Gallery displays USC’s collection of Western Desert art
A stunning display of paintings from Australia’s Western Desert has opened at the University of the Sunshine Coast Art Gallery.
The exhibition was officially opened by USC Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Thomas AM on Thursday 3 April and comprises works from the University’s collection.
Some of Australia’s leading Indigenous artists – including Naata Nungurrayi, Ronnie Tjampitjinpa and George Tjungurrayi – are represented in the exhibition which will continue until Saturday 3 May.
USC Gallery Curator Dawn Oelrich said the University had acquired the works since 2001, some as outright gifts from various benefactors and some through the Commonwealth Government’s Cultural Gifts program.
“The work is significant as it is the only public collection of Western Desert art in the region,” she said. “These are mostly large-scale paintings and mostly from the Pintupi language group from Kintore and Kiwirrkura in central Australia.
“The people from the Western Desert represented in the collection have a profound spiritual connection to country, and the works are amazing.”
The gallery received a Regional Art Development Fund (RADF) grant to develop interpretive material and a Schools Education Resource to accompany the collection.
The USC Gallery, located at the University campus on Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs, is open free to the public from 10am to 4pm Monday to Saturday. The Gallery is closed Sundays and public holidays.
The 2008 USC Gallery Exhibition Program is proudly supported by major sponsor Coastline BMW.
— Terry Walsh