Overview
Melbourne isn't the only patch of Victoria that's gaining a new place to celebrate creativity in 2025, and adding something different and welcome to Australia's cultural scene in the process. While the state's capital city is set to become home to the Australian Museum of Performing Arts in December, championing the nation's contribution to music, theatre, opera, circus and dance in a city that's never short on any of those artforms, Halls Gap at the foothills of Gariwerd/Grampians National Park is gaining the National Centre for Environmental Art before winter is out. Again, the venue's focus and its location match perfectly.
If you're going to open an Aussie-first gallery that's dedicated to works about the natural world, doing so in stunning surroundings is a must. The National Centre for Environmental Art is the brainchild of the Wama Foundation and, as it hones in on artistic narratives heroing the earth, will form part of the organisation's new art and environment precinct.
When it begins ushering patrons through its doors — at a yet-to-be-revealed midyear 2025 date — the National Centre for Environmental Art will launch as stage one of the broader hub, alongside the Gariwerd/Grampians Endemic Botanic Garden, plus new artwork around the grounds. From there, immersing art within the landscape will continue to be a highlight of stage two, which will also boast a sculpture trail. So, you'll be enjoying the site's affection for both creativity and nature indoors and out.
Inside, Western Australian artist Jacobus Capone will be in the spotlight at the centre's debut exhibition, with End & Being contemplating the planet's warming, the crisis as a result and the influence that humans have had upon the situation. The Fremantle-based artist creates everything from paintings and video installations to photos and performances — and will take visitors to Bossons Glacier at Mont Blanc in France without leaving Victoria, all by documenting a performance staged above and beneath the icefall.
Astrid Muller
"Our program, encompassing new commissions, group exhibitions and nationally touring shows, will be rooted by a spirit of inquiry. Our take on the genre of environmental art is expansive, offering ample space for both playful exploration and deep contemplation," explains Wama Foundation CEO Pippa Mott of the National Centre for Environmental Art's aim.
"Jacobus and I are deeply honoured to be part of Wama's inaugural exhibition and to present a project that, like Wama, seeks to foster a dialogue between art, humanity and the environment," added curator José Da Silva, who is also UNSW Galleries' Director and previously was part of the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art's team in Brisbane, including leading the Australian Cinémathèque.
"Capone's work, with its profound sensitivity to environmental change and human vulnerability, speaks directly to that mission, and has guided our decisions to present this particular project."
Astrid Muller
Jacobus Capone and Moore Contemporary
Jacobus Capone and Moore Contemporary
Find the Wama Foundation and The National Centre for Environmental Art at 4000 Ararat-Halls Gap Road, Halls Gap, Victoria, Australia sometime from winter 2025 — head to the Wama Foundation website for more details.