Celebrating NAIDOC Week 2020 + Online exhibitions

15 November 2020

The Australian home of photography

Interview with Leah King-Smith for NAIDOC Week

On the occasion of NAIDOC Week 2020 discover an interview with artist Leah King-Smith as she reflects on her series Dreaming Mum again, which was showcased as part of the Bowness Photography Prize alumni exhibition in 2019.

The theme of NAIDOC Week 2020 is ‘always was, always will be’, in recognition that First Nations people have occupied and cared for this continent for over 65 000 years. Within this exchange, King-Smith touches on the idea that photography, although a young art form in the scheme of this vast history, can be a tool for celebrating and empowering creative practices outside accepted convention.

Click here to read the full interview

City of Monash Council NAIDOC Week events

Join us for the Sir Monash Lecture in 2020 ‘Making the invisible visible’.

The 2020 Sir John Monash Lecture will feature an online panel discussion on Indigenous Country and culture through the prism of contemporary art, design and architecture practices.

Hear from panel members as they discuss their individual practices and their shared interest in revealing the layers of history and memory that reside in place through Indigenous art and design action.

Friday 27 November at 7pm
Panel: Dr Peta Clancy, Dr Brian Martin and Jefa Greenaway RAIA MDIA
Moderator: Rhoda Roberts AO
Free event

For further details and to book

TOPshots 2019-2020 ONLINE EXHIBITION + CALL FOR ENTRY

10 November – 7 February 2021

TOPshots is MGA’s annual award and exhibition that celebrates the best photomedia work produced by the students of VCE Art, Media, Studio Arts, and IB Visual Arts.

MGA is delighted to be launching an online exhibition of the 2019–20 TOPshots shortlist in celebration of the achievements of Melbourne high school students.
Congratulations to the finalists:

While COVID-19 restrictions are inhibiting a physical display of the shortlisted works, we are delighted to be launching an online exhibition of the 2019–20 TOPshots shortlist in celebration of the achievements of our Melbourne high school students.

The exhibition is online now from 10 November 2020 until 7 February 2021.

To view the exhibition here

TOPshots 20–21 CALL FOR ENTRIES

MGA is now calling for entries the class of 2020

TOPshots has been celebrating the work of VCE students for over a decade and we are inviting VCE students to show MGA’s curators what the artists of tomorrow have been creating during such an unprecedented moment in our shared history. Filled with uncertainty and upheaval, the impacts of 2020 have been felt by students from all over Melbourne, and most of all by those in their final years of school. As the Australian home of photography, MGA is committed to championing the work of students and emerging photographic artists and continues to do so during a period in which the support of a public gallery has never been more crucial.

Enter now

Arts action: exploring the personal and political
exhibition now re-opened

MGA partnered with Victorian Advocacy League for Individuals with Disability (VALID) and their local Peer Action Group (PAG), based at Clayton, to explore the lived experience of disability in Monash through art-making.

The Atrium Gallery provides emerging artists with an opportunity to showcase their practice to MGA’s audiences. The Atrium Gallery is situated between MGA and the Wheelers Hill Library and is open:

Hours open:
Monday – Friday 10.00am to 6.00pm
Saturdays from 9.00am to 4.00pm

Located: Between MGA and the Wheelers Hill Library

To view the exhibition click here

Image captions:

Leah KING-SMITH
Baby 2018
from the series Dreaming Mum again
pigment ink-jet print 100.8 x 82.2 cm
Monash Gallery of Art, City of Monash Collection
acquired 2019 MGA 2019.09
courtesy of the artist

Peta CLANCY
Undercurrent #2 2020
from the series Undercurrent
pigment ink-jet print 150.0 x 100.0 cm
Monash Gallery of Art, City of Monash Collection
acquired 2020 MGA 2020.60
courtesy of the artist

Rachael ERDODY
Untitled 2020
from the series Disturbing scenes from my everyday life
ink-jet prints 21.0 x 31 cm
courtesy of the artist and Lilydale High School

Installation view featuring works by (L–R) Linda Studena, Michelle Wilcox, Jodie Storey, Lisa Ho and Heather Forsyth (2), Arts action: exploring the personal and political, 2020

MGA partners

Government partners