The Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre is please to present the following exhibitions. The official launch will be Saturday 23 August 2025, from 4–6pm.
2025 Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize
14 August – 11 October 2025
The Australian Photographic Society’s Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize is a national $30,000 acquisitive prize that seeks to find Australia’s best conceptual photographic works. Finalists of the prize are exhibited annually at Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre with the prize-winning work joining the Muswellbrook Shire Art Collection, and a collection of contemporary photographic works acquired through the Muswellbrook Photographic Award (1987 – 2014). Means of work presentation are unrestricted, inviting photographers to illustrate the intent of their works through a myriad of mediums.
The winner of the Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize will be announced at the launch event on Saturday 23 August 2025, with the announcement livestreamed on the Gallery’s Facebook page from 4:30pm.
The 2025 Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize is made possible by the Australian Photographic Society in partnership with the Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, and with the support of Bengalla Mining Company, MACH Energy, Malabar Coal, AGL Hunter, and Australian Photography Magazine.
Women on Country
5 June to 11 October 2025
Michelle Earl – Wonnarua/Darkinjung | Judith Franklin – Darkinjung/Wonnarua | Robyn Hutchinson – Wiradjuri | Lesley Salem – Wonnarua | | Mandy Wild – Biripi/Worimi
For Aboriginal people, Country is not simply land—it encompasses everything: animals, plants, waterways, landforms, and skies. This relationship is spiritual, cultural, and physical, rooted in deep, ancient systems of knowledge and belonging. Despite the enduring trauma of colonisation and forced removal, connection to Country remains strong.
Country is central to identity and community, linking individuals to their ancestors, to cultural learning, to language, and to law. It provides a foundation for spiritual wellbeing and imposes a sacred responsibility to care for the land for future generations.
The Dreaming—stories passed through generations—explains the spiritual origins of the land and informs Aboriginal people’s relationship with it. Totems create networks of responsibility and kinship through animals, features, and elements of Country. While often overlooked, even urban environments are part of Country. Through art, activism, and language, these connections can be revitalised and made visible.
Country is not a possession, it is a living entity—a source of knowledge, spirit, and life.
Image: Mandy Wild, ‘Wayila Bularr Wukal’ 2025, acrylic on canvas, 40 x 40cm.
Abstract Photography: From the Muswellbrook Collections
14 August 2025 to 10 January 2026
“I wanted to see what would be revealed if I photographed in complete darkness.”
– Featured artist Merilyn Fairskye
In abstract photography, the artist aims to photograph the unphotographable(1). Featuring work drawn from the permanent collections by past winners and finalists of the Muswellbrook Photographic Awards and Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize, ‘Abstract Photography: From the Muswellbrook Collections’ considers abstraction as a method for revealing what cannot be seen.
From chemical manipulation to recontextualisation, the images have been created using a diverse range of methods and strategies. Through these approaches, each artist transforms their subject to resist easy interpretation, encouraging deeper contemplation and inviting viewers to reflect on the intangible experiences we all share.
1. Fraenkel, Jeffrey. The Unphotographable. San Francisco: Fraenkel Gallery, 2013.
Image: Merilyn Fairskye, ‘Focus Infinity IV (4.41am, 09 May 2024, Maralinga village)’ 2024, Solve-Glaze archival pigment print on photo rag, 100 x 150cm, Muswellbrook Shire Art Collection, Winner, Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize 2024.
The Sky Is The Limit: Goodstart Early Learning Muswellbrook
14 August 2025 to 10 January 2026
To be or not to be? That is the question in Preschool at Goodstart Muswellbrook in 2025. So many options, so many thoughts and ideas, so much potential! Our little explorers take to the skies and dream about life as a grown up! What will I be? What will I do? Take a leap of faith and find out!
Muswellbrook Regional Art Centre
1-3 Bridge Street, Muswellbrook
Monday-Saturday, 10am – 4pm
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Image:
Tamara Voninski, ‘Chemo Decay: Sun Ritual’ 2025, lightbox, LED lights, chemo-graphy, 40 x 63 x 6.5cm, Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize Finalist 2025.
Image and media release courtesy of the MRAC.