PICA reopens its doors with Hatched: National Graduate Show 2020

Following the two-month closure, PICA is set to reopen on Friday 10 July with its annual Hatched: National Graduate Show. Now in its 29th year, the exhibition will present the work of 24 emerging artists from across Australia across all PICA's gallery spaces, providing a snapshot of the leading trends in contemporary art. Running until Sunday October 18, the 14-week exhibition will be the longest in the history of Hatched.

Michelle Vine, Affirmation Tub, 2018-19. Image courtesy of the artist.

As a key event in PICA’s ongoing commitment to supporting the careers of Australia’s most promising emerging artists, the exhibition explores issues from questions of identity to political protest and media consumption. The innovative and exciting range of practices presented in Hatched tell the story of contemporary Australian culture whilst showcasing the future directions of arts practice. PICA Director Amy Barrett-Lenard stated:

“We are delighted to be re-opening with Hatched, without doubt one of our most popular shows. While COVID has created some additional challenges for us, it has also opened up opportunities for us to be engaging with artists and audiences at a distance through digital platforms. We hope to support more artists through our professional development program and reach more audiences than ever with this year’s Hatched.”

For this year’s Hatched, 56 students were nominated by 20 tertiary art schools nationally, with the final selection made by a panel of artists and arts professionals from around Australia, including leading artist Nathan Beard, Hannah Presley (Curator Indigenous Art, National Gallery of Victoria) and Megan Monte (Director Cement Fondu, Sydney).

Siahne Rogers, "GO FOR BROKE!" and "THIS COULD ALL GO BELLY-UP AT ANYTIME!", 2019. Photo by Roger D'Souza.

Hatched 2020 artists include Jody Rallah, a descendent of the Biri Gubba, Warangu and Yuggera peoples whose large-scale installation of 250 ceramic coolamons (Indigenous cultural vessels) has been produced through a community-based practice. Michelle Vine’s interest in the sense of touch grew from her lived experience of chronic illness and her Hatched works offer a reimagining of common household objects as tools for self-soothing. WA artist Siahne Rogers presents a creative response to their grandfather’s fantastical biography as the founder of the iconic Fast Eddy’s restaurant empire in Perth. For the 11th consecutive year, one exceptional artist will also be awarded the Schenberg Art Fellowship, now worth $50 000 and the most generous prize for emerging artists of its kind in Australia. This year it will be presented at a special celebratory event towards the end of the exhibition. Further, PICA also plans to once again offer an interstate Hatched artist the opportunity to undertake a residency in partnership with North Metropolitan TAFE, with timing to be determined once travel restrictions have been lifted.

Jody Rallah, 250 Years (The Coolamon Project), 2019. Photo by Andrew Willis.

PICA has introduced a range of digital initiatives in effort to further extend the reach of Hatched. These include a virtual guided tour of the exhibition, as well as online artist-created activities for those who like to get creative at home. Additionally, there will be regular artist interviews released throughout the coming months across PICA’s social media channels, in a mix of written, video and audio formats. What’s more, for the first time ever, the Hatched catalogue will be available digitally for free! The printed catalogue will be released in late July, featuring new images from the installation at PICA. Hatched Curatorial Fellow Miranda Johnson must be mentioned in her instrumental planning, administration and delivery of Hatched.