Decade: Wyndham Art Gallery 2011–21 is an in-depth look at the first ten years of unexpected exhibition programming at the Wyndham Art Gallery.
Located on Melbourne’s western edge and takes in major industrial areas as well as coastline, growth suburbs and significant landmarks and parklands, Decade brings together Wyndham Art Gallery’s first decade of powerful exhibitions.
In its first 10 years, the gallery has built an inclusive space that refects the diverse social and cultural character of the place and invites the community to explore new and challenging ideas. The program is a delight of unexpected and sometimes subversive ideas for, and often by, locals.
Exhibitions are represented with stunning gallery installation documentation and individual photographs of artwork by some of Australia’s most celebrated contemporary artists.
Complemented with essays and artist interviews by artists, academics and writers who have become part of the Wyndham Art Gallery creative family.
Combining beautiful photography as well as deep dive, long form essays, Decade documents every exhibition over this fertile time – exhibitions that explore race, sustainability, environment, belonging, migration, reproduction and intersectionality.
This beautiful hardback also showcases the dynamic creative community built around the gallery – a unique place that balances grassroots engagement, supporting emerging artists while also bringing cutting-edge and acclaimed international works to the outer-suburbs.
Decade also highlights how a gallery can centre First Nations people, culture and knowledge in exhibitions and the place itself at the forefront of contemporary art by promoting art as an active agent of change.
“One of my most favourite memories was having all the diferent people and cultures from the community reading the Declaration of Human Rights in their own Language,” said Maree Clarke, Yorta Yorta/Wamba Wamba/Mutti Mutti/Boonwurrung artist, designer and curator, Wyndham Art Gallery 2015-2019
“Watching people wait until it was their turn and seeing these connections being made by people who didn’t know each other. People from diferent backgrounds and cultures just coming together.”
Wyndham Art Gallery is a council owned and run gallery in the City of Wyndham, a rapidly growing city in Melbourne’s deep west. Over the last ten years, it has offered a curated program that reflects the social diversities and complexities of an outer urban Australian community and unique cultural character of Wyndham; inviting the viewer to explore new and challenging ideas.
Decade: Wyndham Art Gallery 2011–21 is published by Black Inc. Books (Carlow Books) and available from all leading book retailers including Booktopia.
Image: Decade: Wyndham Art Gallery 2011–21 – courtesy of Black Inc. Books