Join Umbrella to hear from artist Dr Sylvia Ditchburn in conversation with Umbrella's Deputy Director Daniel Qualischefski. From 10:30am Sunday 22 June, the pair will deliver an intriguing discussion in conjunction with Sylvia's exhibition In Plain Sight. They will reflect upon the artist's history as a predominantly en plein air painter, and on her reverence for the natural environment and its fragility. 

Dr Sylvia Ditchburn is predominantly an en plein air painter known for her bold and colourful landscape works and her passion for the environment. Since moving to North Queensland from the Darling Downs in the 1960s, she has been inspired by the dramatic tropical environment and its ambience, vibrant colours and abundance. Ditchburn has also travelled Australia widely in search of subjects and natural environments for her works. The artist is formally trained with four degrees: a Diploma of Fine Arts, Graduate Diploma of Museum Curatorship (Distinction), Masters of Creative Arts (First Class) and a PhD at James Cook University. Ditchburn has been a judge for many notable art competitions and a tutor of en plein air workshops. She has completed residencies including at Arthur Boyd’s famous property at Bundanon, Sails on the Desert in Uluru and Redgate Gallery in Beijing. The artist has held more than 60 solo exhibitions in Australia, Russia and China and group exhibitions in Berlin, Miami, London, Paris, New York, and Budapest. Her work is held in public and private collections nationally and internationally. From 1997-1998 Ditchburn was appointed to the Qld Cultural Advisory Council to the Arts Office Minister, and she ran her own private gallery for over 11 years.

Daniel Qualischefski (Deputy Director, Umbrella) is a curator, artist and writer who has worked in regional and contemporary galleries across eastern Australia. Daniel has delivered a number of significant projects at Umbrella, including co-curating with Kate O'Hara the nationally touring POSTWORLD exhibition, and curating the NAFA-commissioned FORCED PERSPECTIVE. In partnership with Townsville City Galleries, Daniel has also managed 4+ years of the Transitions program, providing mentorship, critique and development for emerging North Queensland visual artists. Daniel was the 2023 recipient of a Museums and Galleries Queensland funded mentorship at the National Gallery of Australia and a participant in the 2021 QAGOMA Art as Exchange program on Girramay Country / Cardwell, North Queensland. He holds a Master of Arts and Cultural Management from the University of Melbourne, a Bachelor of Visual Arts and a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Creative Arts), Honours from the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ). He was the inaugural 2023 UniSQ School of Creative Arts Alumni Fellow. Daniel also creates multidisciplinary work under the artist pseudonym of Danish Quapoor. He has had work, reviews and writing published in the Journal of Australian Ceramics, Art Guide, Imprint and Lemonade Letters.

Image above: Daniel Qualischefski with Sylvia Ditchburn. Photograph: Amanda Galea.