TarraWarra Museum of Art
Location within the Melbourne metropolitan area | |
| Established | 2002 |
|---|---|
| Location | Healesville, Victoria, Australia |
| Coordinates | 37°39′34.7″S 145°28′9.1″E / 37.659639°S 145.469194°E |
| Type | Art museum |
| Website | twma |
The TarraWarra Museum of Art is an art museum in Healesville, Victoria, 45 kilometres northeast of Melbourne. It was founded by philanthropists and art collectors, Eva and Marc Besen. Opened in 2003, TarraWarra is a not-for-profit art gallery that features inventive and stimulating exhibitions and programs about twentieth and twenty-first century art. The museum has built a reputation for presenting a unique program of exhibitions curated to inspire curiosity and support emerging and established artists to make new work.
History
TarraWarra Museum of Art Limited was registered in 2000.[1] The museum was formally launched by Prime Minister John Howard on 24 April 2002 in a temporary location in North Melbourne, awaiting completion of a purpose-built museum in the Yarra Valley.[2] The museum building, designed by Alan Powell from architecture firm Powell & Glenn, was opened in 2003.[3]
Founded by philanthropists and art collectors, Eva and Marc Besen, it was the first museum of art in Australia supported by a significant private endowment.[4] The Besens not only gifted the purpose-built museum, but also donated nearly 600 works of Australian art from their private collection.
The Eva and Marc Besen Centre, a visible storage building which houses over 300 artworks from the museum’s permanent collection, opened at the museum on 8 March 2025.[5] The building was designed by Kerstin Thompson Architects.[6]
Collection
Eva and Marc Besen began collecting art in the 1950s.[4] When exhibited in the 1970s, their collection was considered "One of the country's finest collections of Modern Australian art."[7] In addition to the initial gift from the Besen's collection, TarraWarra has continued to acquire works. Artworks from the museum’s collection are occasionally featured in scheduled exhibitions.[4]
The collection includes works by notable Australian artists, such as Arthur Boyd, John Brack, Russell Drysdale, Rosalie Gascoigne, Dale Hickey, Susan Norrie, John Olsen, Patricia Piccinini, Clifton Pugh, Jeffrey Smart, Brett Whiteley and Fred Williams.[8]
TarraWarra Biennial
The TarraWarra Biennial was established in 2006 "to identify new developments in contemporary art practice".[9] The exhibition has presented the works of over 200 artists over the course of nine exhibitions to date. Providing a significant platform for each of its guest curators to identify and respond to new trends in contemporary Australian art, each iteration has had a distinctive and independent curatorial lens.
In 2006, Vincent Namatjira's work, Endless circulation, which comprised a series of portraits of the seven Prime Ministers who had been in power in Australia during his lifetime until that point, was exhibited,[10] along with work by Vernon Ah Kee, Helen Johnson, Wukun Wanambi, Sarah crowEst and Agatha Gothe-Snape.[11]
The third Biennial, in 2012, Sonic Spheres, was curated by the museum's director Victoria Lynn. It brought together 21 pieces using music, sound and voice, and included leading Australian sound artists as well as artists more known for their work in other media. Two examples of the latter were Angela Mesti's Some Dance to Remember, Some Dance to Forget and Christian Thompson’s Dhagunyilangu – Brother, sung in the Bidjara language.[12]
| Year | Title | Date | Curator(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Parallel Lives: Australian Painting Today | 4 August –12 November 2006 | Victoria Lynn | [13] |
| 2008 | Lost & Found: An Archeology of the Present | 1 August – 9 November 2008 | Charlotte Day | [14] |
| 2012 | Sonic Spheres | 5 August – 9 December 2012 | Victoria Lynn | [15] |
| 2014 | Whisper in My Mask | 16 August – 16 November 2014 | Natalie King and Djon Mundine | [16] |
| 2016 | Endless Circulation | 19 August – 6 November 2016 | Helen Hughes and Victoria Lynn | [17] |
| 2018 | From Will to Form | 3 August – 6 November 2018 | Emily Cormack | [18] |
| 2021 | Slow Moving Waters | 27 March – 11 July 2021 | Nina Miall | [19] |
| 2023 | ua usiusi faʻavaʻasavili | 1 April – 16 July 2023 | Léuli Eshrāghi | [20] |
| 2025 | We Are Eagles | 29 March – 20 July 2025 | Kimberley Moulton | [21] |
References
- ^ "About Us". TarraWarra Museum of Art. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ "ParlInfo - Transcript of launch, north Melbourne: Tarrawarra Museum of Art". parlinfo.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ "Project Overview: TarraWarra Museum of Art by Powell & Glenn / TLP". The Local Project. 27 May 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ a b c Thomas, Sarah (Spring 2006). "TarraWarra Museum of Art: A private vision made public". Art and Australia. 44: 14–16.
- ^ Todd, Stephen (27 February 2025). "One couple's decades-long devotion to Australian art has a new home". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
- ^ Amies, Lucia (4 March 2025). "KTA's new cultural hub at Tarrawarra Museum of Art opens". ArchitectureAu. Archived from the original on 4 March 2025. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
- ^ "LIFE STYLE TV-ARTS-ENTERTAINMENT Modern-art display". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). 4 March 1976. p. 18. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ "Collection". TarraWarra Museum of Art. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ "TarraWarra Biennial (Australia)". Biennial Foundation. 23 July 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ "Vincent Namatjira". This Is No Fantasy. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ "Prime Ministers Series: TarraWarra Biennial 2016". This Is No Fantasy. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ "in the loop sept 5: quick picks & opportunities: tarrawarra biennial 2012: sonic spheres". RealTime. 4 September 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ "TarraWarra Biennial 2006: Parallel Lives: Australian Painting Today". TarraWarra Museum of Art. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
- ^ "TarraWarra Biennial 2008: Lost & Found: An Archeology of the Present". TarraWarra Museum of Art. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
- ^ Bailey-Charteris, Bronwyn (11 October 2012). ""Sonic Spheres"". Artforum. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
- ^ "Whisper in My Mask". Artlink. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
- ^ Northover, Kylie (8 August 2016). "TarraWarra Biennial pushes boundaries to present to a new audience". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
- ^ "From Will to Form: TarraWarra Biennial". Art Almanac. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
- ^ Campbell, Amy (25 March 2021). "First look: Inside the 7th TarraWarra Biennial". The Australian. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
- ^ Coates, Rebecca (12 April 2023). "Léuli Eshrāghi on Curating the TarraWarra Biennial". ocula.com. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
- ^ Guenzler, Joseph (19 March 2025). "TarraWarra Biennial explores cultural memory and regeneration". National Indigenous Times. Retrieved 8 May 2025.