YOURS TO KEEP! AUSTRALIA’S REGIONAL PUBLICATION OF THE YEAR FINALIST APRIL 2016
THE GET ACTIVE ISSUE
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Director’s Pick The last 24 months has seen the most considerable growth of the City of Townsville Art Collection in living memory. A total of 745 acquisitions, with the vast majority of these works entering the Collection as donations, either directly from artists and collectors, or via the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, now form part of our cultural legacy.
Image 1 Joan PONC Born 1927 Barcelona, Spain – Died 1984 Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France Kafka 20 1974 Etching and aquatint printed in colour (black and brown ink), from two plates on paper Edition 23/75 Sizes variable 2014.0393 – 2014.0417 Gift of Dr Douglas A. Kagi, 2014 Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program City of Townsville Art Collection
Image 2 Donald TESKEY Born 1956 County Limerick, Munster, Ireland Storm Surge 2009 Carborandum and intaglio, printed in colour, from multiple plates on thick cream wove paper Edition 2/25 75 x 95 cm 2014.0504 Gift of Dr Douglas A. Kagi, 2014 Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program City of Townsville Art Collection
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Image 3 Harry MEMMOTT Born 1921 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Died 1991 Townsville Army Camp, September 1942 circa 1942 Watercolour on paper 24.7 x 33.5 cm 2014.0068 Purchased from Heiser Gallery, Brisbane, 2014 Funded from the City of Townsville Art Collection Acquisitions Fund, Townsville City Council City of Townsville Art Collection
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PERC Tucker Regional Gallery’s current exhibition entitled Director’s Pick: recent acquisitions from the City of Townsville Art Collection celebrates and showcases this significant achievement through a selection of 75 works that span eight decades and represents artists from around the globe. In 2016, the City of Townsville Art Collection holds around 3,800 artworks valued at $15 million – an important resource for North Queensland residents, including adults, students and local artists, and is a significant tourist attraction for our region – which realises a 40% growth in artwork holdings and an increase in value of 114% from 2013. It was through the Cultural Gifts Program that perhaps the most significant acquisitions were made, including the largest single gift of artworks in the region’s history – and one of the largest gifts of artworks to a regional gallery in Australian history. Donated by Dr Douglas A. Kagi, the gift consists of 454 individual artworks by 66 renowned Australian and International artists, with a particular focus on modern and contemporary works on paper created in the 1960s
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to early 2000s. This extraordinarily generous gift by Dr Douglas A. Kagi is gratefully acknowledged by Gallery Services and Townsville City Council, and is the second such gift by the collector following his donation of 24 digital prints by acclaimed photomedia artist Tim Maguire in 2012. In bestowing these significant bodies of works, Dr Kagi has not only provided the community with access to major artists, but also re-focused the community’s attention on the impressive quality within and significance of the City of Townsville Art Collection. A number of astute purchases were also made over the course of the last 24 months, adding to the Collection’s holdings of works by significant local and national artists, and works that are historically relevant to our region. Amongst these works were fine examples by Townsville-based artists Holly Grech, Richard Lane, Jo Lankester, Gerald Soworka and Marion Gaemers. The largest body of work purchased was a series of 20 photographs by Tim Page depicting the Vietnam War. Recently Page was listed as one of the ‘100 Most Influential Photographers of All Time’
and is the recipient of many awards. This collection of images reflect the imprint left behind after the photojournalist spent time with these Australian troops, some of them not long conscripted into the army. The purchase complements two Tim Page artworks represented in the City of Townsville Art Collection, and the suite is a historically significant documentation of the human condition during the Vietnam War. Further, the purchase recognises Townsville’s position as a major military city. Director’s Pick: recent acquisitions from the City of Townsville Art Collection gives interested viewers some insight into the shaping of Townsville’s unique collection, as well as food for thought on some general collecting issues such as the purpose of collecting, who has a say, the role of gifts, how museums cope with skyrocketing art prices, and what criteria might be followed in determining acquisitions. Further, it demonstrates the reputation and appeal of Perc Tucker Regional Gallery in the national arts sector – an outcome we all should be very proud of.
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