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Charles Darwin University Art Collection

• A brief history
• The Art Collection today
• Exhibitions
• Management and administration of the Art Collection
• Contact

A brief history

It has been said that the art collections of regional universities are 'a well-kept secret': the Charles Darwin University Art Collection is no exception, but it is exceptional. There are more than 200 University Museums and Collections in Australia, represented by the Council of Australian University Museums and Collections (CAUMAC). The Charles Darwin University Art Collection is a 'recognised' institutional art collection pursuant to CAUMAC Guidelines.

A university art collection was established in the Northern Territory with the creation of the Northern Territory University on 1 January 1989 (renamed Charles Darwin University in 2003, following a merger with Centralian College in Alice Springs and the Northern Territory Rural College). In 1989, the University inherited and amalgamated two collections formed by its precursor institutions: the Darwin Institute of Technology (1984-89, formerly the Darwin Community College, 1974-84) and the University College of the Northern Territory (1987-89). These collections encompassed:

1. A 'teaching collection' of approximately 100 art works, chiefly works on paper by contemporary Australian artists, assembled by an Art Acquisitions Committee and the School of Fine Arts between 1980 and 1989; and
2. A discrete collection of more than 20 Indigenous art and material culture items acquired in 1988 by a former Warden of the University College of the NT, Professor Jim Thomson, comprising bark paintings, sculptures, woven items, decorative weapons and ceremonial regalia, emanating from Arnhem Land, the Tiwi Islands, Groote Eylandt and Central Australia.

From the 1990s onwards, acquisitions continued to be made to the University Art Collection by a new Art Acquisitions Committee, focusing principally on works on paper by Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian contemporary artists, including University art students, staff, artists-in-residence and Northern Territory-based artists.

Since 1993, with the establishment of the NT University Print Workshop (NTUPW), the University Art Collection has also functioned as the permanent repository of workshop proofs of limited edition prints produced at the University Print Workshop, renamed Northern Editions in 1997.

By arrangement with the Printmaking Studio and artists who have prints editioned there, workshop proof (WP) prints are donated to the University Art Collection. Today, this component of the Art Collection accounts for at least two-thirds of its holdings, and renders it one of the largest Australian Indigenous print collections in the world, comprising more than one thousand works by approximately 200 Indigenous artists.

As the recipient of WP prints, the University Art Collection works in partnership with Northern Editions Printmaking Studio in promoting the importance of printmaking as an ever-evolving, contemporary art practice in the Northern Territory, nationally and internationally.

The Art Collection today

The Charles Darwin University Art Collection is a permanent collection of more than 1400 works of art, comprising:

1. Paintings and drawings (mainly works on paper) and works of mixed media, by Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian artists; some sculpture and ceramics; a collection of Indigenous material culture items and bark paintings; and a number of works (paintings, prints and textiles) by artists from South East Asia;
2. A collection repository of limited edition prints (workshop proofs), of national and international significance, produced by Northern Editions Printmaking Studio and its predecessor printmaking studio workshops from 1993 to the present; and
3. The Red Hand Print Studio Archive - comprising 79 poster prints produced between 1997-2002, under the management of Darwin-based artist Franck Gohier and ex-Red Planet (Melbourne) printmaker Shaun Poustie.

At this stage, there is no permanent museum to house and display the University Art Collection, but works are exhibited on a number of University campuses and rotated from time to time. Special displays of a selection of art works have also been mounted in conjunction with University events, and exhibitions have been staged at The Gallery, on Casuarina Campus, since 1993. In 1996, the University Art Collection's first major touring exhibition ('Printabout'), organised by ArtbackNETS NT (now ArtbackNT Arts Touring), displayed 34 lithographs, etchings and linocut prints by Indigenous artists who had worked at the NTUPW between 1993-96, touring regionally and nationally to 76 venues. A retrospective exhibition of the University Art Collection ('Art and Place'), curated by Ian McLean, was held in 1999.

Exhibitions

Current

Gifted: Recent donations of limited edition prints by 49 contemporary Australian artists

Gifted is the first of a series of exhibitions drawn from the Charles Darwin University Art Collection which acknowledges the generosity of behind-the-scene donors who have contributed to the enrichment of the University’s permanent holdings of contemporary art. Find out more >>

Previous

Our Home: Charles Darwin University Art Collection, recent acquisitions

Presented by the Charles Darwin University Art Collection in association with the School of Creative Arts and Humanities. Find out more >>

Management and administration of the Art Collection

The Principles, Processes and Guidelines governing the on-going management and administration of the Charles Darwin University Art Collection (including conservation, exhibition and display, acquisition, documentation, publication, promotion, loan, de-accessioning and disposal, security, copyright and ethics issues), are outlined in the CDU Art Collection Management Manual (to be posted to this site shortly).

The Guidelines reflect the University's vision, mission and goals, in particular: teaching and learning, research, and community and access.

The University Art Collection is a designated unit within the University’s Finance and Asset Services.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Helen Garnett FTSE FAICD PSM, is Patron of the University Art Collection.

Anita Angel is the Curator, Charles Darwin University Art Collection.

Contact

Anita Angel - Curator, Charles Darwin University Art Collection [Part-time position].

Location:	Building 12.1.12 Casuarina campus Ellengowan Drive Darwin NT 0909
Phone:	+61 - 8 - 8946 6621
Fax:	+61 - 8 - 8946 6562
Email:	anita.angel@cdu.edu.au