Cats

15 November to 24 January

Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery
Gallery One
Opening: Friday 14 November | 5.30-7.30 pm
Art walk: Wednesday 19 November | 5.30 pm

Curated by Bundaberg Regional Galleries, Cats explores Australia's relationship with felines - from domestic companion through to cunning hunter.

Drawn from significant institutional and private collections from across Australia, the exhibition comprises of over 80 cat inspired artworks and objects that reveal how our domesticated companions have long been a rich source of inspiration for artists and designers.

The exhibition features works by contemporary artists including Charles Blackman, Noel McKenna, Barbara Hanrahan, Luke Roberts, C.Moore Hardy, Gordon Bennett, Ron McBurnie, Todd Fuller, Leigh Hobbs, Fiona McMonagle, Ron Hurley and the Tjanpi Desert Weavers.

Presented thematically, the exhibition unpacks the cat as a domestic companion, the cultural archetype of the 'Cat Lady', cats in popular culture and the impact of cats as an introduced predator.

Incorporating painting, prints, drawings, ceramics, photography, sculpture and film, Cats will appeal to the cat lover as much as those who may be firmly in the canine camp and will give a unique perspective on the Australian relationship with this fickle feline.

Pet Portraits

15 November to 24 January

Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery
The Vault
Opening: Friday 14 November | 5.30-7.30 pm

Pet Portraits turns The Vault into an interactive gallery celebrating the pets who are at the heart of our lives.

Whether you’re a cat lover, a dog devotee or a goldfish fan, step in and add your own creative touch to the growing portrait wall.

Together, we’ll celebrate furry, feathered, and finned friends with imagination and personality!

Furari Flores

Cara-Ann Simpson

15 November to 17 January

Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery
Gallery Two
Opening: Friday 14 November | 5.30-7.30 pm

Furari Flores presents the work of Cara-Ann Simpson, exploring the relationship between sound, plants and lived experience.

The Latin titles of her artworks reflect the continued use of Latin in contemporary sciences, evoking poetry, symbolism and the irony of a “dead” language dedicated to life and regeneration.

Using spectrography, field-recorded soundscapes are transformed into real-time visual compositions that reveal the hidden vibrations of plant life.

Growing from Cara-Ann’s experiences with serious illness, the project explores storytelling, health and wellbeing, home and the symbiotic relationships between humans and plants, inviting audiences into a world of multisensory botanical magic and deep listening.

Cara-Ann Simpson is represented by Onespace. This project is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.

A Life in Art

Alice McLaughlin

30 October to 16 February

Childers Arts Space
Opening event: Saturday 1 November | 3 pm
Open studio: Saturday 8 November | 9 am to 1 pm
Art walk: Wednesday 19 November | 10 am

Experience the vibrant and distinctive world of Alice McLaughlin, where regional Queensland landscapes come to life through her paintings, murals, ceramics, and sculptures.

Her work captures the beauty, resilience, and character of the land and its people, rendered in a style that is uniquely her own.

This exhibition invites you to explore Alice’s creative journey and discover the energy, colour, and storytelling that define her remarkable artistic vision.

The Crackle

Karen Gardam

15 November to 24 January

Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery
ImaginArts
Special event: Saturday 15 November | 10 am

The Crackle transforms the ImaginArts space at Bundaberg Regional Gallery using images from Karen Gardam’s beloved book, The Crackle.

The exhibition brings the story to life, featuring a video reading by the author’s granddaughter, Avalyn, and a range of engaging children’s activities.

This interactive presentation celebrates storytelling, creativity, and the joy of imagination, inviting young audiences to connect with the book’s vibrant illustrations and playful narrative.

Looking Out, Looking In: Exploring the Self-Portrait

QAGOMA

31 January to 18 April

Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery
Gallery One
Opening: Friday 30 January | 5.30-7.30 pm

Contemporary society has become increasingly attuned to the self-image through social media’s 'selfie' culture and reality TV, providing a fascinating backdrop in which to examine the self-portrait today.

Looking Out, Looking In explores the genre of the self-portrait, a distinct form of portraiture in which subject and artist are one.

The exhibition examines the human tendency to envisage oneself. While some of the artists look inwards and reflect on themselves in self-effacing ways, or may just be intrigued by their own image, others seek to project an image or identity in more flamboyant displays.

Biomorphism

Penny Bennett

31 January to 11 April

Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery
Gallery Two
Opening: Friday 30 January | 5.30-7.30 pm

Biomorphism builds on Penny Bennett’s ongoing exploration of the connections between art, biology, and the environment.

Using stitched, recycled paper animated with subtle electronic movement, Bennett creates delicate, living-like forms that invite viewers to look closer at the unseen beauty of nature.

Inspired by scientific illustrators such as Ernst Haeckel, her work merges traditional craft with contemporary technology to explore sustainability, curiosity, and care for the natural world.

Reflecting the biodiversity of the Bundaberg Region, Biomorphism encourages audiences to slow down, engage thoughtfully, and rediscover the wonder in organic forms and everyday materials.

Home Bodies

Ana Daniels

31 January to 18 April

Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery
The Vault
Opening: Friday 30 January | 5.30-7.30 pm

Home Bodies is a sculptural exhibition that interrogates the politics and tensions of the domestic sphere, particularly as they relate to queer experience. Familiar comforts - pillows, blankets, bedding - are transformed into uncanny textile sculptures fused with industrial materials, acting as proxy bodies under strain.

The exhibition explores how queer bodies navigate the home, a space often marked by both rejection and self-determination. It asks: how can softness persist in the face of rigidity, and what joy exists in the gaps between social structures?

Ana Daniels is a Bundaberg-born artist and current Master of Philosophy candidate at QUT, who first exhibited in the student exhibition 'Emerge' at Bundaberg Regional Galleries nearly a decade ago.  

The Unrequited Dream

Hannah Stanton, Kaz Stanton and Jacob Bunt

20 February to 26 April

Childers Arts Space
Opening event: Saturday 21 February | 2-4 pm

The Unrequited Dream is an exhibition exploring suburban life in Queensland. Three artists connected through familial ties create work that reflects their experiences of Australia through printmaking, photography, and sculpture.

The exhibition unpacks nostalgia for a suburban past that is both cherished and critically questioned. It acknowledges the complex, often bittersweet memories of growing up in Australia while confronting the changing realities of cost of living, environmental damage, and identity.

The Unrequited Dream stands as a love letter to the suburban experience and to the natural landscapes lost or tamed in the name of comfort and domesticity.