Campbelltown Arts Centre

Permanent Collection
Campbelltown Arts Centre’s permanent collection consists of more than 900 works of art, predominately contemporary in nature. Key focus collections include: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, local artists, colonial art of regional significance and contemporary art of national significance.
Access to view works from the permanent collection for study - research purposes is possible by making an appointment with the exhibitions officer, Renée Porter on 4645 4294. A minimum one-week’s notice is required for this service.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art
Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Ken Thiaday, Queenie McKenzie, Yvonne Koolmatrie, Clifford Possum Tjapaltarri and Gloria Petyerre are just several of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists represented in the Centre’s collection through barks, paintings and fibre art.

Local Artists
One of the strengths of this collection is work by artists from the Campbelltown and Macarthur region. Joan Brassil, John Peart, Elisabeth Cummings, David Fairbairn, Suzanne Archer and Roy Jackson are a highlight of this focus collection.

Colonial Art
Historical art with a regional significance to the exploration and colonisation of Campbelltown and the South-West Sydney region is another collection strength. The paintings of Joseph Backler and a diverse colonial print collection that includes works by Joseph Lycett illustrate this.

Contemporary Art
The collection includes works by; John Coburn, Rosalie Gascoigne, Tracey Moffat, and Marion Borget, reflecting the Centre’s commitment to collecting contemporary Australian art of national significance.

Fisher’s Ghost Art Award
Every November the Campbelltown Arts Centre hosts the annual Fisher’s Ghost Art Award. This is an exhibition open to artists Australia wide, with prize money in excess of $20,000.00. The major prize is the open category and the winning artist is awarded $15,000.00, with the work becoming part of the Centre’s permanent collection. This award has been running for more than forty years, several past winners include: Jenny Sages, David Fairbairn, George Gittoes, Suzanne Archer, Guan Wei, Marion Borgelt, John Peart, Elisabeth Cummings and Christopher Hodges.