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Australia’s premier art fair, Sydney Contemporary, held in partnership with MA Financial Group, is set to return to Carriageworks in Eveleigh from September 5–8. Visitors can experience four days of gallery presentations, installations, experimental live performances, panel discussions and other engaging spectacles.
This year’s edition is an exciting celebration of contemporary art, showcasing an impressive lineup of local and international galleries, dynamic installations, thought-provoking talks and captivating performances.
Stand-out features of the fair are the journey of large-scale installations, curated by Talia Linz of Artspace, and the towering Skywalker Gibbon by leading contemporary artist Lisa Roet that rests on the roof of Carriageworks. Visitors will encounter this striking inflatable hovering above the building’s entrance – the first time the work has been presented in Australia. “We are excited for audiences here to experience this powerful commentary on our environmental responsibilities and the urgent need to reconsider our place within the global ecosystem,” says Anna Jackson, director of Gow Langsford Gallery.
Skywalker Gibbon is one such example of how Carriageworks has been transformed into an immersive art space. Among the highlights, the APY Art Centre Collective unveils Tjara, Wana, Miru, an installation of 200 traditional Anangu tools suspended from the ceiling, made by senior men and women from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands. This work, deeply rooted in their spear-making traditions, offers a thoughtful connection to Aboriginal heritage. An installation by Rebecca Baumann, exhibited by Moore Contemporary, uses over 100 acrylic panels to create an ever-changing visual experience, exploring the interplay of light, colour and material.
Cybele Cox’s installation, presented by Ames Yavuz, features hand-built ceramics that merge human, animal and natural forms, delving into themes of mysticism. Lu Yang’s DOKU the Self, featured by COMA, is a narrative film originally shown at the Venice Biennale and explores virtual reincarnations and challenges notions of posthumanism. Stephen Bird’s Continent of Exiles, presented by Olsen Gallery, displays large-scale ceramic works that draw attention to emotional connections with handmade objects.
Other notable installations include Shan Turner-Carroll’s Bodies On A Rock, a multimedia work developed during an Icelandic residency, as well as Mai Nguyễn-Long’s Vomit Girl Project, which combines Vietnamese rural aesthetics with personal narratives through clay figures. Darren Sylvester’s Transformer, presented by Neon Parc, features a striking steel archway illuminated by neon lights – a visually compelling portal. Additionally, David McDiarmid’s Rainbow Aphorisms, also exhibited by Neon Parc, presents a retrospective of the artist-activist’s works, offering a commentary on cultural and political issues.
The Talk Contemporary program – curated by Michael Do, curator of contemporary art at the Sydney Opera House, and Stephen Todd, design editor of Australian Financial Review – features a range of discussions that explore contemporary art, design and cultural trends. The program kicks off with Kirsha Kaechele, known for her curatorial projects at the Museum of Old and New Art, discussing her creative work.
Key panels include Weave and Weft: Art and Fashion, moderated by Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, which explores the intersection of fashion and art, with contributions from Lisa Havilah of the Powerhouse Museum, Kaylene Milner and artists Atong Atem and Darren Sylvester. My Favourite Things: Collecting, Here and Now examines the evolving art collecting landscape amid intergenerational wealth transfers, with insights from young collectors Naomi Tosic, Billy Maynard, Tom Crago and Nikita Le Messurier.
Poetics, Politics and the Personal: A Method explores how art addresses and influences contemporary social and political issues, moderated by First Nations journalist and writer Daniel Browning, with Filipina-Australian artist Marikit Santiago and Wiradjuri poet and artist Jazz Money. Performing Parallels: Moving Bodies in Art, featuring performance artists Angela Goh and Lauren Brincat alongside David Hallberg of The Australian Ballet, focuses on the expressive potential of the body in art.
Stephen Todd’s design-focused segment includes discussions on The New Taste Makers on the Future of Collecting, which explores emerging trends in the art market, and New Frontiers in Interiors and Design, which will highlight materials and design approaches. How To Curate An Eye-Catching Interior offers practical tips from leading designers on creating artful living spaces.
Curated by Sam Watson-Wood, the Performance Contemporary program features a range of live performances that bring art to life. GRIEF DIGEST honours the late artist Séini ‘SistaNative’ Taumoepeau with a performance exploring themes of grief and transformation. HOSSEI’s major work ESSSENSSSE presents an immersive aquatic performance, reflecting on human resilience and spirituality.
For younger audiences, Lara Merrett’s installation titled The Blue Room offers an interactive experience where children can create cyanotype prints using natural objects and UV light boxes. This activity encourages creativity and artistic exploration, allowing children to contribute to a collaborative artwork.
This year’s Sydney Contemporary also features an impressive array of gallery presentations from Sullivan+Strumpf, Ames Yuvaz, The Renshaws, MARS Gallery, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Artereal Gallery, Cassandra Bird, COMA, Neon Parc and Olsen Gallery.
The fair promises to be a stellar event, offering a dynamic and enriching experience for art enthusiasts and professionals alike. Fair director Zoe Paulsen emphasises, “Sydney Contemporary’s dynamic program enriches the art fair experience by pushing boundaries and fostering critical discourse,” solidifying its position as a must-attend event on the art calendar.
