PHOTO 2020 announces participating commercial galleries and Artist Run Initiatives
29.11.19
PHOTO 2020 will showcase the full potential of Melbourne’s creative community with the announcement of the participation of commercial galleries and Artist Run Initiatives (ARIs) as exhibition partners.
Grace Wood, A Weird Kind Of Fiction-Consumption, LON Gallery, 2019. Image courtesy of LON Gallery.
Lauren Dunn, Fruit & Veg & Parodies, LON Gallery, 2019. Image courtesy of Artdocumentation.com.au.
For PHOTO 2020 Artistic Director, Elias Redstone, the decision to engage with commercial galleries and ARIs is crucial in connecting with and celebrating Melbourne’s thriving arts community.
“Commercial galleries and ARIs will bring an important perspective to the overall artistic program for PHOTO 2020. These galleries and artist-run spaces will be premiering new work by established and emerging Australian artists, and exhibiting international artists in Australia for the first time,” says Elias Redstone.
PHOTO 2020 exhibitions will be held at ARC ONE, CAVES, Daine Singer, Le Space, LON, MARS, Sarah Scout Presents, SEVENTH Gallery, Sophie Gannon Gallery, Sutton Gallery, THIS IS NO FANTASY and Tolarno Galleries. These galleries join a host of cultural institutions, museums, public galleries and universities to shine a beacon on Melbourne as a global centre for photography.
For Adam Stone, Director of LON, a gallery based in Collingwood that primarily supports emerging artists, PHOTO 2020 is a great way for the gallery to expand their audiences. Stone says, “one of the main ambitions of the gallery is to connect emerging artists making contemporary art with the wider art-going and general public. Events and festivals such as PHOTO 2020 provide a platform to reach a broader audience than the gallery’s primary community, which is exciting for us as we look forward to connecting and sharing our program with this new audience.”
Murray Fredericks, Array exhibition, ARC ONE, 2019. Image by Andrew Curtis
Murray Fredericks, Array exhibition, ARC ONE, 2019. Image by Andrew Curtis
Fran Clark, Director of ARC ONE, a commercial gallery based in Melbourne’s CBD, believes that being part of the Festival is the perfect opportunity for the gallery to showcase new work. “We are excited about ARC ONE Gallery being part of the first PHOTO 2020 International Festival of Photography because photo-media has been a significant part of our gallery program for nearly 20 years and presenting Pat Brassington, a major player in terms of contemporary art and a leader in resetting common notions of photography, is always very exciting ” Clark says.
All exhibitions at commercial galleries and ARIs – and throughout the PHOTO 2020 program – will explore the relationship between photography and truth.
“Interrogating the idea of truth in a post-truth era is vital to crystalising our intent and purpose as members of society,” says artist and founder of Le Space, Ying Ang. “Photography is a democratic language that crosses geographical borders that is uniquely suited to this, given its fraught relationship with disseminating fact vs fiction.”
Likewise, Jan Minchin, Director of Tolarno Galleries, will be showcasing challenging new work at the forefront of contemporary photographic practice. She says, “it’s thrilling to be joining hands with PHOTO 2020 to premiere a brilliant new series by Justine Varga, a rising star who always makes us think about what a photograph can be.”
The full exhibition program will be announced in March 2020.
Rosemary Laing, Buddens exhibition, Tolarno Galleries, 2018. Image by Andrew Curtis.