Hobart Current

Hobart Current

MY VOICE, 2021, Brigita Ozolins. A public artwork commissioned for Hobart Current 2021. Photo credit: Andrew Wilson Photography

Hobart Current is an innovative long-term partnership between the City of Hobart and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, which replaces the 27 year-old City of Hobart Art Prize.

Hobart Current website

This major biennial program showcases contemporary artists working across different media, which may include music, performance, film, design, visual art and literature.

A Creative Director is appointed for a two-year cycle. They set the theme and select ten artists to participate, each of whom will be commissioned to create a new work for the exhibition. At least six of the ten chosen will be artists who identify as Tasmanian.

Hobart Current: Epoch

Hobart Current: Epoch

17 November 2023 - 12 February 2024

Explore life as we step into a new era

Hobart Current: Epoch is a thought-provoking contemporary art program and exhibition, featuring new works created by 10 artists in response to the theme of 'epoch'. The artworks span the mediums of digital content, installation, spoken word, sound-works and visual art.

The program begins with an exhibition at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG). Three of the works are on display at outdoor sites within the Hobart CBD.

Explore the city further with a range of community artworks on the theme 'epoch'.

Learn more on the Epoch website:

Hobart Current: Epoch

Creative Director

Chris Twite

Chris Twite. Photo credit: Teresa Tan

Chris Twite is the Creative Director for Hobart Current in 2023. Chris' theme for the program is 'epoch'.

Chris has programmed and produced for organisations such as the Falls Festival, Sydney Festival, Brisbane Festival and the Sydney Opera House, helping to cultivate new art and ideas in cities around the country.

For full details about the Hobart Current Program visit the Hobart Current website.

Artists

The artists were chosen by Hobart Current: Epoch Creative Director Chris Twite following a comprehensive expression of interest process. Six of the ten projects are by Tasmanian artists, with the remainder selected from national and international applications.

Chris said that the team had once again been overwhelmed by the response to Hobart Current, having received over 150 expressions of interest from artists living in Tasmania, interstate and overseas.

The selected artists are:

  • Arushi Jain (US)
  • Florence Shaw (UK)
  • Georgia Morgan (Tasmania)
  • Isabella Maria Foster (Tasmania)
  • Lou Conboy (Tasmania)
  • Nathan Maynard (Tasmania)
  • Rochelle Haley (NSW)
  • Tricky Walsh (Tasmania)
  • Wona Bae and Charlie Lawler (Tasmania)

Hobart Current: Liberty

Hobart Current: Liberty

12 March - 9 May 2021

Who chooses freedom for whom, in what space and during what time?

Rosie Dennis, Creative Director of Hobart Current, selected ten contemporary artists to help find the answer.

Tasmanian artists Sinsa Mansell, Brigita Ozolins, James Newitt, Jacob Leary, Dexter Rosengrave and Nadege Philippe-Janon featured in this collection, which also spanned interstate and international talent including Uncle Wes Marne, Suryo Herlambang, Jagath Dheerasekara and Sarah Jane Pell creating new works in the mediums of film, installation, performance and visual art.

The works commissioned for Liberty offered personal and vulnerable perspectives on the theme, challenging notions of agency and representation, surveillance and exile.

Hobart Current: Liberty