Benalla Art Gallery Takes ACMI Digital Art to the Regions

Benalla Art Gallery showcases ACMI Exhibition 'Between The Details: Video Art from the ACMI Collection' utilising Panasonic Laser Projectors

Kaylene Whiskey,
Ngura Pukulpa – Happy Place, 2021, featuring in the Benalla Art Gallery display of Between the Details: Video ART from the ACMI

Art and technology have been familiar bedfellows for some time now. But often there’s a chasm between the edgy studios of Paddington or Collingwood, and regional galleries where tastes lean more to the ‘oil on canvas’ conservative.

ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) is all about video and media, and, in a new initiative, is touring a selection of commissioned and collected video work around regional galleries. The first stop on the tour is Benalla.

The regional Victorian town may be a relatively small blip on the demographic radar but punches well above its weight when it comes to the presentation of art in the public sphere. The Benalla art gallery was built back in the 1970s and has a strong reputation and popularity.

Tech Rider

The technical rider for the travelling exhibition, entitled Between The Details: Video Art from the ACMI Collection, required a not-insignificant complement of high-brightness projection.

Panasonic is ACMI’s major technology partner and provided technical support along with some practical assistance — working with local financial supporters and government grants to ensure the gallery would have the four Panasonic projectors as a permanent part of its inventory.

“We count it as a huge honour to be the first regional gallery to host ACMI’s Between The Details exhibition,” comments Benalla Art Gallery Director, Eric Nash. “But we wanted to do more than just host the exhibition; we wanted to do everything we could to present the works as they are intended. For us, it’s about building our in-house capacity, working with ACMI and Panasonic to deliver this exhibition. We’re excited by the future possibility of working with a host of Australian artists who are doing such wonderful work in the new media space.”

left: a double-wide installation comprising two Panasonic PT-MZ10K edge blended projectors. (Artwork: Deborah Kelly, The Gods of Tiny Things, 2019)

Future Capability

The projection investment includes 4x Panasonic PT-MZ10K units with ET-EMS600 and ET-EMT700 lenses. The 10,000-lumen WUXGA laser projector is a popular model for exhibitions and displays, with its versatile complement of removable lenses, high brightness and vivid image quality.

“These are hugely impressive projectors. Given ACMI’s trust in the Panasonic product we always knew we could be confident in the results,” comments Eric Nash.

Read more about the exhibition currently at Bennalla Art Gallery at https://benallaartgallery.com.au/between-the-details-video-art-from-the-acmi-collection/

Audience member viewing Deborah Kelly, The Gods of Tiny Things, 2019, at Benalla Art Gallery as part of Between the Details: Video Art from the ACMI Collection

Audience member viewing Jason Phu, Analects of Kung Phu, Book 1, The 69 Dialogues between the Lamp and the Shadow, 2021, at Benalla Art Gallery as part of Between the Details: Video Art from the ACMI Collection

Zanny Begg, The Beehive, 2018, on display at Benalla Art Gallery as part of Between the Details: Video Art from the ACMI Collection

Benalla Art Gallery Takes ACMI Digital Art to the Regions

Tech Rider

Future Capability

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