Furthering our Mission through art

A message from the Associate Vice-Chancellor (NSW/ACT) Professor Marea Nicholson.

The McGlade Gallery is a contemporary exhibition space located on ACU’s Strathfield Campus. It furthers ACU’s Mission through its focus on the spiritual, social and ethical dimensions of artistic practice. It provides an important forum for showcasing student works and also engages with the community to provide exposure to a wide range and high standard of visual culture.

The gallery’s 2019 program has been announced. In addition to its showcases of student works in a series of student survey shows throughout the year, culminating in the annual graduation exhibition in November, there are a number of key events.

From 15 March to 29 March, it will host the 20th Anniversary of the Clancy Prize for Secondary School Religious Art. This year’s theme is ‘A little mercy makes the world less cold and more just,’ a theme which stemmed from the Church’s Holy Jubilee Year of Mercy. The exhibition will showcase outstanding work from Sydney Catholic Schools secondary students.

In 2019, two additional key special exhibitions are taking place. From 2 May to 25 May, the work of ACU PhD candidate Debra Phillips will be exhibited. Deborah’s work looks at suicidality and the profound effects of Christian revelation to move from that state. Her work uses collage and narrative to describe her journey of salvation.

Debra Phillips
The Art of Trauma
Ink and collage on paper, 2017

The second key show is from 3 October to 26 October and is a survey of recent work by the leading Australian painter, Leonard Brown. Mr Brown is both an abstract painter and an icon writer (painter) in the Russian Orthodox tradition. In this exhibition, he will pair both forms in his work to say something of the apophatic Christian tradition.

”My duel activities, of canonical icon and contemporary painting, both moderated within a milieu of an Apophatic Theology, approaching the Divine, by negation, navigating in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness that is God," Mr Brown said.

Leonard Brown
Saint Alexie and Mary of Egypt
Pigment in egg tempera on wood panel, undated.

The Leonard Brown survey exhibition is in conjunction with the 10th Sacred in Literature and the Arts Conference, 2019.

The gallery’s exhibitions are open to the public and free of charge.