Archibald Headlines Jam-Packed January for MRAG
Primed to visit the Hunter Valley for the first time in almost ten years, the Archibald Prize Tour is the highlight of a jam-packed summer program at Maitland Regional Art Gallery.
Celebrating 100 years as Australia’s oldest and most loved portraiture prize, the Archibald Prize is an annual open competition awarded to the best portrait, typically a distinguished person of arts, science, or politics.
This year’s winning portrait, Peter Wegner’s portrait of Archibald winning artist Guy Warren AM, will be joined by the other 51 finalists for more than six weeks at Maitland Regional Art Gallery from January 2022.
The Gallery will host the travelling exhibition from Saturday 22 January to Sunday 6 March, with staff gearing up for another busy summer. Tickets start from $7 for MRAG Members and can be purchased online from the Maitland Regional Art Gallery website (see below).
The excitement will also take to the skies in January 2022, with the incredible Skywhales experience setting off at dawn from Maitland No.1 Sportsground on Saturday, 15 January.
Skywhale and Skywalepapa are two towering hot air balloon sculptures by artist Patricia Piccinini, set to come to life in the glow of sunrise. This large scale community event is a touring initiative of the National Gallery of Australia and supported by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation and Visions of Australia.
Everyone is invited to the Sportsground from 4.30am to watch the spectacle unfold and take flight over Maitland from 6am. The event is free, with bookings essential through www.mrag.org.au
