Celebrating 75 years of Modernist art and living at its Emu Plains site, Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest presents a suite of exhibitions and associated programs titled Emu Island – Modernism in Place that will be open to the public from 26 August until 26 November 2017.

Once the home and studio of artists Margo and Gerald Lewers, the Gallery site was – and is today – a place of lively debate, artistic creation and exhibition at the foot of the Blue Mountains on the banks of the Nepean River. Coming up against the Nepean River, early settlers thought the land on the mountainside was an island inhabited by Emus hence ‘Emu Island’. The place was considered to be land’s end, but as the home of artists Margo and Gerald Lewers it became the place for new beginnings.

Curated by Dr Shirley Daborn together with consulting curator Dr Cassi Plate, Emu Island – Modernism in Place highlights the cultural significance of the Gallery’s history and site to Modernism in Australia.