For this showcase of the TAMA Collection, we chose a medium that makes a rare appearance in our exhibition program: prints and drawings. The artworks here span the Gallery’s 50-year history. Some of these little-known and seldom seen works in our storeroom founded the Collection, such as the Ludwig Hirschfeld Mack prints donated in 1968 by his widow, Olive Hirschfeld.

Artists known predominantly for their textile-based artwork also work on paper, either for love of the medium, or to develop concepts for their textile practice.

Established in 1968, Ararat Gallery TAMA (Textile Art Museum Australia) holds a distinctive place amongst Australia’s public galleries through its longstanding celebration of textile and fibre art. Ararat’s historical association with fine merino wool production, increasing recognition of craft as an important art form, and significant funding from state and federal governments in the 1970s secured the establishment of the Gallery’s now highly valued fibre art collection.