29 Art & Archives The works are Watts’ personal evocation of the seemingly impenetrable Australian bush in the vicinity of her country studio, depicting scenes around the Mount Buangor and Langi Ghiran State Parks, and Hepburn Regional Park. Yet rather than being broad panoramic reflections of the landscape that so often typifies this genre, they are tightly focused, cropped to the scene directly in front of the viewer. Watts’ portraiture presents a view that is immediate, placing the viewer directly in these captivating environments of filtered light and form. ‘The bush is its own world,’ Watts notes. ‘Beneath the canopy of forest leaves, thick trunks springing upwards, creating a maze of For the first time, »ÆÉ«app will collaborate with Melbourne Indigenous Transition School (MITS) in 2018 to present an exhibition of Indigenous artwork. The artwork is sourced from the communities that MITS engages with. Opened in 2016, MITS is a residential transition school for Indigenous students from remote Northern Territory and regional Victorian communities. It creates a culturally safe and celebratory environment for students in Melbourne, dramatically improving educational and wellbeing outcomes. Culture is embedded and expressed throughout the MITS curriculum, and students are provided with opportunities to engage with Indigenous artists and cultural organisations within Melbourne. The exhibition of up to 50 works from leading art centres in the Following a hugely successful inaugural year for the Burke Gallery, with two stunning exhibitions – First Light: Indigenous Art from the Trinity Art Collections and Beyond Woop Woop: John Kelly’s Antarctic Paintings – we are excited to present the work of a College alumna in 2018. Paintings by noted Australian artist Vicky Watts (TC 1980) will open in February with a series of her landscape paintings of western Victoria and Tasmania. Joint venture to exhibit Indigenous art VICKY WATTS Northern Territory and by Victorian contemporary Indigenous artists will be on display from June to November 2018 in the Gateway building and surrounds. The contemporary Victorian artwork will be juxtaposed with the artwork from remote Northern Territory communities to highlight the breadth of Indigenous culture. The artwork will be for sale with the proceeds going first to the artists, and then to the MITS Scholarship Fund. MITS will use the exhibition to advocate for the communities it supports, engage with partners and raise funds for scholarships. A catalogue of the artwork with an introductory essay will be distributed both electronically and in hard copy. Other committee members include: Director, Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA), Charlotte horizontal lines. The lushness of the landscape is contrasted almost immediately, stumbling upon a patch of burnt bark and scorched the earth.’ Many of the Victorian scenes depict the area in the aftermath of controlled burning and then some months later with fresh green sprigs of regeneration. There is a clear sense of renewal amidst the blackened trunks of towering eucalypts. These works contrast wonderfully with the lush, cool temperature forests of Tasmania that seems to be all but resistant to fire. Together, the works speak of the diversity of the Australian bush. Watts’ landscapes will open in late February through until early May in the Burke Gallery. The Gallery is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10am–4pm, or by prior appointment. BY SARAH GEORGE ( TC 1992) BY BENJAMIN THOMAS Upcoming exhibition Day; Artistic Director and CEO, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA), Max Delany; Senior Curator of South Eastern Aboriginal Collections, Museum Victoria, Kimberley Moultan; Acting Head of Australian Indigenous Studies, University of Melbourne, Genevieve Grieves; Head of Art, Leonard Joel, Sophie Ullin; and Hanging Valley Art Consultancy, Kade McDonald. 2017 MITS students with Dustin Martin from the Richmond Football Club. Vicky Watts, Mt Buangor #12 (2016), acrylic on linen, 120 x 210cm.