The National 2021 Presents New Australian Art
The collaborative exhibition spans three venues and showcases 39 artists.
3 min
In the third edition of a six-year initiative presented in 2017 and 2019, the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), Carriageworks and The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) has announced The National 2021: New Australian Art.
The collaborative exhibition sees four curators bring together 39 exhibiting artists, collectives and collaboratives while connecting three of Sydney’s key cultural precincts.
The exhibition will display new and commissioned works by leading contemporary artists from around the country – including those in remote communities such as Aṉangu Pitjant-jatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY Lands), Yirrkala in north-east Arnhem Land, Zendah Kes (Torres Strait Islands), and Belyuen, on the north-west coast of the Northern Territory.
A combination of emerging, mid-career and established artists will represent overlapping themes of environment, planetary responsibility, global uncertainty, our relationship to country, collaboration and inter-generational learning across a diverse range of media including painting, photography, film, sculpture, textiles, installations and performance.
Co-curators Matt Cox and Erin Vink, of AGNSW, are presenting 14 artist projects with a view to frame art’s potential to heal and care for the natural and social ecosystems.
“The National 2021 at AGNSW will examine different modes of care: how it engenders our relationships with each other, how we navigate these relationships, and in turn the relationships we have with sentient Country,” says Cox and Vink.
Photo: Zan Wimberley
Elsewhere, Carriageworks will bring together over 40 artists to produce 13 projects – responding to the key issues of our time – emphasising sociality, collaborative enquiry and works that speak to history and experiences of place.
“The artists are connected across generations and brought together by a spirit of collaboration,” says curator Abigail Moncrieff. “With an attention to the present moment, many of the works consider responsibility and lived experience through psychological and intuitive responses, alongside some of the most urgent and activist voices from around Australia.”
Further, thirteen artists consider diverse approaches to the environment, storytelling and inter-generational learning through their works in The National 2021 at the MCA.
“Unseen physical forces – wind, gases, emissions – power some works, while others transform plant matter, kangaroo teeth, echidna quills and plastic waste into powerful statements,” says MCA chief curator Rachel Kent.
The National 2021: New Australian Art runs from 26 March – 5 September 2021 at AGNSW; 26 March – 20 June 2021 at Carriageworks and 26 March – 22-August 2021 at MCA. Entry is free at the three institutions.
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The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index slipped to 84.6 in September from 85.0 in August
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SYDNEY—Australian consumer confidence fell in September amid concerns about job security as economic growth slows to a crawl.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index slipped 0.5% to 84.6 in September from 85.0 in August.
While cost-of-living pressures are becoming a little less intense and fears of further interest rate rises have eased, consumers are becoming more concerned about where the economy may be headed and what this could mean for jobs, said Westpac’s Head of Australian Macro-Forecasting, Matthew Hassan.
Consumers remain concerned about rising inflation, which is stoking concerns that interest rates may rise further, Hassan added.
The report comes a week after data showed the economy barely registered a pulse in the second quarter as consumer spending dropped sharply.
On-year GDP growth in the second quarter was the weakest since the early 1990s, excluding the pandemic years.
At the same time, the Reserve Bank of Australia continued to signal that interest rate cuts are unlikely in the near term, while adding that under certain circumstances a further hike in interest rates may be needed.
The RBA remains concerned about price growth, with core inflation remaining stubbornly elevated at nearly 4.0% on year in the second quarter.
Still, while consumers are downbeat, economists expect spending to regather momentum over coming quarters as income tax cuts delivered in July boost household budgets.
This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan
Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.
