Art After Hours at the Art Gallery of New South Wales

On Wednesdays in February, March and April, the Art Gallery of New South Wales lights up after-hours with gallery spaces open until 10pm for free experiences, including talks, performances, screenings, workshops, tours and more.

Take your pick from a range of activities on offer – from guided tours of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art collection, led by Indigenous art gallery staff, to a meditation session with psychotherapist and meditation instructor Faith Agugu.

Highlights on the program include talks and a performance celebrating Aussie contemporary artist Angelica Mesiti’s immersive installation The Rites of When on February 19. Catch Mesiti in conversation with AGNSW’s senior curator Beatrice Gralton, plus a panel discussion between local artists Aunty Gail Mabo and Shireen Taweel about First Nations astronomy and the traditions of celestial imagery in art. There’ll also be a live music performance by percussionists Bree van Reyk, Niki Johnson and Hayley Chan.

From February 16 to April 6, the gallery will be screening films by British artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman, a pioneer of 20th-century queer cinema. On the line-up: cult classic Jubliee, In the Shadow of the Sun, Sebastiane, The Tempest, Edward II, Wittgenstein and more.

There are also plenty of workshops on offer including a host of drawing and watercolour sessions inspired by Ku’ (dog) sculptures, travel sketchbooks, gardens and Yayoi Kusama’s Flowers that Bloom sculpture. Get active with an interactive, movement-based workshop led by artists and twins Bedelia and Jeremy Lowrenčev, or drop in for a costume workshop with Sydney-based artist Fei Gao.

There’s also the much-loved Queer Art After Hours event, showcasing the diversity and creativity of the queer community through a dynamic program of art, performance and storytelling. Performances include an aural history of house by Nefertiti LaNegra; and a celebration of ballroom culture and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTSB+ excellence by the Indigenous All Stahz.

Browse the full program here.

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