Art exhibitions

New Light: Annual Art Exhibition

Each year Council holds an art exhibition to showcase and celebrate the work of artists who live, work or are connected to the City of Whittlesea.

Expressions of Interest have opened for this year’s Annual Art Exhibition.

The is a fully accessible exhibition providing a space for local artists to exhibit and promote their work. 

Artworks will be exhibited from Thursday 10 November until Thursday 15 December 2022 in The Great Hall, Council Offices, 25 Ferres Boulevard, South Morang.

This year’s theme is New Light.

New Light – this theme encourages artists to see things differently, perhaps from a new angle or perspective, perhaps armed with illuminating knowledge or lessons learned in challenging times. Spaces transform at twilight, shadows dissolve as the sun sets and landmarks disappear so a familiar landscape may become unrecognisable under moonlight. For some artists, changed circumstances may shed new light internally, for others, it may illuminate their external world, showing them aspects they’ve not yet seen, or a future yet to be imagined.  

This theme may have political or spiritual significance for some while others may choose a response as functional as switching off an unnecessary light to save the planet.

All art mediums, materials, processes, practices and interpretations are welcome.

Timeline:

Artwork creation and Entries open: Now

Entries close: 5pm, Monday 19 September 2022

Notification of successful applications: Monday 4 October 2022

Delivery of artworks: 10am-2pm and 3pm-6pm, Friday 4 November 2022

Exhibition ends: 5pm, Thursday 15 December 2022

Collection time: 10am-2pm and 3pm-6pm, Friday 16 December 2022

How to apply

Artists of all ages, all abilities and all cultural backgrounds are encouraged to apply but they must live, work or be otherwise connected to communities within the City of Whittlesea.

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Whittlesea Arts website

Whittlesea Arts is an interactive hub showcasing the very best of the City’s visual art, civic history and public art collections.

The Art of John Borrack

Celebrating The John and Gillian Borrack Federation Bequest.

One of Australia’s finest landscape artists, John Borrack invites us to look at and reflect on the history and transformation of our ancient land, the Australian landscape. On one level, this significant collection of paintings is a record of human intervention in the Plenty Valley region; on another, it represents an insight into the artist’s stylistic development through forty paintings created over a period of forty years, from 1961 to 2000. This collection is also about a narrative, a human story of an artist who dedicated his life to observing the landscape and interpreting it.  Borrack’s paintings depict his affinity with the land, painted in watercolour and gouache en plein air (meaning ‘painted outdoors’) - they capture the moods of nature.

John Borrack’s deep connection to the Plenty Valley region stems from his ancestral roots. His mother, Augusta Caroline Borrack, was a descendant of the Ziebell family, pioneers who established the Ziebell Farmhouse in Thomastown in the 1850’s. The artist’s childhood experiences of country life and exposure to the beauty of the land were firmly imprinted in his memories and visual sensibilities, providing him with a lifetime of rich subject matter to explore in his art.

• You can view some of John Borrack's works at Council's Civic Centre in the foyer and outside the Council Chambers.

Learn more about John Borrack.