^{An image still from WAVE by Mark Patterson, Gabriella Smart and Gerry Wedd. Image: AGSA}

The “pilot venue” will host AGSA’s new initiative, AGSA Screen, showcasing moving image works from Australian and International artists connected through the theme of water.

AGSA assistant director Lisa Slade said the Port Pirie venue was chosen for the pilot because they had worked closely together on previous exhibitions.

Slade saidthe plan is to eventually expand and offer the touring exhibition to the whole of the South Australian regional gallery network.

AGSA’s past regional tour increased engagement with galleries where exhibitions were seen by one in 10 regional South Australians, according to Slade.

“We hope [Wavelength] brings out everybody – locals and visitors, but also hope that [our touring program] ignites the creative imagination of new talent,” she said.

One aim was to build art destination tourism.

“If people are travelling to, or through, Port Pirie they might consider stopping by the gallery and looking at the exhibition as part of their experience,” Slade said.

“Art is important for the community because, without art and culture, it’s hard to know who we are and where we are going.”

Wavelength celebrates water as a “lifegiving force”, especially in regional communities where it is often a central feature of the natural landscape.

Ursula Halpin, the Port Pirie gallery director and cultural arts coordinator, said that housing the collection from April 20 to July 31 is a “wonderful opportunity” for the coastal town.

“Water is obviously very important to regional communities, especially up here in the Spencer Gulf – beautiful waterways that flow from Nukunu country and around the region, into the Spencer Gulf,” she said.

AGSA’s curated collection showcases the diversity of moving images from Gerry Wedd’s collaborative project WAVE  – the exhibition’s anchor – to Betty Nungarrayi Conway and Kumantjayi (Joanne) Napangardi Wheeler’s paintings turned animations.

Wavelength is a dive into the different ways the medium can be experienced.

AGSA Screen: Wavelength is a new initiative of Art Gallery of South Australian and Country Arts SA presented by MML.

This article first appeared in InDaily on 17 April 2024.

Words: Sophia Lattas