The Vizard Foundation Art Collection of the 1990s

From 1992, the Foundation worked with the University to provide support of Australian art and artists by acquiring, researching and exhibiting a unique and substantial collection of 124 works of art by 51 contemporary Australian artists. The Collection has always been on loan to the University through the Ian Potter Museum of Art and is used for educational, research and scholarly purposes.

A number of substantial publications and exhibitions have been based on the collection, and these form an integral part of the project. Most notably, the 2003 exhibition “See, Here, Now” showcased the collection in its entirety, and the important catalogue incorporated numerous essays exploring the many ways in which artists responded to the challenges and contradictions of Australian society on the threshold on the new millennium.

Since that time, elements of the collection have been used to illustrate themes and issues posed through other exhibitions at the Potter Museum.

The Foundation has also supported a project to present the collection on-line, as a national resource for senior secondary students and university students for research and study. The resource incorporates high quality digital images of the works, academic notes and analysis, links to interviews with the artists and commentators, artefacts illustrating the social context in which the works were created and links to other related sites. Explore the collection here

The Vizard Contemporary Art Project

This program aimed to support mid-career Australian artists by:

• establishing an annual grant, to be administered by the University, to a mid-career Australian artist to produce new work in conjunction with the Potter.

• providing a full museum exhibition for the presentation and promotion of the new directions in their work, showcased in the context of past achievements.

• establishing an annual grant to the Potter to support exhibition costs.

This project commenced in 2011 and ran for six years, staging highly successful annual exhibitions that were well attended, and which showcased a diverse range of styles, themes, and media. The artists produced important bodies of new work, the exhibitions attracted significant critical acclaim, and the works and the artists contributed actively to the academic programs of the University.