Meet the curator bringing world-class art to Whitehorse

Marguerite Brown has been curating exhibitions at the Whitehorse Art Space since 2024 — coming up with concepts, meeting with artists, and ultimately delivering six complete exhibitions every year.

Marguerite said it was important to her to help visitors feel comfortable.

“Sometimes people can feel a little bit nervous going into a gallery, because they might think that they don't know enough about art... we try to debunk that,” she told the Eastern Melburnian.

“Everyone is welcome.

“It’s been great working with artists further afield and bringing their work to the gallery so that local artists in the community can see what else is being created and be inspired by it too.”

What’s on right now

Currently showing at the Artspace is ‘Celebrate!’, a series created by a group of Chinese Australian photographers through the Australian Vision Photography Club and supported by a creativity grant awarded by Whitehorse Council.

Marguerite describes the collection as “the public life of Melbourne, expressed in photography... but also private images of birthday parties and weddings.”

Two upcoming shows you can’t miss

While ‘Celebrate!’ highlights the joy of everyday life, the next exhibition takes a different approach—diving into resilience, culture, and activism.

Whitehorse Artspace is hosting Niloufar Lovegrove’s ‘Cypress Growing Season’ collection, showing from 8 March – 26 April.

The Iranian-Australian artist has created a suite of works which respond to and use the symbol of the cypress tree, which is a cherished symbol in Persian culture.

Marguerite said Niloufar used the cypress tree as a metaphor for the strength and courage of the women of Iran, who are commandeering the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protest.

The movement began in 2022 following the death of 22-year-old Mahda Amisi, who was killed by Iran’s morality police for not wearing her hijab correctly.

“Niloufar responds to that situation in such a beautiful, positive way — she’s saying that women can create our own future through acts of care and nurturing of ideas,” Marguerite said.

“She uses traditional Persian marks and motifs and weaves them into this really contemporary narrative.

“It's a really interesting fusion of ancient imagery with contemporary issues.”

Later in the year, Annemieke Mein’s ‘Nature revealed’ is coming to Whitehorse, on loan from the Gippsland Art Gallery in Sale.

Excitingly, Mein is one of Whitehorse’s own — she attended both Mitcham State School and Nunawading High School after emigrating to Australia from Holland with her family in 1951.

“She is an incredibly renowned textile artist ... I think it will be a great one for the community to come and enjoy,” Marguerite said.

There are legends of a show Mein held in the Waverley Gallery in the early 90’s which drew a crowd of 100,000 people. “They had to recarpet the gallery, the council had to sequester the sporting oval next door for parking,” Marguerite said.

Are there whispers of a similar crowd this year? You’ll have to visit the Whitehorse Artspace from 11 July – 30 August to catch Mein’s collection and see for yourself.

Check out the Whitehorse Artspace

Located at 1022 Whitehorse Road and open from 10am to 4pm from Tuesday to Friday and noon to 4pm on Saturdays, the Whitehorse Artspace showcases a range of local and global artists, from early Australian impressionist pieces through to modern and contemporary works of all mediums.