Carriageworks, Australia’s largest and most significant contemporary multi-arts centre, will reopen to the public on Friday 7 August 2020. Visitors will be offered free access to a range of visual art installations by leading Australian and international artists, including eight new commissions as part of the 22nd Biennale of Sydney, a major exhibition by Giselle Stanborough and public art work by Reko Rennie.
The weekly Carriageworks Farmers Market also resumes from Saturday 8 August, providing the freshest seasonal produce from the best growers and producers from around NSW. Strict health and safety measures will be in place at the Carriageworks Farmers Market and they will continue to operate as a strict shop-and-go service for the community.
Carriageworks CEO Blair French said: ‘The future of Carriageworks has been secured thanks to extraordinary support from a group of donors and commitment to providing a long-term precinct lease from the NSW Government. The impact of our closure has been felt across a wide range of communities. We are now excited to welcome the public back to Carriageworks to reconnect with and support producers from across the state through the much loved weekly Carriageworks Farmers Market as well as to experience powerful works by Australian and international artists.’
Cinopticon, a major new installation by Australian artist Giselle Stanborough, will be physically unveiled to the public for the first time, following its installation in March 2020. In the physical exhibition, the artist uses searchlights, sculptural forms, colossal wall diagrams and mirrored digital surfaces to reflect the performative experience of social media platforms. As the subject and object of her own system of visual scrutiny, Stanborough is the ghost in her own machine. Cinopticon was commissioned by Carriageworks as part of Suspended Moment: The Katthy Cavaliere Fellowship that awarded $100,000 to each of the three female artists to present new work concurrently at Carriageworks, Mona and ACCA.
Carriageworks will present eight new commissions as part of the 22nd Biennale of Sydney that were created especially for the exhibition titled NIRIN and curated by Indigenous Australian artist Brook Andrew. The artists that will be presented at Carriageworks as part of NIRIN are: Tony Albert (Australia), Hannah Catherine Jones (UK), Randy Lee Cutler (Canada) and Andrew Rewald (Australia), Iltja Ntjarra (Many Hands) Art Centre (Australia), MzRizk (Australia), Teresa Margolles (Mexico), Adrift Lab (Australia) and Trent Walter and Stuart Geddes (Australia). These works were initially exhibited at the National Art School for 10 days, prior to the temporary closure of museums and galleries in March due to COVID-19.
Kamilaroi artist Reko Rennie’s large-scale public artwork REMEMBER BE will continue to be presented at Carriageworks, following its installation earlier this year. With this work located at the entrance to Carriageworks and spanning some 25 meters in length and 5 meters tall, Rennie has created a present-day memorial in recognition of the frontier wars, the massacres and the survival of the original sovereigns of this country – the Aboriginal people of Australia.
Carriageworks Opening Hours: Wednesday – Sunday, 10am – 5pm (from 7 August)
Farmers Market: Saturday 8am – 1pm (from 8 August)
Carriageworks is implementing the physical distancing, capacity limits and increased hygiene measures outlined by the NSW Government.
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