New England Regional Art Museum (NERAM) is kicking off its 2012 exhibition season with five diverse shows officially opening this Friday evening at 6pm.
The envy of many regional galleries, NERAM’s Hinton Collection explores through the seasons including works from Streeton, Preston, Gruner and Leist. In contrast, prints from Basil Hall Editions in Darwin of Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists depicting the region of East Arnhem Land will also open. Regional artists Margaret Brooks and Christine McMillan present their works from a residency at Draw International in France. Fay Porter’s “Green World’ showcases work from an artist-in-residency at “Bundanoon’ in the Southern Highlands and David Bromley’s paintings and prints tell stories of faraway places and some closer to home.
Director of NERAM, Caroline Downer is excited to be presenting five new exhibitions for 2012 and is expecting a strong turnout for the opening on Friday night.
“We are expecting to run around 30 exhibitions in 2012 with our fabulous permanent collections showcased throughout the year,” said Caroline Downer.
“We are so fortunate in Armidale to have collections of such value and significance in a small town.
“There was an article in The Sydney Morning Herald last weekend and we were featured as the regional gallery that has one of the most valuable collections of Australian art in the country, so that has been really exciting for us.
NERAM is again planning a full programme of art classes and workshops that have proven to be very popular. Kids art classes happen on Tuesdays and Wednesdays after school, with some places still available, and school holiday art classes take place throughout the year. Adult art classes are also available.
“We sare starting to do these special workshops where we get an artist from Sydney to come and look at something really specific,” said Caroline Downer.
“This weekend because of the prints coming from Basil Hall Editions in the Northern Territory, Basil Hall is coming down to run an etching workshop and open our exhibitions.”
NERAM is open Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 5pm and Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm. For more information visit www.neram.com.au or phone 6772 5255.
Story: Jo Harrison
