Experience Songlines 🌀🎶
 
Commissioned for Curtin University’s Geodesic Dome renovations, Songlines is a new immersive artwork by artist team Jahne Rees and Sharyn Egan.
 
Responding to the intersecting Djiridji (Zamia) and Kujal Kela (Twin Dolphin) Songlines, the installation weaves together sculptural elements, original songs in Noongar, and soundscapes recorded on Country to create a multi-sensory journey through place, language and cultural knowledge.
 
Visitors are invited to follow the circular pathways, moving through the space in rhythm with the songs and stories embedded within the work.
 
The Artists ✨
 
Jahne Rees (@scapeism) is a Western Australian artist working across sculpture and public art. Jahne’s company, Scape-ism has been predominantly working with public art commissions over the last 25 years.
 
Sharyn Egan (@sharyn_egan) is a Nyoongar artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans sculpture, textiles and public art. Her work draws on cultural knowledge, storytelling and connection to Country, often referencing traditional materials and processes.
 
Songlines, 2026. Jahne Rees and Sharyn Egan with Boomerang and Spear (Kylie and Clint Bracknell). Curtin University Art Collection. Image courtesy Soco Studios, photos by Alex Verhagen
 
@curtinuniversity @johncurtingallery @scapeism @sharyn_egan @boomerang_and_spear @signals_sound_laboratory @apparatus.art.culture
@iredalepedersenhook @aspectstudios @shape_aus @socostudios_ @_cole.baxter @cassandraedwards_ @curtin_exchange @curtinsports

Sit, pause and observe, join the Art of Slow Looking Tour on Thursday 25 June. 😌
 
Let JCG Education Coordinator Mel Macauley take you on a Slow Looking tour through the Gallery’s current exhibitions, Christopher Pease: Terra Nullius and Reko Rennie: OA_RR.
 
Through mindful observation and reflection, participants are invited to slow down, connect more deeply with the artworks, and share their insights over tea and coffee following the tour. ✨
 
📅 Thursday 25 June
📍 John Curtin Gallery (building 200A) 
Free event, open to the public.
🔗 Register via the link in bio!
 
See you there! 💛
 
📸 – Marnie Richardson

@universityartmuseumsaustralia @perthartlist @__melmacaulay__ @chris_pease @rekorennie @curtinlifeaustralia

How can art inspire action? 🤔

Join us for Dare to Advocate: Terra Nullius, an evening of art, conversation and reflection inspired by Christopher Pease: Terra Nullius. Through a guided tour of the exhibition and facilitated discussions, participants will explore themes of sovereignty, justice, and connection to Country, considering the many ways advocacy can take shape in our communities.

Following the tour, Curtin’s Senior Advisor for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, Sheldon Smith, will lead a facilitated session on advocacy and its many forms, with small breakout discussions hosted by university and community leaders across key social justice areas. Whether you`re already advocating for change or looking for ways to get involved, this is an opportunity to connect, learn, and reflect alongside others. 💛

📅 Thursday 18 June
📍 John Curtin Gallery Free event – All welcome.
🔗 Register via the link in bio!

Part of the Daring Series in partnership with Curtin University Advancement, under the Because They Dare annual appeal.

🖼️ Christopher Pease, Terra Nullius, 2022, oil on linen, 150 x 228 cm. Collection of Tim and Chris Ungar. Courtesy of the artist and Gallerysmith. Photography by Andrew Curtis.

Once Known is proudly supported by: @bfplperth @lotterywest @inside_bhp @colgateuniversity and #navigators @curtinuniversity @chris_pease #JohnCurtinGallery #OnceKnown #TruthTelling #Advocacy #PerthEvents

The 2026 National Reconciliation Week theme `All In` is a call to move beyond the sidelines and take part in reconciliation through our actions, conversations and commitment to a shared future.

Exhibitions and events across the gallery invite reflection, conversation and connection.👇

➡️ Explore Longing and Hope, curated by Curtin Fine Art students.

➡️ Take a guided tour through the Once Known exhibition.

➡️ Join artist Christopher Pease and Curator Lia McKnight as they discuss his latest survey exhibition Terra Nullius.

Reconciliation will not happen by itself, and it will not happen without all of us. 💛

🔗 Event information via link in bio.

@mioangela @rubycason.zip @brandon.clarke29 @zalimorganart @curtinbfagrads @curtinalumni @bfplperth @lotterywest @colgateuniversity @perthartlist @universityartmuseumsaustralia @curtinlifeaustralia @curtinalumni @curtinuniversity @perth.art.seeker @chris_pease

The artwork for the 2026 National Reconciliation Week campaign is by renowned Gumbaynggirr/Bundjalung artist Otis Hope Carey, who applied his distinctive style to create a colourful and optimistic visual representation of people from all walks of life being ‘all in’ to make change.

To look back is not merely an exercise in retrospection; it is a necessary step in understanding the present and shaping more than just the future. 
 
Experience Longing and Hope from 29 May to 23 August at John Curtin Gallery. 🙌
 
Curated by Curtin University Fine Art students Brandon Clarke, Ruby Cason and Mio Gadon, the exhibition explores the legacy of the Carrolup child artists through works that speak to resilience, creativity and connection to Country.
 
Responding to the 2026 National Reconciliation Week theme, All In, Longing and Hope invites visitors to reflect on truth-telling, remembrance and our shared role in reconciliation. 💛
 
📍 John Curtin Gallery, free open to the public
📅 29 May – 23 August 2026
🔗Find out more via the link in bio!
 
@mioangela @rubycason.zip @brandon.clarke29 @zalimorganart @curtinbfagrads @curtinalumni @bfplperth @lotterywest @colgateuniversity

Install on film! ✌️✨

A sneak peak at the JCG install team working their magic in preparation for our Djeran – Djilba season exhibitions.

We can`t wait to share new large-scale works from @chris_pease and two major multi-channel video works by @rekorennie.

Christopher Pease: Terra Nullius and Reko Rennie: OA_RR open Friday 29 May! 👀

Find out more via link in bio 🔗

Artist Talk Sunday 31 May 🗣️
 
Join Minang/Wardandi/Bibbulmun artist Christopher Pease and JCG Curator Lia McKnight as they discuss Pease’s survey exhibition Terra Nullius.
 
Drawing from museum archives and 19th-century colonial landscape painting, this exhibition powerfully transforms a colonial fiction of “nobody’s land”. Pease reworks images that once framed Western Australia as empty and available for settlement, reinscribing Indigenous presence into landscapes through bold Noongar iconography.
 
Exhibition on show at John Curtin Gallery from 29 May – 23 August. ✨

📆- Sunday 31 May
⏰- 2pm – 3pm
📍- John Curtin Gallery
 
RSVP via link in bio 🔗
 
@chris_pease @lia_mcknight

🎨 – Portrait of Christopher Pease by Russell Ord. Christopher Pease, The Whalers 3, oil on linen, 150 x 180 cm. Image courtesy artist and GallerySmith. Photo by Russel Ord.

Join us as we welcome our latest exhibitions on Thursday 28 May 💛
 
Featuring new large-scale works from @chris_pease and two major multi-channel video works by @rekorennie !
 
We will also be welcoming Longing and Hope, an exhibition of Carrolup artworks curated by Curtin Fine Art students. 👏 @curtinbfagrads
 
Thursday 28 May 2026
5:30pm – 7:30pm
Free event, open to the public, complimentary refreshments provided.
 
🔗 RSVP link in bio!
 
➡️  Christopher Pease: Terra Nullius transforms a legal fiction of dispossession into a vivid assertion of Noongar sovereignty, resilience, and enduring connection to Country.
 
➡️ Reko Rennie: OA_RR blends urban car culture, ancestral motifs, and personal memory into bold, cinematic experiences.
 
See you there! ✨
 
🗓️ Exhibition Open: 29 May – 23 August 2026

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