Hawkesbury Regional Gallery is set to celebrate contemporary First Nations art this summer, presenting two exhibitions that bring together a touring exhibition from the National Gallery of Australia and the work of emerging local artist Jess Munro.
This exhibition program is headlined by the National Gallery of Australia's touring exhibition - Of This Earth: Transforming Culture and Country through First Nations Ceramics – the second partnership between the two galleries in just over a year.
Of This Earth celebrates the breadth of First Nations ceramic practice across Australia–highlighting cultural continuity and contemporary artistic expression through works of art drawn from the national collection. The National Gallery Touring Exhibition brings together more than 29 key works by 28 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists to showcase the diverse techniques, narratives and innovations that define the continually evolving medium of clay.
Hawkesbury Regional Gallery marks the halfway point of the exhibition's almost two-year long tour, following it's display at Cairns Art Gallery in Queensland, and Bay Discovery Centre and Unley Museum and Galleries in South Australia. Of This Earth will then travel to Museum of Art and Culture, Yapang, in New South Wales and Yarra Ranges Regional Gallery and Swan Hill Regional Gallery in Victoria.
Alongside the touring exhibition, Hawkesbury Regional Gallery presents Gathered, the first major solo exhibition by emerging Dharug artist Jess Munro.
Spanning painting and textiles, Munro's practice is deeply grounded in Ngurra (Country), Ancestors and cultural memory. Through layered forms and symbolic imagery, she reflects on the landscapes, waterways, flora and fauna that sustain life and carry stories across generations.
Gathered invites audiences to consider belonging, the enduring relationship between people and Country, and our shared responsibility to care for the lands and waters that connect us all.
Hawkesbury Regional Gallery's summer exhibition program opens to the public from Saturday 12 December 2026 and continues to Sunday 7 March 2027. A free opening event will be held on Friday 11 December 2026 from 6 – 8pm.
To learn about accompanying public programs, please visit hawkesburygallery.eventbrite.com
Of This Earth is a National Gallery Touring Exhibition supported by the Australian Government through Visions of Australia and National Gallery First Nations Arts Partner Wesfarmers Arts.
Image: Jess Munro, Earth's Colour (detail), 2026, acrylic and ochre on canvas, 50 x 60 cm. Image courtesy the artist.
