Inside The Gallery

"I'm a black woman in the world. Every day when I step outside of my door, I can't be invisible." 

From Tate Modern to the National Gallery of Victoria, Atong Atem has captured the eye of curators, critics and collectors alike as an artist who creates beautifully crafted images that explore family, migration and her South Sudanese heritage.

Her work explores the inherent intimacy of portraiture and photography as well as the role photographers take as story tellers, interrogating photography as a framework for looking at the world and positioning people in it, inviting the viewer to look at them through a surreal and constructed lens.

In this episode, anthropologist and curator Pedram Khosronejad investigates the artist's history, inspiration and projects to come.

A transcript of this conversation is available HERE, thanks to the Australian Arts Channel

Atong's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atongatem/

MARS Gallery catalogue: https://marsgallery.com.au/atong-atem/

"I didn't know being a slut could be a form of art"

Sexuality and gender diversity are not unusual to find within the nature of any artist's work, but perhaps being a result of direct sexual practice is somewhat surprising. Emil Canita was exhibited by MARS Gallery in Melbourne earlier this year, and then later reached a broader audience at Sydney Contemporary.

As a trans Filipino sex worker and artist, Emil navigates the intersection of art, identity, and personal expression. Known for evocative videos, captivating storytelling as you'll hear, and intimate Polaroid captures, Emil's raw, intimate works fearlessly explores the complexity of human connection, love, and desire.

In this very candid but compelling conversation, Adjunct Professor at Western Sydney University, and Curator at the Grafton Regional Gallery, Pedram Khosronejad uncovers the history, motivation, and the vulnerabilities of Emil Canita. 

A transcript of this edition is available HERE, thanks to the Australian Arts Channel.

Emil's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/babydilfx/

MARS Gallery catalogue: https://marsgallery.com.au/28580-2/

Painting exclusively together for many decades, Grace Crowley & Ralph Balson’s dynamic exchange extended and challenged both artists. They respectively produced some of the earliest and most important works of abstract art in the country. Their collaborative approach to painting – the sharing of ideas, techniques and materials – resulted in two significant bodies of work that broke new ground in Australian art.

By presenting the work of Crowley and Balson together, this exhibition at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia invites audiences to trace the shared influences and harmonies between their works, as well as to appreciate the centrality of collaboration to their individual practices. The exhibition comprises more than 75 paintings and works on paper, with some of these never-before-seen by the Australian public.

This episode features the curator of the exhibition Beckett Rozentals.

A transcript of this edition is available HERE, thanks to the Australian Arts Channel.

MultiFutures imagines potential worlds of tomorrow through the lens of cultural and linguistically diverse International and Australian artists. The exhibition addresses the importance of diversity in the creation of imaginary and real-world futures based on lived experiences of First Nations and CaLD communities.

Featuring multimedia artistic practices informed by AfroFuturism, Indigenous Futurism, Asian Futurism and Yemini Futurism, curator Rachael Kiang speaks with Tim Stackpool about how this exhibition speaks to the diverse cultural make-up of contemporary Australia and is a compelling speculative visual narrative of the place of migrant communities in the future.

Artists: Alia Ali (US),  Black Quantum Futurism (US), Edwina Green (VIC), Jane Fan, Kalanjay Dhir, Lawrence Liang and Christina Lam, Serwah Attafuah, Subash Thebe Limbu (Nepal).

Curator: Rachael Kiang.

Creative Producer: Michael Pham.

Where: Bankstown Arts Centre, 5 Olympic Parade, Bankstown until 29 June 2024.

A transcript of this episode is available HERE thanks to the Australian Arts Channel.

During his forty-year career, master lithographer Fred Genis (1934 – 2022) worked in the United States, Europe, and Australia, collaborating with leading artists from around the world. His working life spanned monumental eras in the 20th Century art including the American Abstract Expressionist movement of 1960s and 70s New York.

The Grafton Regional Gallery presents a major retrospective exhibition titled "Fred Genis: A Printer's Proof," curated by Professor Pedram Khosronejad, demonstrating the measure of Genis’s success through the presentation of original lithographs by forty-four artists from across three continents

In this episode, along with comments from Tim Storrier, Hendrick Kolenberg and Gallery Director Sarah Gurich, Professor Khosronejad speaks with Tim Stackpool about the Genis legacy, and discusses the community's understanding of the art of lithography, the contribution of migrant artists, and contemporary visual art in Australia and beyond.

The exhibition runs from 11 May until 7 July 2024.

A transcript of the conversation in this episode is available HERE with thanks to the Grafton Regional Gallery.

EXPRESS EDITION.

Archie Moore’s kith and kin has opened at the Venice Biennale. Curated by Ellie Buttrose, the work reflects on the nature and strength of First Nations Australian kinship that spans more than 65,000 years, and incorporates the land, water and all living things.

Drawing on Archie's Kamilaroi, Bigambul, British and Scottish heritage, the installation embodies his enduring exploration of history and identity, which are central themes in his artistic practice spanning over 30 years. 

This episode features comments from the launch, as well as insights from the artist and the curator, along with Creative Australia’s Franchesca Cubillo, and Aboriginal elder, writer and arts elder statesman Djon Mundine OAM speaking about the impact of First Nations' art presented at the Venice Biennale.

A transcript of this episode is available HERE thanks to the Australian Arts Channel.

kith and kin online: https://www.kithandkin.me/

Creative Australia at the Venice Biennale: https://creative.gov.au/advocacy-and-research/events/australia-at-the-venice-biennale/venice-biennale-2024/

Australia at the Venice Biennale Instagram page:  https://www.instagram.com/ausatvenice/