bundaberg Regional Galleries Director, Rebecca McDuff. The exhibition has been timed to coincide with the Childers Festival, a key event in the group's calendar, as they annually share their love of the arts with the community through 'Art in the Park'.

In its entirety, this exhibition is a testament to the strength and diversity of the Childers Visual Arts Group, and more broadly the regional arts community.