Grounding: Stories from Three Collections

For the first time, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Cowra Regional Art Gallery, and Orange Regional Gallery are sharing the richness of their collections to create three unique exhibitions, each with a different thematic approach: Grounding, Retrospection, and Affinities.

Presenting familiar and unfamiliar works in new contexts, each exhibition sparks fresh conversations, fosters community pride within the Central West, and strengthens cultural tourism across the three destinations.

Grounding: Stories from Three Collections at Bathurst Regional Art Gallery explores the ways in which artists respond to place and the ways in which regional collections reflect the histories and identities of place. Grounding looks at regional, national, and international artists across medium and time who consider the physical, emotional, and cultural significance of place. Importantly, the concept of 'grounding' is deeply embedded in Wiradyuri and First Nations culture through connection to Country.

Wiradyuri Country and its three rivers (Wambuul, Galari, and Marrambidya), rolling hills and expansive skies have inspired and influenced artists for generations. Artists featured include GW Bot, Liam Benson, Grace Cossington Smith, Aunty Lorraine Connelly Northey, Elisabeth Cummings, Olive Cotton, Max Dupain, Rachel Ellis, Danie Mellor, Luke Sciberras, Merrick Fry and Lloyd Rees.