Artel Winter/Spring 2026 by Maitland Regional Art Gallery

ARTEL ARTEL ARTEL ARTEL RTEL Maitland Regional Art Gallery

Members’ Magazine

Winter/Spring 2026

Biannual #15

ARTEL ARTEL

Biannual #15 Winter/Spring 2026

M A I T L A ND R E G I O N AL AR T G AL L ER Y AN D I T S MEMBER S A C K NO W LE D G E T H E W ON N ARU A P EOP L E A S T HE T R A D I T I O N A L O W N ER S AN D CU S T ODI AN S OF T HE L A ND U P O N W HI C H T HE G AL L ER Y S TAN DS.

MRAG

MRAGM

ARTEL

Located on Wonnarua Country at the gateway to the Hunter Valley in Maitland New South Wales, Maitland Regional Art Gallery presents award-winning exhibitions and events alongside engaging and varied public programs, educational offerings, and an in-depth Arts Health program.

Maitland Regional Art Gallery Members, the vibrant community of MRAG supporters who, through their membership and fundraising, help sustain the Gallery’s creative learning programs. Represented by volunteers, on the Friends of MRAG committee.

‘Artel’ is of Russian origin and refers to an arts or crafts co-operative. The ‘Artel of Artists’ (1863) was formed by a group of St Petersburg Academy of Arts students who rebelled against the rules of its annual art competition. Artel has been the name of the MRAGM newsletter, now magazine, since 2007.

230 High Street, Maitland, NSW 2320 Open: Tues–Sun 9am–4pm Ph: 02 4934 9859 E: artgallery@maitland.nsw.gov.au W: mrag.org.au

COVER IMAGE David Darcy, Oi Oi Oi #1 (detail), 2025, acrylic and oil on canvas.

CONTENTS

Welcome

Upriver Downriver

Too Deadly: Ten Years of Tarnanthi

Jack Hodges

Dan Nelson

Collection Store Update

In the Making

Jess Hopcroft

Become a Member

Steve and Libby Kulmar

Education Mondays

26 28

Punthill

36 38

Social Gallery

Collectors Club Exhibitions

ARTEL 04 WELCOME Dear Members, Welcome to the latest edition of Artel, Maitland Regional Art Gallery Members’ Magazine. Inside, you’ll find exhibition highlights, behind-thescenes stories, upcoming events and opportunities to become even more involved with our gorgeous Gallery. This season, Upriver Downriver, the second Hunter Biennale, has transformed the entire Gallery space with artists from across the region sharing stories of the Hunter River and the communities it connects. Later in the year we’ll welcome Too Deadly: Ten Years of Tarnanthi, a major national touring exhibition from the Art Gallery of South Australia featuring more than thirty ground-breaking works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists from across the country.

Alongside it, Jack Hodges’ By Popular Demand promises a thoughtprovoking and humorous exploration of community, identity, and everyday conversations through the artist’s much-loved character, Gary the Dolphin. Thank you for being an important part of the MRAG community. Your membership helps us present ambitious exhibitions, care for our collection, support artists and create welcoming spaces where creativity and conversations can thrive. We hope these pages offer a deeper connection to the people, ideas, and creative practice that make MRAG such a vibrant cultural destination. We can’t wait to share what’s next with you and look forward to seeing you at the Gallery soon.

Courtney Novak Acting Gallery Director

Friends of MRAG committee Leah Riches Sarah Crawford Catherine Kingsmill Amanda Galbraith Joey Hespe Penny Lee Terry Smith Richard Fletcher Council Representative Cr Amelia Atkinson Acting Gallery Director Courtney Novak

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in whole or in part, without written permission from MRAGM. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information and to secure copyright permissions, we apologise for any oversights, which we will correct in future issues. All images © the artists. Nell, NELL ANNE QUILT (detail), 2020-2024, mixed media, 289 x 234cm, Gift of James and Diana Ramsay Fund and Art Gallery of South Australia, Contemporary Collectors 2025, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, courtesy the artist and STATION, Melbourne, photography by Jenni Carter.

ARTEL 06 UPRIVER DOWNRIVER

Todd Fuller, Town Hall after shooting star (and so it goes), 2022, acrylic, chalk and charcoal on paper, Maitland Regional Art Gallery Collection, donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Todd Fuller, 2023.

UP R I V ER D O W N R I V ER

11 J U LY – 11 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 6

07 UPRIVER DOWNRIVER

Flowing from the Barrington Tops of the Upper Hunter through major towns including Muswellbrook, Denman, Singleton and Maitland before meeting the Tasman Sea at Newcastle, the Hunter River has long shaped the ecological, industrial, and cultural life of the Hunter Valley. As both artery and archive, the river gathers stories along its course: memories of place, histories of movement, and shifting relationships between landscape and community. Bringing together 57 artists from across the region, Upriver Downriver traverses painting, drawing, sound, sculpture, ceramics and installation, following the river’s passage from mountain tributaries and wetlands to fertile grounds and tidal estuaries. Across the exhibition, artists engage themes of memory, cultural and historical narrative, and broader reflections on place and belonging.

For some artists, the river is encountered through fleeting sensory impressions: glimpses of water from car windows, shifting light across mangroves, or the mechanical rhythm of crossing bridges and industrial edges. For others, it emerges through repeated visits, mapping its bends and tributaries across changing time. These personal relationships accumulate throughout the exhibition, revealing the Hunter River not as a singular narrative but as a constellation of perspectives shaped by observation, movement and lived experience. Underlying many of the works is an awareness that landscape is never neutral. It carries histories of industry, colonisation and environmental transformation, alongside intimate associations formed through childhood memory and everyday experience.

Sara Morawetz engages with historical and conceptual forms of cartography, examining how historically territory has been measured, imagined, and colonised. Similarly, Michele Heibel’s intricate silhouette drawings trace the river’s course through the act of mapping. Drawing from the Swiss tradition of Scherenschnitte, the delicate art of paper cutting, Heibel charts the Hunter’s passage from Newcastle Harbour through Maitland and Morpeth into the tributaries and waterways extending across the region. The river’s natural systems remain ever present throughout the exhibition. Malcolm Sands’ work reflects on the changing ecological and visual character of the river region, documenting landscapes shaped by seasonal shifts, environmental pressure, and human intervention.

ARTEL

Mitch Mahoney’s depictions of mulloway; a fish long associated with the estuarine waters of the Hunter, draw attention to the species that move through these waterways, reminding viewers that the river is a living system shaped by migration, survival, and continual change. Jane Richens uses recycled domestic textiles, bush regeneration materials, work shirts, and surveyors string to create hanging sculptural forms that reflect upon care, repair, and renewal.

Her practice draws on research into tree dispersal, land management, and aerial perspectives of landscapes shaped by clearing, fencing, and revegetation. Similarly, Fiona Johnson’s printmaking practice reflects on habitat loss through recurring imagery of black cockatoos and threatened ecosystems. Johnson embraces material imperfections and process-based marks as metaphors for environmental fragility,

while also considering the ecological impact of artistic production itself. In Jane Lander’s large-scale drawings and installations, the Hunter River becomes a metaphorical terrain through which questions of vulnerability, safety and care are explored. Drawing upon memories of crossing the Hexham Bridge as a child, as well as local stories of loss, Lander transforms these recollections into expansive symbolic landscapes. Beacons appear across mountains – metaphors for guiding lights – reflective waters invite contemplation, and wetlands become spaces of filtration and protection. Within these works, the river becomes a moral landscape, holding both beauty and unease. Jo Shand explores how Australiana and vintage souvenirs shape local history and cultural identity. Left: Nicole Chaffey, bilba watigaray, install view, 2025, natural dye pigments on linen, cotton thread. Right: Jo Shand, Back Road Tales, install view, 2026, earthenware underglaze.

UP R I V ER D O W N R I V ER

9 UPRIVER DOWNRIVER

Shand’s wall pieces draw upon vintage Australiana ceramic ware; humble decorative objects often adorned with gumnuts and eucalyptus leaves, many made by unknown makers. Her works consider how everyday domestic objects become quiet carriers of cultural memory, preserving fragments of local histories across generations.

Works drawn from the Maitland Regional Art Gallery collection by artists including Dani Marti, Izabela Pluta, Richard Tipping, Lottie Consalvo, and Todd Fuller offer diverse engagements with landscape, language and spatial experience.

Their practices expand the exhibition’s conceptual terrain, revealing how the Hunter region continues to inform contemporary conversations across mediums. Across the exhibition, artists return repeatedly to the idea that rivers are not static landscapes but systems in constant motion.

ARTEL 10

UP R I V ER D O W N R I V ER

11 UPRIVER DOWNRIVER

Water carries sediment, memory and history downstream, connecting distant locations within a shared ecological network. The Hunter River’s tributaries, from the Paterson and Williams Rivers to the Pages River further north, form an intricate web of waterways linking communities across the region. Upriver Downriver mirrors this interconnected flow. Moving through all the gallery spaces, visitors encounter shifting perspectives that echo the river’s movement through the landscape.

Each artwork becomes a point along the journey; an eddy of recollection, a confluence of ideas, a momentary pause before the current carries us further downstream. In bringing together artists from across the Hunter region, Upriver Downriver reveals how deeply the river continues to shape creative life here. It is not only a geographical feature but a shared reference point, an enduring presence threaded through personal histories, cultural narratives and artistic imagination. Like the river itself, the exhibition invites us to move slowly, follow the currents of memory and place, and consider how landscapes continue to hold the stories we carry with us.

Joey Hespe Editor

Our new codebreaker Look out for the new Upriver Downriver inspired Codebreakers on your next Gallery visit! Created by local artist Chris Proctor, these playful works form an interactive art trail designed to encourage discovery, creativity, and fun for visitors of all ages. How many can you find?

Left: Nell, NELL ANNE QUILT (detail), 2020-2024, mixed media, 289 x 234cm, Gift of James and Diana Ramsay Fund and Art Gallery of South Australia, Contemporary Collectors 2025, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, courtesy the artist and STATION, Melbourne, photography by Jenni Carter Above: Chris Proctor, You might think this bin is full of rubbish but it has everything I need inside (Bin Chicken), 2026.

ARTEL 12 T OO DE ADLY: TEN YEARS OF T A R N A N T H I

T O O DE ADLY : T EN Y E A R S O F TA R N A N T HI

13 TOO DEADLY

Kunmanara Carroll, Pitjantjatjara/Luritja people, South Australia/Northern Territory, born Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff), Northern Territory 1950, died Pukatja (Ernabella), Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, South Australia 2021, Walungurru (detail), 2014, Pukatja (Ernabella), Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, South Australia, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 122.0 x 182.0 cm; Acquisition through Tarnanthi: Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art supported by BHP 2016, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, © Kunmanara Carroll/Copyright Agency

ARTEL 14 T OO DE ADLY: TEN YEARS OF T A R N A N T H I

3 1 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 6 – 14 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 7

For the past decade, Tarnanthi* has reshaped the national conversation around contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. Established by the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) in 2015, the annual festival has become one of Australia’s most significant platforms for First Nations artists, bringing together diverse cultural practices, histories and perspectives from across the continent. Too Deadly: Ten Years of Tarnanthi extends that legacy beyond Adelaide, presenting a selection of landmark works that chart the festival’s remarkable first ten years. Drawn from the anniversary exhibition Tarnanthi on Tour: Too Deadly, first presented at AGSA in 2025, the touring exhibition gathers more than thirty works spanning painting, installation, sculpture and moving image. T O O DE ADLY

Together, they demonstrate the extraordinary breadth of contemporary First Nations practice while revealing the enduring relationship between cultural knowledge, Country, history, and lived experience. Rather than offering a survey of styles, Too Deadly presents a constellation of voices that are distinct in material and approach yet connected through shared acts of storytelling, remembrance, and cultural continuity.

Wendy Hubert’s deeply personal paintings draw on memories of childhood, family separation, and life in the Pilbara, while honouring the enduring relationship between Aboriginal stockmen and Country. Judy Watson’s atmospheric paintings similarly navigate the intersection of memory and place, tracing objects displaced through colonial collecting practices as she uncovers histories embedded within landscape and material culture.

Many of the exhibition’s works examine histories that have long remained absent from dominant national narratives. In OA_RR, Kamilaroi/ Gamilaroi/Gamilaraay artist Reko Rennie undertakes a symbolic return to Country, confronting the legacy of dispossession through a visually arresting threechannel video work.

History is continuously approached through collaboration and transformation. Tony Albert and Alair Pambegan’s suspended installation, Frontier Wars Bone Fish Story Place merges traditional Wik storytelling with forms that evoke the violence of colonisation, creating a powerful meditation on survival and cultural resilience.

15 TOO DEADLY

John Prince Siddon’s expansive installation, Australia: Mix it all up collapses ancestral creation stories, personal experience, and contemporary Australian life into an immersive environment that resists singular interpretations, instead embracing complexity and contradiction.

Collectively, these works reveal contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art as dynamic, experimental, and deeply connected to both cultural inheritance and presentday realities. Across the exhibition, artists employ diverse visual languages to explore identity, sovereignty,

*The title Tarnanthi derives from the language of the Kaurna people, meaning “to spring forth” or “appear”, like the first light of dawn. It is an apt metaphor for an exhibition that celebrates artistic innovation while foregrounding stories that continue to emerge with urgency and strength. As Tarnanthi on Tour: Too Deadly travels to regional and metropolitan audiences across Australia, it extends the festival’s founding vision: creating spaces for deep listening, cultural exchange and recognition of the extraordinary vitality of contemporary First Nations art.

family, memory, and the ongoing relationship between people and place. Monumental in scale yet intimate in their emotional resonance, the works invite audiences to consider the many ways art can hold history while imagining new futures.

Joey Hespe Editor

John Prince Siddon, Walmajarri people, Western Australia, born Derby, Western Australia 1964, Australia: Mix it all up, 2019, Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 120 x 240cm, Acquisition through Tarnanthi: Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art supported by BHP 2020 Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide © John Prince Siddon/Copyright Agency.

ARTEL 16 BY POPUL AR DEMAND

Division not debate is often highlighted as the norm in the post-truth, social media dominated society that we live in. It can be political, economic or cultural. A case of us vs them, right or wrong or left vs right. The noise is constant. One laid-back human-dolphin hybrid is navigating these

B Y P OP UL A R DEM A N D

31 OCTOBER 2026 – 21 FEBRUARY 2027

murky waters by talking to the people of the Hunter and getting their opinions. The exhibition By Popular Demand sees multimedia artist Jack Hodges transform into Gary the Dolphin. A character that conducts street interviews and vox pop encounters offering an

insight into how beliefs and attitudes shift across communities. With a shell microphone and an inherent smile, Gary the Dolphin questions how beliefs behave socially. It’s common for people to use social media platforms to voice personal opinions and for other people to then disagree.

17 JACK HODGES

On the street, Gary the Dolphin has us wondering what’s acceptable, who decides and what is it to be free anyway? There are so many wonderfully big ideas being unpacked by Hodges in this exhibition. He doesn’t offer answers but rather gives an opportunity for audiences to listen. Hodges is based on Gumbaynggirr Country in Nambucca Heads and his work often explores the aesthetics of the everyday and local culture. He completed a Master of Community Development in 2020, informing his use of problem-posing methods to generate dialogue and reinterpret public interactions into artworks.

In By Popular Demand Hodges uses a gonzo style approach when conducting his interviews as Gary the Dolphin. This means he doesn’t simply pose a question and we observe the answer. Instead, he actively participates in the conversation as the central character. Gary feels like he is still learning about the world around him, surfacing tensions that already exist and giving them a space to breathe. The interviews seem to embody the existential paradox of freedom. This is the idea that humans, or in this case a dolphin, are fundamentally free to choose their own paths and create meaning.

With this freedom can come anxiety with the burden of choice juxtaposed by the question of what options do people really have? For the exhibition Hodges invites audiences to view his video work within a painted installation, allowing visitors to enter the piece and watch the footage. In this installation you will hear the perspectives of Maitlanders and those from the surrounding areas. You are invited to listen, consider and continue a conversation with others around issues that are important to all of our lives.

Genevieve Graham Gallery Officer Gary the Dolphin, Jack Hodges.

ARTEL 18 SUN ROOM Newcastle-based artist Dan Nelson sometimes thinks of her paintings as light-filled rooms: spaces that both artist and viewer can enter and experience. Her series Sun Room, showing at Maitland Regional Art Gallery this summer, extends this idea through a luminous new body of work. Nelson’s paintings for Sun Room are abstractions that meld still life and landscape. By dissolving the boundaries between these genres, she opens a space where sunlight and the outdoors can enter, and where the viewer’s eye can linger. This new body of work began with a question: what are we doing when we carry a stone home in our pocket, pick flowers for a vase, fill our house with plants or arrange fruit on a windowsill?

S UN R OOM

17 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 6 - 7 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 7

Perhaps these human gestures of gathering, bringing in and arranging are ways of personalising our connection to the natural environment. For Nelson, these small rituals have become key to her painting practice. “When starting a new body of work, I have a strong desire to bring nature in. I find myself collecting an array of objects and arranging them in my studio — it could be an intriguing seedpod or a patterned fragment of shell. These pieces, broken off or separated from the land, resonate with the life force that shaped them. They can evoke the scents, sounds, light or feeling of a particular place, time or season. I am always trying to carry that essence into my finished paintings.” Nelson creates her works through slow, deep layering of opaque

and transparent paint, using both her hands and brushes to add, obscure and erase. Wiped-back areas create luminosity and reveal earlier marks. In the patches of light that fall across the canvas, and between broken and transparent layers of paint, there is a sense of history, and of windows opening onto other times and places.

19 DAN NELSON

piece threw everything else into question — in a good way — and how that piece, set among the others, sometimes looked like light from an open window or door.” There is an openness in Sun Room: a sense of interiors and landscapes dissolving into one another.

The title of the exhibition equally refers to memories of her grandmother’s sunroom and the quilts they made together in that space. “I loved working with her as we dismantled everything from old work shirts to evening dresses, cutting them down until they were just fabric again, each patch heavily storied.

We would end up with tall stacks of fabric squares that she would ask me to lay out in a grid on the lino floor in front of her. It was a puzzle to make the colours and textures work together. As I began to resolve the overall design, she would often throw in a flash of brighter or more boldly patterned cloth. I remember noticing how that disruptive

Among these soft-edged abstractions, emotive colour and tactile surfaces, ambiguity gives the viewer room for multiple interpretations. The paintings do not simply depict light, objects or places; they hold them open, offering a space for contemplation and connection.

Anna Buxton-Soldal Visitor Engagement Lead

Dan Nelson, Wandering fragrance (detail), oil on canvas, 2025.

ARTEL 20 OUR COLLECTION STORE RENOVAT ION PROJECT Between February and June this year, our main collection store, the Valerie James Room, underwent a major renovation and refurbishment. The renovation included: uncovering the room’s beautiful 1900s dormer ceiling windows, a full repaint, sanding and polishing of the timber floors, and the installation of a new artwork racking system which will preserve and protect the collection into the future. To enable the works to proceed, our team relocated all 8000 artworks, along with shelving and equipment, from the collection store to our upstairs exhibition spaces.

So, while the renovation works took place, hundreds of collection artworks were on display as an ‘open storage’ exhibition, much to the delight of our visitors. This also provided a valuable opportunity for the gallery team to work closely with the collection, reviewing each artwork’s condition, documentation, significance, and framing. Our collection is the heartbeat of our art museum, and we are proud to house it here in Maitland in a beautifully renovated collection store — onsite, accessible, and now carefully protected.

Cheryl Farrell Gallery Collections Lead

OUR C OLLEC T IO N S T O R E R ENO VAT I O N P R O J EC T

21 OUR COLLECTION STORE

Collection Store mid-renovation Photo: Zoe Lonergan.

ARTEL 22

3. 5.

1. The crowded ‘before’; 2. Moving the last object (Robert Klippel sculpture) out; 3. Dormer windows exposed; 4. Installing the ‘open collection’ exhibition; 5. One room of the ‘open collection’ exhibition; 6. New racking installed; 7. Project complete!

OUR C OLLEC T IO N S T O R E R ENO VAT I O N P R O J EC T

ARTEL 24 MEET A MAKER: JESS HOPCROFT Meet the MRAG Store maker bringing culture, colour, and community together. For Jess Hopcroft, creativity has never just been a hobby, it’s been part of who she is since she was a child. Born and raised on Awabakal land, with ancestral family connections to the Barkindji, Ngemba and Gamilaraay/ Yuwaalaraay peoples of NSW, the founder of Dhiiyaan Art has built a practice grounded in culture, connection and community. Known locally for her vibrant murals, paintings, and wearable artworks, Hopcroft’s work reflects family, belonging and the beauty of Country. Her works have become recognisable across the Hunter, appearing everywhere from large-scale community murals to handcrafted jewellery and textiles.

MEE T A M AK ER

Behind the flourishing business is a deeply personal story. It was during lockdown that her artistic path truly sharpened focus. Studying Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Arts and Identity at TAFE alongside other Aboriginal women became a turning point, both creatively and personally. It was during this time that she began creating jewellery- with knowledge passed on from Aboriginal women who were leading the course; women who are now close friends and mentors. Today, running Dhiiyaan Art means balancing commissions, workshops, murals, wholesale orders and community projects, all while raising two daughters with her husband in Lochinvar. “There are busy days, but there’s also so much gratitude,” Hopcroft says.

“I’m grateful to create and share culture through my creations, grateful for every opportunity that comes my way, and grateful that my girls get to grow up seeing what can happen when you work hard, stay connected and lead with your heart.” Family and collaboration sit at the centre of the business. Seeds and nuts used in some of her jewellery pieces are sourced through family connections and harvested by Aboriginal women in Alice Springs, with proceeds shared back into community. Her scrunchies, featuring reproductions of her artworks, are handmade locally with her cousin. Hopcroft’s artistic reach continues to expand. Her murals can be found across the region, including at the Hunter Valley Visitor Centre, Hunter Water, and local schools, while collaborations

with Newcastle street artist Mitch Revs helped introduce her work to new audiences through tea towels, posters and merchandise. Yet despite the growth, community remains at the heart of everything she does.

One of her latest projects, helping to transform an old canteen into a cultural hub at her daughter’s school, is a reminder that for Hopcroft, art is about more than aesthetics. It’s about creating spaces where stories, identity, and culture can be seen,

shared, and celebrated. A range of Jess’s work is avalible to purchase in our Gallery Store year round.

Joey Hespe Editor

Jess Hopcroft earrings. Photo: Zoe Lonergan.

ARTEL 26 MEET A COLLECTOR

On a Tuesday morning in May this year I drove up through the Hunter Valley to visit some of MRAG’s newest 2320 Collectors, Steve Kulmar and Libby Gilkes, who had kindly agreed to feature in this edition of Artel. Based in the Hunter at present whilst their Sydney apartment is undergoing renovations, Libby and Steve enjoy sharing their time between city and country, and the best of both worlds. They have been visitors to the area since they were in their early twenties when they used to stay at the Pokolbin Cabins in Palmers Lane. Steve Kulmar and Libby Gilkes. Photo: Jenny Hunter.

MEE T A MEMB ER

It was during the early months of the Covid pandemic in 2020 that Steve, on enforced rest following ankle surgery, happened to be flicking through real estate sites on his laptop and chanced upon the property up for sale. Having been interested in acquiring something just like it for a while, they organised an inspection and wasted no time in becoming Hunter Valley landowners! Being fond of regional galleries - Libby was the President of the Manly Art Gallery and Museum Society for 10 years - it didn’t take them long to discover MRAG, become members and familiar, friendly faces, joining the 2320 Collectors group in 2025.

Libby originally trained as an art educator at the College of Fine Arts (COFA), University of NSW, along with a number of well-known luminaries at the time (Reg Mombasa and Martin Plaza were contemporaries), and then went on to teach printmaking, with a special interest in silk-screening. Later, in 2015, she completed an Advanced Diploma in Visual Arts, majoring in ceramics, at the Northern Beaches TAFE. Steve’s background was in art direction, working in advertising, including a few years with John Singleton, and later going on to found IdeaWorks and then the RetailOasis consultancy, with daughters Madeline and Pippa now also part of the team. Libby and Steve started collecting art quite early; the first piece they bought, which is still in their collection, was by Franklin Johnson who at the time, along with Martin Sharp, was involved with The Yellow House Artists Collective in Potts Point. Another early acquisition was a

27 silk-screen work by David Rose, one of Australia’s renowned masters in this medium. Thereafter, Steve confesses, they became ‘addicted’ to collecting and their next major acquisition was a numbered edition litho print by Toulouse Lautrec. Steve and Libby built their first home at Forty Baskets Beach in the late 1980’s where they ended up with lots of large, empty wall spaces (which obviously needed filling with artworks!). Around this time a mutual friend introduced them to John Firth-Smith, an abstract painter whose expansive works evoked memories of waves, boats, and shorelines. Libby went to visit FirthSmith at his Glebe studio and fell in love with an enormous work - 4.5m x 1.5m - which so echoed the view from their new home that purchasing it was imperative. This work, which now adorns a wall in their Sydney apartment, they regard as their first major, defining piece of art. Over the years to follow they collected works by Ann Thomson, who had been Libby’s teacher when she attended

SCEGGS at Darlinghurst, and more recently they have acquired works by Luke Scibberas. Their most recent major purchase was from Robert Fielding’s Tjukurpa | Handle It exhibition at MRAG (Nov 24 - March 25) which also hangs proudly here at their Hunter home. After spending some time inside chatting and admiring the artworks throughout the house, including many of Libby’s own, we headed outside for a wander around the grounds, gardens, and outbuildings. Madeline and Pippa have their own ‘quarters’ on the property, and there is a vast and wonderful creative space - a sort of office/studio combination - where everyone, including the grandchildren, has their own workstation. Libby’s ceramics studio is adjacent and I was very taken with her beautiful pieces which reminded me of pale boulders, not quite spherical, large but also delicate, with a surface patina of exquisite markings. We then meandered across the lawns towards the the olive groves, and Steve described how they’d had the older trees

transplanted here from another nearby property - quite an impressive undertaking - and after the upheaval of moving they had provided their first modest harvest in the new location on Easter Sunday this year. The views from the property are beautiful in all directions, with a large outdoor sculpture by Braddon Snape providing an impressive counterpoint to the rolling green paddocks. With my visit at an end I said my goodbyes to Steve and Libby and as I drove away I couldn’t help but reflect on my last Artel Collectors interview with Catherine Kingsmill, and her idea that there is a ‘generosity that lies at the heart of collecting’ and that ‘collectors find joy in family and friends’. I certainly felt both a celebration of family and an enormous sense of generosity during my visit with Steve and Libby, and I thank them both sincerely for their kindness and for their enthusiastic support of Maitland Regional Art Gallery. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to get to know you!

Jenny Hunter Senior Gallery Officer

ARTEL 28 A P L A C E T O S T A Y, A PL ACE W I T H H I S T O R Y: PUNTHILL MAITL AND In the heart of Maitland, where contemporary comfort now welcomes travellers, artists and visitors alike, stands a site layered with local history. Today, Punthill Maitland offers modern serviced apartment accommodation just moments from Maitland Regional Art Gallery. Long before the arrival of its 76 stylish rooms, this stretch of High Street played an important role in Maitland’s history. The first building constructed on the site was the Bank of New

P UN T HILL

South Wales, designed by colonial architect, Edmund Blackett, which opened its doors in 1860. As Maitland grew, so too did the bank, with a new Bank of New South Wales International style building erected on the site during the 1970s following the demolition of the original structure. While the historic building itself no longer stands, elements of it live on throughout the region. Sandstone blocks and remaining materials from the demolition were repurposed in the construction of local

homes and buildings, ensuring fragments of Maitland’s architectural past remain embedded in the community. Today, the site continues its legacy through Punthill Maitland. Located within easy reach of the Hunter River, heritage streetscapes and the vibrant Levee precinct, the apartments provide spacious, fully equipped studio and one-bedroom accommodation for both short and extended stays.

29 PUNTHILL

Importantly, Punthill Maitland is also a valued supporter of Maitland Regional Art Gallery. Travelling artists exhibiting at the Gallery are regularly accommodated at the apartments, helping foster creative exchange and support the Gallery’s ambitious exhibitions and public programs. Their partnership plays a meaningful role in welcoming artists to the region and strengthening Maitland’s cultural life.

Whether visiting for business, exploring Maitland’s heritage sites, or attending exhibitions and events at the Gallery, guests at Punthill Maitland experience both the convenience of contemporary accommodation and a connection to a site deeply woven into the city’s history.

Joey Hespe Editor

Left: Punthill Maitland. Right: Bank of NSW, High Street, Maitland, NSW, after alterations, 1970, by Athel D’Ombrain, from the Athel D’Ombrain Collection, University of Newcastle Special Collections and Archives.

ARTEL 30 MR AG 2320 CONTEMPOR ARY COLLECTORS CLUB

MR A G 2320 C O N T EMP O R A R Y C O LLEC T O R S C L U B

31 On Friday 12 June, forty-one Contemporary Collectors joined us for an evening of art, food, wine, philanthropy and fun, all set amongst the orange glow of flowers and cumquats and Renae Saxby’s crackling exhibition, Fire Scars. Our Collectors were gathered for a special one-night exhibition with the aim to select and purchase a new artwork for the MRAG Collection. This was the fifth iteration of this event and for the first time all previously acquired artworks, as selected and purchased by our Contemporary Collectors, were also on display. Our special guest, Professor Lisa Slade, Hugh Ramsay Chair of Australian Art History at the University of Melbourne, provided our Collectors with an insight into the world of collecting and collections, and reflected on the works acquired so far by the group and the significant impact our Collectors group has achieved. A lively ‘curator battle’ then took place in which each of our curators presented reasons why their favourite work

should be selected out of the four new works presented. By the end of the night, by a majority of votes, the wonderful portrait of Toby Cedar, by Belinda Street was chosen as the next acquisition for the MRAG Collection, funded by our Contemporary Collectors. Thank you once again to our Contemporary Collectors group for supporting the gallery to acquire another significant artwork for the MRAG Collection.

CURATOR BATTLE WINNER TALLY: 2021

Special guest Una Rey

2022

Gerry Bobsien

2023

Cheryl Farrell

2024

Special guest Lisa Slade

2026

Kim Blunt

ABOUT THE WORK: Belinda Street is a Newcastle-based artist predominantly known for her expressive, abstract Australian landscapes but is also an accomplished portrait painter. Her subject is Toby Cedar, a proud Torres Strait Islander artist based in Maitland.

Toby is a highly regarded artist who finds deep connection between art, community and culture. In 2023 MRAG presented Cedar’s exhibition Mir Giz Kemerkemer Opged Lam Zenadh Kes: Stories from Eastern Islands Torres Strait which celebrated Eastern Islands culture in both traditional and contemporary art forms. Inspired by Cedar’s work, and excited to discover that he was local to the region, Belinda reached out to him to learn more about his life and practice. This led to Toby sitting for this portrait. Belinda commented, “Larger than life, Toby has a real presence about him, and I wanted that to be the focus of the portrait, hence the large scale. To link back to the traditional practices of the artists of the Torres Strait, I chose to paint on a thick weaved linen, leaving this as the background, with Toby front and centre wearing a shirt of his own design.”

Cheryl Farrell Gallery Collections Lead

Senior Curator Kim Blunt presenting Belinda Street’s portrait of Toby Cedar to the Collectors. Photo: Lee Illfield. Belinda Street is represented by Curatorial+Co, Sydney.

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IN T HE M AK I NG

33 Last year, Maitland Regional Art Gallery turned 50! What better way to celebrate than with a book that sparks imagination for artists young and old? In the Making is a vibrant new publication from MRAG that invites readers to explore the Gallery’s collection in a fresh and hands-on way. Created in-house by our talented MRAG team, this book brings together 14 loved works from the Gallery’s collection, each paired with an activity designed to encourage creativity, curiosity, and play.

From drawing and painting to collage, sculpture, and printmaking, every page offers a chance to not only learn about some of the great artists in our collection, but to also make your own art inspired by them. For instance, take John Coburn’s bold painting Legend IV. Known for his luminous shapes and colours, Coburn once said, “I paint these things to explain the world to myself.” In the Making invites budding artists to respond to his vision by cutting, arranging, and glueing shapes in vibrant hues to create abstract works of their own.

It’s this interactive spirit that makes In the Making more than just a book. It’s a creative companion, encouraging families, students, and children alike to see art not as something locked away in a gallery, but as something alive—an open invitation to make, imagine, and play. As MRAG celebrates its 50th birthday, In the Making is both a tribute to the Gallery’s remarkable collection and a reminder of the joy that comes when we put our own hands to paper, clay, or paint. After all, art is always “in the making”.

CELEBR ATING 50 YEARS OF MR AG

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BECOME A MEMBER OF MAITLAND REGIONAL ART GALLERY

Your membership supports free and accessible programs for all ages, and gives you access to an exclusive annual program of events and member benefits.

MEMBERSHIP

1 YEAR

3 YEARS

INDIVIDUAL

$40

$95

CONCESSION*

$30

$70

FAMILY

$70

$170

BUSINESS

$95

$230

*child/student/pensioner

GIVE GALLERY MEMBERSHIP AS A GIFT!

When you purchase a gift membership online the recipient of the gift will receive an email including their membership details and your personalised message. To become a member, renew your membership, or for a full list of benefits, head to mrag.org.au/become-a-member

MR AG COLLECTION BOOK SHARED Our collection continues to grow through new acquisitions and wonderful benefactors. In 2023, we launched our new publication highlighting work in the collection, aptly titled, Shared.

From historical treasures to art that fills our minds with a sense of place and wonder, this book captures the spirit of Maitland Regional Art Gallery’s collection in all its many forms.

Sharing this collection gives us the opportunity to ignite conversations, inspire young artists and generate pure joy and delight for curious minds. Available at the MRAG Store $20.00

ARTEL 36 EDUCATION MONDAYS MRAG is a significant local resource valued by educators, not only for its exhibitions and art collection, but for its public spaces, big backyard and workshop facilities. We enjoy working with educators to create a gallery experience that meets the needs and interests of their students. The Gallery and Cafe are closed to the public on Mondays, but during each school term we welcome teachers and students for exclusive Gallery access, affordable workshops or self-directed activities. Students are also invited to have lunch or morning tea in our spacious backyard. To book your school or group visit, email artgallery@maitland.nsw.gov.au or call the Gallery on 02 4934 9859.

E DU C AT ION MO N D AY S

37 EDUCATION MONDAYS

Aspire Art Fest. Photo: Charlotte Wilkie

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Clockwise from top left: 1. Upriver Downriver opening (Lee Illfield); 2. School holidays (Zoe Lonergan); 3. Youth Week Live (Ready Aim Media); 4. 2320 Collectors Club (Lee Illfield); 5. Upriver Downriver opening (Lee Illfield); 6. 8 To Create (Terry Smith); 7. Art Express opening (Leighsa Cox); 8. Upriver Downriver opening (Lee Illfield); 9. Autumn opening (Leighsa Cox).

SOCIAL GALLERY

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Clockwise from top left - 1 -2. Art Epress opening (Leighsa Cox); 3-4. Youth Week Live (Ready Aim Media); 5. Autumn opening (Leighsa Cox); 6. Upriver Downriver opening (Lee Illfield); 7. School holidays workshop (Zoe Lonergan); 8. Our Collection Store renovation project (Leighsa Cox); 9. 2320 Collectors Club (Lee Illfield).

SOCIAL GALLERY

ARTEL 42 COMING SOON

17 O C T 2 6 – 7 F E B 2 7

3 1 O C T 2 6 – 14 F E B 2 7

31 OCT 26 – 21 FEB 27

Sun Room

Too Deadly: Ten Years of Tarnanthi

By Popular Demand

Tarnanthi is a major national festival presented by Art Gallery of South Australia since 2015, celebrating the innovation and diversity of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. Too Deadly showcases standout works from the festival’s first decade, featuring more than 30 significant artworks by artists across Australia. The touring exhibition includes large-scale and culturally powerful pieces that highlight the creativity and strength of contemporary Indigenous art.

Jack Hodges explores how local culture and subtle power structures shape everyday life through his character Gary the Dolphin, a relaxed human-porpoise hybrid. In 2026, Gary appears on the streets of Maitland in a series of community conversations that examine how personal beliefs interact with public discussion, revealing what people feel able to say and who influences those boundaries.

Dan Nelson Newcastle artist, Dan Nelson creates luminous paintings that feel like light-filled spaces the viewer can step into. Sun Room explores the connection between inner and outer worlds through bright, hopeful works that move between still life and landscape, offering a sense of comfort and renewal.

Dan Nelson, Wandering fragrance (detail), oil on canvas, 2025.

C OM ING S O O N

Bugai Whyoulter, Kartujarra people, Western Australia, born Pukayiyirna, Western Australia c.1939, Wantili (Warntili, Canning Stock Route Well 25) (detail), 2021, Kunawarritji, Western Australia, synthetic polymer paint on linen.

Jack Hodges

Gary the Dolphin, courtesy Jack Hodges.

31 OCT 26 – 21 FEB 27

7 NOV 26 – 28 FEB 27

14 N O V 2 6 – 7 F E B 2 7

Mimili Maku Arts

Operation Art

Dance with me Darling

Mimili Maku Arts is an Aboriginal-owned art centre in Mimili Community on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands that has supported culturally grounded artistic practice for more than 20 years. Featuring recent bush camp works alongside pieces by founding artists, the exhibition highlights the strength and continuity of Mimili Maku Arts’ cultural foundations.

Operation Art is a program run by The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in partnership with the New South Wales Department of Education. Each year, students from Kindergarten to Year 10 across NSW create artworks for children in hospital, aiming to brighten their environment and lift their spirits. This touring exhibition features 50 selected works that become part of the hospital’s collection, celebrating the positive and healing impact of art.

Spanning moving image, sound, sculptural interventions and performance, Dance with Me Darling features contemporary artists from across Australia who all employ movement in their practice.

Mimili Maku artists during a bush camp at Parawalpi, working on new collaborative paintings for the Cultural Collection.

Evie Spencer, Hamilton North Public School, Lazybug (detail), 2025.

Lottie Consalvo, We hover above the ground in hope that we can float (image still from video), 2023, single channel video, duration: infinite