Art, But Make It Fun!
Contemporary art is often perceived as serious, intellectual, even intimidating. But what happens when artists embrace humour, playfulness and joy? From bold colours and unexpected materials to works that invite participation or laughter, many contemporary artists are challenging the idea that art must always be solemn for it to be deemed intellectually worthy. This lively conversation, featuring artists Kenny Pittock, The Huxleys and Emily Floyd, celebrates the lighter side of creativity and explores how play, delight and accessibility can open the door to new audiences and experiences and reveal a different side of contemporary art.
Alison Kubler | Host
Kenny Pittock | Speaker
The Huxleys | Speaker
Emily Floyd | 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
Alison Kubler has a double major in Art History from the University of Queensland, Australia, and a Masters in Post-war and Contemporary Art History from Manchester University, England. She has over 30 years of experience as a curator in museums and galleries in Australia, as well as on major public art commissions. She worked as Arts Adviser to the Federal Minister for the Arts and Sport, held full-time curatorial positions at QUT Art Museum and Gold Coast City Art Gallery, and served as Associate Curator at the University of Queensland Art Museum. Alison is the Editor in Chief of VAULT (vaultmagazine.com), a journal focused on art and culture, and a regular contributor to various art magazines and journals. She served as a Member of the Council of the National Gallery from 2018 to 2024, was the Chair of the Collections Committee of the National Gallery, and a Committee Member of Know My Name. In 2026, she was appointed a member of the Queensland Art Gallery Board of Trustees and a Board Member of Australasian Dance Collective.
Kenny Pittock is a Melbourne based artist who works with ceramics, painting and drawing, and uses humour and sentimentality to playfully respond to contemporary Australian culture. Kenny received an Honours Fine Arts Degree in painting from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2013, since then he has had solo exhibitions in Italy and Singapore, as well as consistently exhibited his work all over Australia with galleries including Bendigo Art Gallery, NGV, ACCA in Melbourne, PICA in Perth, Artspace in Sydney and MONA in Tasmania. In 2017 Pittock was the recipient of Redlands Emerging Artist Award.
The Huxleys, Will and Garrett Huxley (Aus/Gumbaynggirr/Yorta Yorta), are Australian based collaborative visual and performance artists. The Huxleys are a dynamic duo of cataclysmic proportions who present queer spectacle and disco enthused wizardry across the visual art, performance and fashion worlds. Their photography and performance art traverses the classifications of costume, film and recording. A visual assault of sparkle, surrealism and the absurd, The Huxleys saturate their practice and projects with a glamorous, androgynous freedom which sets out to bring some escapism and magic to everyday life. Since 2014 The Huxleys have performed, exhibited and participated in numerous exhibitions, projects and events in Australia, and internationally in London, Berlin, Moscow, New York, Arles and Hong Kong.
Emily Floyd is an artist of Eastern European and Anglo-Celtic decent, her studio is based in Narrm/Melbourne, Australia on sovereign lands of the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people. Floyd explores the history of play, employing it as a frame for investigations into socially engaged design, typography and the legacies of modernism. Drawing parallels between experimental education and contemporary art, Floyd’s works generate spaces for engagement and interaction. Emily Floyd is a Creative Australia Fellow and Sidney Myer Fellow. She is represented by Ames Yavuz Gallery, Gadigal/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.
Image:Kenny Pittock, Nothing’s Happened Since Yesterday, 2021. Courtesy MARS Gallery.
