2025 Exhibition Program

Albany Town Hall GallerIES

THE SHINING - HI VIZ IN FOCUS

17 April- 23 May 2025 | Albany Town Hall 

High viz clothing has stepped out of the mining and construction industry and today, it serves as a universal symbol of alertness in many walks of life. It is no longer just seen in industrial settings and can now be found on traffic wardens, tradespeople and kindergarten children on excursion.

This exhibition brings together five regional artists from the Great Southern and five Perth based creators to engage with this as a concept and as a medium. The artists transform everyday materials into artworks that reflect on contemporary life.

Open: 17 April - 23 May 2025

Albany Town Hall, 217 York Street  

Tuesday - Saturday, 10-5pm 

john toohey: TERRA

29 May - 21 June 2025 | Albany Town Hall 

Terra is a solo photographic landscape history of Western Australia, based around three narratives, South Land, Blood and Bone and Basin and Range. At its core is the evidence, depicted through panoramic images and text panels, of the reconstruction of landscape since colonisation as a cultural act (hence the pun in the title).

Basin and Range tells a story of the landscape from deep time to the present through panoramic sequences. These split frame scenes combine a reading of both time and space in the one image, extending from the early formation of the landscape to the present. South Land recasts the coastlines the Dutch named in the seventeenth century, De Witt’s Land, Eendrachts Land, D’Edel’s Land, Leeuwin Land, and Nuyts Land. These were names given to parts of the coastline that had been charted but were essentially imagined as the Dutch seldom made landfall. Leeuwin Land and Nuyts Land belonged to the coast between Cape Naturaliste and the border with South Australia, encompassing King George Sound, though nothing in surviving documents indicates that either expedition was close enough to the coast to enter the Sound. The landscapes are reimagined through a series of panoramas, snapshots and postcards. Blood and Bone challenges the standard depiction of early settlers as resilient in the face of hardship, recasting the history through acts of violence and madness reported through the press.

Open 29 May - 21 June 2025

Albany Town Hall - 217 York St Albany

Tuesday - Saturday 10-5pm

Dates open to public Exhibition
17 April - 23 May 2025 

The Shining - Hi Viz 
29 May - 21 June 2025  Terra - John Toohey 

VANCOUVER ARTS CENTRE GALLERIES

Linda Chambers & Collyn gawned: 100 Chawan 

10 April - 8 May 2025 | Vancouver Arts Centre

100 Chawan (tea bowls) is a collaborative installation reflecting the studio-based practices and common interests of Albany ceramic artists Linda Chamber and Collyn Gawned.

With reference to historic and cultural use, the tea bowl became their inspiration for individual exploration into form, surface decoration and functionality.

They have worked the elements of earth and water, firing in gas, electric and wood-fired kilns, to create unique and considered pieces for this exhibition, complimented by an original soundscape meditation compiled by Albany sound designer, Nat Rad. 


Dates: 10 April - 8 May 2025 
Days: Monday to Friday
Time: 10am – 4pm
Location: Vancouver Arts Centre, 85 Vancouver Street, Albany, WA

JO WASSELL: MEMOIR

1 May - 12 June 2025 | Vancouver Arts Centre

‘Memoir’ is a collection of works on paper, inspired by memories, happenings, and imaginings.

They are personal to the artist but express something universal: these moments we gather make up the stories of our lives.


Dates: 1 May - 12 June 2025 
Days: Monday to Friday
Time: 10am – 4pm
Location: Vancouver Arts Centre, 85 Vancouver Street, Albany, WA

KARLEE BERTOLA: A CELEBRATION OF POLLINATION

1 May - 17 June 2025 | Vancouver Arts Centre

Come and join us for a celebration of botanical pigment making and investigation into the vital process of pollination.

Pollination is more than just the transfer of pollen from one flower to another; it is the process that ensures the continuation of plant life. 

Pollination involves a careful orchestration of interactions between plants and pollinators. Bees, butterflies, birds, bats, flies and even the wind serve as nature’s messengers, transporting pollen from flower to flower, ensuring that genetic diversity thrives. Without these vital exchanges, many plant species would not be able to reproduce, disrupting not only ecosystems and our food security, but also the artistic and cultural traditions that rely on plant-based inks and dyes.

The process is both fragile and essential—an intricate web that connects forests, fields, and gardens across the world. Over 75% of flowering plants depend on animal pollinators, making them the silent but crucial collaborators in the natural pigment-making process. Without pollination, there would be fewer fruits to yield the rich berry dyes, fewer flowers to extract brilliant hues, and fewer plants to sustain the landscapes that inspire artists and ink-makers alike.

Just as a painting is incomplete without its final brushstrokes, the cycle of nature remains unfinished without pollination. It is the invisible force that keeps the botanical colour palette alive, ensuring that each season brings a new canvas of vibrant flowers, nourishing ecosystems, and continuing the ancient practice of natural ink and paint making. The world itself is the gallery, and pollination is the delicate brushwork that ensures the exhibition never ends.


Dates: 1 May - 17 June 2025 
Days: Monday to Friday
Time: 10am – 4pm
Location: Vancouver Arts Centre, 85 Vancouver Street, Albany, WA

ALLEN KENNEDY: BEYOND THE SURFACE

23 May - 20 June 2025 | Vancouver Arts Centre

Beyond the Surface invites you to explore the raw materiality of paint, shifting the focus from narrative to the physical presence of the medium itself. Through thick layers of oil, acrylic, and enamel, the works celebrate texture, dimension, and depth.

This exhibition offers an intimate, sensory experience where meaning emerges not through interpretation, but through direct engagement with the materials. Each piece evolves organically, reflecting Allen Kennedy’s personal gestures and subconscious responses.

Join us and go beyond the surface, embracing paint in its purest, most tactile form.

Dates: 23 May - 20 June 2025 
Days: Monday to Friday
Time: 10am – 4pm
Location: Vancouver Arts Centre, 85 Vancouver Street, Albany, WA

Dates open to public Exhibition
10 April - 8 May   

100 Chawan - Linda Chambers & Collyn Gawned

1 May - 12 June                                                   Memoir - Jo Wassell 
1 May - 17 June                                                   A Celebration of Pollination - Karlee Bertola
23 May - 20 June                                                 Beyond the Surface - Allen Kennedy