Art historian Claire Bishop observed that museums and galleries are an expression of what we consider culturally important, and that they also offer a space to reflect upon these values. A collection of works of art that has been built over time offers fascinating insights into what society has valued at particular points in history, as well as an opportunity to (re)consider the ways these works resonate today. 

Bendigo Art Gallery has made the most of the lockdown period and taken the opportunity to conduct some vital maintenance work behind the scenes. We are delighted to reveal a dramatic refresh of our historic courts. Introducing Teal Tree!

Recently one of the Gallery’s favourites, Forgiven by George Goodwin Kilburne, underwent conservation treatment by Helen Gill, Paintings Conservator and Noel Turner, Frames Conservator.

In 2018, Bangerang artist Peta Clancy was awarded a Fostering Koorie Art and Culture Residency Program grant from the Koorie Heritage Trust, Melbourne, to research massacre sites on Dja Dja Wurrung Country in Central and Northern Victoria. Working closely with Traditional Owners, Clancy spent a year visiting and documenting an unmarked site submerged underwater, learning the land and it’s hidden stories to create the expansive and compelling photographic series Undercurrent.

As part of an extraordinary recent gift of the Honourable Paul Guest OAM QC, Bendigo Art Gallery has acquired a major work by Niuean-born New Zealand Aotearoa poet, painter and writer, John Puhiatau Pule. You Promised Me You Would Never Perish on Earth 2007 is the first work by Pule, who is one of the Asia Pacific region’s most acclaimed artists, to enter the Gallery’s collection.

Contemporary Australian artist Georgina Cue and Bendigo Art Gallery Curator Clare Needham discuss Cue’s work Three Musicians recently acquired by the gallery through the generosity of the Baring family in memory of Wynne Baring. 

CN: Your work is rich with historical references. How does historical material inform your practice?