Talks Space, Carriageworks Archives

Art advisor and author of Collecting: Living with Art, Kym Elphinstone hosts a panel discussion exploring different approaches to collecting and curating art into the home. Diverse perspectives will be uncovered, ranging from the points of view of artist Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, curator Mikala Tai, and philanthropist and experienced collector Sue Cato. The panel will be a lively discussion, peppered with personal anecdotes, as well as practical tips and insights into acquiring new works and how to curate them into your home.

Image: Sue Cato Art Collection, featured in Collecting: Living with Art

Emma Gott is founder and director of Emma Gott Creative, offering a holistic and global approach to brand development across fashion, celebrity, luxury and retail markets.

Sue Cato is a leading Australian strategic communications advisor with decades of experience in corporate, financial, and political sectors. Sue is a member of the Advisory Committee of Sydney Contemporary.

Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran is a Sydney-based artist whose work explores identity, history, and postcolonial narratives through ceramic and painting. Represented by Sullivan+Strumpf

Mikala Tai is a curator and cultural leader specializing in contemporary Asian and Asian-Australian art with a focus on cross-cultural dialogue.

Kym Elphinstone is an arts advisor and advocate, and the founder of Australia’s leading cultural agency Articulate. She is the author of Collecting: Living with Art, Chair of emerging arts organisation Firstdraft and sits on the Advisory Committee of Sydney Contemporary.

Public art continues to be a vital and growing part of the arts sector – and increasingly central to contemporary artistic practise. Sydney is renowned for its bold and visible public art, but how do these projects actually come to life? Who funds them, who collaborates on them, and what value do they bring to our city? Join us for an open, “ask us anything” conversation with key players behind public art: an artist, a curator, a developer, a local council rep, and a maker. Together they’ll unpack the processes, partnerships and possibilities that shape art in the public realm.

Felicity Fenner is a leading curator of contemporary art in galleries, museums and the public domain. For over 20 years, she has curated exhibitions of international contemporary art, including for Australia at the Venice Biennale. Felicity is based at UNSW Art & Design and is the Chair of the City of Sydney’s Public Art Advisory Panel, the NSW State Government’s Curatorial Advisor for Barangaroo. Her latest book is Shifting Ground: the evolving role of art in the Australian public domain (Formist, 2025).

Hugh Irving is a Development Executive with over 20 years of diverse experience in property development, project management and architecture. This has provided a strong knowledge base for the successful delivery of complex projects through acquisition, design development, construction and project completion. Hugh has been involved in the commissioning of several leading artworks that add value to the public experience of the built environment.

Alison Page is a descendant of the Dharawal and Yuin peoples and an award-winning creative at the forefront of the contemporary First Nations cultural practice. Her career spans design, public art, exhibitions, and urban design, with a focus on storytelling that reconnects public spaces with the memory of Country. Alison is the founder of the National Aboriginal Design Agency and Saltwater Freshwater Arts Alliance and co-creates with First Nations communities, organisations and cultural practitioners.

Jamie Perrow is a Partner and Co-Creative Director at UAP, where he brings extensive experience leading major Australian and international projects. He has collaborated with emerging and established artists, architects and designers to deliver a large-scale creative and public art initiative. Jamie has a background in design and believes fine art fabrication is an artform in and of itself.

Danielle Robson is a Principal and Senior Curator at UAP, with nearly 20 years of experience as a curator, researcher and arts manager. She has worked extensively with the private and public sectors to connect the work of artists and designers with broad public audiences. Danielle is also a current PhD candidate in the field of curatorial studies and public art at UNSW Art & Design.

Glenn Wallace is the Special Projects Program Manager (Public Art) at the City of Sydney. Since joining the City of Sydney in 2004 Glenn has managed a range of public art projects and programs including the City’s Laneway Art program and Eora Journey. He has overseen the creation of the City Art Strategy (2011), the commissioning and installation of bara by Judy Watson (2022), and continues to assess public art plans in new development.

A valid ticket to Sydney Contemporary 2025 is required for entry to this talk. We recommend arriving 10 minutes before the talk’s start time. Buy tickets now.

Welcome, art enthusiasts! Join our panel of art aficionados for a game show-style quiz. Explore a myriad of topics related to art and collecting. It’s the perfect opportunity to learn things they don’t teach you in art history and elevate your understanding of the captivating world of art, with quizmaster Barry Keldoulis.

Contestants: Michelle Newton, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, Joan Ross, Joanna Strumpf.

A valid ticket to Sydney Contemporary 2025 is required for entry to this talk. We recommend arriving 10 minutes before the talk’s start time. Buy tickets now.

Image Credit: The Art of Going Public: Behind the Scenes of Public Art – Alison Page, Badjgama Ngunda Whuliwulawala, ‘Black Women Rising’.

Croissants, coffee, and the unfiltered truth about gallery life.
We’re inviting artists to a special breakfast with leading gallerists Tim Olsen and Andy Dinan – your chance to ask everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the commercial art world.
Let’s talk contracts, representation, public art, art fairs, the future of bricks-and-mortar galleries, and how social media is changing the game. No jargon, no pressure – just straight talk and real insights from gallerists with over 40 years of combined experience (and a lot of stories).
Croissants and coffee have been generously provided by the gallerists. Bring your boldest questions – they’ve heard it all before!

Registration is required for this event. Please register here

Andy Dinan | Speaker
Tim Olsen | Speaker

Andy Dinan is a champion of emerging and mid-career contemporary Australian artists. She founded MARS Gallery in 2004, presenting over 250 exhibitions and showcasing more than 330 artists to date. As Director, Andy regularly attends international art fairs and curates major public art projects, promoting Australian art globally. In 2010, she launched ADA Consulting, specialising in public art and placemaking, and has led over 15 major commissions, including works for Victoria’s Level Crossing Removal Project. Deeply committed to cultural growth, Andy has served on the boards of Malthouse, Arts Centre Melbourne, and the Salvation Army, and co-founded NGV’s youth club, Artbeat. Her passion for the arts remains as vibrant today as it was 40 years ago.

Tim Olsen is one of Australia’s most respected art figures and gallerists. Son of iconic artist Dr John Olsen, Tim grew up immersed in modern and contemporary art and opened his own gallery in 1993. It has since become one of Australia’s leading art spaces, supporting both established and emerging artists. In 2017, he expanded internationally with OlsenGruin in New York, further elevating Australian artists on the global stage. Tim represents key 20th-century Australian estates, including John Olsen, Fred Williams, and James Gleeson. A longstanding patron of the arts, he has supported institutions such as the AGNSW, MCA, Artspace, and UNSW. He has established and sponsored several prizes, including the Tim Olsen Drawing Prize and the John Olsen Family Drawing Prize. His contributions also include major art donations to public collections, such as two Archibald-winning works. In 2020, he published his bestselling memoir Son of the Brush, chronicling his life in the arts.

A valid ticket to Sydney Contemporary 2025 is required for entry to this talk. We recommend arriving 10 minutes before the talk’s start time. Buy tickets now.

Image Credit: Images courtesy of Andy Dinan and Tim Olsen.

This panel is a deep dive into the increasingly lucrative field of collectible design and asks how both art and design together can enhance the experience of our interiors. Lineup includes: Don Cameron, a designer of exquisite furniture and lighting; Jillian Dinkel, an ex-American Vogue photo production whizz turned award-winning Sydney-based interior designer; Adam Goodrum, an industrial designer whose limited edition work, as duo A&A, fetches upward of $200,000; and Brisbane gallerist Danielle Renshaw, who is refining that city’s art focus ahead of the 2032 Olympics.

Don Cameron is an Australian director, designer and visual artist. Graduating from Central St Martins College of Art, London with 1st Class Honors, his career began as a director of music videos, creating defining works for British recording artists Pet Shop Boys, Garbage and Blur. Working in the world of material culture has produced a devotion to outcome and a symmetrical high standard of idea and technique. Cameron’s film oeuvre engages architecture, objects and furniture to compose compelling visual narratives. In 2008 Cameron began to explore the disciplines of design and interior architecture. His auteur approach to film crossed mediums to find concrete form in the built environment. Arriving at a unique language that approached the comprehensive design of interiors with a film vocabulary—endowing spaces with a strong visceral, emotional and scenographic quality. Cameron’s interiors involve everything from the concept and arrangement of the space to the design of custom furniture and fittings—directing artisans and specialist workshops to realise his original vision.

Jillian Dinkel is the founder and creative director of her eponymous design studio, a high-end interior design practice specialising in period and heritage homes. Her illustrious journey into the realm of design commenced within the prestigious corridors of New York City’s fashion scene. She spent nearly a decade as a fashion editor at Condé Nast, culminating in her role with Vogue in Australia. Collaborating with some of the world’s most influential creators, industry luminaries, and renowned artists, Jillian meticulously honed her discerning eye for detail and storytelling that would come to define her signature design aesthetic. Since turning her focus to interior design in 2016, Jillian has built an international reputation for creating bespoke interiors that blend modern functionality with the timeless elegance of historic architecture. Jillian’s work has been internationally recognised in leading interiors publications, including Architectural Digest, Vogue Living, Casa Vogue, and The Local Project. This year she has been named a Vogue Living Interior Designer on the Ascent as well as one of the esteemed VL50, one of the Créateurs Design Award Select and as one of the globe’s leading female designers by Beta Plus. Jillian Dinkel’s work continues to redefine the boundaries of sophistication and creativity in the world of design.

Adam Goodrum is one of Australia’s most acclaimed and prolific furniture designers, with a body of work spanning both local and international clients, including Cappellini, Alessi, Norman Copenhagen, Louis Vuitton, Cult, and Tait. His design philosophy centres on the belief that an object must justify its existence through story and detail. Celebrating craftsmanship and joinery, his work brings spirit and personality to highly functional pieces. Adam is one half of Adam&Arthur, a studio focused on creating unique straw marquetry furniture pieces. Together, the duo have received international acclaim, winning the Dezeen Award for Best Furniture Design and the Créateurs Design Award for Best Collection. Closer to home, they won this year’s Vogue Living’s Product Designers of the Year.

Danielle Renshaw is the owner and co-director of The Renshaws, a leading Australian commercial gallery operating on a national scale from its Brisbane base. The gallery is dedicated to supporting living artists and is renowned for fostering the careers of some of the most influential contemporary artists working today. With over two decades of experience navigating the complex intersections of commerce, curation, and collection, Danielle has established herself as one of Australia’s most respected art consultants. She is the co-director of the highly regarded Renshaw & Kubler, a consultancy known for its strategic focus on contemporary and conceptual art practices, particularly within the evolving currents of Australian and Asia Pacific art. Danielle’s career has spanned commercial galleries, institutional collaborations, and high-level strategic advising. Known for her curatorial depth and discerning eye, she brings a rigorous, research-led approach to all aspects of her work. Her insights are regularly sought on panels and she’s well known for her role as a mentor to many emerging artists. Most recently she established the Steamm Studios, providing free artist studios to Brisbane based artists.

Stephen Todd began his writing career in Paris in the early 1990s where his immersion in the worlds of fashion, art, architecture and design saw him well-placed to contribute essays to journals of record including The New York Times, The Guardian, The Australian and Le Monde, and magazines including Wallpaper*, Blueprint, Fantastic Man and American Vogue. Returning to Australia in late 2010, today he is the Design Editor of the Australian Financial Review newspaper and the Head of Publishing at Powerhouse Museum.

Curated by Stephen Todd

A valid ticket to Sydney Contemporary 2025 is required for entry to this talk. We recommend arriving 10 minutes before the talk’s start time. Buy tickets now.

Image Credit: Exquisite Corpse, Victoria Zschommler. Image Courtesy of Adam Goodrun.

Hotels, galleries and offices can optimise the emotional impact of art and design to create highly desirable environments beyond the home. This session brings together: the interior designer of Sydney’s chicest new hotel, the architects of some of NSW’s major cultural destinations and a gallerist renowned for parlaying artists into some of the most chic hospitality and workplace settings.

Kitty Clark is the founder and creative force behind Saint Cloche, a celebrated contemporary gallery in the heart of Paddington, Sydney. With a decade at the helm, Kitty has built a distinctive platform that champions emerging talent while supporting established voices in Australian contemporary art. With a background in design and experience as a buyer for Gucci, Kitty brings a refined curatorial eye and a deep understanding of visual culture to her work. Her unique vision has shaped Saint Cloche into a multidisciplinary space where art intersects with fashion, design and architecture, earning recognition on leading creative platforms and attracting collectors from around the world. Under Kitty’s direction, Saint Cloche has become a sought-after cultural destination, featured in the Louis Vuitton Sydney City Guide and known for its dynamic, forward-thinking programming. The gallery represents artists whose works are held in public and private collections globally and remains committed to nurturing new voices and pushing creative boundaries in contemporary practice.

Kerstin Thompson is the design director and leader on all projects undertaken by KTA, supported by a dedicated and skilled team. Her design excellence, project success and strategic thinking has been recognised through a raft of architectural awards at state, national and international levels. In recognition of her work and contribution to the profession and tertiary education, Kerstin was elevated to Life Fellow by the Australian Institute of Architects in 2017. In 2022, she was appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and, in 2023, she was awarded the Gold Medal, the Australian Institute of Architects’ highest honour.

William Smart is the Founder and Principal of Smart Design Studio, established in 1998. His approach to design is holistic, combining both architectural and interior design with passionate attention to detail. Over the past 27 years, Smart Design Studio has delivered a wide range of projects ranging from large-scale master planning, cultural buildings, offices, workplaces to private houses and product design. Although varied in scale, the projects are united by an ethos of “Architecture from the Inside Out”.

Charlotte Wilson has more than 15 years’ experience in interior design spanning high-end residential, hospitality and commercial sectors in both Australia and the UK. She specialises in bespoke design and understands the importance of creating sustainable, timeless places that continue to spark joy for years after completion. Charlotte has a unique understanding of the end user, examining how they will engage and connect with the spaces she creates. Since graduating with an MA in Architecture from London’s Royal College of Art, Charlotte has focused on interior design while maintaining a strong passion for designing with an understanding for both interior and architectural disciplines to achieve holistic, narrative driven projects. A Senior Associate, Charlotte Co-leads SJB Sydney’s interior design team.

Stephen Todd began his writing career in Paris in the early 1990s where his immersion in the worlds of fashion, art, architecture and design saw him well-placed to contribute essays to journals of record including The New York Times, The Guardian, The Australian and Le Monde, and magazines including Wallpaper*, Blueprint, Fantastic Man and American Vogue. Returning to Australia in late 2010, today he is the Design Editor of the Australian Financial Review newspaper and the Head of Publishing at Powerhouse Museum.

Curated by Stephen Todd

A valid ticket to Sydney Contemporary 2025 is required for entry to this talk. We recommend arriving 10 minutes before the talk’s start time. Buy tickets now.

Image Credit: SJB, The EVE Hotel, featuring artwork by Tarryn Gill, The Moon and Aspects of Self #1-6, 2024. Mixed media (inc. EPE foam, dacron, upholstery thread, hand stitched lycra & sequin fabric, LED tears coded by Steve Berrick) Size variable. Represented by Gallery Sally Dan Cuthbert, Image Courtesy of Anson Smart.

Four industry-leaders discuss strategies for forging and nurturing meaningful relationships between artists & designers, architects & decorators with art consultants, curators, galleries and collectors – and how these deep relationships benefit the sector as a whole. A linchpin leading Sydney art dealer Joanna Strumpf is joined by a prominent Auckland design/art space Director, Zoe Black and visionary artist Jonny Niesche whose commissioned collaboration with Gucci has been emblazoned across SoHo, New York. Hear how you can optimise on the growing opportunities between cross-industry collaboration. This will be followed by a guided tour of select gallery booths throughout the fair.

Zoe Black | Speaker
Jonny Niesche | Speaker
Stephen Todd | Moderator
Joanna Strumpf | Speaker

Zoe Black (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Pākehā) is the deputy director of Objectspace, a public gallery dedicated to craft, design, and architecture in Aotearoa New Zealand. She works across curatorial programming, community and international development, and programme delivery. Black’s curatorial practice centres community development and advocating for critically under-represented making and object art forms. She was Norwegian Crafts’ curator in residence (2020–22), working on projects that create a dialogue between Indigenous making practices in Aotearoa and Sápmi, is part of The Indigenous Curatorial Collective (ICCA), works with the advocacy group Art Makers Aotearoa, and contributes governance, advisory and writing to arts and cultural initiatives.

Jonny Niesche (born 1972, Sydney) draws on the traditions of romanticism, abstraction and minimalism to explore our perception of light and space. His work nods to abstract expressionism – Rothko particularly – but its slick finish disavows the artist’s hand and any sense of existential struggle; instead, we find a love of cosmetic counters and custom-car paint effects imbued with iconic religiosity. Jonny has exhibited extensively at international galleries including in Amsterdam, Spain, Los Angeles, New York, London, and Vienna, and has most recently collaborated with Gucci for their Art of Silk series. His work is held by the Thyssen Collection, Spain; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; the Art Gallery of South Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Museum of New and Old Art, Hobart; Artbank Australia, and in private collections in Europe, U.K., U.S.A, South America, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. Jonny holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) and a Master of Fine Arts from Sydney College of the Arts, the University of Sydney. He is represented by 1301SW, Melbourne and Sydney; Starkwhite, Auckland; 1301PE, Los Angeles; and Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam.

Joanna Strumpf is the Co-Director of Sullivan+Strumpf, Sydney. Established in 2005 with Ursula Sullivan, the gallery is now one of the leading spaces for contemporary art in Australia. After graduating from a Bachelor of Arts with Double Major in Art History at the University of Queensland (BA HONS) in 1996, Strumpf held positions at Eva Breuer Art Dealer (Sydney) and Savill Galleries (Sydney) and was appointed Head of Paintings at Lawson-Menzies, and as an Art Specialist at Deutscher Menzies (Sydney), before founding Sullivan+Strumpf. As a devoted and passionate advocate of the arts, Strumpf is an ambassador of the Museum of Contemporary Art and serves on committee for the gallery’s Annual Artists’ Ball (MCA, Sydney); Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW, Sydney), National Gallery of Australia (NGA, Canberra), Queensland Art Gallery (QAGoMA, Brisbane), and Home of the Arts (HOTA, Gold Coast); and is a board member for Melbourne Art Foundation. In 2021, Strumpf and Sullivan created The First Nation’s Fellowship Gift Fund in partnership with The Institute of Modern Art (IMA, Brisbane), that looks to give opportunities to emerging First Nations curators through projects with the IMA. Sullivan+Strumpf works with over 40 contemporary mid-career and established artists from the Australia and the Asia Pacific region and has guided the career trajectories of some of the most prominent contemporary artists working today. With an extensive exhibition schedule of solo and annual group shows, the gallery regularly participates in key national and international art fairs, including Art Basel Hong Kong, Taipei Dangdai, West Bund, Shanghai, Melbourne Art Fair, and Sydney Contemporary. In 2016, Sullivan+Strumpf opened a second gallery space at Singapore’s Gillman Barracks, the first Australian gallery to establish a permanent presence in Asia. In 2022, Sullivan+Strumpf expanded nationally to open their first location in Melbourne, Australia.

Curated by Stephen Todd

A valid ticket to Sydney Contemporary 2025 is required for entry to this talk. We recommend arriving 10 minutes before the talk’s start time. Buy tickets now.

Image Credit: Jonny Niesche, Transmitter, receiver (Moonlight mile), 2022. Photo courtesy 1301PE Los Angeles.

How do today’s photographers stand out – and who’s collecting their work?

In today’s world, photographic images proliferate at an extraordinary rate, serving as the currency through which we share our personal narratives. This begs the question: where does that leave photography as an art form? Has the prevalence of the camera phone, AI, social media, and algorithmic visibility enhanced – or diluted – photography’s creative and cultural value?

This panel explores how leading contemporary photographers navigate this evolving landscape, maintain artistic voice, and build a lasting presence in both the public imagination and the collector’s eye.

George Byrne creates large-scale photographs that depict everyday surfaces and landscapes as painterly abstractions. Borrowing from the clean, vivid clarity of modernist painting, he also references the New Topographics photography movement via a subject matter firmly entrenched in the urban everyday. “I’d always been interested in anti-landscape photography, but it wasn’t until I moved to LA and started shooting in colour and experimenting with manipulation and assemblage that I felt I was able to do anything very expressive or original with it. The images I’m making now are quite removed from reality, but I tend to bury the lead and not let the seams distract. Hence the effect is hopefully one of pleasure and disconcertion. They are dreamscapes.” – GB. Born in Sydney in 1976, Byrne graduated from Sydney College of the Arts in 2001, travelled extensively, and then settled in Los Angeles in 2011 – where he now lives and works.

Amber Creswell Bell is an art curator, an author of books on the arts, a lifestyle writer, a public speaker, and artist mentor. She was the Director of Emerging Art for Michael Reid galleries, curating both the emerging art and ceramics programs from 2019-2025. In 2021 Amber established the National Emerging Art Prize (NEAP) in collaboration with Michael Reid. Amber has been curator of the NEAP since its inception. Amber has published seven art books with Thames & Hudson to date: Her first book, Clay, released October 2016, showcases over 50 contemporary ceramic artisans from Australia and abroad. Amber’s second book, A Painted Landscape, released in October 2018, profiles the diverse work of 50 of Australia’s landscape painters. 2021 saw the release of Amber’s monograph on artist Ken Done ‘Art. Design. Life’, as well as Still Life – a compilation of Australian still life painters which won Illustrated Non-fiction Book of the Year at the Indie Book Awards. Australian Abstract, was released in March 2023, and was awarded Illustrated Book of the Year at the Australia Book Industry Awards. About Face was released in September 2024, profiling Australian and New Zealand portrait and figurative painters. Exposure, released September 2025, is her latest release.

Leila Jeffreys is a renowned contemporary artist working across photography, moving image and installation. She is best known for images of birds, photographed at human scale, that explore and subvert the conventions of portraiture. Jeffreys, who lives and works in Sydney with her husband and son, sees her avian subjects as living beings, part of a practice that expands viewer’s hearts by drawing attention to interdependence between species. Jeffreys’ work is a result of years-long periods of research and exploration. In the tradition of artist-activists, she conducts fieldwork, collaborates with conservationists, ornithologists and sanctuaries and champions programs to protect and restore endangered habitats. Jeffreys has exhibited in Australia and around the world for fifteen years, everywhere from Sydney and Melbourne to Paris, Brussels and Los Angeles. In 2023, her work was curated into The Best in Show at Fotografiska in New York, as part of an exhibition dedicated to animals in contemporary photography that toured Tallinn and Stockholm. She featured alongside the world’s most respected photographers as part of Civilisation: The Way We Live Now, a landmark 2023 exhibition at London’s Saatchi Gallery.

Lisa Sorgini is an Australian/Italian artist who works in still photography. She investigates themes of the human condition: caregiving, motherhood, memory and familial spaces. Within her two long-form projects, Mother and In-Passing, Lisa uses personal experience combined with sociological research to reveal complex narratives about the representation of women, mothers, and care roles in current cultural spaces. Other notable works include Behind Glass, which considers motherhood during the COVID-19 pandemic; The Bushfire, the Flood, addressing climate anxiety and place; and Thick Like Water, focusing on family dynamics. In 2025, her work The Bushfire, the Flood was exhibited at Rencontres d’Arles as part of On Country: Photography from Australia, and she published her second monograph, In-Passing, through Libraryman. Sorgini’s work has been profiled extensively in prominent outlets such as The New Yorker, TIME, The New York Times, and The Guardian. In 2022, she released her debut monograph, Behind Glass (2022), and in 2023 held her first solo show at The Centre for Contemporary Photography, Australia. Her work has also been showcased at numerous international festivals, including PhEST, Landskrona Photo Festival, Ragusa Photo Festival, and the Ballarat Photo Festival, as well as receiving nominations and awards, including the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, the National Portrait Prize, the Lucie Portrait Project, and Portrait of Humanity.

wani toaishara’s practice incorporates performance, video installations and image-making, which are informed by his ongoing explorations of Indigenous Black African subjectivity. toaishara works in an approach he describes as auto-ethnographic, and his practice often employs material forms and aesthetics traditionally associated with the African diaspora. His performance-influenced installations create spaces where historical precedent and self-determination intertwine. Drawing on the quotidian visual traditions across the African continent, toaishara’s work engages with the diverse Black cultural histories and complex experiences across the diaspora. toaishara’s site-responsive approach considers the relationality between cultural materiality, memory, and place, unpacking connections between historical narratives and contemporary realities.

A valid ticket to Sydney Contemporary 2025 is required for entry to this talk. We recommend arriving 10 minutes before the talk’s start time. Buy tickets now.

Image Credit: George Byrne, 99c Culver City, 2017. Image Courtesy of George Byrne and Thames & Hudson Australia.

Two hearts. One Dropbox.

From the Love Seat: Reflections gathers art world couples who live, love, and make art together—sharing studios, secrets, and the occasional email account.

Join them on the proverbial love couch to reflect on how art-making (and art-working) can become a language of care, conflict, and collaboration.

Expect romance, realness and a little bit of tenderness.

Mariam Arcilla and Mason Kimber | Speakers
Amrita Hepi and Abdul Abdullah | Speakers
Benjamin Law | Moderator

Mariam Ella Arcilla is a community servicer, writer, social designer, and arts consultant based in Sydney, Australia. She runs Magenta House, a multi-modal domestic space fostering intimate assemblies through workshops, art pop-ups, communal meals, reading sessions, library, a shop, and test kitchen. Raised in a household of artists and cooks in the Philippines, Mariam maintains a collaborative practice grounded in collective nourishment, cultural incantations, and knowledge-trading. Mariam has managed galleries, artist-run collectives, and grassroots projects since 2006. She is the former Co-Chair and Digital Producer at Runway Journal and guest editor of Debris Magazine, fine print Magazine, and 4A Papers. Her writing appears in MeMo Review, Art Guide, Running Dog, ACCLAIM, and Art Collector. As a creative practitioner, she partners with social enterprises, ARIs, and cultural institutions in Australia and the Philippines to produce programs and resources that uplift emerging artists and experimental practices. Mariam has staged programming, strategic and marketing projects with key bodies, namely 4A Centre of Contemporary Asian Art, Arts House Melbourne, STATION Australia, Institute of Modern Art, Queensland Government, and Museum of Brisbane. She has served as an industry mentor for Parramatta Artists Studios, Outer Space, Griffith University, and Runway Journal. Mariam maintains the Barkada Index, an online inventory for Filipino diaspora in Australia.

Mason Kimber is a Sydney-based artist and educator. Kimber uses painting, sculptural reliefs, and installation to engage with the social dimension of architecture, particularly its relationship to memory. After graduating in 2013 with an MFA in Painting from the National Art School, Sydney Kimber was awarded a three-month studio residency at the British School at Rome, Italy the following year. It was here that he studied ancient fresco painting, which led him to look closely at the various connections between painting and the built fabric of cities. Kimber’s current PhD research at UNSW Art + Design is titled: ‘Assembling at the Surface: Reframing relations to place and architecture through expanded painting’. He is represented by Sophie Gannon Gallery, Melbourne.

Amrita Hepi (Bundjulung/Ngapuhi Territories) is a multidisciplinary artist & choreographer based in Naarm/melbourne and Bangkok. Her interest as an artist is in the idea of archive; particularly in relation to the body and how it is organized by ancestry/people/events and environment. By coalescing fact and fiction, memoir and ethnography, the local and the singular into the performance/artwork she makes. Amrita trained at NAISDA & Alvin Ailey NYC. A critically acclaimed artist she has twice been the winner of the people’s choice award from the Keir Choreographic Award, was a Forbes 30 under 30 for artist, and has shown and been commissioned nationally and internationally. Amrita is a Triad member of performance company APHIDS, on the board of directors and artistic associate for RISING festival and part of the Artistic Associate group for STRUT dance. Her commitment to collaboration, experimentation and kinship are key tenets to her practice.

Abdul Abdullah is a multi-disciplinary artist based between Australia and Bangkok. His practice is concerned with the experience of the ‘other’ and is particularly interested in the disjuncture between perception/projection of identity and the reality of lived experience. He is represented by Ames Yavuz Gallery and has been exhibiting across Australia for twenty years. He is included in the collections of all the major Australian state public-institutions and has been presenting through Asia, Europe and the United States since 2014. Abdul is passionate about working with young people, and advocates for arts education, intercultural exchange and human rights.

Benjamin Law is an Australian writer and broadcaster. He’s the author of The Family Law (2010), Gaysia (2013), the Quarterly Essay Moral Panic 101 (2017) and editor of Growing Up Queer in Australia (2019). Benjamin is also an AWGIE Award-winning screenwriter. His forthcoming play for Melbourne Theatre Company is Dying: A Memoir (Oct–Nov 2025). He’s the co-executive producer, co-creator and co-writer of the Netflix comedy-drama Wellmania (2023), playwright of Melbourne Theatre Company’s sold-out play Torch the Place (2020), and creator and co-writer of three seasons of the award-winning SBS/Hulu/Comedy Central Asia TV series The Family Law (2016–2019). He is a board member of Story Factory and Co-Curious, and an ambassador for Plan International Australia, the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation, Victorian Pride Centre, Bridge for Asylum Seekers and the Pinnacle Foundation. Benjamin has a PhD in creative writing and cultural studies from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). In 2019, he was voted one of the 40 Most Influential Asian-Australians, winning the Arts & Culture category of the Asian-Australian Leadership Awards.

Curated by Micheal Do

A valid ticket to Sydney Contemporary 2025 is required for entry to this talk. We recommend arriving 10 minutes before the talk’s start time. Buy tickets now.

Image Credit: Mason Kimber and & Mariam Ella Arcilla; Photo: Dave Wheeler.

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