2021 exhibitions program

Established in 1989, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) houses one of the largest exhibition spaces in Australia and has become known for the leading role it plays in the presentation of significant new work. PICA commissions and produces annual programs of exhibitions, seasons in contemporary dance, theatre and performance, and a range of interdisciplinary projects.

PICA is pleased to announce its 2021 exhibition program, including newly commissioned work, major projects and solo presentations by artists who are forging new territory with their practices.

the gathering
February 9–April 18

Curated by Glenn Iseger-Pilkington, this exhibition brings together the voices of First Nations artists from Australia, Māori artists from Aotearoa New Zealand, and Australian South Sea Islander artists. An invitation for audiences to reconsider histories, our new realities and our shared humanity, at a time when the world is united in so many ways, but increasingly divided by others, the gathering showcases existing and newly commissioned sculpture, video, photography, painting and installation by artists Jasmine Togo-Brisby, Dean Cross, Sharyn Egan, Peggy Griffiths Madij, Yabini Kickett, Bridget Reweti, Damien Shen, and James Tylor. More

SONGS from Patrick William Carter
February 9–April 18

Noongar artist and performer Patrick Carter uses performance, video, sound and painting to tell his stories. This evocative survey of Carter’s artistic practice tracks explorations in narrative, gesture and dance and the development of significant collaborations with filmmakers and musicians. More

the gathering and SONGS from Patrick William Carter are presented in association with Perth Festival.

Hatched: National Graduate Show 2021
May 8–July 1

In 2021, PICA celebrates 30 years supporting the work of Australia’s leading artists at the earliest stages of their careers through Hatched: National Graduate Show. Over this time PICA has presented the work of over a thousand artists who have gone on to help define contemporary Australian practice as the leading artists of their generation. This anniversary offers an opportunity to share and understand the impact and importance of the exhibition that forms a cornerstone of PICA’s annual program. More

Love in Bright Landscapes
July 27–October 10

Through the work of artists living, working, hailing from, or passing through both cities, Love in Bright Landscapes, curated by Annika Kristensen, explores the possibilities of contemporary art in contributing to ongoing stories of identity, purpose, presence and place in the cities of Perth and Los Angeles. Artists include Kevin Balantine, Emma Buswell, George Egerton-Warburton, Teelah George, Cassie Lynch and Mei Swan Lim, Laure Prouvost, and Brendan van Hek, with more to be announced. More

I don’t see colour
Salote Tawale
July 30–October 10

I don’t see colour presents a new body of work by Fijian-born, Sydney-based artist Salote Tawale, the starting point for which is a conversation that took place between the artist and a philosophy student at a party in the UK. Presenting painting, installation and video, I don’t see colour is a response to this exchange and an attempt to process the implications of this statement in the face of the unevenly felt impacts of climate change brought on by colonial and capitalist structures. More

This project is supported by the Michela & Adrian Fini Artist Fellowship, awarded by the Sheila Foundation.

Sione Monu
July 30–October 10

The short films of Sione Monu present a personal encounter with everyday dilemmas and social realities to explore identity, family and Pasifika queer experience in the diaspora. Filmed and edited on an iPhone, their temporal distortions and montages of impressions, memories and fantasies reflect the influence and impact of social media on everyday life. More

Sky Cave
Amy Perejuan-Capone
October 22–January 9, 2022

A solo exhibition featuring a new body of work by Western Australian artist Amy Perejuan-Capone, who will use the dramatic height of PICA’s central gallery space for the presentation of historical hang gliders as she builds on her parents’ pioneering contribution to the sport to examine the complexity of family narratives and relationship to place, as well as the transference of skill, memory and points of connection across generations. More

Presented as part of the inaugural Indian Ocean Craft Triennial.

Kin
Alex Martinis Roe
October 22–January 9, 2022

In her solo presentation at PICA, Melbourne-based artist Alex Martinis Roe sets out to explore feminist, lesbian and queer kinship structures via a non-linear genealogy of the artist’s own kin (and their kin). Taking as a starting point the Western Australian based Lespar Library of Women’s Liberation, initiated in 1979 by Karin Hoffman, Martinis Roe’s project traverses queer and feminist histories across Australia, to situate these connections as a rhizomatic genealogy of political family, a network of biological and non-biological kin. More

Performance, studio and public programs continue through the year. See pica.org.au.