We have had around 200 visitors per day, including 467 on our first day - a gallery record. We’ve been really enjoying the energy that has been created, and seeing many first-time visitors from within our local community.

Something many visitors have been commenting on is how diverse the exhibition is, with works spanning the last 220 years, made by 64 known artists. People are particularly surprised to see colonial material displayed alongside contemporary works, including some by indigenous artists. 

I mentioned in my earlier column that this exhibition is based on the book Dogs in Australian Art by Steven Miller; one aspect where book and exhibition do differ significantly is the inclusion of indigenous artworks.

The presence of these works has certainly added another dimension to the exhibition and they are proving to be a real highlight. 

Dogs have been part of indigenous life and art for at least 4000 years. 

They appear in early rock and bark painting, and continue to feature in the work of many indigenous artists from throughout Australia. There are two main groups of works by indigenous artists in Best in Show - woven fibre sculptures from Maningrida in central Arnhem Land, and carved wooden sculptures from Aurukun on the western side of Cape York.

It is the four woven camp dogs from Maningrida that greet visitors when they enter the exhibition. These have been made by Lena Yarinkura and her mother Lena Djamarrayku.

It was Yarinkura who first branched out from creating the traditional functional forms such as dilly bags and string bags from the woven pandanus, to making the camp dogs and then other animals such as stingrays, turtles, bandicoots and possums. Her camp dogs are compelling works that express humour and joy. 

These dogs were first made in 1994 and started a wave of experimentation, and the creation of new woven forms, in Maningrida. 

The featured camp dogs from Aurukun were the result of a sculpture commission in 2010. This commission produced a pack of 12 dogs that were exhibited at the Cairns Art Fair before being purchased by the Queensland Art Gallery. 

These sculptures exhibit the range of qualities you would expect in a pack of dogs, with some lying half-asleep, others cheeky and some looking aggressive.

 In Aurukun, dogs take on an ancestral significance - the community lies in dingo country and is criss-crossed by dog dreaming tracks and song-lines.

Five Aurukun artists are represented in the exhibition, each with their own distinctive approach to creating these sculptural works: Craig Koomeeta, Rodney Yunkaporta, Keith Wikmunea, David Marpoondin and Garry Namponan. 

We’ve introduced a people’s choice competition as part of the exhibition, and we will be interested to see if some of the indigenous sculptures feature among those selected by our visitors. 

One of our upcoming public program highlights is the Dogs on Film festival that includes the screening of two films on Sunday, May 15 at Odeon 5 Cinemas. At 2pm will be Best in Show a satire that pokes fun at people who are overly obsessed with their pets, and then at 4pm The Cave of the Yellow Dog a quasi-documentary from Mongolia.

Don’t miss the opportunity to see these films on the big screen. For bookings please contact gallery staff on 6393 8136.

Best in Show: Dogs in Australian Art is on display until July 3. Call + Response is on display until June 12.

Orange Regional Gallery is open 10am to 4pm daily (except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Good Friday). Exhibitions are free.

For more information contact 6393 8136 or visit  www.org.nsw.gov.au