Current & Upcoming Exhibitions
2023
THE BAND FROM DUBBO: A HISTORY OF THE REELS
3 December - 2 July
Dubbo in 1976 had only been officially a city for 10 years. It had one radio station and two TV channels. From this context sprang a band that would redefine Australian music in the 1980s and beyond. The Reels were a band that defied categorisation, and were quickly embraced by audiences across the country. An endlessly innovative and idiosyncratic band, they skillfully re-interpreted “Golden Oldies” from music’s past into chart topping contemporary hits, and produced original material that quickly saw them enter the annals of Australian Rock history, in spite of chart success.
THE BAND FROM DUBBO charts the bands history from its humble beginnings in Dubbo, its evolution through the 80s and 90s and its unique place in Australian Rock Music history.
Curated by Kent Buchanan
ARTEXPRESS
18 February - 30 April 2023
ARTEXPRESS showcases Higher School Certificate Bodies of Work completed by final-year students in 2022. Representing best practices in visual arts education, it highlights the passion, insight and perspectives of students across NSW. The exhibition encompasses a broad range of approaches and expressive forms, including ceramics, a collection of works, documented forms, drawing, graphic design, painting, photo media, printmaking, sculpture, textiles and fibre, and time-based forms.
These highly skilled and thoughtful bodies of work demonstrate creativity, resilience and sustained investigation of the very complex world and times in which we live.
This years selection was curated by local Visual Arts Teacher Tamara Lawry
EVENT OPENING FRIDAY 24 FEBRUARY 6PM
Image Credit: Keira May Bussey, Back to Grandma, 2022, painting.
WASTE 2 ART
TEXTILES & FAST FASHION
4 March - 28 May 2023
Waste 2 Art is an annual community art exhibition and competition that features artworks created by community members using recycled and unwanted materials. The results are imaginative and thought-provoking with the artworks showcasing recycling and sustainable living.
With this creative use of waste materials, Waste 2 Art also provides an innovative approach to waste education. Schools and community groups take up the challenge and create artworks out of materials that might otherwise be thrown away.
The theme for this year's exhibition is Textiles & Fast Fashion.
Dubbo Regional Council is a proud NetWaste member and supports commitment to re-use and recycle through creative expression.
EVENT OPENING SATURDAY 18 MARCH 2PM
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Image Credit: Waterlooplein market in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Image © iStock Photo
SHANI NOTTINGHAM
A LOT OF LITTLE NOTHINGS
4 March - 21 May 2023
A Lot of Little Nothings is an exhibition of mixed media works by Cowra-based artist Shani Nottingham, that explores the issues of waste,mass consumption and our impact on the environment. Nottingham fashions large sculptures that echo and mimic forms of nature, produced from found, donated and collected single-use bread tags to create an ultra-dimensional world. A Lot of Little Nothings is an installation that aims to highlight the hyper-abundance of single-use plastic, its impact on our environment and our relationship with plastic on both a small and large scale.
This is a HomeGround exhibition, produced by WPCC and supported by Orana Arts. HomeGround is sponsored by Wingewarra Dental.
Curated by Mariam Abboud
IN CONVERSATION SATURDAY 11 MARCH 2PM
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Image Credit: Shani Nottingham, Plasticus Organicus, 2020 - Ongoing, salvaged single-use plastic bread tags and lampshades. Image © the artist.
BOB MONTGOMERY
FIFTY FINE PHOTOGRAPHS
4 March - 30 July 2023
"I am naïve enough to believe that art has a definite relation to what may be called beauty." - Ansell Adams
Bob Montgomery is well-known to many locals as the proprietor of the former Montgomery's Photographic Studio which operated in Dubbo for many years. But they may not know that Montgomery produced photographs in his spare time. Inspired by the great American landscape photographer, Ansell Adams (1902 - 1984), Montgomery produced hundreds of photographs of the Australian landscape taken during family holidays around the country. This exhibition presents a selection of Montgomery's works over a 40 year period.
Image Credit: Bob Montgomery, Frost on Paterson's Curse, Dubbo NSW, 2nd July 1987. 5" x 4" Arca Swiss monorail camera with roll film back. Negative #87 362B. Plus-X 120 roll film exposed through a 150mm Sironar-N lens for 1 second @ f22/32 and developed 50% more than normal.
YOUNG ARCHIE DUBBO
6 May - 28 May 2023
The Archibald Prize is Australia's pre-eminent portraiture event and an icon of Australian artistic endeavour. Its junior extension, the Young Archie - which celebrates its 10-year anniversary - provides an excellent platform for the talented young creating moving and thought-provoking art. The Young Archie invites artists between the ages of five and 18 to submit a portrait of 'someone who is special to them and plays a significant role in their life.'
EVENT OPENING SATURDAY 6 MAY 2PM
Image Credit: Gideon Baker, Gideon the Great, (Detail) Age 8. © Art Gallery of NSW
KATE KENWORTHY
CAN YOU HEAR WHAT I SEE?
27 May - 30 July 2023
Can You Hear What I See? is an exhibition by Wellington-based artist Kate Kenworthy that explores her connection to water. Drawing on her heightened senses of touch and hearing due to a visual impairment, Kenworthy's exhibition questions the very thing that many of us take for granted: sight. Can You Hear What I See? is a body of work that focuses on the beauty of the Bell and Macquarie (Wambuul) rivers and the eleement of water; a substance that Kenworthy can only touch and sometimes hear, leaving her to imagine what it must look like. The paintings featured in this exhibition are Kenworthy's interpretations of her surroundings and how the river systems entwined into them.
This is a HomeGround exhibition, produced by WPCC and supported by Orana Arts. HomeGround is sponsored by Wingewarra Dental.
Curated by Mariam Abboud
IN CONVERSATION SATURDAY 27 MAY 2PM
Image Credit Kate Kenworthy, Catching Up, 2022, acrylic on canvas © the artist.
ARCHIBALD PRIZE 2022
3 June - 30 July
Prestigious and often controversial, the Archibald Prize is Australia's foremost portraiture prize. The trustees of the Art Gallery judge the entries, and the winner receives $100 000, courtesy of ANZ.
First awarded in 1921, the Archibald Prize was established following a bequest from former Art Gallery trustee and founder of the Bulletin magazine, JF Archibald (1856-1919), whose aim was to foster portraiture, support artists and perpetuate the memory of extraordinary Australians.
The most important and popular arts prize in Australia, the Archibald, is a snapshot of Australia each year, our heroes, villains, tastemakers and rule shakers. Not just a celebration of visual culture; it is a touchstone of what we as a nation are thinking and talking about.
An Art Gallery of New South Wales touring exhibition.
This exhibition is ticketed.
EVENT OPENING FRIDAY 2 JUNE 6PM
Image Credit Archibald Prize 2022 finalist, Claus Stangl, Taika Waititi, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 245 x 195.1cm © the artist, image © AGNSW, Felicity Jenkins.
FROM THE VAULT
VICTORIA PARK OUR PLACE OF RECREATION, CELEBRATION AND COMMEMORATION
15 July - 12 March 2023
Located in the heart of Dubbo, Victoria Park plays a central role as a place were our community meets for recreation, celebration and commemoration. This exhibition explores how Victoria Park has changed inline with changes attitudes and uses of urban parks from pleasure gardens to urban green spaces.
Image Credit: Aerial View of Victoria Park, Dubbo, 1938, Photograph, Local Studies Collection, Dubbo Regional Council, D0001099
FROM THE VAULT
DUBBO A HUB OF PROGRESS
18 March - 8 October
Dubbo's first banker, James Holmes arrived in 1865 carrying (as the story goes) £15, 000 in cash to open a branch of the Commercial Banking Co. in the village of Dubbo. A trusted local bank manager, James Holmes was intimately involved in Dubbo's commercial life and was one of several influential businessmen who helped shape Dubbo's future.
Personal mementoes and family records often make their way into historical records due to their transitory nature; business records often do not. It is for this reason that the collection of commercial records relating to Dubbo's early history, held in our Local Studies Collection, is so unique.
Through the legal documents and financial records of James Holmes and solicitors George Taylor and his son George Henry Taylor, we can trace the early progress of Dubbo as it developed into a thriving township.
Curated by Simone Taylor
Image Credit: Photographer Unknown, Commercial Bank, Macquarie Street, Dubbo, c.1873, Local Studies Collections, Dubbo Regional Council.
PEOPLE PLACES POSSESSIONS
DUBBO STORIES
Permanent Exhibition
The history of Dubbo told through the people who lived here. Stories of hardship, perseverance, ingenuity, tragedy and joy – Dubbo’s past is at once surprising and enlightening.
Telling the story of a place and its people is made easier by examining the myriad of ways we document, express and articulate our experiences. For a museum, the photographs, books, objects and official records help us to record history. The archives held by the WPCC allow community members to access this material for research or general interest. From diaries and ledgers to photographs that transport us back in time, the WPCC Collection provides a unique portal to our past.
Image Credit: Maker unknown, Shoe – Female – Chinese, date unknown. Red satin. Braid edging continues down to the toe. Calico sole with embroidery under the heel. Bird and flower embroidery. Orange tie embroidered in shades of blue. Designed for the custom of bound feet. Collection WPCC.