Philip Quirk's The Eisteddfods

The Eisteddfods in Australia began in the goldfields of Victoria around 1855. The Abermain Eisteddfod started in 1917 and is the oldest continuous Eisteddfod in NSW (107 years). 

Abermain is the only Eisteddfod left in the Hunter and this documentation of the 1979 Eisteddfod event will be exhibited for the first time at PACC in August 2024. In Quirk’s formative years working with Melbourne fashion photographer, Bruno Benini, he assisted with assignments and darkroom printing. After moving to Sydney in the mid 70s, his work with Benini became the catalyst in a search to find a cultural subject aligned with his interest in documentary photography.

This body of work was his first essay on Australian society and was shot when black & white film was used extensively in magazines and on art gallery walls. 

The exhibition is a combination of portraits and competition dancing, mostly black and white with a small sample of Kodachrome colour prints. The exhibition includes Quirk’s Eisteddfod work both in Wollongong & Wales. 

Abermain Eisteddfod was photographed in 1979 and was followed by the Wollongong Eisteddfod in 1980. With support from the Visual Art Board (Australia Council) Quirk then travelled to Wales for the proclaiming ceremony of the National Eisteddfod of Wales.

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Documentary Film Excerpt (3 minutes)

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