Introduction
The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) is one of the leading institutions in Australia. Over the years, it has engaged in a wide range of activities and displays intended to support the achievements of many artists. It identifies itself with the goals of the Aboriginal population of the country and engages in activities to support their cultural heritage. The MCA has been on the frontline to help promote art from different perspectives. It continues to source and exhibit artifacts from different regions as one of the strategies for promoting different forms of culture and art. One of the ongoing exhibitions at this museum is the Primavera 2021: Young Australian Artists. This review gives a detailed analysis of this specific annual exhibition at the MCA.
Reason for Choosing this Exhibition
The primary aim of a museum is to create adequate opportunities for visitors to explore the available collections. This practice enables them to get a sense of inspiration, entertainment and even acquire new ideas (Bennet, 1995). Additionally, the display of various works of art and objects of historical significance help preserve culture in different ways. The MCA has been involved in identifying, collecting, preserving, and displaying different materials that help people learn more about the past. The institution is also on the frontline to showcase a number of activities and achievements in the arts. Such efforts are critical and capable of supporting the overall experiences and goals of the greatest majority.
The reason behind selecting the Primavera 2021: Young Australian Artists exhibition is because it is an annual event at the MCA that resonates with the above purpose. This event will be taking place till June 12th this year (The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2022). People are encouraged to visit the gallery without having to pay anything. The exhibition has been taking place at the museum for the last three decades. Within the past thirty years, such an exhibition has helped upcoming Australian artists below the age of 35 to showcase their works. This effort helps attract attention of more citizens from different parts of the country. The curator is tasked with completing a complex investigation to identify upcoming and talented artists.
Through such a process, this exhibition becomes admirable since it helps deliver two outcomes. First, it helps boost the morale of the entrants into the exhibition, thereby increasing their chances of recording a successful career. The opportunity allows them to meet more people who might decide to sponsor their works or ambitions. Second, the exhibition is worth choosing for analysis since it remains a powerful approach for encouraging more young individuals to embrace the arts for expression and career goals (The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2022). These achievements have helped the country appreciate the attributes defining the culture of its people. More successful artists are born from this exhibition, thereby helping improve the cultural standings and values of different racial groups in Australia.
Detailed Analysis
The selected Primavera 2021: Young Australian Artists presents an example of an exhibition that has succeed and delivered the much needed outcomes for years. The curators involved within the past three decades understand that young artists require inspiration if they overcome most of the existing barriers (The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2022). Every curator relies on his or her abilities to set the right theme and ensure that the exhibited works, performances, and objects are notable. These efforts have made the exhibition appropriate and capable of sensitizing more people across the globe about Australia’s unique culture and the love for spectacular art.
The exhibition under review presents a number of aspects that make it meaningful and inspirational. For instance, the current displays could be falls under the arts category. The curator is focusing on upcoming artist in Australia whose works are admirable and attractive to viewers. This strategy makes it easier for individuals who intend to visit to make up their minds with ease. The curator has selected an effective theme for this year’s exhibition (The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2022). Specifically, the visitor realizes that the exhibition revolves around the celebration of young Australians who have excelled as artists. Such a theme communicates the intended objective, thereby encouraging more people in the country to become part of the exhibition.
To make the exhibition information, the visitor is guided to meet some of the artists whose works remain outstanding. The 30th anniversary event intends to showcase materials narrating the participating professionals’ stories. Their works are seen to help the visitors engage with past technologies and innovations that help redefine the world today (The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2022). The exhibition also focuses on the techniques involved in the production of the selected artworks on display. The viewers can consider them in an effort to learn more about the unique attributes of the wider Australian culture.
To ensure that the current exhibition at the MCA delivers the intended results, the curator considered a number of approaches during the preplanning phase. For instance, the involved team prepared a budget and shared it with the management of the museum. Their lead curator, Hannah Presley, formed a team of several people interested in Australian art. The individuals applied proper communication strategies while defining the required tasks (Schubert, 2009). The exhibition was characterized by a preliminary investigation whereby key upcoming artists were identified and recruited from different parts of the country. These approaches were practical and capable of delivering a successful exhibition at the MCA.
In terms of purpose, the Primavera 2021: Young Australian Artists is designed in such a way that it delivers the much needed education to the visitors. The curator has selected emerging artists whose works can inspire and guide visitors to consider new ways to achieve their maximum potential. The artworks on display throughout the exhibition period are selected in such a way that the deliver recreational outcomes. These efforts have helped past curators to select the right candidates and include them in such annual events (Schubert, 2009). These elements show conclusively that the current exhibition is founded on the realistic and social facilitation approaches. Through such exhibit designs, the curator has created the best environment for allowing individuals to interact with each other while focusing on the spectacular materials on display.
The curator has gone further to ensure that the key affective measures are fulfilled through the exhibition. Specifically, the works are selected in such a way that they can help trigger an attitude change. This approach is capable of allowing more visitors to start empowering upcoming artists while making it easier for them to continue pursuing their goals. In terms of interest level, the inclusion of several individuals aged 35 years and below has helped increase the interest level (The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2022). Consequently, the approaches have increased the overall satisfaction level among the participants and visitors. These elements have played a positive role towards making the exhibition successful.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The success of the Primavera 2021: Young Australian Artists exhibition at the MCA could be attributable to a number of factors or strengths. First, the involved team has adopted a befitting curatorial approach that resonates with the demands of the targeted visitors and selected artists. For this case, the strategy revolves around bringing upcoming artists to the limelight and guiding members of the society to appreciate different forms of art. The inclusion of the young generation encourages more people to become part of the process (Simpson, 2006). Second, the curator has selected a unique group of artists that has formed the foundation of the exhibition for the last thirty years. Such an approach promotes a sense of consistency, thereby allowing followers of the event to visit the museum and meet the upcoming artists.
Third, the choice of the MCA is the best partner for this exhibition for the last three decades makes it admirable and successful. This strength explains why more people have been willing to identify with upcoming artists capable of improving cultural innovation through their works of art. Fourth, the curator engaged in a thorough research and investigation to identify and select the best candidates to be part of this exhibition (Bourdieu, 1984). Such an approach is capable of encouraging more citizens to visit the museum every year and learn more about the upcoming artists. The selected one for the ongoing exhibition includes Sam Gold, Elisa Jane Carmichael, Hannah Gartside, Justine Youssef, and Dean Cross.
From the exhibition, Elisa Jane Carmichael is presented as an artist who expresses contemporary adaptations using various techniques, such as weaving photo media, painting, and the use of textiles (see Fig. 1). Dean Cross’ works appear to promote para-tactical art. He presents collisions of ideas, histories, and materials through his works (see Fig. 2). For Hannah Gartside, her works are aimed at presenting various were of experiencing the notions of subjectivity and sensuality and how they relate to the physical world (see Fig. 3). These exhibits showcase a unique strength that makes the overall event meaningful and capable of attractive more visitors.
Fifth, the move to recruit artists from different regions across the country makes it possible for the exhibition to present a sense of national image or pride. More visitors are able t come to the MCA for the exhibition and get the chance to interact with such professionals. Sixth, the curator has ensured that most of the works on display from such artists have a number of things in common (The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2022). For example, it is evident that they portray techniques and artistic styles that people across Australian generations appear to share. Such an approach has helped drive a new form of debate and interpretation of the wider community.
Finally, the physical display of most of the artworks is done in a professional manner. The curator has ensured that visitors can be in a position to identify and make their personal interpretations from such works. The chosen objects from the artists are varied and capable of triggering new conversations about the future place of art in the contemporary Australian society. The displays are riveting and capable of encouraging more people to visit the museum. These approaches, therefore, support the wider mission of the museum (Duncan, 1995). Additionally, the curator helped the museum launch an online exhibition to showcase most of the works from the selected artists. The combinations of these key elements have led to one of the most successful exhibitions at the MCA.
On the other hand, the exhibition presents several weaknesses that could become the best ideas for improving it in the future. For instance, the event intended for more than three months only features a small number of artists. Curators in the coming years could address this issue by selecting more professionals from different parts of the country. Another issue emerging from this exhibition is the fact that some of the curatorial attributes are missing or hard to identify. Specifically, the visitor would take long before identifying the leading or guiding theme for the entire exhibition (Bourdieu, 1984). A more defined approach could be considered to make future exhibitions more successful. Finally, the consideration of emerging technologies could allow more people to visit the MCA’s website and acquire numerous insights from the virtual version of the exhibition.
Conclusion
The completed analysis has selected the Primavera 2021: Young Australian Artists as a successful exhibition that continues to meet the demands of both artists and visitors. The MCA has considered the best approaches to promote the event while relying on the best curatorial approach. The event helps promote Australian culture while allowing more people to remain engaged and innovative. The outlined strengths are in tandem with the attributes of most successful exhibitions. The consideration of the outlined weaknesses could guide future curators to plan and present successful Primavera: Young Australian Artists exhibitions in the future.
References
Bennet, T. (1995). The birth of the museum: History, theory, politics. New York, NY: Routledge.
Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgment of taste. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.
Duncan, C. (1995). From the princely gallery to the public art museum. In Civilizing rituals. New York, NY: Routledge.
Schubert, K. (2009). The curator’s egg. London, UK: Ridinghouse.
Simpson, M. (2006). Revealing and concealing museums, objects, and the transmission of knowledge in aboriginal Australia. In New Museum Theory and Practice (pp. 152-177). Blackwell Publishing.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. (2022). Primavera 2021: Young Australian Artists.
Footnotes
- More works by the same artist available at The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. (2022). Primavera 2021: Young Australian Artists. Web.
- Additional works found at The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. (2022).
- See The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. (2022). Primavera 2021: Young Australian Artists. Web.
- See The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. (2022). Primavera 2021: Young Australian Artists. Web.