Penrith is stepping onto the international contemporary art map with its involvement in the 25th Biennale of Sydney.
Every two years, the art festival is run across multiple Sydney locations with free exhibitions and performances for Sydneysiders to enjoy. This year, Penrith Regional Gallery joins the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Chau Chak Wing Museum, and the old White Bay Power Station as a hub for creativity.
“It’s an incredibly exciting thing to happen for Penrith,” said Gallery Director Joanna Gilmour.
“The Biennale is one of the foremost visual arts events in Australia. Over the many years it’s been running, there have been hundreds of artists from all over the world who have come to Australia and shown their work here.
“It’s a really important showcase for art, and it’s also a really important forum for talking about ideas, identity, culture, and all sorts of issues and interests.”
The Biennale of Sydney is the third longest running Biennale in the world, and this year’s theme is ‘Rememory’ which will explore how memory and history shape identity.
Gilmour told the Weekender she believes Margo Lewers – the artist who started Penrith Regional Gallery – would be immensely proud of Penrith’s involvement.
“She wanted her home to become a gallery because she wanted the community of Penrith to continue being exposed to modern contemporary art,” Gilmour explained.
“She wanted people to be able to come here and make art, see art, learn about art, and understand art.
“For me, the fact that the Biennale of Sydney is coming here is realising Margo’s vision. Nearly 50 years after she died, her vision is still living on in the gallery; I think she would be very happy wherever she is looking down from.”
It shows how much the gallery has grown since its origins in 1981.
“There are amazing artists from western Sydney and working in western Sydney,” Gilmour stated.
“There are so many different communities here, and a lot of the works that will be part of the Biennale exhibition here are drawing on the Penrith story.
“That means various different aspects of Penrith’s social history, farming history, issues of sustainability – works that really touch on themes that are very relevant to the Penrith community.”
It’s expected the positive impact of the Biennale will extend to the rest of our region.
“If we get the 100,000 visitors that we’re hoping will come and see it, that’s amazing for local businesses and the local community,” Gilmour exclaimed.
“This is an event that will make Penrith – fair and square – a place on the art map.”
The Biennale of Sydney will run from March 14 to June 14.
