Frank Young ‘Kulata punu’

22. Julie Fragar

48. Evan Shipard

24. Jaq Grantford

20. Timothy Ferguson

16. Whitney Duan

23. Linda Gold

25. Yolande Gray

15. Jonathan Dalton

53. Peter Wegner

13. Yvette Coppersmith

44. Jason Phu

5. Billy Bain

17. Jeremy Eden

21. Robert Fielding

39. Vincent Namatjira

4. Mostafa Azimiabar

38. Kelly Maree

34. Fiona Lowry

46. Joan Ross

14. Luke Cornish and Christophe Domergue

11. Peter Ke Heng Chen

26. Tsering Hannaford

1. Abdul Abdullah

29. Solomon Kammer

47. Sally Ryan

49. Loribelle Spirovski

28. Brittany Jones

7. Angela Brennan

55. Marcus Wills

32.Marrnyula-Munuŋgurr

50.Natasha-Walsh

From embroidered objects found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs to elaborately embellished silk garments sewn by Han Dynasty artisans and the oldest surviving embroidered tapestry depicting the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the humble tools of needle and thread have been used globally to immortalise the past. 

In this talk, you will explore this legacy and the power and politics of the textile art in the work of international and Australian artists, including Bisa Butler, Adrienne Doig, Archibald Prize 2023 winner Julia Gutman, Faith Ringgold, LJ Roberts, Tschabalala Self, Susie Vickery and Billie Zangewa.  

Natalie Wilson is a curator of Australian art at the Art Gallery New South Wales. Wilson curated the recent major retrospective of the Archibald Prize, Archie 100: A Century of the Archibald Prize. She is an avid crocheter and textile art fanatic. 

Natalie Wilson: Threaded Histories

Join John McBride on a journey of the shared artistic history between Japan and Korea, exploring resistance and reconciliation through art.

Discover how Buddhism was introduced to Japan from the Korean Peninsula in the 6th century, what led to the longest surviving peaceful diplomatic relationship in the world between the two countries during the Edo period, and the dark colonial period of the 19th and 20th century in which Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan.

More recently, creative relationships between Japan and Korea have been revived by contemporary artists like Lee Ufan and Yanagi Yukinori.

John McBride began his career at the Australia-Japan Research Centre, ANU, before joining Ansett Australia to establish flights into Ōsaka, Japan. Later he was Chief Executive of News Corporation, Japan. McBride was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his support of Australia–Japan cultural and business links, and for supporting young artists and arts institutions. He is a licensed tea master of the Omotesenke School.

John McBride: Across the sea - artistic encounters between Japan and Korea

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera may be household names, but who were the other Mexican modernists?

Join arts journalist and creative Gina Fairley as she steps back in time to this vibrant, cosmopolitan era from the 1920s–1940s, when the post-revolution government entrusted artists to tell the story of a new nation.

Gina Fairley is an arts journalist, curator and creative. She was a director at Haines Gallery in California, USA, followed by a decade in Southeast Asia working as a curator, lecturer and commentator, curating major survey exhibitions for the Ateneo Art Gallery and Yuchengco Museum (Manila). Fairley was Regional Editor for Asian Art News and World Sculpture News, and is the current National Visual Art editor for ArtsHub.

Gina Fairley: The untold stories of Mexico's modernist revolution

Presented by Claudia Chan Shaw, October 2025.

Discover the rich and distinctive world of Spanish art nouveau, in this insightful lecture presented by Claudia Chan Shaw. Chan Shaw will explore the movement’s unique expression through its architecture, design and decorative arts.

Far more than just a decorative style, Spanish art nouveau, known locally as modernisme, was deeply tied to regional identity and craftsmanship. Discover the contributions of key figures including Joan Busquets, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Antoni Gaudí and Gaspar Homar, whose visionary works helped define the movement. From fantastical buildings to exquisite interiors and furniture, this talk offers a captivating look at how art nouveau shaped Spain’s cultural and artistic identity.

Claudia Chan Shaw: Travel Talks - The Art Nouveau Masters of Spain

Presented by Stefano Carboni, October 2025. 

Join Stefano Carboni as he explores the rich artistic and cultural history of Central Asia, from the Iron Age to the Islamic dynasties.

Central Asia, including modern-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, has been known by many names across centuries and cultures. Discover regions such as Bactria, Khorasan and Sogdiana, which were once centres of ancient civilizations, and key hubs of trade along the Silk Road; as well as cities such as Bukhara and Samarkand which flourished as cultural and commercial centres.

Stefano Carboni: Travel Talks - Splendours of Central Asia

Presented by Ross Wilson and Simon Weir, September 2025. 

Drawing on never-before-published teenage designs of a Brisbane Opera House, to his late in life correspondence with the artist Brett Whiteley, this lecture uncovers the life of Lloyd Rees through carefully selected objects. Charting Rees’s life as a young man finding his feet, to an established artist and beloved teacher, his personal effects tell many stories. In this lecture, Ross Wilson and Simon Weir will draw on the Art Gallery’s collection of Rees’s artworks, correspondence and archives to illustrate the artist’s journey.

Ross Wilson & Simon Weir: Clues to the life of Lloyd Rees

Presented by John Whitehead, October 2025. 

The Emperor Napoleon I employed every means at his disposal to create and distribute propaganda for his regime.

In this lecture, international porcelain specialist John Whitehead explores the role that Sèvres porcelain played during Napolean’s rule, and the image of power and prosperity that it projected.

Sèvres, a French commune in Paris, was one of the leading European porcelain factories in the 18th century. Porcelain produced in this factory depicted Napolean, his family and court, foreign rulers and princes, French dignitaries and other high officials. From lavish tableware for the imperial palaces, to decorative items like vases and columns, discover the designs and shifting styles that glorified Napoleon's achievements.


John Whitehead: Napoleon and Sèvres - porcelain and propaganda during the First Empire

Join visual artist and acclaimed poet Judith Nangala Crispin in conversation with broadcaster and radio host Robbie Buck.

Nangala Crispin lives on unceded Ngunnawal/Ngambri Country near Braidwood on the New South Wales Southern Tablelands and is a descendant of the Bpangerang people from the Murray River.

Her artistic practice is as philosophically rich as it is visually arresting – one that speaks of ritual and grief, resilience and belonging, and the urgent need to remember our entanglement with the places we inhabit. Her work was exhibited in the 2022 Head On Photo Festival.

She has received residencies and awards for her visual art practice and won the Blake Prize in 2020 for her poetry, as well as nominations for the Pushcart Prize and a shortlisting for the Peter Porter Prize.

Presented in conjunction with Head On Photo Festival.

Judith Nangala Crispin in conversation with Robbie Buck

Art Gallery of NSW

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