In 2024, Ipswich Art Gallery will mark 25 years since its launch in 1999. Rebranded as Global Arts Link, the gallery ushered in the 21st century with a strong focus on exploring culture and community, embracing the expanded role that technology could play in growing and enriching the cultural life of the region.
25 years on, connection to culture is still at the heart of Ipswich Art Gallery’s programming. Over the years the Ipswich Art Gallery Collection has grown and evolved through astute acquisitions and generous donations and currently houses approximately 3,000 works which encompass heritage objects and visual art – both contemporary and historic.
Art collections serve as repositories of cultural heritage, sources of education and inspiration, catalysts for creativity, and contributors to societal development and enrichment. They have both intrinsic and practical value, and their existence contributes to the vibrant cultural tapestry of humanity.
The works selected for this exhibition are recent acquisitions from the past 12–18 months that reflect conversations occurring in our community. They speak to the environment, connection to culture and the hope for a bright future. First Nations perspectives and voices feature prominently in these recent additions to the Ipswich Art Gallery Collection. In so selecting these works, we hope to have captured some of the conversations of our time.
Featured works:
Davida Allen, Lincoln Austin, Leonard Brown, Elisa Jane Carmichael, Michael Cook, Gerwyn Davies, Marian Drew, Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro, Bill Henson, Kenneth Macqueen, Deb Mostert, Bruce Reynolds, Vincent Sheldon, and John Wolseley.
Image: Elisa Jane Carmichael – Fish Net Cape 2017 | Ghost net and plastic bags, Ipswich Art Gallery Collection, 2023. Photographed by Mick Richards. Image courtesy of the artist and Onespace Gallery.
