Hobart Current
MY VOICE, 2021, Brigita Ozolins. A public artwork commissioned for Hobart Current 2021. Photo credit: Andrew Wilson Photography
Hobart Current is an innovative long-term partnership between the City of Hobart and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, which replaces the 27 year-old City of Hobart Art Prize.
Hobart Current website
This major biennial program showcases contemporary artists working across different media, which may include music, performance, film, design, visual art and literature.
A Creative Director is appointed for a two-year cycle. They set the theme and select ten artists to participate, each of whom will be commissioned to create a new work for the exhibition. At least six of the ten chosen will be artists who identify as Tasmanian.
Commissioning a Creative Director for Hobart Current 2025
The City of Hobart and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery are seeking Expressions of interest (EOI's) for a Creative Director for the third Hobart Current: a creative program that aims to nurture and showcase Tasmania's most innovative creatives alongside their national and international peers.
The Creative Director will be responsible for the selection of ten artists and the development of an exhibition theme. The Creative Director will be paid $35 000 AUD which includes all travel, per diems and accommodation costs.
For further information and to see the Creative Director brief, please visit the Hobart Current website.
EOI's close 5 pm Friday 26 July 2025.
Hobart Current: Epoch
17 November 2023 - 12 February 2024
Explore life as we step into a new era
Creative Director Chris Twite selected ten artists, including six Tasmanian artists, with the remainder selected from national and international applications.
The selected artists were Arushi Jain (US), Florence Shaw (UK), Georgia Morgan (Tasmania), Isabella Maria Foster (Tasmania), Lou Conboy (Tasmania), Nathan Maynard (Tasmania), Rochelle Haley (NSW),Tricky Walsh (Tasmania), Wona Bae and Charlie Lawler (Tasmania).
Hobart Current: Epoch
Hobart Current: Liberty
12 March - 9 May 2021
Who chooses freedom for whom, in what space and during what time?
Rosie Dennis, Creative Director of Hobart Current, selected ten contemporary artists to help find the answer.
Tasmanian artists Sinsa Mansell, Brigita Ozolins, James Newitt, Jacob Leary, Dexter Rosengrave and Nadege Philippe-Janon featured in this collection, which also spanned interstate and international talent including Uncle Wes Marne, Suryo Herlambang, Jagath Dheerasekara and Sarah Jane Pell creating new works in the mediums of film, installation, performance and visual art.
The works commissioned for Liberty offered personal and vulnerable perspectives on the theme, challenging notions of agency and representation, surveillance and exile.
Hobart Current: Liberty