Ross McDiven, Chair, National Art School Board of Directors and

Steven Alderton, Director and CEO, warmly invite you and your guest to attend the 

Opening Night of

Queer Contemporary: I want a future that lives up to my past

6 – 10pm, Thursday 24 February 2022

Rayner Hoff Project Space

Curated to coincide with the 2022 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, this exhibition brings together a range of distinct LGBTQI voices from within the NAS community, including teaching staff and alumni. It presents works in dialogue about the nature of contemporary art and politics and possible personal, local and global futures through queer visual languages and points of view.

I want a future that lives up to my past juxtaposes artists and works to make visible queer aesthetics that are not tied to obvious representations of identity and sexuality, but are materially grounded in the ways LGBTQI lived experience and creative practice demands a range of navigations and interventions in mainstream cultural forms and interpretations. 

Against the global backdrop of the climate crisis, our second pandemic, and the last decade’s conservative backlash against the human rights of those of us who live in the margins, the works included offer subtle and complex articulations of ideas, images and forms that bridge difficult pasts and possible futures. 

Artists

Karla Dickens

Bridie Lunney

Justine Youssef

Nadia Odlum

Christine Dean

Luke Thurgate

Steven Cavanagh

Kurt Banks

Liz Bradshaw

Curator

Dr Liz Bradshaw

All visitors to the NAS site must be fully vaccinated. On arrival, visitors must sign in with the Service NSW QR Code and show security staff their COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate or Vaccination Status Immunisation History statement.

To confirm immunisation status, visitors must open their vaccination statement via the MyGov, Express Plus Medicare, or Service NSW app. This can take a few minutes – please ensure passwords are at the ready. We thank you in advance for your patience.