Past events

Pan-Nationalism: The Studio, Jugend, and Art Nouveau 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.

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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.

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A lecture on gender transition, sensory deprivation tanks, human-dolphin communication, and high-dose ketamine use.

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A photograph of an ensemble playing a guitar and mixing desk, with a screen behind them.

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.

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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.

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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.

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A presentation by UK-based art historian Maddie Hewitson drawing together Victorian art, the Hebrew Bible, and Anglo-Jewish identity in the 19th century.

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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.

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Art historian and curatorial scholar Lilian Cameron analyses one of the most prominent and contested components of the exhibition: the wall text.

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A photograph of a man falling backwards

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.

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