Works from the TAMA Collection

Taking inspiration from Ararat’s historical association with fine merino wool production, Ararat Gallery TAMA (Textile Art Museum Australia) has been committed to exhibiting and collecting textile and fibre art since the 1970s. They are custodians of over a thousand artworks and objects, including quilts, tapestries, basketry, embroideries, sculpture and weavings. Textiles are universally familiar. You are surrounded by them daily in your clothes, your homes, your workplaces. The comfort and softness of cloth and fabric also makes textiles an ideal medium for subversive, thought-provoking artworks. Many textile and fibre-based artworks look different each time they are exhibited; the elements fall and sit uniquely every time they are installed, reshaping with each outing. The artworks are responsive to their environment – watch carefully to see them gently rise and fall in the air flow. This exhibition encompasses artworks held in the TAMA Collection, as well as artworks in the Victorian State Craft Collection, which have been on long-term loan to the gallery since 2004. You will also find work by guest artist, Misako Nakahira.