EXHIBITIONS DATES | Friday 10 July – Sunday 18 October
On Friday 10 July PICA will re-open its doors with the much loved Hatched: National Graduate Show. In this, its 29th edition, the work of 24 recent visual arts graduates from every State and Territory will be presented across all of PICA’s gallery spaces, providing an instant snapshot of the nation’s emerging contemporary art trends.
An enduring institution and a key event in PICA’s ongoing commitment to supporting the careers of Australia’s most promising emerging artists, Hatched will run until Sunday 18 October. The 14-week exhibition is the longest in the exhibition’s history. For the eleventh consecutive year, the Schenberg Art Fellowship, now worth $50,000 and the most generous prize for emerging artists of its kind in Australia, will be awarded to one exceptional artist, this year presented at a special celebratory event towards the end of the exhibition.
From questions of identity to political protest and media consumption, the innovative and exciting range of practices presented in Hatched tell the story of contemporary Australian culture whilst showcasing the future directions of arts practice.
For this year’s Hatched, fifty-six students were nominated by 20 tertiary art schools nationally, with the final selection made by a panel of artists and arts professionals from around Australia, including: Nathan Beard, Artist; Hannah Presley, Curator Indigenous Art, National Gallery of Victoria; and Megan Monte, Director Cement Fondu, Sydney.
Countless leading Australian artists, including David Noonan, Lynette Walworth, Shaun Gladwell, Julie Dowling, Nick Mangan, Julie Gough, Khaled Sabsabi, Ramesh Nithivendran and Curtis Taylor have exhibited their work in Hatched.
Hatched 2020 artists include Jody Rallah, a descendent of the Biri Gubba, Warangu and Yuggera peoples whose large-scale installation of 250 ceramic coolamons (Indigenous cultural vessels) has been produced through a community-based practice. Michelle Vine’s interest in the sense of touch grew from her lived experience of chronic illness and her Hatched works offer a reimagining of common household objects as tools for self-soothing. WA artist Siahne Rogers presents a creative response to their grandfather’s fantastical biography as the founder of the iconic Fast Eddy’s restaurant empire in Perth.
“We are delighted to be re-opening with Hatched, without doubt one of our most popular shows. While COVID has created some additional challenges for us, it has also opened up opportunities for us to be engaging with artists and audiences at a distance through digital platforms,” says PICA Director Amy Barrett-Lennard. “We hope to support more artists through our professional development program and reach more audiences than ever with this year’s Hatched.”
To further extend the reach of Hatched in this time of travel and social restrictions, PICA has introduced a range of digital initiatives, including a virtual guided tour of the exhibition for those who can’t visit and online artist-created activities for those who like to get creative at home. There
will be regular Hatched artist interviews released throughout the coming months across PICA’s social media channels, in a mix of written, video and audio formats.
For the first time, the Hatched catalogue will be available digitally for free. The printed catalogue will be released in late July, featuring new images from the installation at PICA.
Once again PICA plans to offer an interstate Hatched artist the opportunity to undertake a residency in partnership with North Metropolitan TAFE, with timing to be determined once travel restrictions have been lifted.
Hatched Curatorial Fellow Miranda Johnson has been instrumental in the planning, administration and delivery of Hatched. The exhibition and two year curatorial fellowship are supported by the Minderoo Foundation.
Selected artists
Ohni Blu (NSW), L.A.K.R.M. Bruce (NSW), Ella Callander (QLD), Olivia Davies (VIC), Saleheh Gholami (WA), Rory Gillen (ACT), Alexandra Hobba (VIC), Emma Rani Hodges (ACT), Annie Huang (WA), Emma Hutton (QLD), Alexandra Jonscher (NSW), Nina Juniper (WA), Daniel Kristjansson (WA), Luci Lee (NT), Patrick McDavitt (NSW), Brooke Mitchell (SA), Philip Sulidae (TAS), Jody Rallah (QLD), Siahne Rogers (WA), Rachel AV Sherwood (NSW), Tina Stefanou (VIC), Truc Truong (SA), Michelle Vine (QLD), Keemon Williams (QLD).
MEDIA ENQUIRIES
For all media enquiries please contact Tracy Routledge, Publicist via tracy@trpr.com.au or 0412 223 221.
High resolution images available here.
ABOUT PICA
The Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) is one of Australia’s leading centres for the development and presentation of contemporary art.
Housed in a striking heritage building in the heart of Perth, PICA is the city’s focal point for those wishing to experience the best of Australian and international visual, performance and interdisciplinary art.
Image: by Jody Rallah, 250 Years (The Coolamon Project), 2019. Photo by Andrew Willis.
