The curators of 50 Artists: 50 Years, Phillippa Webb and Dr Kim Williams. Photo: UOW.
For the past five decades, the University of Wollongong has built an impressive art collection including works by local, national and internationally recognised artists.
Fifty of those artists are featured in an exhibition – 50 Artists: 50 Years – which celebrates the university’s 50th anniversary celebrations. It’s open to the public until December.
UOW vice-chancellor and president Professor Max Lu said the exhibition celebrated “the heart and soul” of the university.
“Each piece tells a story, and together they reflect generations of artists, educators, students and community members who have shaped the creative identity of this university,” he said.
Co-curated by artist and UOW researcher Dr Kim Williams and UOW Art Collection manager Phillippa Webb, the exhibition highlights the diversity and significance of UOW’s art collection, featuring an array of works that tell stories of people, places, and connections.
One of the highlights is the artwork that started the collection, Ivan Englund’s Port Kembla Landscape, which was presented as a gift by senior chemistry students in 1962, before UOW became an independent institution.
Other more recent works include ceramic pieces by Coomaditchie founding sisters Aunty Lorraine Brown and Aunty Narelle Thomas, as well as works by Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Gloria Petyarre, Paul Ryan and long-term friends and collaborators Diana Wood Conroy and Dr B Marika.
The collection has more than 5000 works, featuring a variety of paintings, prints, sculptures and mixed media by prominent Australian and international artists including Bert Flugelman, Guy Warren and Ian Gentle.
“From the chemistry students donating artworks in the 1960s to thank their science lecturers, to today’s generous donors sharing pieces from their personal collections, we invite the community to explore this exhibition,” Ms Webb said.
“Each artwork and artist tell a vital story connected to UOW and the Illawarra, revealed through artist statements and didactic panels.”
The UOW Gallery is on the ground floor of the Jillian Broadbent Building (building 29) on the western side of the Wollongong campus.
