Djeran-Makuru: The Noongar season Djeran lasts from April to May and marks the time of year when the weather begins to cool. It is a season of red flowers, dewy mornings and cooling nights. From June to July, Makuru arrives, bringing with it rain and cold weather. Waterways and catchments fill, and animals can be seen preparing for breeding season.

Foregrounding a new generation of artistic voices, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) has today announced its Djeran-Makuru Season program, headlined by its flagship annual exhibition Hatched: National Graduate Show. Now in its 32nd year, Hatched showcases work from the most exciting emerging artists from across the nation. In 2023, 26 graduates from 21 art schools have been named as participants in PICA’s most eagerly anticipated annual celebration of emerging artists, open from 13 May to 23 July 2023. 

A vital platform for early-career artists, Hatched is Australia’s only national survey of recent art school graduates and offers a critical insight into the latest developments in contemporary arts thinking and practice. Since its inception over three decades ago, Hatched has presented some of Australia’s most celebrated contemporary artists of today, with alumni including Shaun Gladwell, Julie Gough, Ramesh Nithiyendran, Raquel Ormella and Khaled Sabsabi.

Hatched 2023 presents a dynamic and diverse group of socially conscious and politically charged emerging artists. A powerful reflection of today’s Australia; the work of these artists responds to social and political movements, cultural identity and familial histories, and seeks to reconnect with language and traditional techniques.

“Over the past three decades, Hatched has played a major role in defining Australia’s emerging art scene” says Hannah Mathews, PICA’s Director/CEO. “Artists from Hatched have gone on to national and international success; their practices expanding far beyond the ideas and concepts they once presented in PICA’s galleries. 

“In 2023, we’re pleased to see Hatched reflect the diversity of Australia, making space for artists across a range of generations, cultures and backgrounds. PICA’s visitors are diverse and it’s important that this representation is reflected in our cultural institutions.”

PICA is thrilled to present the Hatched 2023 artists:

Jingxuan Chen (VIC) 
Katherine Douglas (VIC) 
Shani Engelbrecht (SA) 
Matthew Freeman (ACT) 
Mitchel Davis (NSW) 
Adam Hsieh (TAS) 
Isaac Huggins (WA) 
Anna May Kirk (NSW) 
Charles Levi (NSW) 
Ivy Minniecon (QLD) 
Nathan Nhan (ACT) 
Emily Norton (VIC) 
Shana O’Brien (NSW) 
Agatha Okon (WA) 
Bryce Olsen (WA) 
William O’Toole (NSW) 
Soile Paloheimo (VIC) 
Alexandra Peters (VIC) 
Khashayar Salmanzadeh (WA)  
Marian Sandberg (SA) 
Paean Sarkar (QLD) 
Chris Siu (SA) 
Blair Walsh (VIC) 
Alexander Whitlam (NSW) 
Jayda Wilson (SA) 
Nicole Zhang (NSW) 

The exhibition presents a wide range of artistic languages including video, textiles, quilting, jewellery, photography, sculpture, technology, printmaking, painting, drawing and ceramics. 

Celebrating ideas of identity, culture and language, Iranian-born portrait painter, Khashayar Salmanzadeh (WA) explores the teachings of the Bahá’í faith, spirituality and love. Multidisciplinary artist Shani Engelbrecht (SA) shares her experiences growing up in Australia caught between her German-Australian/Fijian Indian heritage. Jayda Wilson (SA) focuses on the connection between language and identity, culturally grounding themselves through the Gugada and Wirangu Manda languages. Proud Yalanji woman Ivy Minniecon (QLD) sustains her connection to First Nations culture through the ongoing practice of weaving, using natural fibres gathered on Country. 

Social and political movements also feature within Hatched 2023. Matthew Freeman (ACT) responds to global protests by creating jewellery and makeshift devices that could aid the wearer during a riot. Referencing the global memorial project, the NAMES Project: AIDS Memorial Quilt, textile and installation artist Charles Levi (NSW) creates a documented record of queer experiential narratives. Painter and mixed-media artist Katherine Douglas (VIC) voices her concern over the climate emergency and surge towards the extinction of many plant and animal species. And painter William O’Toole (NSW) examines the complex relationship between sustainability, technology and consumerism as it plays out within Australian suburbia.

This year’s Hatched selection panel of industry leaders included Archie Barry (artist, Melbourne), Glenn Iseger-Pilkington (curator, Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth) and Hannah Mathews (Director/CEO, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts) who assessed 59 applications from 21 art schools across Australia.

In 2023, PICA will again announce three recipients of the Schenberg Awards. Marking 14 years since its inauguration, the Dr Harold Schenberg Art Fellowship, a major award of $35,000 – the largest prize for an emerging artist in Australia – will be given to a participating Hatched artist to invest in their career. Further prizes will be awarded to recognise the work of two additional artists and encourage the development of their practices – the Schenberg Art High Commendation of $10,000 and the Schenberg Art Commendation of $5,000. 

PICA is pleased to be working with The University of Western Australia on these significant awards for emerging artists, made possible by funds bequeathed to The University of Western Australia by Dr Harold Schenberg. The 2023 recipients will be announced at the opening night on Friday 12 May.

Hatched Curatorial Fellow, Brent Harrison says, “Hatched holds an important place in the arts ecosystem – elevating emerging artists onto a national stage. It’s a privilege to be working with artists at this formative point in their careers as they present their work at PICA. Each of the artists in this year’s exhibition have incredibly strong practices that are a culmination of years of hard work and experimentation. Hatched 2023 is sure to be only the first of many wonderful opportunities in their artistic careers.”

As part of Hatched, PICA also offers a studio residency to two interstate and one Perth-based Hatched artist every year, and for 2023 Jayda Wilson from University of South Australia (SA), Alexander Peters from Monash University (VIC) and Bryce Olsen from North Metropolitan TAFE (WA) have been selected. Each residency runs for five weeks from the opening week of the exhibition and is an opportunity for the selected artists to develop or research new work in Perth while considering the trajectory of their wider practice. 

Hatched is made possible by Major Exhibition Partner the Minderoo Foundation, Grace Fine Art and the generosity of PICA’s Art1000 Donors. 

“Minderoo’s long-standing support for the Hatched Curatorial Fellow showcases Perth as a vital place for emerging artists while also developing key training opportunities,” says Ella McNeill, Director of Minderoo’s Arts & Culture initiative. “We are excited by the talent, passion and vision Brent Harrison is amplifying for WA’s arts sector through the Hatched: National Graduate Show 2023, which empowers young diverse artists from across Australia to experiment with new forms, grow their skills and experiences, and share their extraordinary work with us all.”

PICA’s Djeran-Makuru Season will also see Marrugeku (WA) – Australia’s leading Indigenous intercultural dance theatre company – return to Perth with the world premiere of Burrbgaja Yalirra 2. This powerful triple bill traces histories of migration, adaptation and survival in two fiercely physical dance solos and an awe-inspiring duo, each exploring the presence of ancestors in contemporary life, in PICA’s Performance Space from 17 to 20 May.   

Burrbgaja Yalirra – Triple Bill 2 marks PICA and Marrugeku’s second collaboration, following the successful 2018 premiere of their Burrbgaja Yalirra 1 in Broome and Perth. With artistic direction by Dalisa Pigram (WA) and Rachael Swain (NSW), Burrbgaja Yalirra – Triple Bill 2 performers include Emmanuel James Brown (WA), Bhenji Ra (NSW), Czack (Ses) Bero (WA), and Stanley Nalo (New Caledonia). 

Burrbgaja Yalirra 2 is commissioned by PICA, Carriageworks and Centre Culturel Tjibaou Nouméa; with support from PICA’s Art Commissioners and Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation. 

Please join us: for our Djeran-Makuru Season Launch & Hatched 2023 outdoor celebration on Friday 12 May, 6:30pm.