The Anzac Memorial Veteran Artist in Residence program offers contemporary veterans with established creative practices the opportunity to engage with the Memorial and the broader community through an artwork or project.
2024 Veteran Artist in Residence
Domenic Bartolo
Veteran and artist Domenic Bartolo is the Anzac Memorial’s 2024 Veteran Artist in Residence.
Domenic Bartolo served in the Army Reserve (infantry) from 1994-97. Currently Domenic is a graphic designer and has worked in the advertising industry for the past 20 years. He also has a Diploma in Fine Arts. In recent years, in his spare time, Domenic has managed to merge his passion for history and the military with art – creating a number of works for the Royal Australian Navy, The Royal Australian Airforce, The Naval Association of Australia and the AMDA Foundation.
As part of his Residency, Domenic will be creating a number of hand-drawn illustrations in the Memorial's Hall of Service each Friday until 1 March.
Program background
In 1934, the Memorial building was erected for the use, benefit, rest or recreation of sailors, soldiers and nurses returned from the Great War. Keeping with this spirit, the Memorial today runs several programs for the benefit of current veterans while connecting them to the history of Australia’s servicemen and servicewomen.
Launched in 2019, the Veteran Artist in Residence Program is one such program for the benefit of current veterans while also recognising the strong historic connection between art and military experience.
The use of art to depict and record Australia’s involvement in war and its impact has resulted in a vast collection of trench art, paintings, music and poetry. Art has also been an important tool in the rehabilitation and recovery of veterans that have been affected through their military career, particularly during active service.
The guest veteran artist (or group) will have a unique chance to explore the Memorial's architecture, history and artefacts as part of a creative project that reflects on and interprets Australian military experience, the Anzac Memorial and/or memorialisation.
There is a small grant of $5,000 attached to the Residency to assist a guest veteran artist (or group) to develop their work.
In 2022, the program was awarded the Museums and Galleries NSW IMAGinE Award for Innovation and Resilience with a budget between $10,001 and $100,000.
Previous Veteran Artist in Residence
Cory Rinaldi
In 2020-21, veteran and artist Cory Rinaldi served as the Anzac Memorial’s debut Veteran Artist in Residence.
Cory joined the Army Reserves in 1996 and Australian Army in 1999. His almost 20-year military career saw him deployed to Butterworth, Malaysia, twice to East Timor, and to Basra, Iraq. After a diagnosis of chronic post traumatic stress (PTS) in 2013 and a medical discharge in 2015, Cory turned to his long-held passion for painting as a form of rehabilitation.
Cory’s residency culminated with an exhibition in 2022, A Soldier's Healing, featuring 18 paintings he produced during his time at the Memorial.