Page 31 - Tropic Magazine Issue 28

TROPIC • COVER STORY

with Gallery Director
Q&A Andrea May Churcher

Why do you believe Cairns Art Gallery
was chosen as the first venue outside of
NSW to host the 2020 Archibald Prize?
I’ve built a strong relationship with the
Art Gallery of NSW over time which
has resulted in the Gallery being
able to loan significant works of art,
including the Brett Whiteley exhibition
and more recently the Sidney Nolan
Ned Kelly series. Being selected as
the only Australian venue outside
of NSW took a number of years to
negotiate, but our strong national
reputation for presenting outstanding
exhibitions and attracting audiences 6
from across Australia enabled us to
secure the Archibald Prize for Cairns.

Aside from the artwork, what will the
exhibition bring to the Gallery and our DID YOU KNOW CAIRNS HAS
city more broadly? HAD ITS OWN ARCHIBALD
The Archibald Prize will highlight the PRIZE FINALIST?
Gallery’s role in bringing the best Andrew Bonneau, born in Tasmania
Australian art to the region, to inspire but now based in Cairns, was a 2017
our artists, students and community. Archibald Prize finalist. His painting
Over the last year with travel of sculptor Ayako Saito was painted
restrictions, it’s even more important in ten four-hour sessions over a
Cairns has access to the best art in period of months. He completed
the country. Our region has a rich the painting in Cairns by borrowing
artistic heritage and having access to Saito’s clothes and putting them on
art and ideas from other places and a mannequin. Andrew will also be
other cultures will further enrich our a guest judge for this year’s Young
own. Archies in Cairns.

Which work are you most looking 7
forward to seeing in this year's
exhibition?
I am actually looking forward to
seeing the whole exhibition as
there’s a much more diverse group WENDY SHARPE
of artists from different cultures and ARTIST TALK
backgrounds. I think this year really CAIRNS ART GALLERY
captures how artists are broadening WEDNESDAY, 27 MARCH 5 - 6PM
our understanding of portraiture by FREE FOR MEMBERS
going beyond a ‘likeness’ of a person ($10 NON-MEMBERS)
to reveal ideas around personal,
cultural and national identity. Wendy Sharpe will present a talk
on her Archibald Finalist, an oil on
linen portrait of
Magda Szubanski.
Sharpe won the Archibald Prize
in 1996 for a self-portrait and has
had seven finalist works.

Places limited. Bookings
8 available on the Gallery website.

31 • tropicnow.com.au