Tweed Regional Gallery summer program

THE Tweed Regional Gallery will open its summer program on Friday, December 6, featuring three new exhibitions, including the Wynne Prize 2024.

Australia’s oldest art award, the $50,000 Wynne Prize, celebrates the best landscape painting in oils or watercolours or figurative sculpture by Australian artists.

This year, Yolŋu elder Djakaŋu Yunupiŋu from Yirrkala in the Northern Territory won the prestigious prize.

For the first time in the prize’s 127-year history, Indigenous artists outnumbered their non-Indigenous counterparts, with 21 First Nations finalists among more than 40 showcased works.

The Art Gallery of New South Wales Head Curator of Australian Art, Wayne Tunnicliffe, will host a curator floor talk before the official opening at the Tweed Regional Gallery.

Gallery director Ingrid Hedgcock said the Wynne Prize was a highlight of the summer program.

Emily-Sarah Boldeman, The Offering 2023, single channel video. Photo: EMILY-SARAH BOLDEMAN

“We’re thrilled to host the Wynne Prize 2024 on its regional tour,” she said.

“The exhibition presents an impressive collection of works by diverse Australian artists and demonstrates the strength of artists currently working in landscape and figurative sculpture genres.

“It is definitely a must-see over summer, and the curator’s floor talk will be an event to mark on your calendars,” Hedgcock said.

In addition, two exhibitions by regional artists will open at the gallery.

Local emerging artist Emily-Sarah Boldeman will present Vestiges, her first solo exhibition. Boldeman received the Tweed Regional Gallery – Byron School of Art (BSA) 3rd Year Graduate award in 2023.

Vestiges includes drawings, objects and films that create a dialogue between emergence and disappearance through a feminist lens.

Meli Axford, Sibling Rivalry 2024, oil on canvas. Image: MELI AXFORD

Portraits of Love: A Mother’s Perspective by regional artist Meli Axford explores the nuanced dynamics of love, family and her daughters’ transition to adulthood through a mother’s eyes.

The vibrant paintings capture quiet family moments and showcase the latest works in Axford’s ongoing Pool Series.

The Gallery is presenting a variety of programs inspired by the exhibitions, including free ‘Artmaking for Everyone’ activities for all ages.

The Wynne Prize floor talk starts at 5 pm, and multi-opening celebrations begin at 6 pm.

Admission is free, and bookings are essential.

For information, visit gallery.tweed.nsw.gov.au