A year of firsts for 15 Artists exhibition

An exhibition described as “an incredible mix of artists from around the country” is on at the Redcliffe Art Gallery until December 3.

Galleries co-ordinator Leanne Kelly says the annual 15 Artists exhibition includes a number of firsts this year.

In its 25^th year, it includes the winner of the Redcliffe Art Society Exhibition of Excellence, Elizabeth Duguid, along with the work of 14 others who were invited to submit their art.

The prestigious exhibition carries with it a $20,000 prize, with the winning piece added to the Moreton Bay Regional Council collection.

“We’re looking at who’s current in Australia and internationally,” Leanne explains.

“Every year we do it, it’s almost like a temperature check of what’s current in contemporary Australian art – it’s pretty epic.

See the gallery

“The stories of each of the pieces this year is amazing – they’re contemporary artists showing us lots of other cultures.”

A virtual reality piece has been included in 15 Artists for the first time and a collaborative work created by a mother and daughter is also a first, Leanne says.

Taloi Havini’s Portals to home (Pari & Hatukul) includes elements from her mother Marilyn Havini, who designed the Bougainville flag.

Also in the exhibition is Joan Ross’s high-definition animation Let’s Party like it’s 1815 - a thought-provoking commentary on globalisation and colonisation.

Equally fascinating is Michelle Hamer’s Wheel of Fortune depicting a three-wheel spinning “poker machine” with phrases from the past two years, which is described as “both an oracle of our time and an ode to escapism and collective forgetting”.

Ethiopian-born Atong Atem’s striking Banksia Series delves into the history of Australia’s first African settlers, who arrived on the First Fleet, challenging the notions of identity and history.

15 Artists is on at the Redcliffe Art Gallery, 1 Irene St, Redcliffe, until December 3.

The gallery is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm and entry is free.