What's On at John Curtin Gallery

Lester Prize highlight! 🎨✨
 
Congratulations to first-year Fine Art student Lily Wilson-Nannup, whose portrait ‘My memory of my Lolo’ has been selected as a finalist in the 2026 Lester Prize.
 
A deeply personal work born from Lily’s love for her grandmother, the portrait reflects on memory, family and the enduring influence of an extraordinary Noongar woman.
 
Lily’s grandmother was a printmaker, artist and Curtin University Fine Arts alumna, and is a significant voice in Stolen Generations truth-telling.
 
“She may not look the same as she once was but, in my head, when I look at her, I still see my Lolo.” - Lily Wilson-Nannup
 
Lily describes the fading background of the painting as a suggestion of memory, while placing her grandmother centre stage as a creative, strong, and proud Noongar woman.
 
The 2026 Lester Prize Main Awards exhibition will be presented at WA Museum Boola Bardip from 10 October – 29 November 2026.
 
Congratulations to Lily on this outstanding achievement! 💛

🎨 (Detail) Lily Wilson-Nannup, My memory of Lolo, 2026. Gouache, 53 x 78 cm.
 
#LesterPrize #CurtinFineArt #CurtinUniversity #JohnCurtinGallery #WAArtists

@thelesterprize @wamuseum @curtin.humanities @curtin_mcasi

An electrifying declaration of Aboriginal presence, pride and cultural authority.  👏
 
Presented together at John Curtin Gallery, OA_RR (2016–17) and Initiation OA_RR (2021) combine movement, sound and visual performance to explore ancestry, memory and the ongoing strength of Aboriginal identity.
 
In OA_RR, Rennie drives a hand-painted 1973 Rolls-Royce Corniche across Country, its camouflage design drawing from Kamilaroi diamond patterns. The work reflects on the legacy of colonisation, honouring his grandmother while asserting the continuing presence and resilience of Aboriginal culture.
 
In Initiation OA_RR, a metallic pink Holden Monaro moves through the working-class landscapes of Melbourne’s west, drawing connections between drag-racing culture, personal history and contemporary interpretations of First Peoples’ initiation practices.
 
Together, these works blur the boundaries between street performance and ceremony, transforming cars into symbols of memory, belonging and cultural authority.
 
Reko Rennie: OA_RR is on show at John Curtin Gallery until 23 August.
 
🔗 More info via link in bio!

@curtinbfagrads @rekorennie

JCG has a new four-legged friend! 🐾

It was wonderful to welcome guide dog in training Joy to the Gallery and watch her explore our latest exhibitions by @chris_pease and @rekorennie

Whether you’re visiting on two legs or four, you’re always welcome at John Curtin Gallery. 💛

Thanks for stopping by, Joy—we hope to see you again soon!

@guidedogswa @curtinlifeaustralia

Remembering foremost Western Australian artist Hans Arkeveld 💛

Migrating from Holland in 1952 with his family at the age of 10, Arkeveld schooled until the age of 13, when he embarked on his quest to become an artist.

Arkeveld’s father had been forced to work for the Gestapo (official secret political police force of Nazi Germany), and tales of the war influenced Hans Arkeveld’s interest in humanity, the body, and the ways in which people and science relate.

After being shot down by Ivor Hunt, who told Arkeveld his work was “awful”, he continued to study art anyway, completing his diploma in Fine Art at Perth Technical College and later an Associateship in Fine Art (Sculpture) at WAIT in 1968.

His practice centred on the human body and inner life, explored through sculpture and works on paper. Arkeveld’s sustained study of anatomy – through casting, model making and drawing – led to an intimate understanding of the human form.

Arkeveld became a teacher of Sculpture at the Perth and Claremont Technical Colleges and Anatomical Drawing at UWA. He received the lifetime award from Artsource in 2009, and the University of Western Australian Chancellor’s medal in 2000, for his contributions to anatomical and medical teaching and his contribution to the arts.

Arkeveld kept an active studio on the grounds of UWA for 50 years, drawing in the anatomy department once a week until his passing.

The influence and impact of Hans Arkeveld in the West Australian sculptural and painting scene is undeniable. A craftsman whose interest and application of skill was only outshone by his lifelong passion for learning and teaching.

Our deepest condolences are with his family, friends, colleagues and the many people who had the privilege of knowing him.

📸 - Hans Arkeveld, Foe-Tec, 1982-1983. Photo by Sam Proctor.
📸 - Hans Arkeveld Albany 2006⁠. Image courtesy Mundaringartscentre.

@curtinalumni @lwagallery @curtinbfagrads

Tour Once Known in the heart of Perth CBD! ✨
 
Through the beauty of art and recognition of place and time, these tours will offer a glimpse into the past and remind us of our journey together on a path of reconciliation.
 
Tours will encompass the history of the Old Perth Boys’ School in the context of its colonial history, and highlight the story of the Carrolup Child Artists and the purpose of the Once Known exhibition.
 
➡️ Tours run every Friday, starting 24 July 2026!
11am – 12pm
Free event, registrations encouraged
📍Old Perth Boys’ School (139 St Georges Terrace)
 
Each tour is led by Wajarri Nyarlu/Menang Yok Patricia Ryder, JCG Community Engagement Coordinator.
 
Find out more via the “Once Known” link in our bio! 🔗
 
Proudly supported by: @bfplperth @lotterywest @inside_bhp @colgateuniversity and #navigators
 
The Herbert Mayer Collection of Carrolup Artwork was generously donated for educational and research purposes by Colgate University, Hamilton, New York, USA.
 
#BridgingNowtoNext #OnceKnown #NAIDOC #OldPerthBoysSchool exhibition StolenGeneration CarrolupCarrolupCentreForTruthTelling CarrolupCentre CarrolupArt FirstNations AboriginalArt Noongar Nyungar Indigenous Aboriginal HeritageIdentity Belonging Colonisation CurtinUniversity WesternAustralia JohnCurtinGallery ColgateUniversity alwaywayswas
@perthartlist @universityartmuseumsaustralia @curtinuniversity

Inspired by the work of Christopher Pease, Uninvited Guests invites you to reshape a shared landscape using hand-sculpted introduced animals such as rabbits, sheep and cows.
 
Pease’s practice critically examines representations of Aboriginal people within colonial frameworks, challenging dominant narratives and exposing omissions.
 
As the installation grows, it reflects the lasting environmental and cultural impacts of colonisation, prompting reflection on belonging, Country and First Nations sovereignty.
 
In Christopher Pease’s Flora and Fauna II, Noongar men are posed in a Neo-classical style, echoing early European attempts to render First Nations people familiar within Western artistic traditions. They stand among native and introduced plants and animals.
 
From 1905 to the 1970s, Aboriginal people’s movement, employment, and access to places such as Perth were strictly regulated through permits and curfews, and they were denied full citizenship rights until the 1967 referendum.
 
Set against this context, Pease contrasts lived experience with the widespread production of decorative objects that romanticised the “noble savage.”
 
➡️ Explore more of Pease’s work and create your own air-dry clay animal at Terra Nullius, on show until 23 August.
 
@perthartlist @universityartmuseumsaustralia @curtinlifeaustralia@curtinalumni @curtinuniversity @perth.art.seeker @gallerysmith @chris_pease
 
Artwork: Christopher Pease, Flora with Fauna II, 2014 oil on canvas, 70 x 43 cm, Curtin University Art Collection. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Christopher Pease, 2015.

We`re open every Sunday! 🙂‍↕️

Why not come see our latest exhibitions from leading Minang/Wardandi/Bibbulmun Noongar artist @chris_pease and celebrated Kamilaroi/Gamilaroi artist @rekorennie.

Christopher Pease: Terra Nullius draws from museum archives and 19th-century colonial landscape painting, Pease reworks images that once framed Western Australia as empty and available for settlement, reinscribing Indigenous presence into landscapes through bold Noongar iconography.

Reko Rennie: OA_RR uses hand-painted cars, circular burnouts, and immersive soundscapes, to transform both desert and docklands into charged terrains of memory – declaring continuous Aboriginal presence, pride, and cultural authority.

John Curtin Gallery is free to the public and open Sundays 12pm - 4pm.

Explore sovereignty, resilience, and enduring connection to Country. 💛✨

🗓️ Exhibitions Open: 29 May - 23 August 2026

@perthartlist @universityartmuseumsaustralia @curtinlifeaustralia @curtinalumni @curtinuniversity @perth.art.seeker @gallerysmith_ @curtinbfagrads

Celebrating 50 years of NAIDOC Week. 💛✨

Through art, conversations and cultural experiences, at JCG we honour the voices, stories and creative expression of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Elders, artists and cultural leaders whose creativity and resilience inspire and strengthen communities.

➡️ Documentary screening: Join us for a special NAIDOC Week screening of Ngaluk Waangkiny, followed by a conversation with Pop Ben Taylor Cuiermara AM (Noongar Yued) and Michelle White (Yamatji), Executive Producer, Community Arts Network.

➡️ Resilience Through Practice: This NAIDOC Week discussion will explore resilience through creative practice, join Nhanda Yamatji and Noongar man Glenn Iseger-Pilkington in conversation with First Nations artists Robyn Jean, Wendy Hayden and Brett Nannup.

➡️ 50 Years of NAIDOC Panel Talk: Set within Once Known, this discussion will explore the evolution of NAIDOC Week as a platform for advocacy, celebration and truth-telling, and consider its connections to the Carrolup story.

🔗 Find out more and register via the link in bio or at https://www.curtin.edu.au/jcg/explore/events/

@communityartsnetwork @curtinlifeaustralia @naidocweek