This portfolio, titled 'The Sydney 2000 Olympic Collection: Fine Art Limited Edition Prints', was presented to the Powerhouse Museum in October 1999 to showcase the series of eight Australian prints that celebrated the coming Olympic Games. Produced in two qualities, the general edition of prints retailed to the public while the limited edition of ninety-nine prints went to auction and to national and international galleries. Though the Powerhouse Museum did not receive or purchase these prints, it did retain this portfolio as a record of the print collection and its role in bridging Australian arts and the Olympic Games. The portfolio contains a media release, a launch invitation, artists' biographies and slides. (A catalogue, entitled The Sydney 2000 Olympic Fine Art Collection, was also released for the collection launch.)

The Sydney 2000 Olympic Fine Art Collection was unveiled to the public on 26 October 1999 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. Eight well-recognised, Australian artists each created an individual work for the collection, depicting aspects of Sydney, Australia, the Millennium and the staging of the 2000 Olympic Games. These artists were Fiona Hall, Gordon Bennett, Brian Blanchflower, Louise Forthun, Bea Maddock, Queenie McKenzie (Gara-Garang), Imants Tillers and Guan Wei. Together, their work conveyed "ideas of journeying across space and time; of questioning who and where we are in the world; of crossing bridges, countries and centuries; of finding real and imaginary meeting places".

Highly admired and contemporary, these artists were also selected for their distinct art practices and for their diverse cultural heritages. Together, they represented a pluralist Australian society that transcended age, gender and ethnicity. Each artist received a sum of $6,000 at the completion of his or her work in 1999. (The portfolio contains a comprehensive record of the artworks, including titles, names of printmakers and workshops, and brief essays on the works themselves.)

The Sydney 2000 Olympic Fine Art Collection represented the exclusive spectrum of Olympic Games memorabilia that contrasted sharply with inexpensive and mass-produced souvenirs. However, the failure of this collection as a profit-making exercise emphasised a general preference for inexpensive keepsakes that satisfied a broader sweep of Australian consumers. After the Games, SOCOG was still attempting to sell many of its limited edition prints though this state of affaires was partly a reflection of poor marketing strategies.

SOCOG selected eight Australian artists to produce individual artworks for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Fine Art Collection. These artists were Fiona Hall, Gordon Bennett, Brian Blanchflower, Louise Forthun, Bea Maddock, Queenie McKenzie (Gara-Garang), Imants Tillers and Guan Wei.

This portfolio and a supplementary catalogue (not part of the Sydney 2000 Games Collection) were made by SOCOG in 1999 to promote the upcoming launch of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Fine Art Collection.

This portfolio was presented to the Powerhouse Museum in October 1999 to showcase the series of eight Australian prints that celebrated the coming Olympic Games. The prints were launched on 26 October 1999 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.

Made for and owned by the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and presented to the Powerhouse Museum in late 1999.

Portfolio, The Sydney 2000 Olympic Collection: Fine Art Limited Edition Prints, containing media release, launch invitation, artists' biographies and slides, plastic/paper, made by SOCOG to promote launch of 8 Olympic prints at Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 1999

Portfolio "The Sydney 2000 Olympic Collection / Fine Art Limited Edition Prints", plastic and paper. The portfolio consists of a folder containing a News Release dated 26 October 1999, biographies of the eight artists whose works are included in the portfolio, an invitation to the launch of the prints, a 4 page paper/ article by Deborah Hart about the prints and eight slides - one of each artwork.

Made: 1999

2001/84/613

1999