This is a very exciting annual exhibition that the MCA Australia brings patrons every year. The field is open to Australian artists 35 years and under, and is now in its 33rd year. Since its inception the exhibition series has presented the work of over 250 artists and over 30 curators, and propelled the careers of many of Australia’s most significant artists.
This year’s highly talented artists are Teresa Busuttil from South Australia, Chin Yin Rainbow Chan from Victoria, Aidan Hartshorn from Canberra, Monica Rani Rudhar from New South Wales and Sarah Ujmaia from Victoria.
This year’s curator is Lucy Latella who joined MCA Australia in 2019 and has organised a range of exhibitions and building commissions with Australia and international artists. She has been the curator of the exhibitions of Julie Rrap : Past Continuous (2024), Lucy Simpson : Holding Ground (2023) and co-curator of Anywhere but here : MCA Primavera Acquisitions (2020)
Suzanne Cotter, Director, Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia said, Primavera : Young Australian Artists said, ‘This exhibition is a highlight of our programming year when we share with the public the art of now and its future.’
Teresa Busuttil – Born 1993, Tandanya/Adelaide. Lives and wrks Tandanya/Adelaide and Valleta, Malta
Teresa Busuttil’s artistic practice blends personal experience, family history and fantasy, often using found or repurposed objects that are connected to her Maltese Australian heritage. Her contemporary interpretations of kitsch stem from historic cultural influences, including the mid 20th century when her family migrated from Malta to Australia, as well as from her own childhood.
Chun Yin Rainbow Chan – Born 1990, Hong Kong. lives and works Naarm/Melbourne
Chun Yin Rainbow Chan is an interdisciplinary artist and musician who explores themes of cultural representation and (mis)translation in her work. Central to her recent projects is the revitalisation of women’s folk songs from the Weitou people, the first settlers of Hong Kong.
Aidan Hartshorn – Walgalu (Wolgal, Wolgalu) and Wiradjuri peoples. Born 1995, Wagga Wagga, NSW. Lives and works Kamberri/Canberra, ACT
Aidan Hartshorn’s ancestral land stretches across the High Country of Australia, parts of Kosciuszko National Park and the Snowy Mountains, and the Riverina region of NSW. Hartshorn constructs cultural objects from contemporary materials to address industries that disrupt his peoples’ ancestral connections to Walgalu and Wiradjuri Country.
Monica Rani Rudhar – Born 1994, Dharug Country, Sydney. Lives and works Eora/Sydney
Born to Indian and Romanian parents, Rudhar uses her artistic practice to navigate a loss and longing that stems from a feeliong of cultural disconnection. Through sculpture, installation and video she has built an autobiographical archive of oral stories from dispersed relatives, that have been interpreted into English by her parents.
Sarah Ujmaia – Born 1995, Naarm/Melbourne. Lives and works Naarm/Melbourne
Ujmaia is a first generation Chaldean woman and the first member of her family, who migrated from northern Iraq, to be born in Australia. Her experimental material-led practice examines the wide reaching impacts of forced displacement and marginalised languages.
PRIMAVERA 2024 : YOUNG AUSTRALIAN ARTISTS is a free exhibition on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Level 2 Galleries until Monday 27 January 2025.
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