What's on at Griffith Regional Art Gallery

The gallery celebrated the 2024 calendar on February 9 at the Errol Fielder exhibition, with around 50 coming out to get the first peek at the gallery's calendar.

Gallery co-ordinator Ray Wholohan said he was especially excited for the Lost in Palm Springs exhibition.

"There's a lot of interesting things about Palm Springs ... They were a soldier/settler area a bit like Griffith," he said.

"It's good to have an exhibition that relates to the community. From grassroots locals to exhibition lovers, I think people will really love that one."

He added that he was also keen for the 2024 community art exhibition, which is celebrating 100 years of the Australian Citrus Research Station and 75 years under the ownership of CSIRO.

The gallery is starting 2024 with the Errol Fielder: Retrospective exhibition, showcasing images inspired by the history and heritage of the Riverina's landscape - specifically The Rock and the Murrumbidgee river.

The exhibition showcases Mr Fielder's work from 2014 to 2023 and focuses on themes from floods and climate change, to the mythologies formed in regional landscapes.

That opener will run until March 3, and is followed by the 'Lost in Palm Springs' exhibition that begins on March 8.

A more modern exhibition, Lost in Palm Springs focuses on mid-century architecture and its influence on culture through the lens of 14 different creatives from Australia and the USA. Artists, photographers and philosophers present their own views on landscape and modern architecture found in the famed desert city.

Following last year's showcase of Tom Moore's outstanding glasswork, April 26 will feature another renowned glasswork artist with Jessica Loughlin's Of Light exhibition.

Miss Loughlin specialises in kiln-formed glass artwork, bringing her innovative approach to glass artworks to create an examination of empty space and light which will be available to enjoy in the gallery from April 26 to to June 9.

The Trails exhibition will be another locally themed offering as MIA artist Sophie Chauncy creates art themed around the nearby landscape and highlights conservation efforts through her unique style - overlaying special marks on traditional drawings.

Sophie Chauncy's Trails opens on June 14 and closes on August 4.

Operation Art is an annual exhibition, and in its 29^th year, will be touring 50 student-created artworks around the state before they find a permanent place in the Children's Hospital at Westmead.

Schools are especially encouraged to come along to the exhibition, with visual arts workshops and professional learning available throughout the tour on request.

Operation Art will open on August 9 and close on September 15.

This year's community art exhibition, aptly named The Fruits of Labour, is themed around the CSIRO and citrus.

The Fruits of Labour has been inspired by the Australian Citrus Research Station, right here in Griffith, which later became part of CSIRO and continued researching water and irrigation.

The community exhibition will showcase CSIRO memorabilia and artworks, and local artists of all skill levels and specialties are encouraged to get involved in the year's exhibition. The exhibition will be set up from September 20 to November 3.

It wouldn't be the Griffith Regional Art Gallery without its mainstay exhibition, the National Contemporary Jewellery Award.

Now in its 32^nd year, the NCJA is a biennial award celebrating the art behind jewellery-making and visual arts. The award celebrates the most unique and creative jewellery to be found by contemporary practitioners and will be held in Griffith Regional Art Gallery from November 8 until it rounds out the year on December 22.