Serving Country

Black and white portraits of three Australian Defence Force members in uniform with medals, shown side by side.

Left to right: Commander Michael John Henry, Royal Australian Navy, Wodi Wodi and Walbunja, 2024; Lieutenant Colonel Joseph West, Australian Army, Murrawarri, 2016; Sergeant Rachael Ellem Hopkins, Royal Australian Air Force, Gamilaroi, 2015. Photography by Belinda Mason OAM and Dieter Knierim.

Serving Country was an exhibition of photographs and paintings that recognised and acknowledged the valuable contribution of Australian First Nations servicemen and servicewomen who have served, or are serving, in the Australian Defence Force.

The Serving Country photographic portrait project was conceived by social documentarians Belinda Mason OAM and Dieter Knierim during the 2014 Coloured Diggers March in Redfern, Sydney. This annual march on ANZAC Day commemorates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who served in armed conflicts overseas.

Over the past 12 years, the project has grown to include more than 500 powerful black-and-white portraits. Each portrait is accompanied by a deeply personal, self-authored narrative from veterans across Australia reflecting on their service, sacrifice, resilience and identity.

This iteration of Serving Country at Maroondah Federation Estate Gallery brings together a selection of the portraits, focusing on servicemen and servicewomen with connections to Victoria.

The exhibition includes a portrait of and work by Australian Army veteran and Murrawarri artist Garen Smith. Presented alongside the portraits, Garen's textured, symbolic paintings explore resilience and cultural strength, drawing on his lived experiences and service in the Australian Defence Force.

Garen Smith, Sisterhood, 2026, acrylic on canvas

Image: Garen Smith, Sisterhood, 2026, acrylic on canvas

Serving Country documents a history that has often remained underrepresented, despite Australian First Nations people maintaining a long and proud tradition of service to Australia, including during periods when they were denied full rights of citizenship.

Through national touring exhibitions and a forthcoming major publication, the project provides an enduring platform for truth-telling, education, and recognition. To find out more about this project visit the Serving Country website. 

 

Further information

For more information please contact Arts in Maroondah on 0417 915 347 or email gallery@maroondah.vic.gov.au.

Opportunities for creatives

The Mayoral Art Exhibition is an annual fundraiser that raises funds for the Bone Marrow Donor Institute (now part of Fight Cancer). Over the past three decades, the exhibition has brought together thousands of artists while contributing to cancer research.

31st Annual Mayoral Art Exhibition

The 31st Annual Mayoral Art Exhibition will run from 21 September to 24 October 2026 at Maroondah Federation Estate Gallery.

All eligible artworks will be exhibited, and a number of works will be selected for Mayoral and Community Bank Ringwood East and Croydon acquisitions. Announcement of both acquisitions will be made at the exhibition launch on Thursday 1 October 2026.

About the Bone Marrow Donor Institute

Since the Bone Marrow Donor Institute (BMDI) began in 1989 it has raised over $4 million with a focus on cancer research, initially for Leukemia research which has benefited other serious health conditions including breast and testicular cancer.

BMDI has sponsored accommodation units for cancer patients, particularly supporting regional patients with a North Melbourne unit. In another success story, five young mothers who donated bone marrow through the institute discovered they had early stages of cancer and were successfully treated.

BMDI has since become incorporated with Fight Cancer Foundation with its broader connection to cancer research.

Further information

The exhibition is supported by Maroondah City Council and Community Bank Ringwood East and Croydon.

Bone Marrow Donor Institute Ltd   Bendigo Bank - Community Bank in Ringwood East and Croydon

Maroondah City Council is seeking expressions of interest from suitably experienced contemporary public artists to develop and install artwork in the new Croydon Cultural Hub.

A total of $220,000 (excluding GST) is available for this pulic art commission.

About this opportunity

Key dates

  • Expressions of interest close: Tuesday 22 September 2026
  • Shortlisted artists announced: Monday 12 October 2026
  • Concept proposals due: Tuesday 3 November 2026
  • Final commissioned artist confirmed: Tuesday 24 November 2026
  • Installation: May 2027

About the Croydon Cultural Hub

The Croydon Cultural Hub will be a major community destination, bringing together a library, theatre and events space, customer service centre, café, meeting spaces and community facilities.

This new precinct in the heart of Croydon will include integrated indoor and outdoor spaces that provide activation, inspiration and empowerment. It will be a village of connection, belonging, safety and learning.

The Cultural Hub is the first major infrastructure development within this precinct. The contemporary mixed-use facility will include a 180-seat black box theatre, café, customer service centre, health and wellbeing co-working tenancy hub, bookable meeting spaces and a new home for Your Library Croydon.

The hub has been architecturally designed to maximise visitor experience and accessibility, offering ample natural light, creative features and rooflines and engaging spaces across two levels.

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Who can apply?

This opportunity is open to suitably experienced contemporary public artists. Collaborative applications are welcome.

Applicants should be able to demonstrate:

  • Experience delivering high-quality public art projects.
  • The ability to develop a safe, durable and sustainable artwork.
  • Experience working on projects with long-term public outcomes.
  • The ability to work within project timelines and budget requirements.

Artist brief

Artists are invited to propose works that respond to the site, complement the building's architecture and create a welcoming experience for visitors.

  • Artwork must be located within the interior of the Croydon Cultural Hub.
  • Artists may propose one or more artworks.
  • Proposed works must be safe, durable and suitable for a public setting.
  • A total of $220,000 (excluding GST) is available.

Download the artist brief for full project details, artwork requirements, site information and selection criteria.

Croydon Cultural Hub public art commission brief(PDF, 1MB)

Croydon Cultural Hub public art commission brief(DOCX, 5MB)

Express your interest

Applications close at 11.50pm on Tuesday 22 September 2026.

Expressions of interest must include:

  • A curriculum vitae (CV)
  • A one-page response addressing the selection criteria
  • Up to five examples of relevant previous work
  • Contact details for two referees 

Email applications to publicart@maroondah.vic.gov.au.

Koko Crozier & Claire Riverland, The Caretaker’s Guide to Loving a Home, 2025, behind the scenes still, Film produced by Arts Activators 2025 cohort

Koko Crozier & Claire Riverland, The Caretaker’s Guide to Loving a Home, 2025, behind the scenes still Film produced by Arts Activators 2025 cohort

Applications for Arts Activators will remain open until further notice.

About Arts Activators

Are you a passionate creative aged 18 to 25? Whether you’re into music, visual arts, photography, writing, performance, filmmaking, event production, curating exhibitions or organising creative projects - we’d love you to join Arts Activators, a group of young creatives shaping the arts in Maroondah.

Arts Activators will meet monthly on a Wednesday, from 6pm to 7.30pm. Meetings will be at arts venues across Maroondah to explore and respond to opportunities for creative and community spaces, gain mentorship from established artists/arts workers, and exchange feedback on creative projects.

We encourage creatives from all backgrounds and disciplines to apply.

Benefits of joining

  • Be part of a community of like-minded young artists
  • Access mentorship and resources to support your creative journey and bring your ideas to life
  • Be supported to create projects / works to activate venues across Maroondah
  • Develop your creative practice and network

Express interest

Expressions of interest will remain open until further notice. Applicants will be contacted after they submit.

Express interest


Previous programs

Arts Activators has a new structure for 2026, but you can check out past Arts Activators programs below.

Arts Activators 2025

In 2025, Arts Activators presented five bold and thought-provoking works by emerging artists aged 18 to 25, each transforming material, space and sound into immersive sensory experiences.

Rory Giezekamp

Rory Giezekamp’s sculptural installation invisible wall made the unseen visible by recycling rubbish from the Maroondah area.

Amelie Stewart

Amelie Stewart presented suspended ceramic forms shaped by the ever-changing rhythms of nature and creativity.

Koko Crozier and Claire Riverland

Koko Crozier and Claire Riverland’s The Caretaker’s Guide to Loving a Home was a fusion of film and props that follows a cleaner of deceased estates who transforms her work into a 5-step ritual of care, reflecting on memory, loss and the commodification of housing.

Jordz

The Music Zone, an intimate listening space crafted by Jordz, layered airy music and offered an escape from the sensory stresses of the world.

Emma Lyn-Winkler and Neve Curnow

The thought-provoking What Remains was an immersive multimedia installation by Emma Lyn-Winkler and Neve Curnow. Merging Victorian 19th century death symbolism, rural gothic, and dark humour, the work transformed the space into a ghostly cemetery that playfully confronted mortality, anxiety, and sexuality.

Arts Activator 2024

For 2024 three artists were selected through an open callout for projects including sculptures, installation, puppetry and performance.

Mikayla Hotton

Artwork by Mikayla Hotton

Mikayla Hotton is an early career artist who specialises in the art of puppet making and mould making. She created highly detailed otherworldly characters who are as quirky as they are mischievous. Building stories from the ground up she meticulously sculpted all sets and props by hand, giving her backgrounds a character of their own. Puppet movements are carefully engineered and tested.

Maya Grkow

Maya-Grkow.jpgArtwork by Maya Grkow

Maya Grkow is an emerging New Zealand, and Australian artist who studied Sculpture at RMIT University. Utilising recycled materials she explored the ideas of comfort and hope. Her works serve as a metaphorical comfort pillow—a symbol of hope and support during life's trials.

Imogen Davis

Imogen-Davis.jpgArtwork by Imogen Davis

Imogen Davis is an artist and art student interested in the world-building of real life and how we as humans, as well as animals, plants, and non-organism elements interact with and in turn affect everything within it. She worked in installation creating expanded 3D collages to explore the environment and ecosystems that can be found in and around Maroondah.

Further information

For more information please contact Arts in Maroondah on 0417 915 347 or email gallery@maroondah.vic.gov.au.

The project is a collaboration between Arts in Maroondah and Maroondah Youth Services.

When

  • Monday, 25 May 2026 | 09:00 AM - Saturday, 11 July 2026 | 01:00 PM

Location

Maroondah Federation Estate, 32 Greenwood Avenue, Ringwood, 3134, View map

Google Map

Event summary

Cost

Free

Contact

Maroondah City Council
1300 88 22 33
03 9298 4598
maroondah@marondah.vic.gov.au

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