Exhibitions, residencies and events drawing on the unique collection of the Schaeffer Fine Arts Library.
The Schaeffer Fine Arts Library is one of the leading art libraries in Australia. Housed at the University of Sydney and supported by the Power Institute, this specialist reference-only library is open on weekdays to students and the public.
The Schaeffer Library Art Program seeks to open the Library up to new eyes and new paths of research by way of exhibitions, events and artist residency programs, working with the expert staff of the University of Sydney's Art History discipline to showcase the Library's remarkable collection.
This program is lead by the Schaeffer Fine Arts Library Senior Librarian, M. Sajid Foazdar.
Artist in Residence Program
The Schaeffer Library Artist Residency is a program that offers, for the duration of one year, the Schaeffer Library as a resource for a contemporary artist: both its physical space and its collection.
The goal of the Residency is to highlight the work of contemporary artists whose practice is grounded in research, and to open the Schaeffer Library’s unique and rich collection to new exploration and experimentation.
The Residency is made possible by a generous individual gift to the Power Institute.
2024: Simryn Gill
In 2024, Simryn Gill will be the Schaeffer Library Artist in Residence, finding a place for her practice amidst the Library's unique collection.
Read more about Simryn Gill's Residency.
2022: Imants Tillers and Jennifer van Ratingen
In 2022, the artist Imants Tillers mentored the emerging artist and SCA student Jennifer van Ratingen. Together, the two artists produced new works for display in the Schaeffer Library.
Events
An exhibition of treasures from the Schaeffer Fine Arts Library collection, curated by Roger Benjamin. On view from March to April 2024.
People
Roger Benjamin
Roger Benjamin (Professor of Art History, U of Sydney) has written and lectured on Matisse throughout his career, beginning with his Bryn Mawr PhD (Matisse’s ‘Notes of a Painter’: Criticism, Theory and Context, Ann Arbor 1987). He co-curated QAG’s touring retrospective Matisse of 1995 before turning to questions of European Orientalism. His most recent publication on the Frenchman was “Matisse at the Senya el Hashti” in The Art Bulletin for 2019.