Exhibitions Open to the Public
Once Known
Opened for the first time at the Old Perth Boys’ School, Once Known, presents a selection of meticulous reproductions of the delicate and treasured artworks created by Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their families and detained at the Carrolup Native Settlement in the 1940s.
Mamang-miyel-ang Djinang / Seeing with the whale’s eye
An exhibition of illustrations from the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories mob from the South Coast of Western Australia
Fantastic Forms
A touring exhibition from the Bundanon Collection, in dialogue with new drawings, ceramics, sculptures and animation.
Dirt Feeling
Featuring ceramics works from the Curtin University Art Collection
Everyday, Myths and Legends
An exhibition of works from the Curtin University Art Collection that explore everyday mythmaking.
Kattidj Nagãr [Peaceful Quiet Reflection]
Kattidj Nagãr features artworks and personal objects created by the children who were forcibly removed from their families and detained at the Carrolup Native Settlement in the 1940s
Upcoming Events
Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories Book Launch
Join us for the Perth launch of two books by Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories.
Dirt Feeling Artist Talks: Nalda Searles and Jánis Nedela
Join JCG Curator Lia McKnight, with artists Nalda Searles and Janis Nedela, for a Dirt Feeling artist talk.
Everyday Myths and Legends Curator Tour
Join us for a Curator Tour with ‘Everyday Myths and Legends’ Curator, Susanna Castleden
Find us on Instagram
👋 Kaya Katanning and surrounds!
John Curtin Gallery are heading your way for two special days in Katanning!
We’re bringing along two reproductions of Carrolup artworks and some exciting updates about the Herbert Mayer Collection of Carrolup artworks and we can’t wait to share what’s coming next. 👀
🗓️ Katanning Library Community Engagement Event:
Come along for a yarn, especially if you have family connections to the Carrolup Native Settlement or one of the incredible child artists. Light refreshments will be provided.
📅 Friday 24 October 2025
🕑 2pm–4pm
🎡 Katanning Show Information Stall:
Find us in the Ram Pavilion with two stunning reproductions of the child artworks on display. Drop by for a chat, we’d love to meet you!
📅 Saturday 25 October 2025
🕘 9am–5pm
We’re looking forward to connecting, sharing stories, and celebrating the legacy of Carrolup together. 💛 @katanningshow
📷 - Marni Richardson
🖼️ - Once known child artist, The Thinker, 1946-50, pastel and charcoal on paper, 18.5 x 24.2cm. Curtin University Art Collection. The Herbert Mayer Collection of Carrolup Artwork was generously donated for educational and research purposes by Colgate University, Hamilton, New York, USA in 2013. © The artist.
Proudly supported by: @bfplperth @lotterywest @inside_bhp @colgateuniversity #navigators
#Carrolup #Katanning #JohnCurtinGallery #CommunityEngagement #NoongarArt #herbertmayercollectionofcarrolupartworks
Here`s a sneak peak at what`s to come for Perth Festival 2026! 👀
South African artist Thania Petersen invites you into a charged, poetic and immersive world of song, scent and ritual.
These two major installations explore the reclamation of histories and cultural memory, and will make their way to JCG during Perth Festival 2026! ✨
Find out more via the link in our bio or head to https://www.perthfestival.com.au/
@perthfest Perth Festival @thaniapetersen
#JohnCurtinGallery #PerthArt #ContemporaryArt
#perthfestival2026
🔎 Artist in focus: Carol Rudyard
Known for her audio-video installations, Carol Rudyard’s distinct style married commonplace objects and historical art references in projected slides and video, audio, and sculpture.
In her meticulous exploration of objects through the eye of a camera, Rudyard urges us to read, listen, and engage with her art. ✨
Featured in Dirt Feeling, Rudyard’s Still life with taps (1981) captures a sophisticated bathroom, both beautiful and disconnected from reality, and meditates on the relationship between reality and illusion.
The installation’s slides have been preserved in digital form, as the work’s intellectual meaning would be lost without it. 🎥
Carol Rudyard was a decorated installation artist who carved her own niche in the world of installation art, and interrogated life as we know and understand it.
🔗 See Carol`s work up close at Dirt Feeling - Link in bio!
📷 - @marnie__richardson
Curator Lia McKnight with Carols` daughter Holly. Artwork credits: Carol Rudyard, Still life with tops, 1981 slide projection, sound work, bathroom fixtures dimensions variable. Curtin University Art Collection. Purchased 1999
All works in Dirt Feeling and EML are courtesy of the Curtin University Art Collection. This exhibition is made possible through the support of The Navigators.
#JohnCurtinGallery #PerthArt #ContemporaryArt #exhibitionopening
@curtinalumni Curtin University Alumni @curtinbfagrads
Twilight hours are back! 🌝
Starting this Thursday 16 October, explore our Kambarang exhibitions after dark as you embrace the joy of artmaking and its connection to everyday life.
Take advantage of free parking from 4:30pm or make it a date and enjoy local eateries @curtin_exchange! 🥨
📍 John Curtin Gallery — Free, open to public
🗓️ Kambarang Twilight Hours | 10am - 7pm:
Thursday 16 October
Thursday 30 October
Thursday 27 November
📷 - Marnie Richardson
#JohnCurtinGallery #PerthArt #ContemporaryArt
@curtinbfagrads @curtinalumni @perthartweekend @curtinlifeaustralia
🔎 Artist in focus: Abdul-Rahman Abdullah
Currently living on Bindjareb Nyungar country Abdul-Rahman Abdullah works primarily in sculpture and installation, exploring the intersections of identity, culture and the natural world. 🌎
Featured in Everyday, Myths and Legends, Abdul-Rahman’s Everything Is True (2012) is a monument to the idealised perceptions of childhood.
Exalting fact with the fervour of faith, this work celebrates the aspirations of a boyhood spent in the company of giant lizards, action figures and the endless hunt through lost civilisations. 🦎
Particularly through his sense of identity and cultural context, Abdul-Rahman’s work enacts intersectional understandings of shared worlds, exploring ideas of mythology, intercultural identity, diaspora, regional experiences and spirituality. ✨
Everything Is True was created by Abdul-Rahman in 2012 and exhibited in his graduation show that year. @curtinalumni
🔗 See Abdul-Rahman’s work up close at Everyday, Myths and Legends - Link in bio!
📷 - @marine__richardson
All works in Dirt Feeling and EML are courtesy of the Curtin University Art Collection. This exhibition is made possible through the support of The Navigators.
#JohnCurtinGallery #PerthArt #ContemporaryArt #ExhibitionOpening
Thanks for joining us! 🥂
Our Kambarang exhibitions are now in full swing, Fantastic Forms, Dirt Feeling and Everyday, Myths and Legends embrace the joy of artmaking and its connection to everyday life.
Don`t worry, if you missed our opening event, all three exhibitions will be on display until December 7!
📷 - @marnie__richardson
🗓️ October 3 - December 7 | Mon to Fri 10am - 5pm and Sun 12pm - 4pm
📍 John Curtin Gallery: Free, open to public
🔗 More information via link in bio!
Fantastic Forms is a Bundanon touring exhibition. This exhibition is supported by the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program, an Australian Government program aiming to improve access to the national collections for all Australians.
All works in Dirt Feeling and EML are courtesy of the Curtin University Art Collection. This exhibition is made possible through the support of The Navigators.
#JohnCurtinGallery #PerthArt #ContemporaryArt #ExhibitionOpening
@lia_mcknight @susannacastleden @bundanontrust @curtinalumni @curtinbfagrads
🎨 Dirt Feeling Curator Tour
🗓️ Friday, October 17 | 1:00pm – 2:00pm
📍 John Curtin Gallery — Free, open to public
🔗 Registration required: Link in bio!
Discover the sensual, tactile world of clay in Dirt Feeling with curator Lia McKnight, as she shares insights into the exhibition’s themes, collection highlights, and the enduring significance of ceramics in art and culture.
Don’t miss this opportunity to experience Dirt Feeling more deeply and hear directly from its curator.
@lia_mcknight @perthartweekend @australianceramicstriennale
📸 Photo by Marnie Richardson
#JohnCurtinGallery #CuratorTour #FantasticForms #PerthArt #GalleryEvent
✨ Open now ✨
Fantastic Forms, Dirt Feeling and Everyday, Myths and Legends!
➡️ All three exhibitions are open until December 7.
Explore John Curtin Gallery this Kambarang season and embrace the joy of artmaking and its connection to everyday life.
🗓️ October 3 - December 7 | Mon to Fri 10am - 5pm and Sun 12pm - 4pm
📍 John Curtin Gallery: Free, open to public
🔗 More information via link in bio!
Fantastic Forms is a Bundanon touring exhibition. This exhibition is supported by the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program, an Australian Government program aiming to improve access to the national collections for all Australians.
All works in Dirt Feeling and EML are courtesy of the Curtin University Art Collection. This exhibition is made possible through the support of The Navigators.
#JohnCurtinGallery #PerthArt #ContemporaryArt #ExhibitionOpening
@lia_mcknight @susannacastleden @bundanon_trust @curtinalumni @curtinbfagrads @perthartweekend @australianceramicstriennial
🎨 Fantastic Forms Curator Tour!
Don’t miss this chance to dive deeper into Fantastic Forms and hear directly from one of its curators.
🗓️ Friday, October 3 | 2:00pm – 3:00pm
📍John Curtin Gallery: Free, open to public
🔗 Registration required: Link in bio!
Colourful, swaying forms — join us for an exciting curator tour with Sophie O’Brien (Head of Curatorial and Learning at Bundanon, and co-curator of Fantastic Forms) as she shares insights into the exhibition’s vision, selection and storytelling.
@australianceramicstriennale @curtinbfagrads @bundanontrust
Fantastic Forms is a Bundanon touring exhibition. This exhibition is supported by the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program, an Australian Government program aiming to improve access to the national collections for all Australians.
Photo: Zan Wimberley.
#JohnCurtinGallery #CuratorTour #FantasticForms #PerthArt #GalleryEvent
Join us this Thursday October 2 for the opening night of three new exhibitions! 🙌
🎨 Fantastic Forms: A celebration of endless imagination (on tour from @bundanontrust).
🎨 Dirt Feeling: Exploring the sensual qualities of clay with works by 70+ artists (curated by @lia_mcknight ).
🎨 Everyday, Myths and Legends: @curtinalumni share stories from real and imagined worlds (curated by @susannacastleden ).
📅 Thursday October 2
🕕 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Free event, open to the public
📍 John Curtin Gallery, Curtin University
✨Join us for an evening of art, ideas and celebration, we’d love to see you there!
🔗 Link in bio to RSVP / event details
#JohnCurtinGallery #PerthArt #ContemporaryArt#ExhibitionOpening
Open from October 3 ✨ Embrace the joy of artmaking and its connection to everyday life with three new exhibitions.
🎨 Fantastic Forms, Dirt Feeling & Everyday, Myths and Legends.
✨ Fantastic Forms — a celebration of endless imagination (on tour from @bundanontrust).
✨ Dirt Feeling — attune to the sensual qulaities of clay with a showcase of over 70 artists (curated by @lia_mcknight).
✨ Everyday, Myths and Legends — Curtin alumni exposé into stories, experiences, and insights into imagined and real worlds. (curated by @susannacastleden).
🔗 Link in bio!
Fantastic Froms is a Bundanon touring exhibition. This exhibition is supported by the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program, an Australian Government program aiming to improve access to the national collections for all Australians.
All works in Dirt Feeling and EML are courtesy of the Curtin University Art Collection. This exhibition is made possible through the support of The Navigators.
@curtinalumni @curtinlifeaustralia @curtinbfagrads
#JohnCurtinGallery #PerthArt #ContemporaryArt #ExhibitionOpening
We want you 🫵 to come see us 139 St Georges Terrace!
Not only is it Perth`s oldest educational landmark (Old Perth Boys` School), it`s currently home to Once Known, a Carrolup Centre for Truth-telling exhibition presented by the John Curtin Gallery!
This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see the extraordinary reproductions of the fragile artworks created by children forcibly taken from their families and detained at the Carrolup Native Settlement in the 1940s.
⏰ Open 11am - 4pm. Closed Wednesdays and Weekends.
🎟️ Free entry, open to the public.
📷 - Marnie Richardson.
Proudly supported by: @bfplperth @lotterywest @inside_bhp @colgateuniversity and #navigators
The Herbert Mayer Collection of Carrolup Artwork was generously donated for educational and research purposes by Colgate University, Hamilton, New York, USA.
#BridgingNowtoNext #OnceKnown #NAIDOC #OldPerthBoysSchool #exhibition #StolenGeneration #Carrolup #CarrolupCentreForTruthTelling #CarrolupCentre #CarrolupArt #FirstNations #AboriginalArt #Noongar #Nyungar #Indigenous #Aboriginal #Heritage #Identity #Belonging #Colonisation #CurtinUniversity #WesternAustralia #JohnCurtinGallery #ColgateUniversity #alwayswasalwayswillbe
Locations
John Curtin Gallery Curtin University
Building 200A Curtin University, Kent Street
Bentley, Western Australia 6102
Phone: 08 9266 4155
Open Mon to Fri 10:00 – 5:00pm and Sun 12:00 – 4:00pm
Once Known – A Carrolup Centre for Truth-telling exhibition
Presented at the Old Perth Boys’ School
Curtin 139 St Georges Terrace,
Perth, Western Australia 6000
11:00am – 4:00pm
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday (closed Wednesdays and Weekends)
