Local Artists Announced as part of the 2021-2022 Open Call Program

Each year, Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA) makes space for artists from the Murray region or artists creating works about the Murray region through an annual Open Call.

Through a competitive application process, artists are selected by a panel to hold an exhibition at MAMA.

In 2019, some our most loved exhibitions came from this program, including Wiradjuri artist Bethany Thornber’s Parks and Wreck, Chiltern artist and Susan Moorhead Memorial Award recipient Beth Peters’ REST, the sculptural contributions by North East artist Linda Lees in Curves and Crisp Edges, and the exploration of grief and loss by Rutherglen artist Glenda Mackay in Detritus: A Journey Through Memory and Loss

In 2020, the global pandemic and associated outbreak regulations implemented across the border region placed uncertainty in MAMA’s ability to safely produce the intended exhibition program which included selected artists from the 2019 Open Call. In response, MAMA rescheduled the following exhibitions for the beginning of 2021; a selection of black and white photographs by the late artist Olive Rose Odewahn presented by local established artist Catherine H Rodgers, new work by Albury artist Barbara Strand and new installations by Wodonga sculptor Ken Raff.

MAMA continues to support and champion artists within the Albury Wodonga region, with a further 9 artists having been selected for the forward program.

As a result of the 2020 Open Call, the artists selected to exhibit at MAMA in 2021 include Riverina-based artist Julia Roche’s series of abstract landscapes created by exposure to outside elements; a sculptural piece by Albury-born Trevor Orford inspired by landscape artist J.M.W. Turner and Chiltern-based artist Kirrily Anderson’s ink drawings reflecting on the local environment and the bushfires that have affected the Upper Murray and Alpine regions.

The 2022 program continues with Fijian-Indian-Australian artist Shivanjani Lal highlighting the importance of rivers and how they connect communities; a textural installation by Stanley-based artist Mary-Rose Riley exploring the process of healing and a series of sculptural assemblages responding to the granite outcrops of Beechworth to the flows of the Murray River by Beechworth artist Julianne Piko.

Sydney artist Otis Burian Hodge will present an archive of photographs which document regular childhood family trips to visit his grandmother who migrated to Albury in 1953; an environmental project by Albury artist Vicki Luke will reflect on the endangered lives of the Sloane’s froglet in the local area and Gillian Kayrooz, an artist from Western Sydney, will present a photo-media exhibition capturing local spaces that display the influence and evolution of the migrant experience in Albury Wodonga.

Exhibiting artists will also be invited to give talks, workshops, tours and performances to augment their exhibition, and give the community an opportunity to engage directly with the artists.

MAMA is committed to supporting and working with artists from the Murray region by providing opportunities for career expansion and artistic growth, believing in the power of art and artists to inspire, challenge, and strengthen our community.