Celebrating friendship & a significant milestone

THE Riddoch Arts and Cultural Centre is unveiling two new exhibitions opening on Friday, September 5, each exploring notions of memory and identity.

From the impressions of printmakers to the storytelling of central Australian artists, the exhibitions offer a rich and resonant experience for all visitors.

Memories marks the 30th anniversary of Thumb Print Workshop Inc, a collective of South Australian printmakers.

The exhibition honours the group’s long history while inviting audiences into the artists’ personal reflections. Printmaking, at its core, is an act of remembering, with each scratch and emboss captured in forensic detail on paper.

Riddoch curator Chris Clements said In the Memories exhibition sees the artists explore relationships to the past, people and place through woodcut, etching, monotype, collagraph, and cyanotype.

“Thumbprint Collective have been a longstanding collaborator with the Riddoch and we are excited to be putting together the Memories exhibition this year which opens up new exploration and ideas for these talented local printmakers,” Chris said.

Meanwhile, Two Girls From Amoonguna brings together new work by Sally M Nangala Mulda (Arrernte and Southern Luritja) and Marlene Rubuntja (Western Arrarnta).

This moving exhibition tells the story of two friends whose lives began at the Amoonguna Settlement in the Northern Territory and reconnected later in life, and through their artistic practices.

Through bush-dyed, handsewn soft sculptures, observational paintings, and a powerful animated film, the artists share their lived experiences of community with a sense of resilience and joy.

At the heart of the exhibition is Arrkutja Tharra, Kungka Kutjara, Two Girls, an animated work co-commissioned by Artbank and ACMI, created in collaboration with Ludo Studio, the Emmy-award winning team behind Bluey and Robbie Hood.

The film chronicles the artists’ intertwined journeys, capturing the humour, hardship, and pride of life in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) and its surrounding town camps.

Celebrate the official opening of these exhibitions at 6pm on Friday, September 5, at the Riddoch Arts and Cultural Centre, 1 Bay Road Mount Gambier.

RSVP is essential via linktr.ee/theriddoch

Entry is free and the exhibitions are on view to the public from Saturday, September 6 to Sunday, October 26, with the centre open from 10am to 5pm weekdays and 10am to 2pm weekends and most public holidays.