Bank Art Museum Moree opens its 2026 Regional Art Fair, bringing together local, regional and nationally recognised artists, with all works on display available to purchase. Image: Moree Online News
Works by some of Australia’s recognised artists will sit alongside local Gomeroi, emerging and regional artists when the 2026 BAMM Regional Art Fair opens in Moree tonight.
Reg Mombassa, Euan Macleod and Elisabeth Cummings are among the artists represented through Cicada Press, while the broader fair draws together commercial galleries, artist collectives and independent artists from across regional Australia. Cicada Press lists all three among artists it has worked with.
And unlike a conventional museum exhibition, everything on display is for sale.
BAMM Exhibitions and Collections Manager Sarah Vickerman said visitors might not expect to find some of the work available in Moree.
“I think visitors will be surprised to see the calibre of works on offer that aren’t usually shown and for sale in Moree,” she said.
The month-long fair spans painting, sculpture, ceramics, works on paper, weaving and installation, with established names sharing gallery space with emerging artists and regional practitioners.
Among the local artists are Aunty Tibby Duncan and Aunty Anna Duncan, Gomeroi artists whose contribution includes ceramics, weaving and installation pieces. Both women were also involved in Traces of the Hand, a cross-cultural ceramics exhibition developed through the Moree Arts Community Centre and exhibited at the University of Newcastle earlier this year.
Another north-west connection comes through Euraba Paper Company, an Aboriginal artists collective established by Goomeri women from the Toomelah and Boggabilla Aboriginal communities. A.K. Bellinger Gallery brings another regional connection from nearby Inverell.
Downstairs, Cicada Press introduces another dimension to the exhibition.
Established by master printmaker Michael Kempson, Cicada Press has worked with a substantial list of Australian artists. The works at BAMM include names such as Mombassa, Macleod and Cummings, with Kempson himself also represented.
Vickerman said having those artists represented alongside people at earlier stages of their careers was part of the diversity of the fair.
She pointed to emerging artists alongside farmer and sculptor Tom Paul as examples of the breadth represented.
Northern Rivers artists René Bolten and Claudie Frock bring a different approach to drawing and materials.
Bolten maintains a daily drawing practice, while Frock works with handmade inks and charcoals created from botanical materials. The pair have developed individual and collaborative practices together for more than a decade.
Visitors will also get an opportunity to see that practice firsthand. Bolten and Frock are expected to work in the gallery from 10am to 1pm on Friday and Saturday.
Stacks of Bolten’s drawings will be available to browse, with individual works priced at $75. Unlike most exhibition purchases, which generally remain on display until a show closes, those drawings can be taken home when purchased.
The fair extends beyond the invited galleries, artists and collectives through its salon hang, which provides space for independently entered works.
That mix means the walls and gallery spaces move between established Australian names, local work and artists who may be unfamiliar to Moree audiences.
BAMM will hold an all-welcome opening tonight, Thursday, September 10, from 5.30pm for a 6pm start. The exhibition opens to the public on Friday, September 11 and continues until Saturday, October 10 at BAMM Gallery, 25 Frome Street, Moree.
