Bundanon

Last updated

Bundanon is a national arts organisation situated near Nowra, City of Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia. It was the home of the painter Arthur Boyd and his wife Yvonne Boyd, also an artist. The centre was established in 1993 after the Boyds gifted their property and announced their intention to establish the Bundanon Trust. It has subsequently received funding from the Australian Government.

Contents

In 1999, the Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Education Centre, was completed, to the prize-winning design of Glenn Murcutt. Bundanon's facilities expanded in 2022 with the opening of a new art museum and bridge to the designs of Kerstin Thompson Architects, which also won architectural awards.

History

Bundanon Homestead Bundanon Homestead .jpg
Bundanon Homestead

The Bundanon properties are located on the land of the Wodi Wodi people of the Yuin nation, who speak the Dharawal language. From the mid-19th century, the Shoalhaven River supported many farm properties and provided a mechanism for European occupants to bring their produce to the coast for sale. [1]

European occupation was established at Bundanon in 1831 through a grant of 600 acres (240 ha) made to Richard Henry Browne. The land grant was conditional on the clearing of 55 acres (22 ha), which were to be fenced and cultivated within five years. This work was not completed and the property was sold to Kenneth Mackenzie on 19 March 1838. [2] From the available evidence Bundanon Homestead, completed in 1866, was constructed using well-detailed machine-sawn timber in the roof, floors, and ceilings. [3]

Bundanon's history as a farm property is still evident in many of the buildings on site, including those that were re-purposed and restored to form the vibrant Artist in Residence complex. [4]

Arthur Boyd at Bundanon

Arthur and Yvonne Boyd at Bundanon 1990s Arthur and Yvonne Boyd at Bundanon 1990s.jpg
Arthur and Yvonne Boyd at Bundanon 1990s

In the early 1970s, artist Arthur Boyd purchased Riversdale on the banks of the Shoalhaven River near Bundanon and added to the buildings to create a home and studio. Arthur and Yvonne Boyd purchased Bundanon from Sandra and Tony McGrath and Frank McDonald in the summer of 1979. [5]

After building a studio at Bundanon in 1982, Boyd painted a series of large, Shoalhaven images based on the river and bush around Bundanon. He was commissioned to design the tapestry for Great Hall of New Parliament House and created 16 canvases for the foyer of Victorian Arts Centre. [6]

Establishment of Bundanon Trust

At the memorial service for Sir Sidney Nolan on 28 January 1993, Prime Minister Paul Keating announced the Australian Government's acceptance of Arthur and Yvonne Boyd's gift of Bundanon and the intention to establish the Bundanon Trust. The gift included three properties – Bundanon, Riversdale, Eearie, and Beeweeree) – as well as an extensive collection of artworks. Trustees were established by the Australian Government to oversee the operation of Bundanon Trust. [7]

The directors in the early years of the trust's formation benefited from the input of Arthur and Yvonne Boyd and developed an ambitious vision for Bundanon's future. They commissioned internationally-acclaimed architecture, established the Bundanon's world-renowned Artist in Residence program and opened the Bundanon properties to the public. [8] Bundanon has given Australia a cultural and environmental asset. It was born out of Boyd's often stated belief that "you can’t own a landscape", and the wish that others might also draw inspiration from the remarkable place. [9]

Description

Bundanon is near Nowra, within the City of Shoalhaven in New South Wales.

The organisation creates learning programs for students of all ages, and promotes the value of landscape. [10]

The collection

A significant part of Arthur and Yvonne Boyd's 1993 gift of Bundanon was an extensive collection of artworks by Arthur Boyd and his family, in addition to works by Sidney Nolan, Brett Whiteley, Joy Hester, and Charles Blackman. The collection today includes contemporary work from previous artists in residence, commissions, and generous donations. [11]

In the 2019–2020 Black Summer bushfires, many of the artworks were evacuated from the Bundanon property and stored in Sydney to ensure their safety. The collection returned to Bundanon at the end of 2021 with the completion of the new art museum, which includes facilities to store and protect the artworks. [12]

Architecture

Education centre

The first award-winning architectural project built at Bundanon was the Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Education Centre, designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect Glenn Murcutt with Wendy Lewin and Reg Larkin in 1997. The building has a 32-bed dormitory and an outdoor amphitheatre for 350 people. Completed in 1999, the building won both the 1999 Sir John Sulman Medal for public architecture in New South Wales and the 1999 Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture. [13] [14] Author and architecture critic Philip Drew review described the siting of the building as "... placement of the hall on its acropolis is reminiscent of an ancient Greek temple. The formal character of the building, its sensitive acknowledgement of the landscape, despite the modern materials such as corrugated iron for the roof, which could not be less Greek, is strange and unexpected." [15]

Art museum and bridge

Render of the new art museum and The Bridge Render of the new Art Museum and The Bridge.jpg
Render of the new art museum and The Bridge

In 2020, construction of a new contemporary art museum on Bundanon's Riversdale property was announced. Partially buried in the landscape, the new museum development sits at the centre of the new plan for Bundanon, with a bridge structure landing onto an expansive public plaza near the existing nineteenth century buildings. Kerstin Thompson Architects (KTA) developed a new plan for Bundanon with new architectural additions. [16] Included are an art museum and "The Bridge", [17] [18] which houses the creative learning centre for school students, a visitor information centre, accommodation and a café. [19]

In 2022 Bundanon was awarded a second Sir John Sulman Medal, the highest award for public architecture in New South Wales. [20] [21] The new Bundanon art museum and gallery officially opened on 5 March 2022. [22]

Later in 2022 KTA won the national Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture for the art museum and bridge. [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nowra</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Nowra is a city in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 160 kilometres (99 mi) south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney. As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated population of 22,584. Situated in the southern reaches of the Sydney basin, Nowra is the seat and commercial centre of the City of Shoalhaven.

The year 1999 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoalhaven River</span> River in Australia

The Shoalhaven River is a perennial river that rises from the Southern Tablelands and flows into an open mature wave dominated barrier estuary near Nowra on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Boyd</span> Australian Painter (1920–1999)

Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd was a leading Australian painter of the middle to late 20th century. Boyd's work ranges from impressionist renderings of Australian landscape to starkly expressionist figuration, and many canvases feature both. Several famous works set Biblical stories against the Australian landscape, such as The Expulsion (1947–48), now at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Having a strong social conscience, Boyd's work deals with humanitarian issues and universal themes of love, loss and shame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Murcutt</span> Australian architect

Glenn Marcus Murcutt is an Australian architect and winner of the 1992 Alvar Aalto Medal, the 2002 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the 2009 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the 2021 Praemium Imperiale. Glenn Murcutt works as a sole practitioner without staff, builds only within Australia and is known to be very selective with his projects. Being the only Australian winner of the prestigious Pritzker Prize, he is often referred to as Australia's most famous architect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art Gallery of New South Wales</span> Public art gallery in Sydney, Australia

The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most important public gallery in Sydney and one of the largest in Australia.

Sir Roy Burman Grounds was an Australian architect. His early work included buildings influenced by the Moderne movement of the 1930s, and his later buildings of the 1950s and 1960s, such as the National Gallery of Victoria and the adjacent Victorian Arts Centre, cemented his legacy as a leader in Australian architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir John Sulman Medal</span> Annual award for public buildings in New South Wales

The Sir John Sulman Medal for Public Architecture is an architectural award presented by the New South Wales chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects since 1932. The medal is sometimes referred to as the Sulman Award and now recognises excellence in public buildings in either New South Wales or in the Australian Capital Territory. Before the advent of the Wilkinson Award in 1961, it was on occasion presented to residential housing projects.

The Gold Medal is the highest individual award of the Australian Institute of Architects, awarded annually since 1960. The award was created to recognise distinguished service by Australian architects who have:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilkinson Award</span> Residential architecture award in New South Wales

The Wilkinson Award is an Australian architecture award presented by the New South Wales Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects and was first awarded in 1961. The award recognises excellence in residential buildings built in New South Wales, Australia, often for freestanding houses, but at times awarding multiresidential projects and alterations and additions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Boyd Award</span> Australian architecture award for new residential buildings, awarded annually since 1981

The Robin Boyd Award for New Residential Architecture is an Australian national architecture prize presented annually by the Australian Institute of Architects since 1981.

Fiona Lowry is an Australian painter who airbrushes pale colours to portray landscapes with people in them. The landscapes are beautiful and ambiguous, provoking the dangerous side of wilderness. Lowry also paints portraits and won the 2014 Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales with a portrait of Penelope Seidler. She is represented in the National Gallery of Australia, as well as the state galleries of Australia and in private collections.

Kerstin Thompson is an Australian architect, born in Melbourne in 1965. She is the principal of Kerstin Thompson Architects (KTA), a Melbourne-based architecture, landscape and urban design practice with projects in Australia and New Zealand. She is also Professor of Design at the School of Architecture at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and adjunct professor at RMIT University and Monash University.

The Dimity Reed Melbourne Prize is an Australian architectural award. It is awarded annually at the Victorian Architecture Awards by a jury appointed by the Victoria Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects to architectural projects that have made a significant contribution to the public life of Melbourne, Australia. It was first awarded in 1997 to Six Degrees Architects for the small bar Meyers Place.

Rachel Neeson is an Australian architect and lecturer in architecture. Her architecture practice Neeson Murcutt Architects, formed with her late partner Nick Murcutt in 2004, was awarded the Australian Institute of Architects Robin Boyd Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (New) in 2011.

Shane Simpson is a New Zealand-born lawyer based in Sydney, Australia. He has had a leading role in arts, intellectual property, and entertainment law in Australia, including establishing the Arts Law Centre of Australia, authoring books on aspects of intellectual property, arts, and entertainment law, and acting as an advisor and producing reports on intellectual property and art law for government. He has also contributed to a range of cultural organisations.

Shoalhaven Regional Gallery is an art gallery in Nowra, New South Wales.

Anna Glynn is an Australian visual artist whose diverse work spans the mediums of painting, drawing, installation, moving image, sound and sculpture. Her works have been shown in multiple exhibitions and are represented in the collections of numerous public galleries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yvonne Boyd</span> Australian artist

Yvonne Boyd was an artist, art patron, philanthropist, and a member of the Boyd artistic dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture</span> Annual national architecture award for public buildings in Australia

The Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture is a national architecture award presented annually by the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) since 1981. The named award is given to the work adjudicated to be the most significant for the advancement of public architecture in that year. Alongside the Named Award, National Awards and National Commendations are also given by the jury.

References

  1. ↑ "Bundanon Architecture". Bundanon Trust. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  2. ↑ "Bundanon". Bundanon. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  3. ↑ "Homestead, Garden & Grounds". Bundanon. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  4. ↑ "Artist in Residence Complex". Bundanon. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "Bundanon Trust". Bundanon Trust. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  6. ↑ "Bundanon Trust". Bundanon Trust. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  7. ↑ "Bundanon Trust". Bundanon Trust. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  8. ↑ "Boyds' gift on display". Canberra Times. 12 March 1995. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  9. ↑ "Trust History". Bundanon. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  10. ↑ "About". Bundanon Trust. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  11. ↑ "Collection". Bundanon. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  12. ↑ "Picasso, Boyd, Nolan artworks in multi-million-dollar move as fire threat makes them 'too vulnerable'". www.abc.net.au. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  13. ↑ "1999 RAIA National Awards". ArchitectureAU.com. 1 November 1999. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  14. ↑ "Boyd Education Centre". Bundanon. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  15. ↑ Drew, Philip (1 May 1999). "Arthur's Metaphor". ArchitectureAU.com. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  16. ↑ "Bundanon Reimagined". Bundanon Trust. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  17. ↑ "Bundanon Art Museum & Bridge". Kerstin Thompson Architects. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  18. ↑ "Art Museum". Bundanon. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  19. ↑ "Art Museum". Bundanon. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  20. ↑ "2022 NSW Architecture Awards winners". Architecture.com.au. 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  21. ↑ "Bundanon is awarded its second Sulman medal for public architecture". Bundanon. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  22. ↑ "Bundanon art museum: Arthur Boyd's estate reimagined in an architectural feat | Museums | the Guardian".
  23. ↑ "National Architecture Awards 2022". ArchitectureAU.com. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2023.

34°53′20″S150°30′01″E / 34.8890°S 150.5003°E / -34.8890; 150.5003

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.