Award nomination for Kingston Arts exhibition
Published on 16 April 2026
Kingston Arts’ major 2025 art exhibition has been shortlisted for the Small Project of the Year (Galleries) category, at the 2026 Victorian Museums and Galleries Awards.
Generations: connections to Country was exhibited during NAIDOC week in 2025 and featured six celebrated First Peoples artists sharing new and recently created works. Presented in the Kingston Arts Centre galleries, the exhibition showcased works from Maree Clarke, Mitch Mahoney, Jarra Karalinar Steel, Kylie Clarke, Molly Mahoney and Kerri Clarke.
This free exhibition was displayed at Kingston Arts Centre’s Galleries and surrounding arts precinct in Moorabbin, showcasing storytelling and culture and legacy, shared across generations and grounded deeply in connection to Country. A key highlight of Generations: connection to Country was the inclusion of the family's possum skin cloak, and a new collaborative work by Maree Clarke and Kerri Clarke, as well as new artworks by Molly Mahoney.
Maree Clarke is a nationally and internationally renowned Mutti Mutti, Wamba Wamba, Yorta Yorta, and Boonwurrung artist. Maree’s major public works include the new, monumental 3D woven tapestry recently suspended across two levels at Footscray Hospital, made in collaboration with Mitch Mahoney, and recent commission spanning all 5 of Melbourne’s new Metro Tunnel stations.
For this Kingston Arts exhibition, Clarke returned to exhibit on her ancestral lands alongside her family members, offering an intimate insight into lineage and legacy.
Through sculpture, video, prints, installation and object-making, each artist shared a contemporary response to their cultural identity. Together, their voices formed a conversation about heritage, family, and resilience, and the power of art to connect us through time.
Maree Clarke’s work also featured on new lightboxes installed outside Kingston Arts Centre, showcasing her full photographic series The Long Journey Home, which honours her family on Country. The lightbox exhibition continued until 15 October 2025.
“’Generations: connections to Country’ was more than an exhibition — it was an invitation to listen, reflect, and walk alongside the stories of First Peoples artists who generously shared their experiences of Country, and culture. We congratulate the artists on this nomination, and thank them for sharing their beautiful artworks and stories with the community,” says Jessica Row, Kingston Arts' Curator.
You can view a walkthrough of the exhibition below. Video footage by James Henry.
Audio by Jarra Karalinar Steel, from 'Tidal Volume II’, featured in Generations: connections to Country at Kingston Arts, 2025.
The Victorian Museums and Galleries Awards are jointly hosted by the Public Galleries Association of Victoria (PGAV) and the Australian Museums and Galleries Association (AMaGA).
Read more about the awards and view the full list of nominees on the AMaGA Victoria website.
Top image credit: View of Generations: connections to Country, featuring (L-R) Maree Clarke, Mitch Mahoney, Kylie Clarke, Molly Mahoney and (not pictured) Kerri Clarke and Jarra Karalinar Steel. Photo by James Henry, at Kingston Arts Centre, 2025.