24 Hour Museum - official guide to UK museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage
Gateway to Over 3,000 UK museums, galleries and heritage attractions
Skip to navigation
Songlines At The Mercer - Contemporary Aboriginal Art
By Graham Spicer
14/09/2005
Puturba Rockhole, Lucy Yukenbarri (1996). Courtesy Mercer Art Gallery
Contemporary Australian Aboriginal art is being celebrated at a new exhibition in North Yorkshire.
The Songlines exhibition runs from September 16 2005 until January 16 2006 at the Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate. Contemporary painting, prints and sculpture by top Aboriginal artists will be shown, with work coming from across Australia’s regions.
“Songlines provides a rare chance to see a magnificent display of contemporary Aboriginal art in the north of England and we look forward to welcoming many new visitors to the Mercer to enjoy it,” said Jane Sellars, curator of art at the Mercer.
Image: Shows an abstract painting of bands of thin light brown lines on a greyish blue background
Water Dreaming, Ronnie Tjampitjinpa (1996). Courtesy Mercer Art Gallery
Aboriginal Australia is made up of many different nations and linguistic groups, each with their own unique artistic heritage. Songlines groups the artworks according to these regions, including the Balgo Hills, the Papunya, the Lajamanu and the Yuendumu with works by more than 50 artists on show.
Along with the paintings, print and sculpture is a series of photographs by Penny Tweedie documenting Aboriginal communities, placing the artwork in the context of the people who make it.
Old Man Kurtal, David Downs (1990). Courtesy Mercer Art Gallery
Tweedie has been photographing these communities for more than 30 years and shows how art is central to Aboriginal life. It links the past with the present, expresses individual and cultural identity and the relationship between the people and the land.
The exhibition will be complemented by a series of talks and activities for local schools including a week-long residency by the celebrated Aboriginal writer, Herb Wharton, who will be giving workshops for young people and a public lecture.
Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate
Mercer Art Gallery, Swan Road, Harrogate, HG1 2SA, North Yorkshire, England
Open: Tues-Sat 1000-1700
Sun 1400-1700
Closed: Mondays except Bank Holidays (open 10am-5pm)
Related Articles
News In Brief - Week Ending August 31 2008
News In Brief - Week Ending July 27
A Victorian Hall Of Fame At Harrogate's Mercer Gallery
Harrogate's Glittering Royal Hall To Reopen After £10.7m Restoration
Tom Fairs - Homage To Bonnard At The Mercer Art Gallery
Beyond The Caspian Sea - Turkmen Art Comes To Harrogate Mercer Art Gallery
Mercer Art Gallery Evokes The Glory Of The Garden
E-news registration
E-mail story to a friend
Tell us what you think
Black Watch Museum Appeal Seeks To Raise £3million
News In Brief - Museums, Galleries And Heritage News
Newly-Accredited Medical College Invests In Mysterious Portrait
Photos Of WWII Codecrackers Go On Sale At Bletchley Park
Painting Returns To Queen Victoria's Dressing Room After 166-Year Absence
Cartoon Awards Ceremony Celebrates UK's Top Scribblers At Mall Galleries
Made08 - The Brighton Craft Fair 2008
Library Thief To Be Sentenced At Wood Green Crown Court Today
New Look For The Relaunched Garden Museum In Lambeth
Write Queer London Competition Holds Inspiration Day At The British Museum
Downs House Darwin Discovery Project Wins Funding Go-Ahead
British Museum Gets Set For Historic Egyptian Tomb Gallery
Stunning Wedgwood Relaunch Celebrates Potteries Heritage
Library Bid To Save Earliest Surviving Score Of Opera In English Language
Ryedale Folk Museum Lands Significant Harrison Collection
Portable Antiquities Scheme Is Fit For Purpose Say MLA
Leading Academics Call For Art Funding Support In Wake Of Titian Pledge
Glasgow Police Museum Edges Closer To A New Home
Search this site
Home Page
News Page
Exhibition Page
What's On
Trails Page
Website of the Week
Letters Page
Welsh Home
Graphical Version
Copyright © 24 Hour Museum
Information published here was believed to be correct at the time it was prepared. Welsh language pages developed with CYMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.