In conversation with Andrew Martin and Sebastian Goldspink
Each talk runs for approximately 45 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of Q&A. A valid ticket to Sydney Contemporary 2026 is required for entry to this talk. Buy tickets online here.
About the Speakers
Andrew Martin is a Managing Director at MA Financial Group and the Head of the firm’s Asset Management business. He has over 30 years’ experience in global investments as a principal investor and adviser across a range of sectors including real estate, infrastructure, private equity and energy. Driven by a strong passion for the arts, Andrew founded the MA Art Prize, complemented by his personal collection of contemporary art chronicling Australia’s artistic talent over recent decades.
Sebastian Goldspink is a Sydney-based independent curator. In 2011, he created the artist run space, ALASKA Projects as a platform for exhibiting contemporary art in unused or disused spaces. Since its inception, ALASKA has showcased over 500 artists across 150 exhibitions. A proud descendant of the Burramattagal people of Western Sydney, Goldspink has curated exhibitions nationally throughout Australia and internationally in London, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Christchurch. In 2022 he curated the Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art for the Art Gallery of Australia entitled Free/State. The Biennial bought together a multi-generational group of 25 Australian artists. Goldspink has held professional appointments at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Art Month Sydney, National Art School and Dlux Media Arts.
The 10th Edition Collector Lounge presentation has been generously supported by our partners Aon and Artwork Transport.
Image: Tristan Chant, Game Night, 2024 and Mount Titan, 2024. Acquired from BAProjects at Sydney Contemporary 2024
Kym Elphinstone with Max Germanos, Gaibrielle Germanos in conversation with 10th Edition Collector Lounge Curator Sebastian Goldspink
Each talk runs for approximately 45 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of Q&A. A valid ticket to Sydney Contemporary 2026 is required for entry to this talk. Buy tickets online here.
About the Speakers
Kym Elphinstone is an arts advocate and advisor with more than two decades experience championing the work of contemporary artists. Kym is the founder of Australia’s leading cultural communications agency Articulate Advisory, through which she has advised on and launched hundreds of arts initiatives for public and private museums, galleries, biennales, art fairs and foundations. An avid art collector, Kym was a founding board member of Art Month Sydney, founding member of the MCA Young Ambassadors, sits on the board of Ngununggula and is the Chair of Firstdraft.
Max and Gaibrielle Germanos are avid art collectors and founders of 3:33 Art Projects. Through their curatorial platform, 3:33 Art Projects, they actively champion emerging and mid-career artists.
Sebastian Goldspink is a Sydney-based independent curator. In 2011, he created the artist run space, ALASKA Projects as a platform for exhibiting contemporary art in unused or disused spaces. Since its inception, ALASKA has showcased over 500 artists across 150 exhibitions. A proud descendant of the Burramattagal people of Western Sydney, Goldspink has curated exhibitions nationally throughout Australia and internationally in London, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Christchurch. In 2022 he curated the Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art for the Art Gallery of Australia entitled Free/State. The Biennial bought together a multi-generational group of 25 Australian artists. Goldspink has held professional appointments at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Art Month Sydney, National Art School and Dlux Media Arts.
The 10th Edition Collector Lounge presentation has been generously supported by our partners Aon and Artwork Transport.
Image: Mark Maurangi Carrol, Two Stories High (West), 2025. Acquired from Nasha Gallery at Sydney Contemporary 2025
Join Mary Apple and José Da Silva for a conversation reflecting on the life, work and enduring international legacy of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most influential conceptual artist. Through a personal lens, the discussion will consider Apple’s radical transformation of identity, his astute understanding of art’s relationship to commerce and branding, and the ongoing relevance of his ideas about labour, authorship and value.
Mary Apple | Speaker
José Da Silva | Speaker
This talk will be held in the 10th Edition Collector Lounge. Each talk runs for approximately 45 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of Q&A. A valid ticket to Sydney Contemporary 2026 is required for entry to this talk. Buy tickets online here.
About the Speakers
Mary Apple is a New Zealand-based curator, writer, and collaborator who was the partner and wife of the prominent pop and conceptual artist Billy Apple
José Da Silva is an Australian curator and the Director of Sydney’s UNSW Galleries, where he has led a dynamic program of contemporary Australian art and design since 2018. In 2024, he curated the 18th Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art and became Chair of University Art Museums Australia.
Featuring some of Sydney’s most exciting emerging talent and facilitated by UAP | Urban Art Projects, this panel explores the breadth of opportunities available to artists and commissioners, as well as the ecosystems that support multifaceted creative careers. Through discussion of recent presentations, forthcoming public art commissions, multimedia activations, fashion design, book publishing, and other ambitious projects, the conversation will examine how gallery-based practice both shapes and is shaped by access to new audiences, evolving modes of art-making, and diverse exhibition contexts. Offering insight into the ideas, collaborations, and ambitions driving the next generation of cultural producers, the panel provides a timely snapshot of contemporary practice in motion.
Benjamin Clay | Host
Jazz Money | Speaker
Billy Bain | Speaker
Anna May Kirk | Speaker
Ellinor Pelz | Speaker
Each talk runs for approximately 45 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of Q&A. A valid ticket to Sydney Contemporary 2026 is required for entry to this talk. Buy tickets online here.
About the Speakers
Jazz Money is a Wiradjuri poet and artist. They are the author of the award-winning poetry collections how to make a basket and mark the dawn. As a visual artist, Jazz works with poetics to create immersive storied spaces. Their writing and art has been presented, performed and published around the world.
Billy Bain is a Dharug artist whose practice examines Indigenous identity, material storytelling and the reimagining of cultural narratives within contemporary Australia. Working across ceramic sculpture, painting, printmaking, installation, and new media commissions, Bain draws on lineage, family histories and his lifelong engagement with surfing to explore relationships to place, community and belonging.
Anna May Kirk is an artist and curator exploring how environments transform across human and geological time, and how this change is perceived in the present. Grounded in sustained field research and collaborations with scientists, Kirk investigates how climatic events, extraction histories and technologies of measurement shape understandings of an increasingly unstable planet.
Ellinor Pelz works closely with artists, clients and consultants across Australia and the GCC, leading the curatorial and strategic development of public art strategies and masterplans as UAP Curator. Her practice celebrates public art’s vital role in shaping meaningful cultural, social and ecological conditions of place. She has held roles across leading galleries and is an independent writer.
Benjamin Clay, in the capacity of Associate (UAP), works across major infrastructure and development projects throughout Australia. He is committed to fostering highly integrated creative outcomes that enrich public space and support meaningful community engagement. Benjamin has held roles across leading galleries and cultural institutions and teaches sessionally in the Faculty of Art History at the University of Sydney.
About Sydney Contemporary
Sydney Contemporary, presented by MA Financial Group, returns to Carriageworks from 3-6 September, bringing together 100 galleries from nine countries for the 10th edition of Australasia’s premier art fair. For four unforgettable days of discovery, conversation and spectacle, Carriageworks becomes the centre of the art world in our region. Alive with buzzing crowds, ambitious installations, performances, talks and inspiring encounters with artists and galleries, it’s Sydney’s most exciting cultural event this spring and an event not to miss.
Over the past decade, Sydney Contemporary has grown into one of the region’s most significant art events, connecting artists, galleries, collectors and audiences from across Australia and beyond.
But art fairs are about more than buying and selling. They create moments of encounter, experimentation and dialogue, shaping cultural conversations and supporting artistic communities. Marking ten years of the fair, this panel reflects on how the art world has changed during that time – not just in Sydney, but Australia and beyond – and examines the critical contribution that commercially-led events make to our industry. Ultimately, this talk considers what the next decade might hold for the Australasian art market, and what will change (and remain the same) at Sydney Contemporary in years to come.
Kym Elphinstone | Host
Dominic Feuchs | Speaker
Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran | Speaker
Suzanne Cotter | Speaker
Tim Etchells| Speaker
Each talk runs for approximately 45 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of Q&A. A valid ticket to Sydney Contemporary 2026 is required for entry to this talk. Buy tickets online here.
About the Speakers
Kym Elphinstone is an arts advocate and advisor with more than two decades experience championing the work of contemporary artists. Kym is the founder of Australia’s leading cultural communications agency Articulate Advisory, through which she has advised on and launched hundreds of arts initiatives for public and private museums, galleries, biennales, art fairs and foundations. An avid art collector, Kym was a founding board member of Art Month Sydney, founding member of the MCA Young Ambassadors, sits on the board of Ngununggula and is the Chair of Firstdraft.
Dominic Feuchs is a leading New Zealand based contemporary art gallerist and director, best known as the 2002 co-founder of Auckland’s flagship gallery, Starkwhite. In 2022 he opened Melbourne’s1301SW gallery with Los Angeles gallerist Brian Butler, before adding 1301SW Sydney in 2024. Today, Feuchs focuses on cultivating relationships across the galleries and championing prominent Australasian and international artists on the global stage.
Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran is a contemporary artist of Sri Lankan, Tamil heritage. His practice traverses global histories and languages of figuration with a particular focus on South Asian traditions. He sees the imaginative exploration of ancient pasts as a way to speculate on parallel futures and to expand ways of perceiving the present. While he works across ceramics, bronze casting, painting, drawing, and immersive installation, he is best known for his hybrid ceramic sculptures that fuse references to ancient forms with various tropes and imagery from popular culture, zoology and other discourses.
Suzanne Cotter is a leading curator and scholar of contemporary art. She is currently Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. Previously Director of the Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg and Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Portugal, she has held curatorial positions at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York, Hayward Gallery, London, Serpentine Gallery, London and Modern Art Oxford. A board member of CIMAM between 2017 and 2025, she is also a board member of Mophradat, supporting artists from the Arab world. She has been awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government and equivalent honours from Luxembourg and Italy.
Tim Etchells has spent the last 30 years creating and managing Events and Fairs all over the world. From The Good Food Shows to London Fashion Week to Art HK, Tim has worked in numerous different industry sectors across different countries. In 2008 Tim developed the idea to stage Art HK which became the largest art fair in Asia, and is now under the ownership of MCH and renamed Art Basel Hong Kong. In 2013 Tim launched Sydney Contemporary initially on a biannual basis. Having established itself as the largest international art fair in Australasia, Sydney Contemporary moved to an annual cycle in 2017. Tim’s art fair portfolio includes ART SG (Singapore), Taipei Dangdai (Taiwan) and Art Central (Hong Kong). In 2016 Tim received two separate Lifetime Achievement Awards from the UK Exhibition industry.
About Sydney Contemporary
Sydney Contemporary, presented by MA Financial Group, returns to Carriageworks from 3-6 September, bringing together 100 galleries from nine countries for the 10th edition of Australasia’s premier art fair. For four unforgettable days of discovery, conversation and spectacle, Carriageworks becomes the centre of the art world in our region. Alive with buzzing crowds, ambitious installations, performances, talks and inspiring encounters with artists and galleries, it’s Sydney’s most exciting cultural event this spring and an event not to miss.
Join curator and art historian Lisa Slade to explore how collections shape Australian art history. From bark painting to ceramics, Australian art takes many forms and has many faces. Drawing on works presented in the Collectors Lounge exhibition, all acquired at Sydney Contemporary since 2013, uncover how contemporary works are indebted to Australian art history and, in turn, how these works and their makers are playing a critical role in shaping new histories.
About the Speaker
Professor Lisa Slade is the Hugh Ramsay Chair in Australian Art History in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne. Between 2015 and 2024 she was Assistant Director, Artistic Programs at the Art Gallery of South Australia. Lisa has curated major exhibitions including Vincent Namatjira: Australia in colour, the 2019 Venice Biennale presentation of James Darling and Lesley Forwood’s Living rocks: a fragment of the universe, the 14th Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Magic Object, the national touring exhibitions Quilty and the Tarnanthi: Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art’s Kungka Kunpu (Strong Women).
Both have witnessed the shrinking of arts coverage in Australian media and the changing role of the critic. What is lost when there are fewer independent voices willing to make difficult judgments? And what happens when those who remain feel the pressure to be everyone’s good friend?
John McDonald has been one of Australia’s most widely read art critics for more than four decades. He served three separate stints as senior art critic for the Sydney Morning Herald, beginning at just 23 years of age, was Head of Australian Art at the National Gallery of Australia, and is the author of The Art of Australia: Exploration to Federation. Since the Herald ended his column in 2024, he has continued writing independently, demonstrating that a critic can outlast the masthead.
Michael Reid OAM spent a decade as weekly art market columnist for The Australian before writing a weekly column for six years in the Sydney Morning Herald‘s Good Weekend. He is Chairman of Michael Reid Galleries, with spaces across Sydney, Berlin, regional Australia, and a space expected to open in Los Angeles in late 2026. Reid remains one of the country’s most recognisable voices on the Australian art market.
Be prepared for a kind but frank conversation about criticism, the changing media landscape, the art market, and why independent opinions, in this time of mass validation, still matter.
This talk will be held in the Collector Lounge, Sydney Contemporary
Join quizmaster Barry Keldoulis and, in the blue corner representing NSW, artists Joan Ross and Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, and in the maroon corner representing Qld, curator Ellie Buttrose and artist Tony Albert, for a lively, game show–style quiz to finally decide which State is Capital of Contemporary Art in Australia. From surprising art history moments (like the disqualification of Victoria) to fundamental questions about the nature of Art, this fun and fast-paced session will test your eye, challenge what you think you know, and reveal the things they don’t teach you in art history.
Two teams, Four contestants – each bringing a unique perspective from the front lines of the contemporary art scene. But when the timer starts, only one team can walk away with top honours.
Each talk runs for approximately 45 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of Q&A. A valid ticket to Sydney Contemporary 2026 is required for entry to this talk. Buy tickets online here.
About Sydney Contemporary
Sydney Contemporary, presented by MA Financial Group, returns to Carriageworks from 3-6 September, bringing together 100 galleries from nine countries for the 10th edition of Australasia’s premier art fair. For four unforgettable days of discovery, conversation and spectacle, Carriageworks becomes the centre of the art world in our region. Alive with buzzing crowds, ambitious installations, performances, talks and inspiring encounters with artists and galleries, it’s Sydney’s most exciting cultural event this spring and an event not to miss.
Technology is transforming every stage of the artistic process, from how work is made to how it is shared, experienced and valued. Social platforms like Instagram and TikTok have redefined visibility and audience-building, while digital archives, immersive environments and emerging Web3 communities are opening new pathways for engagement and distribution.
At the same time, artificial intelligence is reshaping creative practice itself, raising complex questions around authorship, originality and ownership. Can a machine be an artist, and what does that mean for human creativity? Bringing together artists, technologists and cultural thinkers, this panel explores how practitioners are navigating the rapidly evolving digital landscape – balancing opportunity with critical reflection, and redefining what it means to make and experience art today.
Noelle Faulkner | Host
Nikita Le Messurier | Speaker
Claire Evans | Speaker
Tom Sanders | Speaker
Sam Leach | Speaker
Each talk runs for approximately 45 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of Q&A. A valid ticket to Sydney Contemporary 2026 is required for entry to this talk. Buy tickets online here.
About the Speakers
Noelle Faulkner is a writer and cultural/consumer trend intelligence researcher whose work centres around what she likes to refer to as, ‘the things that move us emotionally, physically and towards the future’. Noelle is a globally-recognised voice in automotive, across design and business, but her practice crosses the thresholds of culture, art, travel, fashion and innovation to unearth meaning behind objects and consumer behaviour.
Her feature writing and commentary has appeared in Vogue, Harper’s BAZAAR, GQ, Esquire, The Road Rat, Esses, The Local Project, Vogue Living, The Guardian, Qantas Travel Insider, Forbes, Robb Report, evo and more; and she’s led talks at various conferences including SXSW Sydney and Semi Permanent. Beyond her work in media, she’s worked with a variety of organisations, including The Future Laboratory, WGSN, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Universal Music Group, Diageo, Zeekr, Blackberry, Unilever, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Polestar and Porsche
Nikita Le Messurier is an advisor at OpenAI, where she advises some of Australia and New Zealand’s most innovative technology companies on the adoption and application of generative AI. Alongside her work in technology, Nikita is an active investor and contemporary art collector with a particular interest in emerging Australian artists. She is passionate about supporting artists, fostering cultural philanthropy, and building stronger connections between the worlds of technology, business, and the arts.
Nikita is Chair of the Arts Centre Melbourne Contemporary Foundation and an Ambassador for The Australian Ballet. Through her collecting and advocacy, she is committed to supporting the next generation of Australian artists and helping broaden engagement with contemporary art.
Claire Evans is an immersive media practitioner and co-founder of Junior Major, a collective of artists and technologists who make – and merge – digital and physical worlds. The studio is known for a playful yet considered approach, combining strong creative vision with expertise in technology, engineering and materials to realise immersive experiences, artworks and installations. Their recent works include the code-confounding performance ‘Stable Confusion’ with Worlds Only; ‘Floating Realm’, a sculptural LED artwork made in collaboration with Brian Robinson; an immersive reimagining of Emperor Qin’s sealed tomb for the Western Australian Museum; and ‘200 Years’, a meandering journey through the archive of the State Library of NSW.
Tom Sanders is a brand strategist and creative leader currently serving as the Head of Communications and Marketing at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA). With over 25 years of cross-disciplinary experience across Asia-Pacific and Europe, Tom has built a career at the intersection of advertising, PR, experiential, and digital media. Prior to joining the MCA, Tom was Creative Director at Herd MSL, one of Australia’s most successful PR agencies, where he led high-impact, award-winning campaigns for major brands including Telstra, CBA, Airbnb, Spotify, and Uber. Tom’s motto is ‘better sorry than safe’ and he is obsessed with boiling vegetables, listening to happy hardcore, and painting neon abstracts.
Sam Leach is an acclaimed Australian contemporary artist, whose practice is informed by the canon of art history, science, and philosophy. His work is an ongoing investigation of the relationship between humans, machines and animals. His most recent bodies of work incorporate machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) fusing the tropes and gestures of paintings with the mechanics and gaze of the future.
About Sydney Contemporary
Sydney Contemporary, presented by MA Financial Group, returns to Carriageworks from 3-6 September, bringing together 100 galleries from nine countries for the 10th edition of Australasia’s premier art fair. For four unforgettable days of discovery, conversation and spectacle, Carriageworks becomes the centre of the art world in our region. Alive with buzzing crowds, ambitious installations, performances, talks and inspiring encounters with artists and galleries, it’s Sydney’s most exciting cultural event this spring and an event not to miss.
Image: Junior Major, Emperor’s Tomb, 2025, for Western Australia Museum
Collecting art isn’t reserved for sprawling homes or white-walled galleries; some of the most compelling collections are built within the constraints of smaller, inner-city spaces. But how do you live with art when space is limited? Does size matter, or is it all about placement, framing and intention?
Bringing together architect Billy Maynard, interior designer Mariah Burton (Folk Studio) and artist Ben Mazey, this conversation explores the creative possibilities of collecting for compact living and for financially diverse baselines. From salon-style hangs and unexpected placements to choosing works that resonate without overwhelming a room, the panel will unpack the unwritten rules – and when to break them – showing how even the smallest spaces can hold bold, personal and meaningful collections.
Tanya Buchanan | Host
Mariah Burton | Speaker
Billy Maynard | Speaker
Ben Mazey | Speaker
Each talk runs for approximately 45 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of Q&A. A valid ticket to Sydney Contemporary 2026 is required for entry to this talk. Buy tickets online here.
About the Speakers
Tanya Buchanan is one of Australia’s most recognisable and respected voices in the luxury and interior design media landscape. As editor-in-chief of Belle, and formerly Australian House & Garden, Tanya has hosted countless industry-defining events, including the Belle Interior Design Awards, Belle Milan Reports, Belle ArtStart, and House & Garden’s Top 50 Rooms galas.
Beyond the page, Tanya is an in-demand speaker and moderator across luxury, interior design, trade, and consumer events, including panel talks, masterclasses, book launches, design fairs, and trend panels. She regularly collaborates with leading brands and creative figures, including Winnings, Top 3 by Design, Fanuli, Ralph Lauren, Reece, CDK Stone, Sub-Zero & Wolf, and Kaolin, as well as respected voices such as Steve Cordony, Greg Natale, Thomas Hamel, Meryl Hare, and Adelaide Bragg, to name a few. Known for her authority, warmth, and deep industry insight, Tanya brings clarity, relevance, and a distinctly editorial lens to every conversation.
Mariah Burton is the director and co-founder of Folk Studio, a boutique Sydney based interior design practice founded in 2018 and grounded in human-centred design principles. The name Folk, meaning “people in general,” reflects the studio’s philosophy of creating homes and spaces that prioritise wellbeing, authenticity and meaningful connection. Through this lens, Folk Studio has become known for its holistic and collaborative approach to design, balancing transparency, emotion and functionality in equal measure. Folk’s work is characterised by sensitivity, integrity and a genuine commitment to creating spaces that enrich the everyday lives of the people who inhabit them.
Billy Maynard is a Sydney-based architect and director of Billy Maynard Architects, recognised for crafting bespoke, sustainable residential and public projects that focus on connection to nature.
Ben Mazey is an Australian based artist whose practice draws from his inner and outer worlds, imbuing references collected from his New Zealand childhood and time abroad (he worked in fashion and design in the UK, France, and China, with seven years as Design Director at Kenzo, Paris). He also pulls from an affinity with Warhol’s pop art repetitions, Gordon Matta-Clark’s architectural interventions, Art Nouveau’s superfluous decoration, and the impermanence of Land Art. Too, as a Queer artist, he gives his pieces a playful—often camp—exaggeration in homage of his younger self, who felt pressured to mask his flamboyant side. With this assemblage of resonant emotional and aesthetic cues, Mazey seeks a release of cathartic nostalgia throughout his materials, process and final pieces.
About Sydney Contemporary
Sydney Contemporary, presented by MA Financial Group, returns to Carriageworks from 3-6 September, bringing together 100 galleries from nine countries for the 10th edition of Australasia’s premier art fair. For four unforgettable days of discovery, conversation and spectacle, Carriageworks becomes the centre of the art world in our region. Alive with buzzing crowds, ambitious installations, performances, talks and inspiring encounters with artists and galleries, it’s Sydney’s most exciting cultural event this spring and an event not to miss.
Image: Folk Studios, Pyrmont Apartment, Photo: Jacqui Turk.
