The Valley

“The Valley is about our Latrobe Valley, in our Latrobe City, the largest regional municipality in Gippsland. From the floodplains to the forests, this project explores the possible futures of the Valley, through its past and present, people and places. A joint initiative, this exhibition is curated by both Latrobe Regional Gallery and Hillvale Photo photographers James Bugg, Andy Johnson, Anne Moffat and Clare Steele.

Working in a documentary style, these four artists have immersed themselves in the region and its people, capturing the resilience, adaptation, and aspirations of a community in flux. Latrobe City has traditionally been recognised as the epicentre of Victoria's electricity industry, derived from one of the largest brown coal reserves in the world. Additionally, it serves as a focal point for a substantial forestry industry, servicing Australia’s largest pulp and paper mill, along with other sawmills. It is well known that the Latrobe Valley is undergoing a period of significant transformation, encompassing not only dramatic shifts in these industries, but also a myriad of cultural and societal changes.

Addressing the PHOTO 2024 International Festival of Photography theme — The Future Is Shaped By Those Who Can See It — the artists asked: What are the dreams and aspirations of the community in the Latrobe Valley? As we consider the shifting futures of a new tomorrow, these artists provide us with an outsider’s glance, a window onto the landscapes and places we call home.

This work was imagined and conceived across many locations within the lands of the Brayakaulung people of the Gunai-Kurnai nation. Sovereignty was never ceded. Many sincere thanks to the Latrobe City community for generously sharing their stories, spaces, and landscapes with us.”