Vision Splendid: Highlights from the University of Wollongong Art Collection

22 April 2023 to 18 June 2023

_{Image: Noel McKenna, Homes, Mt Kiera, 2002, ink, pencil and watercolour on paper, University of Wollongong Art Collection.}

Curated by Hazelhurst Arts Centre Vision Splendid: Highlights from the University of Wollongong Art Collection featured works from UOW’s extensive art collection of over 5,000 works.

Predominantly a collection of Australian artworks created from the 1960s onwards the UOW Art Collection includes paintings, prints, ceramics and textiles by leading Australian artists.

The UOW Art Collection was formalised in the late 1980s. In 1983 the visual arts presence at UOW gained focus when Edward Cowie took leadership of the newly formed School of the Creative Arts. He had what he described as a ‘vision splendid’ for an art school that was interdisciplinary.

Over the years the dedicated collection curators have focused on creative practices and social issues through the various decades of collecting and this, along with collection priorities and the history of the university, are reflected in the collection.

The collection has grown in tandem with UOW’s expansion and provides a significant opportunity for students, professional and academic staff, to access and engage with contemporary art.

Significant artists include Arthur Boyd, Colin Lanceley, James Gleeson, Lindy Lee, Lloyd Rees, Joan Noel McKenna, Ben Quilty, and Guy Warren. A particular strength of the collection is contemporary Indigenous art including works by Destiny Deacon, Tracey Moffatt, Lily Karadada, Marrnyula Mununggurr, Queenie McKenzie, Judy Watson and Emily Kame Kngwarreye.

Aside from a focus on artworks of regional and national significance, the collection has also collected works by many of the artists who have worked at the university such as sculptor Bert Flugelman, ceramicist Alan Peascod, photo media artist Jacky Redgate and painter Jelle van den Berg.