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CAM News
The Board of Castlemaine Art Museum (CAM) announces with regret that Museum Director Naomi Cass will step down from her role on 26 June 2025.
Since her appointment in 2019, Naomi has worked with the CAM Board, Trustees, staff, volunteers, funders and donors to revitalise the organisation. Her leadership has seen the renewal of CAM’s programs, partnerships and profile, securing its place once more on the national cultural map.
Naomi’s collaborative work with Dja Dja Wurrung Elders, local artists and the creative community of Central Victoria has been central to her approach. She has championed the integration of CAM’s art and social history collections, forging a distinctive curatorial direction grounded in place, community and cultural continuity. Under her direction CAM developed a Spatial Masterplan with John Wardle Architects and was granted $6 million towards the first stage of this development.
Reflecting on her time at CAM, Naomi said:
It has been an honour to serve CAM and its unique assets – the collection, the building and the people – on Dja Dja Wurrung Country. Working closely with Djaara Elders Uncle Rick Nelson and Aunty Kerri Douglas, and with local artists, our dedicated volunteers, guides, staff and the engaged community has been a privilege. Together, we have reimagined the role of a regional museum in contemporary Australia. I’m confident the next director will continue to build on this momentum.
The CAM Board thanks Naomi for her vision, commitment and contribution and extends its warmest wishes for her next chapter.
Mark Sheppard
Acting Chair Castlemaine Art Museum
2024 Len Fox Painting Award Winner Announced
CAM is pleased to announce Nellie Ngampa Coulthard as the winner for 2024!
Judge Emma Busowsky comments:
Nellie Ngampa Coulthard’s Tjuntala Ngurangka – Country with Wattle (Acacia Murrayana) is a celebration of the beauty of nature and the artist’s abiding connection to her ancestral lands. It is an exuberant, joyful evocation of Yankunytjatjara Country, especially the brilliant yellow blossoms of the acacia wattle tree that abound there. Coulthard’s distinctive palette, command of her chosen medium of synthetic polymer paint, and unique vision have come together in a painting of dazzling beauty and intensity that captures the shimmering light, colour, atmosphere and abundance of the landscape. It is these qualities that link the work to the legacy of Emanuel Phillips Fox, though Coulthard’s cultural and artistic lineage is of course much older.
Coulthard is a respected elder from the artistically vibrant APY Lands in South Australia, and a practicing artist for over 3 decades. Tjuntala Ngurangka – Country with Wattle is both a worthy winner of the award and addition to a public collection, particularly one with strong holdings of colonial and 19th century Australian painting.
Judges Announce Prize Winner
Watch the announcement video below and hear the judges discuss the winner and finalists works.
2023 Experimental Print Prize Winners Announced
CAM is pleased to announce the winners for the 2023 Experimental Print Prize!
First Prize ($10,000) - Margaret Manchee, U & I, 2023, paper, ink and copper leaf
Highly Commended ($5,000) - One-Three Collective (David McBurney and Mark Dustin), Fountain, 2023, looped moving image, capturing processes of mechanical print reproduction on LED light matrix
Emerging Artist Award ($3,000) - Simon Dubbeld, Filth, 2023, dirt collected from the entrance to the Castlemaine Art Museum
Judges Beverly Knight and Richard Harding commented, "It was a great honour working together to judge the third iteration of EPP. The calibre of entries this year was very high and our initial role to choose from over 150 entries to 43 finalists was difficult. Given the brief of experimental print making, there could have been several winners in each section. We hope this exhibition adds to the intrigue and education of art lovers about print making."
CAM would like to extend a huge thank you to all finalists and artists who entered the prize; generous donor Michael Rigg; and this year's brilliant judges Richard Harding and Beverly Knight for their time and consideration.
Voting for the People's Choice Award ($500) is now open, kindly supported by the Friends of Castlemaine Art Museum. Visit the exhibition to have your say and cast your vote, or vote online here.
Exhibition Dates: 15 September 2023 – 28 January 2024
Listen - Artist Talk with David Rosetzky
Hear from renowned artist David Rosetzky, discussing his major commission and exhibition, Air to Atmosphere
Air to Atmosphere explores the diversity, trauma, resilience, and pride of the LGBTQIA+ community. David Rosetzky, in collaboration with members of the community on Dja Dja Wurrung Country in central Victoria, including &so, Eden Swan, Terence Jaensch and Rhett D'Costa amongst others, has created a major new work including video and photographic portraits.
Flowing from Rosetzky's renowned practice in video and performance, this large collaborative and multi-disciplinary work includes photography, filmmaking, performance, publishing, music, song, choreography by Jo Lloyd and social events created with and about local artists and community members.
In this artist talk, David Rosetzky discusses Air to Atmosphere with CAM General Manager Sarina Meuleman.
Listen - Artist Talk with David Frazer
David Frazer discusses his current exhibition, For the Love of Song, at Castlemaine Art Museum with Honorary Curator Jenny Long
In his exhibition, For the Love of Song, two great art forms entwine. Renowned printmaker David Frazer collaborates with some of the most iconic Australian and international songwriters of a generation: Paul Kelly (AUS); Don Walker (AUS); Nick Cave (AUS/UK); Nick Lowe (UK) and Tom Waits (USA). Frazer’s most recent collaboration with Tom Waits is a world premiere.
In this talk, Frazer discusses his handmade illustrated books, endorsed and signed by the recording artists, as well as the suite of linocuts, broadsheets (images from the book), and magnificent wood blocks presented as part of this exhibition.
Castlemaine Art Museum Walkthrough
Founded in 1913, Castlemaine Art Museum hosts an ever-changing schedule of exhibitions and programs featuring the work of contemporary artists as well as works from our unique collection of Australian art and social history artefacts.
CAM's beautiful art deco building with purpose built galleries is a work of art in itself. Dating from 1931, it has undergone a number of extensions over its lifetime and reflects the early history of the district and the changing needs of regional arts over time.
Announcing the Winner for Len Fox Award 2022
Congratulations to this year's winner, Greg Creek
Judge Kirsty Grant said "Greg Creek's Killing-Jar Painting 2021, is a complex and sophisticated painting. It incorporates various techniques, using stencils, screen printed elements, and traced silhouettes, in conjunction with beautiful, painterly passages that revel in the sensuous, material qualities of paint. Visually and texturally rich, it is a celebration of colour. This painting is also mysterious, revealing itself gradually in a manner that rewards slow looking. There is a narrative here, but as pictorial details emerge, building up a densely layered composition, it evolves, leaving space for interpretation and imagination."
Exhibition Dates: 12 March – 12 June 2022
2021 Experimental Print Prize Winners!
Congratulations to the winners of the 2021 Experimental Print Prize!
Judges Catherine Pilgrim and Trent Walter are pleased to announce the following prize winners:
First Prize: Bridget Hillebrand, Drift, 2021
Highly Commended: John Loane, The Shallow, The Deep (existential dichotomies), 2020
Emerging Artist Award: Hannah Caprice, We must be imaging things, 2019
Congratulations to all shortlisted artists, and thank you to all who entered.
Exhibition Dates: 20 November 2021 – 27 February 2022
Orbit: Alvin Darcy Briggs
Alvin Darcy Briggs is a Yorta Yorta, Taungurung and Nario, Walbunja artist living and working in Castlemaine.
In this video, ADB reflects on his pratice and the art of pyrography which means ‘writing with fire’.
Orbit: Alvin Darcy Briggs is an exhibition at the Castlemaine Art Museum, 30 September—14 November 2021.
Video by Michelle Dunn.
James Henry: 18 Families
First Nations artist James Henry reflects on his exhibition '18 Families' at Castlemaine Art Museum.
18 Families recognises the 18 ancestors whose descendants make up the thriving Jaara community who live in, around and beyond Castlemaine today. In the first exhibition of this commission, James Henry presents photographs of four families on country or in local parks, with the desire to photograph all 18 Families over time.
The exhibition is on view at CAM from 19 March-9 October 2021.
Video by Michelle Dunn.
Melinda Harper in Conversation with the Collection
Leading contemporary artist Melinda Harper reflects on her exhibition 'Melinda Harper in Conversation with the Collection' at Castlemaine Art Museum, which is on view at CAM from 19 March 2021-17 February 2022.
Video by Michelle Dunn.
Janina Green in Conversation with the Collection
Photographer Janina Green reflects on her exhibition 'Janina Green in Conversation with the Collection' at Castlemaine Art Museum, which was on view at CAM from 17 May 2020-9 March 2021.
Video by Michelle Dunn.
18 Families - Aunty Kerri Douglas and Jacinta Douglas
Listen to recordings of stories, oral histories, and reflections with Aunty Kerri Douglas and Jacinta Douglas, as part of the 18 Families project.
18 Families recognises the 18 ancestors whose descendants make up the thriving Jaara community who live in, around and beyond Castlemaine today.
First Nations artist James Henry presents photographs of four families on country or in local parks, with the desire to photograph all 18 Families over time.
We are grateful to the community for their participation and shared desire to create a contemporary representation of the Jaara community in all their humanity and diversity.
18 Families - Aunty Marlene Burchill and Uncle Graham Atkinson's families
Listen to recordings of stories, oral histories, and reflections with Aunty Marlene Burchill and Uncle Graham Atkinson's families, as part of the 18 Families project.
18 Families recognises the 18 ancestors whose descendants make up the thriving Jaara community who live in, around and beyond Castlemaine today.
First Nations artist James Henry presents photographs of four families on country or in local parks, with the desire to photograph all 18 Families over time.
We are grateful to the community for their participation and shared desire to create a contemporary representation of the Jaara community in all their humanity and diversity.
18 Families - Karen Jackson and Rhiannon Jackson Dalglish
Listen to recordings of stories, oral histories, and reflections with Karen Jackson and Rhiannon Jackson Dalglish, as part of the 18 Families project.
18 Families recognises the 18 ancestors whose descendants make up the thriving Jaara community who live in, around and beyond Castlemaine today.
First Nations artist James Henry presents photographs of four families on country or in local parks, with the desire to photograph all 18 Families over time.
We are grateful to the community for their participation and shared desire to create a contemporary representation of the Jaara community in all their humanity and diversity.
18 Families - Uncle Rick Nelson
Listen to recordings of stories, oral histories, and reflections with Uncle Rick Nelson, as part of the 18 Families project.
18 Families recognises the 18 ancestors whose descendants make up the thriving Jaara community who live in, around and beyond Castlemaine today.
First Nations artist James Henry presents photographs of four families on country or in local parks, with the desire to photograph all 18 Families over time.
We are grateful to the community for their participation and shared desire to create a contemporary representation of the Jaara community in all their humanity and diversity.