Counihan Gallery

Counihan Gallery Political and contemporary exhibitions at 233 Sydney Road, Brunswick. Entry is free.

The Counihan Gallery was established in 1999 in honour of the Australian artist Noel Counihan (1913-1986). The Gallery aims to program exhibitions engaging with contemporary cultural and social issues.

Applications are now open for the 2026 Merri-bek Summer Show!Do you live, work, study, or have an arts practice in Merri...
28/08/2026

Applications are now open for the 2026 Merri-bek Summer Show!

Do you live, work, study, or have an arts practice in Merri-bek? Apply now to exhibit your work at the Counihan Gallery as part of the Merri-bek Summer Show.

This year's exhibition theme is 'Present Tense: 10 Years On', marking the tenth anniversary of the Noel Counihan Commemorative Art Award, which recognises artists whose work engages with social justice.

Local artists are invited to consider how the past decade has shaped the world we live in today. What has changed? What challenges remain? What demands our attention now? What futures are being imagined?

The theme is open to interpretation and can be explored through personal and local stories, political ideas, social issues, environmental concerns, everyday experiences and more.

To apply, complete the application form via our website.
https://www.merri-bek.vic.gov.au/exploring-merri-bek/arts-merri-bek/counihan-gallery/exhibit-at-the-counihan-gallery/

Announcing new acquistions to the Merri-bek Art Collection! We have lots of new works to share with you in the weeks ahe...
26/08/2026

Announcing new acquistions to the Merri-bek Art Collection! We have lots of new works to share with you in the weeks ahead!

We’re excited to announce that ‘John Englart’ by local artist Maggie Cowling has been acquired into Merri-bek’s permanent art collection.

This work honours local climate activist John Englart (1955–2025), a familiar and cheerful presence on Merri-bek's bike paths, often seen riding with his beloved chihuahuas in his basket.

Maggie began the portrait before John’s sudden passing in 2025 and finished it shortly afterwards. The work was exhibited in the 2025 Merri-bek Summer Show: Love in Crisis and received the Climate Activism Award, recognising an artist whose work engages with climate justice.

You can explore more of the Collection via the link in bio or at: https://victoriancollections.net.au/organisations/merri-bek-city-council

Photos:

Message Depth – An Ongoing Archive is a collaborative work by artists Katie Paine and Oliver Hull. It explores the hidde...
23/08/2026

Message Depth – An Ongoing Archive is a collaborative work by artists Katie Paine and Oliver Hull.

It explores the hidden systems that underpin contemporary life, tracing how the global flow of information and goods depends on vast, unseen infrastructures that are both technological and environmental. Submarine fibre optic cables thread across the seabed, carrying the world’s data beneath the ocean’s surface, while inland data centres continue this circulation by processing and storing those signals. These facilities rely on immense quantities of water for cooling, water that is drawn from and returned to surrounding natural systems. Alongside these digital networks, the colossal maritime routes of the industrial shipping industry operate as a physical analogue to data transmission: containers for goods mirror packets of data, both traversing oceans along highly regulated, commercialised pathways.

On display until 25 October.


Photos: .io

Artwork in focus.Axel Garay's Ama Algorithmus (Mother Algorithm) combines analogue and digital media to explore spiritua...
18/08/2026

Artwork in focus.

Axel Garay's Ama Algorithmus (Mother Algorithm) combines analogue and digital media to explore spirituality in the digital age.

Through photography, video and sound, the installation reflects on the sense of wonder, reverence and belief that often surrounds emerging technologies and artificial intelligence.

Portraits of the artist, adorned with feathers, electrical cables, and fairy lights, are presented alongside projected imagery and an original soundscape by cellist Thomas Veitch.

Bringing toegether historical and contemporary image-making processes, the work considers how technology can take on an almost mystical status, obscuring the commercial and social structures that underpin them.

Expanding on a project first presented at the 2025 Yirramboi Festival, Axel has re-imagined Ama Algorithmus for the Counihan Gallery.

The exhibiton continues in the Rear Gallery until 25 October.

https://www.axgaray.com/
Photos: Simon Fazio .io

It's the last week to see Lily Houbert’s video work, Dressed In Excess, at Brunswick Town Hall, as part of our Winter Ni...
16/08/2026

It's the last week to see Lily Houbert’s video work, Dressed In Excess, at Brunswick Town Hall, as part of our Winter Night Screen program.

Lily is a Melbourne/Naarm-based emerging artist who recently graduated from RMIT University with a Bachelor of Design specialising in Digital Media. Working primarily with animation, her practice explores contemporary issues through accessible and visually engaging storytelling.

Beneath the sweet, vintage-inspired aesthetic of Dressed In Excess lie serious reflections on fast fashion, consumerism, and their growing environmental impact.

On display until Thursday 20 August.



Image: Lily Houbert. Dressed in Excess. 2025 (Video Still)

Meet the curator!Sebastian Kainey is an arts worker, emerging curator, and photographer. His curatorial interests revolv...
12/08/2026

Meet the curator!

Sebastian Kainey is an arts worker, emerging curator, and photographer. His curatorial interests revolve around labour politics, perception, memory, and expanded image-making practices. Sebastian recently co-curated the exhibition ‘Labour Lexica’ at Linden Projects Space, which explored ideas of labour, language, and futility within the contemporary capitalist condition. As a photographer, Sebastian specialises in art and exhibition documentation.

Sebastian holds a Master of Art Curatorship from The University of Melbourne and a Bachelor of Arts (Photography) from RMIT University. A passionate supporter of contemporary art and emerging and early-career artists, he currently serves as a board member at Kings Artist Run.

With works by Amalia Lindo, Clara Chanisheff, Guy Louden, Katie Paine, and Oliver Hull, 'From within the infinite flow', curated by Sebastian, continues at the Gallery until 25 October.






gallery

Photo: Simon Fazio .io

Amalia Lindo is represented by Haydens, Naarm/Melbourne.

Meet the artists!Axel Garay is an emerging multidisciplinary artist with strong connections to his ancestral homelands i...
10/08/2026

Meet the artists!

Axel Garay is an emerging multidisciplinary artist with strong connections to his ancestral homelands in the Eastern Torres Strait (Mer), Puerto Rico & Malaysia. His practice forms a constellation of photography (specifically alternative photographic processes), digital video, sound, installation and performance.

Exhibiting since 2024, Axel has shown work at Museum of Australian Photography (MAPh), Yirramboi Festival, Next Wave, State Library of QLD, Koorie Heritage Trust, NotFair Art fair and in the public realm. He received an Honourable Mention in the 2024 Bowness Photography Prize and Highly Commended in the 2025 Brisbane Portrait Prize. Axel is completing a PhD in Art at RMIT University where he is exploring the connection between spirituality and immersive arts practice.

He is currently on the Next Wave inaugural Artist Advisory.

Axel’s exhibition, Ama Algorithmus (Mother Algorithm), continues at the Gallery until October 25.

https://www.axgaray.com/
Photo: Simon Fazio .io

Meet the artists!Nadège Philippe-Janon is an early career artist based between Southern lutruwita/Tasmania and Naarm/Mel...
08/08/2026

Meet the artists!

Nadège Philippe-Janon is an early career artist based between Southern lutruwita/Tasmania and Naarm/Melbourne. Her practice moves fluidly across diverse materials and methods, driven by an interest in ecologies, perception, and more-than-human imaginaries. Projects have ranged from harnessing the sun’s heat to melt metals, imagining texts between more-than-human lovers, weather-driven installations, guided meditations, and casting off on the Tasman Sea in a handmade boat.

After commencing a degree in Environmental Science, Nadege studied at the Queensland College of Art and Tasmanian College of the Arts. She was the 2017 recipient of Contemporary Art Tasmania’s Shotgun program and has undertaken residencies in Australia, Japan, France, USA and Korea.

Nadège’s exhibition, Ecologies of Attention, continues at the Gallery until October 25.

https://nadegepj.com/
Photo: Simon Fazio .io

Introducing the new Merri-bek Arts Projects Grant!We've refreshed our arts grant to better support Merri-bek's creative ...
07/08/2026

Introducing the new Merri-bek Arts Projects Grant!
We've refreshed our arts grant to better support Merri-bek's creative community. Alongside a simpler application process, we're offering more support for applicants, including one-on-one meetings with our Arts Development Officer, an online information session and a grant writing workshop to help you prepare your application.

The Merri-bek Arts Projects Grant supports artists, groups and organisations to develop and deliver creative projects that benefit our community.

Funding is available for:
• Individual Artists – up to $6,000
• Arts Groups and Organisations – up to $12,000
Projects can include the development or presentation of creative work across all art forms.
Applications are now open and close Wednesday 2 September 2026 at 11.59pm.

Find out more, read the guidelines and apply via
https://www.merri-bek.vic.gov.au/my-council/grants-and-awards/arts-grants/

Image credit:
Brunswick Music Festival 2026. Image by Simon Fazio.

Address

Counihan Gallery (inside Brunswick Town Hall), 233 Sydney Road
Melbourne, VIC
3056

Opening Hours

Wednesday 11am - 5pm
Thursday 11am - 5pm
Friday 11am - 5pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm
Sunday 1pm - 5pm

Telephone

+61393898622

Website

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