Past events
Thu, 28 May 2026
4:01PM
Exhibition on Pan-Nationalism: The Studio, Jugend, and Art Nouveau curated by Callum Gallagher
Curated exhibition from the Schaeffer Fine Arts Library’s Rare collection of The Studio alongside selections from the German journal Jugend, the exhibition examines how Art Nouveau challenged artistic traditions through decoration, organic forms, and the blending of cultural influences.
Thu, 28 May 2026
3:00PM
Queer Archives and Buddha Bodies
Aiden Magro and Ruihan Ma
Presentations by two art history PhD candidates. Aiden Magro introduces his research into Australia's queer "grassroots archivists”, while Ruihan Ma explores subjectivity and modernity in the work of contemporary Tibetan artist Gade.
Wed, 20 May 2026
6:00PM
Inner Visions: Gender Liberation and the Human Potential Movement
Hil Malatino
A lecture on gender transition, sensory deprivation tanks, human-dolphin communication, and high-dose ketamine use.
Thu, 14 May 2026
6:00PM
Vision Machines: Ensembles
André Dao, Thao Phan, Gary Foley, Junior Major, and Worlds Only
The third event in our series on the way technology is changing what it means to see, co-presented with the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. This session explores the forces that vision machines serve, and how to resist them.
Thu, 7 May 2026
3:00PM
Beyond Biennale Time: The Asian Watercolour Confederation and minor Contemporaneities
Yvonne Low
Art historian Yvonne Low introduces the often overlooked history of society-based, medium-specific exhibition networks, an important parallel to the much-analysed biennale explosion of the 1980s and 1990s.
Thu, 30 April 2026
6:00PM
Parallax: Art criticism and the 2026 Biennale of Sydney
Daniel Browning, Sophia Cai, Nick Croggon, Dee Jefferson, Neha Kale, and Tai Mitsuji
Some of Australia's leading art critics share their takes on the Biennale of Sydney, and the importance of art criticism in opening up the nuance of contemporary art and exhibitions.
Thu, 30 April 2026
3:00PM
A "kind of miniature monument”: The Montefiore Testimonial (1842-3) and Anglo-Jewish Imperial Identities
Maddie Hewitson
A presentation by UK-based art historian Maddie Hewitson drawing together Victorian art, the Hebrew Bible, and Anglo-Jewish identity in the 19th century.
Thu, 23 April 2026
6:00PM
Blue Art Journal: Rise of the Global Indigenous
Daniel Browning, Jocelyn Flynn, Georgia Mokak, and Warraba Weatherall
Join us to celebrate the launch of Blue Art Journal, a new publication in Australia dedicated to critical writing about local and global First Nations art, craft and design.
Thu, 23 April 2026
3:00PM
Subjectivity, plurality, transparency: Mapping new interpretative norms in Australian and UK exhibition-making
Lilian Cameron
Art historian and curatorial scholar Lilian Cameron analyses one of the most prominent and contested components of the exhibition: the wall text.
Thu, 9 April 2026
6:00PM
Vision Machines: Models
Machine Listening, Christopher O'Neill, Elizabeth Stephens, and Thomas Smith
The second event in our series on the way technology is changing what it means to see, co-presented with the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. This session explores how vision machines see the world.