UNSW Galleries welcomes back visitors to see ‘Friendship as a Way of Life’.
Running 9 July to 21 November 2020, this major exhibition celebrates LGBTQI+ partnerships, collaboration, visibility, sex, intimacy and knowledge. It is accompanied by the online series ‘Forms of Being Together’ that includes weekly talks, conversations and digital projects with exhibiting artists, thinkers and local creatives. Together the project represents an unparalleled commitment to the display and interpretation of LGBTQI+ histories and artistic practices by an Australian cultural institution.
Visitors can experience the immersive ‘Eulogy for the Dyke Bar’ 2016, an ambitious restaging of the installation by American artist Macon Reed. The work mimics the interior of a lesbian bar and functions as a community space activated through its use for performances, conversations and socialising. In October and November, ‘Eulogy for the Dyke Bar’ will come alive and host a dynamic program of events, including a performance by celebrated Australian musician June Jones.
The exhibition brings together the work of more than 20 artists and collaborative groups, including ALOK, Mark Aguhar, Frances Barrett, Shannon Michael Cane, Elmgreen & Dragset, DJ Gemma, Camilo Godoy, Helen Grace, Gavin Kirkness and the Australian AIDS Memorial Quilt project, Dani Marti, Parallel Park (Holly Bates and Tay Haggarty), Nikos Pantazopoulos, Macon Reed, A.L. Steiner & A.K. Burns, Ella Sutherland and material from the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives. The exhibition is curated by UNSW Galleries Director José Da Silva and Deputy Director Kelly Doley.
Featured in the exhibition are several new works commissioned by UNSW Galleries, including never seen before photographs by Helen Grace documenting the early days of the all-female community Amazon Acres in Northern NSW. Ella Sutherland’s new prints respond to the production history of Australian lesbian erotic magazine Wicked Women; and collaborative duo Parallel Park presents a new performance video exploring the intricacies of the artist’s working and interpersonal relationship. On view are several international works including the Australian premiere of Scandinavian duo Elmgreen & Dragset’s The Incidental Self 2007, an installation comprising hundreds of photographs boasting the grandness of a history painting and the intimacy of a family album.
During the past three months of closure, UNSW Galleries has been hosting a range of in-conversations and videos by exhibiting artists that are now available to view on the exhibition website. A decorative font produced by Ella Sutherland in collaboration with friends and lovers is available to download, alongside a special mix by DJ Gemma capturing the music and memories of Sydney’s underground queer dance scene.
Each week, new content will continue to be uploaded and streamed on the UNSW Galleries website and social media channels to give audiences a deep dive into the stories and people behind the works in the exhibition. Upcoming live talks on the history of Australia’s gay motorcycle groups with leather historian Timothy Robert; the importance of QPOC (Queer People of Colour) party spaces by DJ Sezzo; and experiences of queer parenting and surrogacy with First Nations writer and activist Nayuka Gorrie. An online video commission by Nikos Pantazopoulos will revisit the history of Sydney’s Oxford Street, by exploring the origins of two homoerotic paintings salvaged from the iconic Midnight Shift before its closure in 2017.
EXHIBITION DETAILS
Artists: ALOK, Mark Aguhar, Frances Barrett, Shannon Michael Cane, Elmgreen & Dragset, DJ Gemma, Camilo Godoy, Helen Grace, Gavin Kirkness and the Australian AIDS Memorial Quilt project, Dani Marti, Parallel Park (Holly Bates and Tay Haggarty), Nikos Pantazopoulos, Macon Reed, A.L. Steiner & A.K. Burns, Ella Sutherland and material from the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives.
Curators: José Da Silva and Kelly Doley
Where: UNSW Galleries
Address: Cnr of Oxford Street and Greens Road, Paddington, Sydney
Telephone: 02 8936 0888
When: 9 July to 21 November 2020. Tuesday to Saturday, 10.00am – 5.00pm
Tickets: Free
Website: unsw.to/friendship
Instagram: @unswgalleries
ABOUT UNSW GALLERIES
UNSW Galleries brings together the work of leading Australian and international practitioners, curators and writers working in the fields of contemporary art and design. It is a space for the presentation and interpretation of contemporary visual and material culture, and a site for gathering, conversation and learning. The program stresses the importance of learning through exhibition-making, using integrated projects and events across the year to engage audiences in conversation with commentators from a range of disciplines.
