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“Before winning the coveted Archibald Prize in 2022, Dhungatti artist Blak Douglas collaborated with filmmakers to document the preparation of his most emotionally charged work, a portrait of his Indigenous grandmother, revealed at the National Gallery of Australia’s Indigenous Art Triennial: Defying Empire.
In the documentary, ‘Blak Douglas vs The Commonwealth’, the artist invites us into his painting studio in the back streets of Redfern, sharing intimate moments of an artist at work and glimpses into his exploration of creativity. With unflinching directness and courage, he discusses his experience growing up having to prove his Aboriginality to forge his identity as a working artist, attempting to reconcile with the intergenerational trauma he witnessed directly in his father and which he personally confronts.
As he prepares paint and canvas, he pores over archival records and family photographs in the search for context and meaning. His compelling narrative transcends the canvas and becomes a catalyst for mining deeper into the past.”
Celebrate NAIDOC Week with the screening of ‘Blak Douglas vs The Commonwealth’ (2024), followed by a Q&A with the artist on Tuesday, 8 July at 7pm at Q Theatre, Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre.
For more information and to book, please follow the link below:
https://www.penrithregionalgallery.com.au/events/blak-douglas-vs-the-commonwealth-film-screening/
The screening of ‘Blak Douglas vs The Commonwealth’ coincides with Blak Douglas’ mid-career survey exhibition, ‘The Halfway Line’, on display at Penrith Regional Gallery, open daily from 10am to 4pm until 20 July 2025.
Images: ‘Blak Douglas vs The Commonwealth’, production stills
@the_joan @visitpenrith @penrithcitycouncil @blakdouglas
#NAIDOCWeek2025 #TheJoan #PenrithRegionalGallery
“Country is central to everything Aboriginal: it is a continuum, without beginning or ending. In this worldview everything is living - people, animals, plants, earth, water, stars, air, and all else.” - Bill Gammage & Bruce Pascoe, ‘Country: Future Fire, Future Farming,’ 2021.
“The city is alive from the smallest weed to the tallest building,” writes Mea-mei Stanbury, alumni of the Deadly Arts program, and one of the artists featured in our current Lewers House exhibition ‘Deadly Arts.’ Her work ‘Dindilay - Walking Gently’, was inspired by a vine with cascading purple flowers that she saw each day near Central Station, as she travelled through Country from her home to the National Art School where she completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
‘Deadly Arts’ is exhibiting in our Lewers House Gallery until 20 July 2025, open daily from 10am-4pm.
@marramarra__
@ember.in.rain
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Mea-mei Stanbury, ‘Dindilay - Walking Gently,’ 2024, acrylic on canvas. Installation view in ‘Deadly Arts,’ Penrith Regional Gallery, 2025. Photography: Emma Griffiths.
Year 10 student Natalie Russel recently completed work experience at Penrith Regional Gallery, and was asked to write about an artwork in one of our current exhibitions. Natalie chose to write about an artwork titled ‘Endangered Species’ from our Main Gallery exhibition ‘Blak Douglas: The Halfway Line’:
“The artwork ‘Endangered Species’ by Adam Hill (aka Blak Douglas) is of a snake with pencils as spikes stuck out of its back. I did some research and found out that the artist was inspired when watching an American drama show in the early 90s where they pulled out road spikes to stop a car. He imagined a snake forming a defence like that and thought about how the modern-day Aboriginal person must form defences against racism.
I believe the sculpture is great and should receive more attention. Animals and nature in general have always been important to the Aboriginal peoples of Australia, considering their culture is so intertwined with those themes. When the settlers first came, they didn’t know about the culture and refused to respect the Aboriginal knowledge, seeing them as less than human. This caused a lot of species to either go extinct or endangered. This artwork can be representative of a lot of things, but I think these are the two I have thought about. Overall, this is a really awesome artwork and is definitely one of my favourites from the exhibition.”
‘Blak Douglas: The Halfway Line’ continues in our Main Gallery until 20 July 2025, open daily from 10am-4pm.
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Adam Hill, ‘Endangered Species,’ 2005. Permacrylik on spotted gum with pencils and nails, 14 x 175 x 6cm. Courtesy the artist, collection of Penrith Regional Gallery, Home of The Lewers Bequest. Photography: Silversalt photography.
Local student Dominic Ryan recently completed work experience at Penrith Regional Gallery, and was asked to write about an artwork in one of our current exhibitions. Dominic chose to write about ‘Blak Douglas: The Halfway Line’:
“The main gallery at Penrith Regional Gallery is impressive. Currently hosting an exhibition by Blak Douglas titled ‘The Halfway Line,’ the gallery is full of powerful and meaningful artworks ready to be observed, analysed and questioned.
Douglas is a proud Dhungatti man whose artworks often connect strongly with the themes of social justice and Indigenous rights.
My top two favourite artworks in Douglas’ exhibition are ‘Clear Fella-ing’ and the ‘Unwelcome Mat’ series. ‘Clear Fella-ing’ is a strong comment on the erasure of Indigenous Australians in modern society, showing a bulldozer poised to plough into and over an Indigenous family. The ‘Unwelcome Mat’ series is an actual set of door mats visually representing the colonial oppressor welcoming themselves to country and ‘Unwelcoming’ Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people from the land we now call Australia.
Also hanging as part of the exhibition is Douglas’ three-metre-high portrait of Karla Dickens that won the Archibald Prize in 2022. I studied this portrait, named ‘Moby Dickens’ in year seven at school. I was really chuffed to see the painting in real life.
Open until 20th July 2025, this exhibition is well worth a visit. You’ll be moved by Douglas’ points of view and challenged as you experience the world through his eyes.”
@blakdouglas
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‘Blak Douglas: The Halfway Line’, installation views, Penrith Regional Gallery, Home of The Lewers Bequest, 2025. Photography: Silversalt Photography.
ANNOUNCING THE ARTISTS - ANCHER POINTS 2025 COHORT
Penrith Regional Gallery is pleased to announce the twelve selected artists for our Ancher Points 2025 Emerging Artist Program: Michael Black, Emma Griffiths, Ilana Lapid, Keorattana Luangrathrajasombat, Laura Meggitt, Jessica Montecinos, Audrey Newton, Julie Scifo, Anjali Sharma, Jamie Smith, Sirinya Stuebe, and Richard Trang.
We’ve introduced the artists and their practices over three separate posts. Featured here are:
Ilana Lapid @lapidilana
Emma Griffiths @ember.in.rain
Sirinya Stuebe @siri_stweeby_art
Jamie Smith @jamiejudesmithart
Ancher Points: 2025 is the second iteration of our Ancher Points Emerging Artist Intensive program, which offers emerging artists from the Greater Western Sydney area the tools and skills needed to transition into professional practice.
Stay tuned as we highlight their experiences in the program over the coming weeks.
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Images 1-2: Ilana Lapid, artist portrait; Ilana Lapid, ‘Untitled (Charles V rearrangement), 2024, found art print on cardboard backing, 25.5 x 34.5cm. Images courtesy the artist.
Images 3-4: Emma Griffiths, artist portrait; Emma Griffiths, ‘Untitled,’ 2025. Images courtesy the artist.
Images 5-6: Sirinya Stuebe, artist portrait; Sirinya Stuebe, ‘Cos-Moss,’ 2024, ceramic and recycled glass, approx. 1.5 x 1.5m. Images courtesy the artist.
Images 7-8: Jamie Smith, artist portrait; Jamie Smith, ‘Banksia and Gum Nut Gathering,’ 2024, paper mache and expanding foam ‘gum nut’ forms, shellac, burlap lace, installation view. Images courtesy the artist.
ANNOUNCING THE ARTISTS - ANCHER POINTS 2025 COHORT
Penrith Regional Gallery is pleased to announce the twelve selected artists for our Ancher Points 2025 Emerging Artist Program: Michael Black, Emma Griffiths, Ilana Lapid, Keorattana Luangrathrajasombat, Laura Meggitt, Jessica Montecinos, Audrey Newton, Julie Scifo, Anjali Sharma, Jamie Smith, Sirinya Stuebe, and Richard Trang.
We’ll be introducing the artists and their practices over three separate posts. Featured here are:
Audrey Newton
Julie Scifo
Laura Meggitt
Anjali Sharma @sunsetconnections
Ancher Points: 2025 is the second iteration of our Ancher Points Emerging Artist Intensive program, which offers emerging artists from the Greater Western Sydney area the tools and skills needed to transition into professional practice.
Stay tuned as we feature the remaining four selected artists, and highlight their experiences in the program over the coming weeks.
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Images 1-2: Audrey Newtown, artist portrait, photography: Garry Trinh; Audrey Newton, Trying to Find Hard Evidence for Something That Isn’t Solid, 2025, perspex, latex, 6 metres of velvet, glass pearls. Installation view in ‘Dreamz,’ curated by Liam Garstang at Sydney College of the Arts Gallery. Photography: Document Photography.
Images 3-4: Julie Scifo, artist portrait; Julie Scifo, ‘Fortune’s Always Hiding, I’ve Looked Everywhere,’ 2025, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 45cm. Images courtesy the artist.
Images 5-6: Laura Meggitt, artist portrait and artwork, images courtesy the artist.
Images 7-8: Anjali Sharma, artist portrait; Anjali Sharma, ‘The Poet’s Question,’ POSCA on card, A1. Images courtesy the artist.
ANNOUNCING THE ARTISTS - ANCHER POINTS 2025 COHORT
Penrith Regional Gallery is pleased to announce the twelve selected artists for our Ancher Points 2025 Emerging Artist Program: Michael Black, Emma Griffiths, Ilana Lapid, Keorattana Luangrathrajasombat, Laura Meggitt, Jessica Montecinos, Audrey Newton, Julie Scifo, Anjali Sharma, Jamie Smith, Sirinya Stuebe, and Richard Trang.
We’ll be introducing the artists and their practices over three separate posts. Featured here are:
Richard Trang @makingartsozmum
Jessica Montecinos @underscore.jayy
Keorattana Luangrathrajasombat @bykeorattana @pandakero
Michael Black @michaellblack_
Ancher Points: 2025 is the second iteration of our Ancher Points Emerging Artist Intensive program, which offers emerging artists from the Greater Western Sydney area the tools and skills needed to transition into professional practice.
Stay tuned as we feature the remaining eight selected artists, and highlight their experiences in the program over the coming weeks.
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Images 1-2: Richard Trang, artist portrait, courtesy the artist; Richard Trang, ‘(Un)Familiar Photos,’ 2024, mixed media, projection and photographs, installation view, UNSW Galleries. Photography: Jessica Maurer
Images 3-4: Jessica Montecinos, artist portrait; Jessica Montecinos, ‘Diablada 4,’ 2025, filament, acrylic, 40 x 52cm. Images courtesy the artist.
Images 5-6: Keorattana Luangrathrajasombat, artist portrait; Keorattana Luangrathrajasombat, ‘Rock Bodies: Daydream,’ (2025) ‘A place among the skies’, installation, sculpture, video & audio. Images courtesy the artist.
Images 7-8: Michael Black, artist portrait; Michael Black, ‘Eden,’ 155 x 170cm. Images courtesy the artist.
TIME MANAGEMENT FOR CREATIVES | TUESDAY 24 JUNE, 1PM - 3PM
PRESENTED BY CREATIVE PLUS BUSINESS
Join us at Penrith Regional Gallery for a free, relaxed workshop tailored for creative professionals. Explore practical time management strategies to balance your creative work, business tasks, and personal life.
What you’ll learn:
Practical time management strategies tailored for creatives
How to set and prioritise goals
Techniques to overcome procrastination
Building sustainable habits for long-term success
Presented by:
Monica Davidson, award-winning expert on the creative industries and founder of Creative Plus Business.
Spots are limited!
For more information and to register see: //mybusiness.service.nsw.gov.au/business-connect/event/ylptiqhnsw?from=business-connect
Thank You for joining us at the Autumn Open Day!
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us on Saturday, 31 May, for our Autumn Open Day at Penrith Regional Gallery. We are grateful for the support of our community, artists, and visitors who made this event such a success.
We enjoyed live music with Elina Roberts-Turner, drop-in artmaking activities with emerging artist Ilana Lapid, and the official openings of our Deadly Arts exhibition and the 2025 Penrith Youth Art Prize. In the main gallery, we were privileged to experience a special performance titled ‘Didge You Know’ by exhibiting artist Blak Douglas, and a curatorial tour of The Halfway Line with Joanna Gilmour, Curator, Collections.
Stay connected and join us for future events by visiting our website: penrithregionalgallery.com.au
@blakdouglas @elinarobertsturner @lapidilana
Image 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13: Emma Griffiths
Image 1, 14, 15, 16: Courtesy of the Gallery
#PenrithRegionalGallery
‘Air to the Drone’ was one of the very first artworks Adam Hill (now known by the moniker Blak Douglas) ever made. A profoundly pivotal and personal work, ‘Air to the Drone’ illustrates both Douglas’ initiation towards grasping the concept of spirituality from a tribal perspective, as well as his bourgeoning passion for playing Didgeridoo.
After a chance meeting with Yolngu performers from North-East Arnhem Land at the Sydney Opera House in 1998, Douglas travelled to Nhulunbuy (Gove) upon invitation from the Munyarrun family to learn more about playing, philosophising, and making the Yidaki (the original Didgeridoo). ‘Air to the Drone’ depicts the Yidaki that soon thereafter came into Douglas’ possession; a Yidaki that was originally made by Djakapurra Munyarrun for his brother Jonathon to be played at the closing of the Atlanta Olympic games in 1996.
‘Blak Douglas: The Halfway Line’ continues in our Main Gallery until 20 July, open daily from 10am-4pm.
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Adam Hill, ‘Air to the Drone,’ 1999, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 138 x 105cm, detail image. Photography: Silversalt photography.
‘Blak Douglas: The Halfway Line’ is a mid-career survey exhibition encompassing the expansive and incisive career of First Nations artist Blak Douglas, with some of his earliest works from 1998 onwards included in what is the largest single presentation of his work.
His 2014 work ‘Trouble or Nothing’ - a work made entirely of sovereign currency - offers just one example of the material breadth of Douglas’ practice, which spans painting, photography, drawing, sculpture, major public artworks and performance. In its totality, Douglas’ body of work harnesses the capacity for art to function as a powerful, striking means to affect real and symbolic change.
‘Blak Douglas: The Halfway Line’ continues in our Main Gallery, open daily from 10am-4pm.
@blakdouglas
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Blak Douglas: The Halfway Line, installation views, Penrith Regional Gallery, Home of The Lewers Bequest, 2025. Photography: Silversalt photography.
Last weekend, we were joined by the community to celebrate the finalists and award winners in our 2025 Penrith Youth Art Prize, an annual endeavour that recognises, encourages and celebrates the creative talent of young artists in our local community.
This year, the prize theme was ‘echoing nature’. Young artists aged 5-18 were asked to explore the dynamism and wonder of the natural world, their responding works featuring a vibrant mix of acrylic and watercolour paintings, drawings, prints, photography, collage, and mixed-media.
Twenty-five finalists were selected across two age categories: Primary (5-12yrs) and Secondary (12-18yrs). One winner and two highly commended artists were selected per category, with additional entrants on view in display folders in the exhibition space.
Please join us in congratulating all our young finalists and award winners, and thanking Lynda Henderson, president of the Friends of the Gallery, who presented these awards.
The Penrith Youth Art Prize is exhibiting in our Loungeroom Gallery until 20 July.
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Penrith Youth Art Prize is proudly supported by the Friends of the Gallery, Belle Property Lower Blue Mountains | Nepean, and Eckersley’s Art & Craft.
Photography: Emma Griffiths
