2025 Exhibition Program

Albany Town Hall GallerIES

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 LandBlood 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

GENERATIONS COLLECTION 

27 June - 19 July 2025 | Albany Town Hall 

Drawing on a private collection of over 80 Indigenous Desert paintings, this exhibition features second and third generation women artists who, whilst retaining the inherited conventions of traditional tribal lore, are now freely exploring individual stylistic innovation.

Artwork (detail): Lukarrara Jukurrpa - Hilda Nakamarra Rogers, 2017. Acrylic on linen

Open 27 June - 19 July 2025

Albany Town Hall - 217 York St Albany

Tuesday - Saturday 10-5pm

Dates open to public Exhibition
29 May - 21 June 2025 
Terra - John Toohey


27 June - 19 July 2025  GENERATIONS COLLECTION 

VANCOUVER ARTS CENTRE GALLERIES

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

ALBANY MARITIME ARTS EXHIBITION 

3 - 28 July 2025 | Vancouver Arts Centre

As part of the 2025 Maritime Festival, the Albany Maritime Art Exhibition returns to the Vancouver Arts Centre this July with a captivating display of maritime-inspired artworks.

Running from 3 – 28 July, the exhibition invites visitors to explore the ocean’s beauty, power and mystery through the eyes of talented local and regional artists. From crashing waves and coastal life to nautical heritage and deep-sea imagination, this annual exhibition celebrates the spirit of the sea and Albany’s rich maritime culture.

The exhibition forms part of the City of Albany’s Maritime Festival, a month-long celebration featuring events, performances, food experiences and family-friendly activities that honour Albany’s coastal identity and connection to the ocean. Find out more at www.cityofalbanyevents.com/maritimefestival

Dates:3 - 28 July  2025 
Days: Monday to Friday
Time: 10am – 4pm
Location: Vancouver Arts Centre, 85 Vancouver Street, Albany, WA

During July - Saturdays 10-2pm

Dates open to public Exhibition
1 May - 12 June 2025 
Memoir - Jo Wassell 

1 May - 17 June 2025

A Celebration of Pollination - Karlee Bertola 

23 May - 20 June 2025 

Beyond the Surface - Allen Kennedy 

3 - 28 July 2025 

Albany Maritime Arts Exhibition