Wollongong Lord Mayor Tania Brown and Wollongong Art Gallery director Daniel Mudie Cunningham were excited to unveil the 2025 exhibition program. Photo: Wollongong City Council.
Imaginative and innovative installations by Illawarra artists will be among the works showcased at Wollongong Art Gallery in 2025 as part of the inaugural program carefully curated by the venue’s new director.
Wollongong Art Gallery director Daniel Mudie Cunningham, who started in the role last year, has unveiled the 10-exhibition program kicking off this month, which includes a diverse range of themes, styles and artists to engage the local community and visitors to the region.
“I wanted to ensure what was on offer was exciting, engaging and would spark conversations and encourage everyone in our community to regularly visit the gallery,” Daniel said.
“I’ve worked to strike a balance between exhibitions that will challenge visitors to think and others that will shine a different light on what it means to have a connection to Wollongong.”
Daniel said it was a priority for him to provide an exhibition space for local artists, with many contributors based either in the Illawarra and South Coast, or with strong connections to the region featuring alongside touring exhibitions.
“I’m delighted that we’ll be welcoming the touring exhibition Restless Legs by Mitch Cairnes from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, while also exhibiting Dream Vitrine by New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based artist Patrick Pound,” he said.
“It’s fantastic that our community can be exposed to such talented artists – for free – at Wollongong Art Gallery.”
“I consider it a real honour that we’re going to be showing their work here.”
Wollongong City Council Lord Mayor Tania Brown said the offerings at the gallery were sure to excite the Illawarra passionate creative community.
“The gallery is such a beautiful space and we’re very fortunate to have such an eclectic program for 2025,” she said.
“The exhibitions are held in conjunction with other programming and activities like our popular tours and school holiday workshops, so there’s a real buzz in the space right now.”
That diversity of offerings to connect with a broad local audience was a focus for Daniel.
“It’s really important to me that the gallery offers a wide range of exhibitions and provides people with different opportunities to engage in the creative arts.”
Capping off the season will be the return of the Wollongong Art Prize.
The competition, which dates back to 1956 and previously focused on works in watercolour, has been reimagined to welcome artists working in all mediums.
“Watercolour is a wonderful and important medium in art history and contemporary practice, but by opening up our prize to consider other mediums, we’re going to see a diverse range of participants,” Daniel said.
“That really excites me as a curator as this will be an exhibition that is really led by those who participate.
“There’s also a very impressive prize pool totaling $32,000.”
More information on the prize and how to enter is expected to be revealed in coming months.
The first exhibition of the program, Rise and Fall by Karla Dickens starts on 15 March and explores the climate crisis from a First Nations perspective. For more information on the gallery’s 2025 program visit the Wollongong Art Gallery website.
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