Talks
Talks is the engaging forum of curated talks that explore topical ideas and controversial themes in contemporary art and culture for all audiences. Each talk runs for approximately 45 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of Q&A. Talks is supported by The Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.
Photography: Standing Out in the Age of Image Overload
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. Featuring speakers George Byrne, Leila Jeffreys, Lisa Sorgini, and Wani Toaishara. Moderated by Amber Creswell Bell.
Programmed by Amber Creswell Bell
Collecting: From the Emerging to the Experienced
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.
Programmed by Kym Elphinstone
Quiz! So You Think You Know About Art?
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.
Design Made To Collect: The Art of the Object
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.
Programmed by Stephen Todd
True Believers
From those who still care, paying attention, asking what’s next? True Believers brings together artists and organisers who’ve stayed in the art world—through its shifts, its challenges and its contradictions. Join them as they talk about belief, burnout, soft power, and what it takes to keep going with care and imagination. Speakers Glenn Barkley, Richard Perram OAM, Myles Russell-Cook, and Talia Smith. Moderated by David Marr.
Programmed by Micheal Do
From the Love Seat: Reflections
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. Speakers Mariam Arcilla and Mason Kimber, Amrita Hepi and Abdul Abdullah, Moderated Benjamin Law.
Programmed by Micheal Do
Artists in Conversation: Richard Bell and Abdul Abdullah
Renowned artists Richard Bell and Abdul Abdullah—paired in the forthcoming book Artists by Artists by Michelle Grey and Susan Armstrong (Thames & Hudson)—will come together for a candid and thought-provoking conversation exploring the role of portraiture in politics, identity, and cultural resistance. For the book, Bell and Abdullah painted portraits of one another, resulting in a powerful creative exchange that speaks to their shared commitment to challenging dominant narratives.
Programmed by Arts-Matter
When Art Meets Commerce: The Power of Cross-Industry Collaboration
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.
Programmed by Stephen Todd
The Art of Going Public: Behind the Scenes of Public Art
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.
Programmed by UAP
No Filter: Breakfast with the Gallerists
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!
Programmed by OLSEN and MARS Gallery
Artists in Conversation: Nadia Hernandez and Tom Polo
Join Nadia Hernandez and Tom Polo – paired in the forthcoming book Artists by Artists by Michelle Grey and Susan Armstrong (Thames & Hudson) for an intimate conversation that navigates friendship, humour, and the playful absurdities that shape their creative worlds, offering insight into how personal connection informs artistic practice. Their works, alongside portraits by other artists featured in the book, will be on display in the Terrace Lounge at Sydney Contemporary, creating a vibrant backdrop for this exploration of portraiture, identity, and shared experience.
Programmed by Arts-Matter
Designing Spaces for an Artful Life
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.
Programmed by Stephen Todd
My brat summer
For the divas, the disruptors, and the chronically online. My brat summer assembles the art world’s culturally omnivorous agents of change—those rewriting the rules with irony, intellect, and high-gloss bravado. Think pop star Charli XCX meets historian and critic Claire Bishop: they’re unserious about seriousness, allergic to legacy, and fluent in critical theory. Speakers Coby Edgar, Toby Chapman, Elias Redstone, Tim Riley Walsh, Moderated by Jazz Money.
Programmed by Micheal Do
About The Curator: Micheal Do
Looking up, looking around, looking right side up, looking upside down. Sydney Contemporary’s Art Talks is conceived as a series of insights – short, sharp conversations that offer fresh perspectives on local and global cultures.
From brat energy to romantic entanglements and curatorial side-eye, this year, we pull back the curtain, diving into the heart of the art world, in panels that fizz with possibility.
Chaired by artists and writers, these conversations aim to sideswipe, whiplash and malfunction assumed knowledge – challenging us to look harder, further and deeper into what we understand about art today.
Curatorial Statement, Micheal Do
Micheal is Senior Curator, Contemporary Art at the Sydney Opera House, where he has commissioned projects by artists Cherine Fahd, Angela Goh, and Mel O’Callaghan. He led Megan Cope’s major public artwork Whispers for the Opera House’s 50th Anniversary. He has previously curated Primavera 2022 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia along with developing exhibition projects for 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre and Penrith Regional Gallery. He has received several curatorial awards and his writing features in numerous art publications and catalogues.
Micheal also presents The Art Show on Radio National.
About The Curator: Stephen Todd
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.
Talks is supported by The Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.
Image Credits – The Art of Going Public: Behind the Scenes of Public Art – Alison Page, Badjgama Ngunda Whuliwulawala, ‘Black Women Rising’. Photography: Standing Out in the Age of Image Overload – George Byrne, 99c Culver City, 2017. Image Courtesy of George Byrne and Thames & Hudson Australia. From the Love Seat: Reflections – Mason Kimber and & Mariam Ella Arcilla; Photo: Dave Wheeler. When Art Meets Commerce: The Power of Cross-Industry Collaboration – Jonny Niesche, Transmitter, receiver (Moonlight mile), 2022. Photo courtesy 1301PE Los Angeles. Designing Spaces for an Artful Life – 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. My brat summer – brat Album cover, Charli XCX. True Believers – 1987 Opening Lotti Smorgon Gallery, Image courtesy of ACCA Archive. Design Made to Collect: The Art of the Object – Exquisite Corpse, Victoria Zschommler. Image Courtesy of Adam Goodrun. The Artists’ Breakfast: Ask us Anything! – Images courtesy of Andy Dinan and Tim Olsen.
