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Meet the Artist Behind the Other-Worldly Butterflies and Insects in Mecca’s 2026 Holiday Artwork Tai Snaith It started with Tai Snaith pouring inks and watercolours in her Abbotsford studio – soon it’ll be all over your holiday gifts. In partnership with Mecca, we chat to the Melbourne artist about the joyful commission and being part of the NGV Triennial. The season of giving takes a more colourful, whimsical turn each year thanks to Mecca’s festive holiday packaging. Whether it’s a Kris Kringle gift at a work party or a present for your sister hidden under the tree, the packaging takes…
Meet Tai Snaith: The Artist Behind Our Wildest Holiday Yet! Words by Romy Erdos The most wonderful time of the year is here – the moment MECCA reveals the artist whose work will light up our stores and adorn countless gifts, from Friendsmases to family lunches, Kris Kringles to work mingles. And this year, things are getting a little wild. “I hope that it makes people feel like they can be their weird selves, with all their imperfections and nuances and celebrate their own wild chorus within,” says Australian artist and author Tai Snaith of the Join the Wild Chorus…
Robson Rak design an expressive home in Melbourne with surprises at every turn Designed around the owners’ art collection, this two-bedroom home turns the constraints of downsizing into a creative opportunity, pairing heritage details with bold flourishes. Photographed by Anson Smart. Architecture, Interior design, furniture, art procurement and styling by Robson Rak. Saskia Tillers September 30, 2026 – 8:28AM Downsizing needn’t mean limiting or losing sight of personality. Instead, it can provide an otherwise unforeseen opportunity to consolidate, curate and flex creative muscles. Never has this sentiment rung truer than at Celine, a Victorian home in Melbourne’s leafy eastern…
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Antonia Sellbach’s ‘Unstable object 11’ has been acquired by the National Gallery of Victoria. Antonia Sellbach has held exhibitions in Victoria and Tasmania since 2010, including solo exhibitions at Heide Museum of Modern Art (2016-17), Schoolhouse Gallery (2022), BUS Projects (2015), C3 Contemporary Art Space (2014) and Faculty Gallery, RMIT (2011). Her work has been included in group exhibitions at the National Gallery of Victoria; RMIT Gallery, Melbourne; La Trobe Art Institute, Bendigo; SVPA Gallery, University of Tasmania, Launceston; M16 Artspace, Canberra; Counihan Gallery, Melbourne and Bundoora Homestead Art Gallery, Bundoora. Sellbach’s work is held in prominent private and…
Tai Snaith is exhibited as a finalist in the Maquette: Sculpture Award at McClelland Gallery with her sculpture Black dog slippery dip until 22 February. The inaugural Maquette: Sculpture Award brings together 61 sculptures by contemporary Australian artists. One entry will be awarded $20,000 and will become part of McClelland’s renowned permanent collection, which is focused on modern and contemporary Australian sculpture. The title of this new sculpture prize refers to the scale of the entries—no more than 50 centimetres in any dimension. Finalists were selected by artist Lisa Roet and McClelland’s Artistic and Executive Director Lisa Byrne, with the winning work…
Heidi Yardley’s ‘Femme en fourrure’ is exhibited in ‘Synchron City’ at Gippsland Art Gallery from 6 December to 22 February. Curated by special guest Cassie May, Synchron City leads visitors on a strange and immersive journey through contemporary art where artworks disrupt and question everyday life. The concept of ‘synchronicity’, according to Carl Jung (1875–1961), suggested that coincidences could be related to unconscious processes, mirroring internal states and potentially offering guidance or insights. Through our collective unconscious, memories, dreams and reflections bubble beneath the surface. In this world of inner and outer space, our relationship to the environment is…
Heidi Yardley’s ‘Untitled (woman in white)’ has been acquired by Bendigo Art Gallery. The work was exhibited in Nicholas Thompson Gallery’s presentation at this year’s Spring1883 Art Fair in the Dame Nellie Melba Suite at the Hotel Windsor. Bendigo Art Gallery is one of the oldest and largest regional galleries in Australia, established in 1887. The extensive collection has an emphasis on 19th century European art and Australian art from the 1800’s, alongside a strong collection of contemporary Australian art.
Tai Snaith’s work recently acquired by Bayside Gallery is exhibited in ‘Future past: recent additions to the Bayside City Council Art and Heritage Collection’ at Bayside Gallery, Brighton until 19 October. This exhibition presents a selection of artworks that have been recently acquired by Bayside City Council. A range of themes, styles and periods are represented and reflect the diversity of Bayside City Council’s Art and Heritage Collection. Image 1. Tai Snaith ‘Hierarchy of needs’ 2022 gouache, watercolour, ink and collage on paper, 87 x 67 cm
Kez Hughes’ painting Revolution of capital from her July exhibition has been acquired by Artbank. Artbank is part of the Australian Government Office for the Arts, in the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. Established in 1980 by the Australian Government, Artbank’s two core objectives are to provide direct support to Australian contemporary artists through the acquisition of their work and to promote the value of Australian contemporary art to the broader public. Kez Hughes Revolution of capital 2025 oil on linen 112 x 87 cm
Tai Snaith was the August Artist-in-Residence at Jacky Winters Gardens and was photographed by Gavin Green: During her recent residency at Jacky Winter Gardens, Tai and her gentle giant hound Wally re-visited many places of her childhood (Tai grew up for many years in the hills), which has formed the research for two of her large paintings in her forthcoming show ‘Days Eye Opens’ at Nicholas Thompson Gallery in November 2025. She made sketches and took notes from nostalgic locations like the Mt Dandenong Arboretum, the Kalorama All Saints church and The Sherbrooke forest, where she spent much of her…
“For a while Kez Hughes was creating paintings of other artworks and sculptures from ancient and classical periods, but now her focus has enticingly shifted to temperamental landscapes and lightly surreal scenes. Partly inspired by a recent trip to Naples and the volcano Vesuvius, the paintings foremost hold a sense of time: that past moments, like volcanic eruption, linger through history, awaiting excavation in the present. In this sense, we live through the past in Hughes’s paintings. She delivers moments like the splash of raindrops as a person runs through the street in their towel; a horse in the moonlight;…
Tai Snaith is exhibited in the Women’s Art Register exhibition ‘UNSEEN’ until 27 September at ACU Melbourne Gallery, Australian Catholic University UNSEEN will showcase a collection of artworks by W.A.R members that have never before been exhibited or sold. Each artist has personally selected a piece, offering a rare glimpse into hidden creative narratives. This show feature works created across different time periods and in diverse range of mediums, spanning painting, sculpture, photography, textile art and more. By bringing these unseen works into public view, the exhibition challenges the historical underrepresentation of women in the visual arts and highlights the…