Patricia Piccinini gives us an insight into studio life

In preparation for the exhibition ‘Patricia Piccinini: Curious Affection‘, it was necessary to make progress visits to Piccinini’s studio in Melbourne to keep pace with her immense creative output. With so much to say about her work, and so many interesting people responsible for a giddying array of techniques, it was important that we record…

Amata painters: Western Desert painting movement

Amata community is located in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands in north-western South Australia. In the 1970s, Amata women were encouraged to learn batik, natural dyeing, spinning, weaving and leatherwork techniques. Minymaku Arts (meaning ‘belonging to women’) was set up in 1997, but in 2005 the centre was renamed Tjala Arts, with both men…

William Robinson deconstructs ‘Rainforest and mist in afternoon light’

The monumental work Rainforest and mist in afternoon light 2002 by esteemed Queensland painter William Robinson depicts the Springbrook landscape, part of Queensland’s Gold Coast Hinterland, where Robinson’s studio was situated at the time. The artist spoke to QAGOMA Director Chris Saines in his home studio in suburban Brisbane. CHRIS SAINES | You’ve painted a number…

An enduring art tradition: The Hermannsburg School

The Hermannsburg School is an art movement that began at the Lutheran mission of Hermannsburg in Central Australia in the 1930s, inspired by Arrernte artist Albert Namatjira who was born there. Following Namatjira’s early sell-out exhibitions, members of his extended family and his community – most of whom were already making art in some form – became interested in…

New interlocutor program for APT9

For ‘The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT9), QAGOMA Asia Pacific research arm the Australian Centre of Asia Pacific Art (ACAPA) has convened a group of ten highly respected artists, curators, critics and researchers to act as interlocutors, participating in discussions, lending expertise and testing issues in the development of the APT program.…

Me, Myselfie and I, the art of self-portraiture

In the age of the selfie, self-portraiture continues to be a meaningful form of artistic expression. For hundreds of years, artists have created self-portraits as an intimate form of self affirmation, as a public statement about their identity, to showcase their skill, or to shape the way they are perceived. Such images are often self-conscious…