Rita Macarounas
About
Rita Macarounas
Born in Darwin NT Australia
Lives & works in Darwin NT Australia
Rita Macarounas studied Visual Fine Arts at Campus Arts & Sciences, Athens, with Effie Halivoupoulou, and printmaking at Charles Darwin University with Mats Undén. Her art background also involves pottery and Byzantine iconography. She has been working as an artist/curator, since 1986, first showing work in the 29th Pan Hellenic Pottery Exhibition, Athens, 1987. Macarounas returned to Darwin seven years ago after a long period living in Greece, and is actively involved in the local arts and Hellenic community. Primarily a painter, Macarouna's seriers of paintings 'Entelechia" is particularly drawn to the colour red and all its hues (‘symbolizing life, passion, fear, danger, wealth, speed, and attraction’). Gold is also an important component in her work and identifies her Greek Orthodox spiritual heritage.
Her project ‘Exodus’ is based on the Hellenic Diaspora, which was first exhibited at Darwin Visual Arts Association in May 2016 in the group show, 'COnCREtE-Exodus-Chapter 1 which was curated by Rita Macarounas and reviewed by Maurice O'Reordan, Director, Northern Center of Contemporary Art in Artlink Magazine 16/7/16:
She continues to work on portraits of New Australians her latest work can be found in a group exhibition, 'Creating Connection’ in the Darwin City Mall.
‘Exodus’ is a series of photographic and screen-printed works portraying her own children and young migrants. "My images have a kind of pop street art feeling"! They are basically portraits of young people in a new city, which they are exploring, creating memories, and making it their home. I am interested in depicting my subjects in real-time and space. It can be on their way to a movie, waiting at a bus stop, on their way home from the supermarket. My subjects are new Australians creating memories in their new cities.
My focus at present is that my artwork can be a part of the street art movement, a platform for community dialogue, reinforcing social connectivity with others and making it possible to be accessed by a broader and diverse audience.
Rita Macarounas’s work can be found in private collections in Greece, Holland, Belgium, and Australia.
Rita Macarounas was one of the acting co-directors at NCCA from 2017-2021. She has continued on at NCCA as the Program Manager.
CV
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Work
Program Manager at NCCA April 2021-Present
Co-Director/Publicists at NCCA 2017-Present
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Education
2013-16 CDU Printing, Australia
2015-16 CDU Diploma of Project Management Australia
1996-2002 Campus Arts and Sciences, BA Visual Arts Greece
1985-87 Ministry of Culture, Diploma of Byzantine Iconography, Greece
1982-86 Hellenic Potters Association, Diploma of Ceramics
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Exhibitions & Festivals
2020 '2020 Vision' NCCA Member's Exhibition
2020 Solo #Visual Mapping DEC
2020 priNT 2020 Group Exhibition NCCA
2019' Christmas Presence" NCCA Membes' Exhibition
2019 'To Tell Another Story' NCCA Group Show
2019 'Creating Connection’ DCC Comunity Art Project Darwin City Mall
2017 DVAA Member's Group show
2016 NCCA Member's Show 'Peer Review'.
2016 Gathered, group show, DVAA
2016 Fledgling, CDU group show, NC CA
2016 Flyaway, CDU group show, Nan Giese
2016 Concrete-Exodus, group show
2016 Artmart group exhibition DVAA
2016 An Awful Lot Of Coffee, DVAA member group show
2015 Entelechia, Box Set NCCA, Darwin
2015 The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Mayfair Gallery, Darwin
2014 CDU Group Show, DVAA, Darwin
2013 Art is Easy, Chan Contemporary Art Space, Darwin
2012 Members Group Show Oak Hill Gallery, Melbourne
2010 Group Show Kapsiotis Art Gallery Athens Greece
2009 Kapsiotis Art Gallery, Athens Greece
2002 Momenta, Campus Arts and Sciences, Athens
2001 Exhibition A, Campus Arts & Sciences, Athens Drosini Megaron
1996 Spanish Women’s Craft Fair, Athens, Greece
1994 Arts and Craft Fair Kiffisia Cultural Community Centre Athens
1992 Hellenic Potters Association Group Show Athens Greece
1989 Byzantine Icons group show Athens Greece
1987 29th Pan Hellenic Pottery Exhibition Athens Greece
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Curated Exhibitions
2020 '2020 Vision' NCCA Member's Exhibition NCCA
2020 "Pandamonia' Group Exhibition DEC
2020 'Off The Walls' VR Group Exhibition NCCA
2019 'Off The Street' Solo Exhibition Jimmy Bumble NCCA
2019 'Portrait of a Teenage Territorian'
2019 'Desert Satellites' Group Exhibition Barkley Regional Art
2019 'StroryGraph'NCCA Group Exhibition
2019 'ArtMart 2019', NCCA group exhibition
2018 'NCCA Member's Exhibition' UnTitled"
2018 'George Raftopoulos',NCCA
2018 'ArtMart 2018', NCCA group exhibition
2017 "Through My Eyes" Jenny Ashbey, NCCA
2016 'Gathered', DVVA, group show
2016 'Objects of Desire', DVAA, group exhibition
2016 'Concrete-Exodus', DVAA, group exhibition
WorkShops
2019 Printing & Painting Workshops
2008-2011 Studio Drawing, decorative painting furniture
1996-2006 Studio Drawing, Acrylic Painting, Darkroom Photography
1994-96 Decorative Painting Workshops
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Reviews
2016 "Artlink" review Maurice O'Riordan Concrete-Exodus
www.Artlink.com.au/Articles/4510/concrete5F5Fexodus
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Press
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