Show Us Your Olives! Community Call Out for photographs

Published on 10 March 2026

IMAGE Sally McInerney, Olive Cotton, c. 1990, hand coloured photograph

Do you have a portrait taken by Olive Cotton? Perhaps a family photograph from her Cowra studio or an image passed down through generations? Or even a photo you or a family member took of Olive?

The National Gallery of Australia and Cowra Regional Art Gallery invite you to celebrate the legacy of Olive Cotton (1911–2003), one of Australia’s most significant photographers who made Cowra her home. In the National Gallery touring exhibition Olive Cotton and her contemporaries, the legacy of Cotton’s influence can be seen across fellow modernist photographers. The exhibition will be presented at Cowra Regional Art Gallery from 14 March to 10 May 2026.

On the main street of Cowra, Olive Cotton captured beautiful portraits of families and individuals in her photographic studio. These photographs are an important part of our shared history, and we would love to bring them together for a special community event to be held 6-9pm.

We invite you to share these photographs for inclusion in a community slideshow following the screening of Light Years: Olive Cotton to be held 6-9pm on Friday 8 May at Cowra Regional Art Gallery.

Alternatively, if you have a memory or an anecdote, we would love to hear of this too. These can be presented as text slides in the community slideshow.

Join us as we celebrate Olive Cotton’s extraordinary contribution to Australian photography and her deep connection to the Cowra community.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
• Submit: A digital copy (JPEG) of your Olive Cotton photograph or an anecdote to: cowraartgallery@cowra.nsw.gov.au / outreach@nga.gov.au
• Include: Your name, a short caption, and any story or connection to the photograph
• Deadline: Friday 24 April 2026

All submissions will be shared with the National Gallery of Australia.

ENQUIRIES cowraartgallery@cowra.nsw.gov.au OR (02) 6340 2190

This event is part of the National Gallery of Australia’s touring exhibition Olive Cotton and her contemporaries, presented at Cowra Regional Art Gallery.

These programs are generously funded by the Bowness Family Foundation.

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For more information contact Cassandra Hard Lawrie, Art Gallery Director, Cowra Regional Art Gallery on 0428779408 or email Cassandra.Hard.Lawrie@cowra.nsw.gov.au or visit www.cowraartgallery.com.au.

Acknowledgement: Olive Cotton and her contemporaries is a National Gallery Touring Exhibition presented as part of the Bowness Family Foundation Photography Touring Program.

_{Image credit: Sally McInerney, Olive Cotton, c. 1990, hand coloured photograph}

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