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The Minding Animals Organising Committee was proud to announce the Animals and Art Festival to be held in conjunction with the conference.

Eighteen exhibition spaces were made available during and following the conference.  Details on those exhibitions is available below.  An easy guide - the Animals and Art Guide - is downloadable as a pdf on the main page of this website.

 Exhibitions included:
  • Animals and Art Exhibition entitled 'Animal Attraction' from the collected works of the Newcastle Region Art Gallery and curated by Lisa Slade.  It included sculptural works by Patricia Picinnini, Donald Friend, Vicki Hamilton, Danie Mellor, Elaine Wanatjura Lane and Geoff Harvey.  There were paintings and works on paper by John Armstrong, Peter Baka, Michael Bell, James Cant, George Duncan, Ken Whisson, William Dobell, Geoff Harvey, Cherry Hood, Maria Kozic, George Lambert, Joy Longworth, John Olsen, Elizabeth Rooney, Reg Russom, Eric Thake, Wes Walters and Fred Williams.  The exhibition was opened by Professor Peter Singer.
  • Wildlife Photography Exhibition at the Lovett Gallery curated by Carol Edmonds.  Also exhibited were works by Indigenous Australian artist, Bronwyn Bancroft.  The exhibition was opened by Professor Randy Malamud.  Details available on the attached flyer. 
  • Watt Space, the student gallery of the University of Newcastle, exhibited 'The Animal in Us', a large group show comprising some of the responses to this theme of over forty current students who made new artworks in varieties of scale and media. The exhibition was opened by Dr Erica Fudge.  See attached flyer. 
  • Selected works featured world renowned artists Mark Wilson and Bryndís Snæbjörnsdóttir at the Pod Space Gallery curated by Johanna Trainer.  The exhibition was opened by Associate Professor Linda Williams.
  • Exhibition at the Front Room Gallery entitled 'Animal Logic' curated by Laura Wilson.  Artists included Emily Valentine, Belle Brooks, and recent graduates and current students of the Newcastle Art School Hunter TAFE, including Robyn McPherson, Emily Mitchell, Antonia Gore, Mathew Reed, Abbie Lane, Helen Campbell, Julie Lee, Shan Turner-Carroll, Samantha Dorsett, Bree Sanders, Sarah Jones and Michelle Gearin.  The exhibition was opened on 1 July by Mark Pearson, Executive Director Animal Liberation NSW. Download flyer.  A second opening and Pre-dinner Drinks was held on 15 July.
  • Exhibition of Ceramics and Sculptures at the Back To Back Gallery entitled 'Max' curated by Sandra Lee Brown.  The exhibition included works by Sandra Lee Brown, Michael Garth, Vicki Hamilton, Giselle Penn and Shane Westernhagen.  The exhibition was opened on 10 July by Dr Rod Bennison, Conference Co-convenor, and a viewing was held for conference delegates on 14 July.
  • Exhibition of selected works entitled 'Minding Animals' at the John Paynter Gallery curated by Michael Bell.  The exhibition included animal works by Chris O'Doherty (aka. Reg Mombassa of Mambo fame), Peter Kingston, Mai Long, Rachel Fairfax, Jane Gillings and Noel McKenna.  The exhibition was opened by Carol Adams
  • The Lock-up Gallery hosted several artists and included drawings, art and video installations by Catherine Clover, Yvette Watt, Hayden Fowler, Lucy Page-Dutton, Giselle Penn, Anton Pulvirenti, Andrew Howells, Lucas Grogan, Miriam Montgomery, Christian Heinrich and Vicki Hamilton.  The works were curated by Gillean Shaw and the exhibition was be opened by Carol Adams.
  • Exhibition of works entitled 'Feathers - Conversations - Control' by animal artists Perdita Phillips, Tamara Kenneally and Alison Green at the Newcastle Art Space curated by Andy Devine. Perdita Phillips mapped animal representation and explored the boundaries between the human and non human worlds, Alison Green reflected a respect for nature and simplicity in her depictions of Australian Wildlife, and Tamara Kenneally examined  the nature of the control exercised by humans over animals in our society.  The exhibition was opened by Professor Steve Baker. See attached flyer. 
  • Exhibition by local animal artist Josh White at the Forsight Gallery curated by Zeke (Shandor Marosszeky).  The exhibition was opened on 10 July.  There was also be a conference opening on 14 July by Professor Marc Bekoff. See attached invitation and poster. 
  • Exhibition of animal postcards entitled 'Cat vs. Dog'  at the Shop Front Gallery curated by Caelli Jo Brooker. The exhibition was an International Postcard Exchange Mail Art Project and was a light hearted glimpse into our relationships with domestic animals.  Are you a cat person or a dog person? Entries were accepted for the duration of the exhibition and participants received the postcard work of another artist in return. Each piece of mail art was documented on the website www.shopfrontgallerynewcastle.com
  • Exhibition at the Cooks Hill Gallery featuring the works of Fiona Pfennigwerth, Daniel Atkins, Lorraine Robertson and Pamela Vaughan.  The exhibition opened on 12 July
  • The conference closing exhibition was held at the Newcastle School of Arts Gallery at Tighes Hill.  The exhibition entitled 'Animal' was curated by Edward Birt and included works from Edward Birt, Lesley Shelley, Di Baker, Anna Fonollosa Gonzales, Cheryl Cusick, Christine Pike and Liz MacIntyre.  Details of the exhibition can be found on the attached flyer.

  • Finally, the Cessnock Regional Art Gallery had an exhibition open on 17 July which went through to 23 August.  The exhibition was entitled 'A Dog's Life' and was curated by Jane McManus.  The exhibition highlighted the work of 17 year old Australian Indigenous artist, Dion Beasley.  The gallery also exhibited a range of works by Reg Mombassa, entitled 'Sketches from the Studio' and also with a strong animal theme.  Please see attached flyer.

As part of the Minding Animals Conference, the Tasmanian Devil Fundraising Exhibit was a one-night only sale of locally produced artworks, photographs and sculptures. It highlighted the plight of endangered species and gave both the international and local community an opportunity to directly affect the survival of one of Australia's most unique and precious creatures. The Devil is faced with extinction after a debilitating disease has swept through much of its population.

The artworks were sold at a flat rate of sixty dollars per piece, each being conveniently travel-sized. All proceeds were donated towards the Australian Reptile Park's Tasmanian Devil Breeding and Research Program. Attendees of the exhibit also had the opportunity to see a real live Tasmanian Devil!

Artists included (in no particular order): Anne Sawyer, Andrew Howells, Chloe Wicks, Daniel Murphy, Jessica Hume, Hannah More, Daniel Atkins,  Maxine Mackenzie, Alexis Nicolas, Ben Hawkins, Rhonda Partridge, Hannah Escano, Trudy Fennell, Bronwyn King, Candice Rogers, Sarah Nelson, Amanda Thompson. It was curated by Trevor Weekes with help from University of Newcastle students.

Tassie Devil

Watt Space also hosted a drop-in space for students and others that were not conference delegates and interested in animals and art.  Delegates to the conference were encouraged to drop in to discuss their teaching and research with attendees.

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