University of Tasmania, Australia

Exhibition co-ordinators: Catherine Wolfhagen, Melissa Smith and Diana Cameron

The Esk Collection is an art collecting group established in 2001 by Bett Gallery Hobart, to provide people living in the North of Tasmania with an opportunity to develop a major contemporary art collection.

The Esk Collection Group is made up of people with an interest in developing their knowledge of contemporary art. Artists, curators and collectors were invited to regular meetings where new works were viewed and discussed.

The group was established with a 10-year life span, which comes to an end in June 2011. After being exhibited the collection will then be dispersed to individual members in accordance with the constitution of the group.

This is a wonderful opportunity for the Academy Gallery to showcase a very comprehensive collection of Australian contemporary art covering a wide range of mediums, collected over a 10-year period. The collection covers photography, painting, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, new media and traditional bark painting. The group has followed a firm collecting policy, using a set of criteria to apply to each acquisition.