This August from Thursday 8 to Friday 9, Sydney Contemporary will come alive.
Starring vibrant new work by Justene Williams commissioned exclusively for the new art fair and supported by the Australia Council for the Arts, alongside the Performance Contemporary program with performances by cutting-edge, experimental artists, curated by Jeff Khan (Artistic Director) and Samantha Watson-Wood (Artistic Advisor) of Performance Space, the gallery will be one epic way to while away a weekend.
Justene Williams, who is well-known for large-scale performances involving volumetric costumes and sound, will present a new work titled She predicted the weather (2022). Featuring three performative boat sculptures with colourfully painted sails that will be rocked and swung by singing performers in sculptural weather costumes. The repetitive and ritual movement of the sculptures see them in motion but not making progress, questioning wider societal issues of whether the human race keeps going as we are or if there is hope in ceaseless action. The performance will take place on the Collector’s Preview on Wednesday 7 September and during the Opening Night on Thursday 8 September.
But that’s not all.
On Friday Night Art Night (9 September) the Fair will present a curated program of performance, talks and music. The headline talk titled NFTs: Sizzle or Fizzle will explore timely issues including the recent bursting of the crypto-currency bubble, and whether or not this will allow for a more measured assessment of the potential of NFTs for artistic expression. The panel includes an art consultant advocate of NFTs, artists working at the forefront of digital art technology, and a collector and a gallerist each with experience in this sphere.
Performances by Salote Tawale and Alli Sebastian Wolf will feature. Tawale will reprise from her ongoing series of expanded self-portraiture, a work that takes the form of an awkward celebration, unfolding across performance, live feed video and interventions into spaces throughout the Fair. Sebastian Wolf and their collective Deep Sea Astronauts will present eye-catching creatures that will roam, engaging with Fair goers.
Sydney-based music producer Jonny Seymour will play a special DJ set throughout the evening, and Rakini Devi will present a second iteration of her performance.
For more and to book tickets, head to the Sydney Contemporary website