PLAY ON: The Art of Sport

9 December 2017 to 11 February 2018

Three athletes on a winners podium, the two black athletes have their heads bowed and fists raised. The numbers 1968 are written down the left side of the image.

_{Image: Richard Bell with Emory Douglas, A White hero for Black Australia 2011, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 176x250cm, Courtesy of the artists and Milani Gallery, Brisbane. Courtesy of Parliament House Art Collection, Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra.}

One of Australia’s richest and most prestigious art awards, the Basil Sellers Art Prize has inspired innovative and complex explorations of sport from a rollcall of Australia’s most accomplished artists.

The exhibition included painting, sculpture, video, drawing and mixed-media installation by prominent Australia artists from diverse cultural backgrounds. Individual works in the exhibition engaged with gymnastics, running, community sport, ground-keeping, AFL, race relations and the representation of women in sport.

Play On offered a unique opportunity to bring art and sport lovers together, engage with new audiences and present additional public programs with local sports clubs, personalities, athletes and fans.