Sydney Printmakers Exhibition Uncertain Sanctuary

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you are invited to

Sydney Printmakers exhibition

UNCERTAIN SANCTUARY

to be opened 2pm Saturday 7 March

by Katherine Roberts Senior Curator, Exhbitions & Collections Manly Art Gallery and Museum

at the Garden Gallery, enter via Reception Royal Botanical Gardens Mrs Macquaries Road

4-15 March 2026, 10am-4pm daily

‘UNCERTAIN SANCTUARY’ Contemplation, reflection and protection. 

An exhibition of recent works linking the artist’s studio and the making process with gardens and their nurture.

The concept of sanctuary is not just about physical space but also an inner refuge where ideas take root and flourish. Gardens, with their cycles of growth and decay, mirror the creative process itself, where inspiration arises from contemplation and perseverance. Similarly, the studio becomes a sacred ground, a sanctuary where the artist can retreat, reflect, and transform thoughts into tangible forms. This interplay between the natural world and the creative spirit is a testament to the enduring power of solitude and the focus on our artistic adventures.

The artist’s studio parallels Virginia Wolf’s concept of ‘A Room of One’s Own’ and serves as a sanctuary akin to a garden, awaiting to be nurtured with profound thought and creativity. The desire to isolate to concentrate and muse on how to make something that expresses a reality without necessarily being realist in form, is an ongoing imaginative project. Close observation of nature through drawing, photography, printmaking and painting is where the landscape is literally captured and taken back to the studio/sanctuary often to be mulled over and refined or otherwise referred to obliquely with unusual materials, methods and interpretations of the selected environment. 

Even if the studio adopts a more industrial and factory-like appearance, such as a print workshop, it frequently includes a reserved and secluded area within its walls or a park or garden nearby, for contemplation and research. The intersecting of print media with the nuances of landscape and our natural world has attracted some key Australian artists such as Janet Laurence, Simryn Gill and Fiona Hall. They all use some form of print media to create their works. From nature printing, projections, sculpture and videos as well as works on paper. Print media allows for the layering, folding and pressing of ideas onto paper and other large-scale materials to create new and imaginative ways to reflect on our natural world. 

These exhibited works are by members of the Sydney Printmakers Inc. who have responded to the idea of sanctuary as a space to think, dream and make, and the many and various methods of print-based practise that exists in contemporary art in 2026. 

Many print media artists across Australia are members of the Print Council of Australia. The PCA celebrates its 60th year in 2026 as the leading advocate for print media, nationally. There is a strong connection between the Melbourne based PCA and the Sydney Printmakers who have already celebrated their 60thanniversary and have been working collaboratively since the 1960s. This exhibition celebrates the connections between these two organisations and the longevity of both.

Therese  Kenyon

Opportunities for Members, both Local and International

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Theme: Built to Expire, Closes 19 March

Subsidised Artist 5-day retreat. CLOSES 1 MARCH

https://www.tasmancottage.com/artist-retreat

Partnership between Messums UK and Orange Regional Gallery. Valued at $33,000 this six-week residency in the UK must take place between 1 September and 30 November 2026 .

Closes 30 April

https://www.messums.org/learning/full-circle-international-residency-award/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio

St Kevins OMNIA Art Prize Toorak, closes 13 March

Anne Starling Selected Finalist Muswellbrook Art Prize

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Anne Starling Home Comfort 2025, lino cut, woodblock collage on BFK Rives paper

Congratulations to Sydney Printmaker member Anne Starling for being selected a finalist to the Muswellbrook Art Prize 2026. Exhibition dates 19 March-23 May

other finalists selected and their work https://www.artgalleria.com/view-room/42264

Nathalie Gautier-Hartog Finalist in the Alice Prize

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Nathalie Gautier-Hartog Margaret River 2025, cianotypeand gold/fool gold drawing 36x76cm

Congratulations to Sydney Printmaker member Nathalie Gautier-Hartog on being selected finalist to the Alice Prize 2026, with her work Margaret River.

The Alice Prize is an acquisitive national contemporary prize that celebrates artists working in any medium or theme from across the nation.

A biennial prize at Araluen Cultural Precint, Alice Springs, March 27 to June 8 2026

Sydney Printmakers Exhibition Uncertain Sanctuary

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Therese Kenyon, Unmoored and Adrift(detail)2026, mixed media collage, 91x91cm

Sydney Printmakers exhibition Uncertain Sanctuary is to be opened Saturday 7 March, 2pm by Katherine Roberts, senior Curator, Exhibitions & Collections MAGM

4-15 March 2026

Hours 10am-4pm daily, The Garden Gallery, Royal Botanical Gardens, Entry via Reception Mrs Macquaries Road

botanicgardens.org.au

UNCERTAIN SANCTUARY’ Contemplation, reflection and protection. 

An exhibition of recent works linking the artist’s studio and the making process with gardens and their nurture.

The concept of sanctuary is not just about physical space but also an inner refuge where ideas take root and flourish. Gardens, with their cycles of growth and decay, mirror the creative process itself, where inspiration arises from contemplation and perseverance. Similarly, the studio becomes a sacred ground, a sanctuary where the artist can retreat, reflect, and transform thoughts into tangible forms. This interplay between the natural world and the creative spirit is a testament to the enduring power of solitude and the focus on our artistic adventures.

The artist’s studio parallels Virginia Wolf’s concept of ‘A Room of One’s Own’ and serves as a sanctuary akin to a garden, awaiting to be nurtured with profound thought and creativity. The desire to isolate to concentrate and muse on how to make something that expresses a reality without necessarily being realist in form, is an ongoing imaginative project. Close observation of nature through drawing, photography, printmaking and painting is where the landscape is literally captured and taken back to the studio/sanctuary often to be mulled over and refined or otherwise referred to obliquely with unusual materials, methods and interpretations of the selected environment. 

Even if the studio adopts a more industrial and factory-like appearance, such as a print workshop, it frequently includes a reserved and secluded area within its walls or a park or garden nearby, for contemplation and research. The intersecting of print media with the nuances of landscape and our natural world has attracted some key Australian artists such as Janet Laurence, Simryn Gill and Fiona Hall. They all use some form of print media to create their works. From nature printing, projections, sculpture and videos as well as works on paper. Print media allows for the layering, folding and pressing of ideas onto paper and other large-scale materials to create new and imaginative ways to reflect on our natural world. 

These exhibited works are by members of the Sydney Printmakers Inc. who have responded to the idea of sanctuary as a space to think, dream and make, and the many and various methods of print-based practise that exists in contemporary art in 2026. 

Many print media artists across Australia are members of the Print Council of Australia. The PCA celebrates its 60th year in 2026 as the leading advocate for print media, nationally. There is a strong connection between the Melbourne based PCA and the Sydney Printmakers who have already celebrated their 60thanniversary and have been working collaboratively since the 1960s. This exhibition celebrates the connections between these two organisations and the longevity of both.

Therese Kenyon

Remagine Art Prize 2026

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Youth Prize 2025 – Tania Babic Plastic Home 2025, graphite, marker on reused cardboard

The 2026 Remagine Art Prize, an environmental art competition run by Hornsby Shire Council, invites entries with the theme “Built to Expire,” focusing on sustainability and waste, with a $11,000 prize pool, for various mediums, including printmaking, painting, sculpture, and photography. 

Theme: BUILT TO EXPIRE – exploring products designed with short lifespans and the resulting environmental impact.

Entries close on March 19 2026

Seong Cho Exhibition Earth Myth

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SEONG CHO Contemplating the Void XVI, 2025 60x145cm, multi woodcut print handprinted on handmade Korean mulberry paper

Seong Cho’s exhibition Earth Myth

7-28 th February

Art Atrium 48, level1/48 Alfred Street Milsons Point.

Hours Wed-Fri 12-5pm, Sat 12-4pm

Art Atrium 48 is proud to present Earth Myth, a series of woodcut prints by Korean-born Australian artist Seong Cho, developed during and inspired by artist residencies in Italy and Greece in 2025. The works explore stories embedded in nature, which echo through time and intertwine with human creation. Surrounded by layers of archaeology, history, culture, tradition and modernity, Cho reflects on how earth’s elements shape landscapes and how human hands build civilisations. Drawing on ancient archaeology, Renaissance architecture, the contemporary world, and her own East Asian cultural heritage, the series examines cultural identity and our search for meaning through the stories of the past. 

Cho combines contemporary abstraction with traditional East Asian materials and methods to create distinctive woodblock prints on paper. Her work emulates natural forces; wind-carved lines, shifting light, rippling water and twisting trees, using abstract forms that move beyond realism, narrative and language. Rather than illustrating specific myths or places, the prints suggest how memory and cultural knowledge feel, shift, evolve and erode, inviting viewers into a meditative space to reflect on identity, existence, time and emotion. 

Cho’s practice begins in direct engagement with nature: she makes her own brushes from sticks and leaves, carves each woodblock by hand, and prints using natural pigments on traditional Korean handmade mulberry paper. By combining Renaissance rhythm with East Asian techniques, Earth Myth connects Cho’s cross-cultural lived experience with an abstract visual language grounded in material, memory and place. 

SEONG CHO Earth Myth I, 2025 120x120cm, multi woodcut print handprinted on handmade Korean mulberry paper

Vale Steven “Paddo” Patterson

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Vale Steven Patterson

16th December 1966 – 28th December 2025

It is with sadness that we share the passing of Steven Patterson after a six month battle with non- Hodgkin lymphoma.

Steven was a much-loved supporter of Waverley Woollahra Art School and a respected member of the Sydney arts community. While many knew him as the owner of Matisse Derivan paint company, to us he was someone who quietly gave his time, energy, and generosity to ensure the school and its community continued to thrive. As Chair from 1998 to 2003, he helped guide the Centre during a difficult period which played a vital role in securing the schools future.

Steven’s support for the arts extended far beyond our school. He generously donated to many art prizes, Waverley Art Prize being just one of these and he encouraged emerging artists. He championed music both as a member and a participant of the Scots College Pipes and Drums Band, supporting their journey to the Edinburgh Festival.

He was an artist in his own right, his last show at the CBD Gallery October 2024, exhibiting drypoint etchings of his beloved Scotland and Glasgow.

On a personal level, I will miss our conversations and collaborations, especially during lockdown, when we worked closely on new etching ideas and shared many moments of creative connection.

Our thoughts are with his wife Justine, daughter Isobel , son David, and all his friends.Paddo’s kindness, creativity, and quiet dedication will be deeply missed.

Robert Ives

Waverley Woollahra Art School

Here are more memories and tributes to Paddo, see the links https://launcestonartcentre.com.au/blog/vale-paddo

Vale Steven Patterson FRSN

National Works on Paper Entries Open at MPRG

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Jacky Cheng, …that awaits at the end of life, 2022, Kozo papers, joss papers, organic fibres, natural and synthetic paper fibres, National Works on Paper 2024 install, photo: Kinfolk Imagery

National Works on Paper (NWOP) is one of Australia’s most prestigious acquisitive awards. A biennial exhibition, its role is to support and promote contemporary Australian artists working on or with paper.

With a long and rich history, National Works on Paper attracts leading contemporary artists from across Australia working in the fields of drawing, printmaking, digital prints and paper sculpture.  

Recent winners include d Harding, Anna Hoyle, Annika Romeyn, James Tylor & Laura Wills, Daniel O’Shane, Jess Johnson, Laith McGregor, Richard Lewer, Danie Mellor, Gareth Sansom, Paul Boston, Lisa Roet and eX de Medici.

Mornington Penisular Regional Gallery

National Works on Paper 2026
Up to $50,000 acquisitions and awards
Entries closed Friday 20 March

Exhibition dates Saturday 5 Sept – Sunday 22 Nov 2026

Framed works will be displayed using D-rings. No other hanging devices are to be attached to the works. Unframed works will be displayed using pins or magnetic ‘pins’. Artists should supply instructions with their work where appropriate.

There is no size restrictions for entry, but note that display wall height is 3.8 metres.

more info https://mprg.mornpen.vic.gov.au/Exhibitions/National-Works-on-Paper/National-Works-on-Paper-2026

Print Council of Australia Print Commision 2026

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The PCA Print Commission offers major promotional and professional development opportunities for commissioned artists. Many public galleries and institutions along with private collectors purchase PCA commissioned prints and build their collection of works on paper on a yearly basis. Commissioned prints are also included in the PCA Print Archive 1967-present; the Canson Australia and State Library Victoria collections. Judges to be confirmed soon.

KEY DATES 2026

28/2/26 – APPLICATIONS CLOSE

15/3/26 – SHORTLISTED ARTISTS NOTIFIED - up to 
          ten artists are shortlisted 

1/5/26 – SHORTLISTED ARTISTS SUBMIT BON À TIRER (Proof print that would be commissioned) 

1/9/26 – ARTIST EDITIONS DUE AT PCA

PCA pay an artist’s fee of $1000 to each selected artist (Ex GST).

for more information

https://www.printcouncil.org.au/print-commission-entries-2026/