Occurrent Affair: proppaNOW collective exhibition arrives in Sydney
The National Art School (NAS) is proud to present OCCURRENT AFFAIR, a major exhibition of new and recent works by Meanjin/Brisbane-based Aboriginal artist collective proppaNOW, featuring the practices of Vernon Ah Kee, Tony Albert, Richard Bell, Megan Cope, Jennifer Herd, Gordon Hookey and the late Laurie Nilsen.
OCCURRENT AFFAIR references the sensational journalistic style of certain television current affair programs, and embraces the slippage between language and its associated readings to probe and present new narratives. The exhibition highlights and reflects on the ongoing state of affairs affecting Aboriginal communities – issues relevant to all Australians.
Conceived as a collaborative activist gesture, OCCURRENT AFFAIR addresses current socio-political, economic and environmental issues, while celebrating the strength, resilience and continuity of Aboriginal culture. Issues surrounding the artworks extend to pertinent and recurring ‘affairs’ for Aboriginal and non-Indigenous Australians, including the climate crisis, collectivism, healthcare, justice, truth-telling and healing.
After opening in 2021 at The University of Queensland Art Museum in Brisbane, OCCURRENT AFFAIR is touring nationally with Museums & Galleries of NSW from 2023-2025. The exhibition provides opportunities to speak to ideas and concerns particular to Country wherever it is presented, strengthening existing relationships and fostering new ones.
NAS Director and CEO Steven Alderton said, “It’s an honour to present this important exhibition with such a powerful vision of Australian contemporary art. It comes at a crucial time to critique the influence of media around First Nations issues in Australia, the response to truth-telling, who is allowed to speak and how social media impacts critical and civil debate.”
About proppaNOW
Established in 2003 in Brisbane, proppaNOW is one of Australia’s leading cultural collectives, exploring the politics of Aboriginal art and culture, and provoking, subverting and re-thinking what it means to be a ‘contemporary Aboriginal artist’. proppaNOW is a thesis, a language and an idea – a collective space for critical dialogue, intergenerational membership and artistic practice. In 2022 proppaNOW was awarded the Jane Lombard Prize for Art and Social Justice in the US.
EDUCATION KIT
This education resource has been written by Merindah Funnell, Emma Hicks and Nicole Barakat for FLENK Collective and produced in partnership with Museums & Galleries of NSW and UQ Art Museum for the touring exhibition OCCURRENT AFFAIR. This exhibition, showcasing work by influential urban Aboriginal collective proppaNOW, was initially exhibited at UQ Art Museum in 2021 and is now touring across Australia.
proppaNOW panel discussion
We invite you to listen to the recorded panel discussion, “Sovereignty was never ceded: Protest, resistance, and resilience in the work of the proppaNOW artist collective”. This enlightening talk, featuring Dr. Stephen Gilchrist and members of the proppaNOW collective, examines their collaborative approach to art and activism. Access the recording on the following link.
This exhibition from The University of Queensland Art Museum touring with Museums & Galleries of NSW has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body, and the Australian Government’s Visions of Australia program.
DATES
Saturday 24 June – Saturday 5 August 2023
LOCATION
NAS Galleries
OPENING HOURS
Monday to Saturday, 11am–5pm
National Reconciliation Week (NRW) starts today! As part of our NAS NRW program, we invite you to a special screening of the documentary `Kindred` (2023) in our Cell Block Theatre. The directors Gillian Moody and Adrian Russell Wills will be joining us for the screening.
`There`s the black world, and then there`s the white world. I felt walking in each of them was complicated enough. To bring those together would just make it even harder.` (Kindred: Trailer)
`Kindred` is a deeply personal feature-length documentary that delves into the emotional landscape of family, love, and loss through the eyes of two close friends.`
Limited capacity - click the link in bio to reserve your seats.
May 27
Congratulations to NAS alumni/staff Daniel McClellan, Jasmine Mowbray, Erin Murphy, Gemma Smith, Nicola Smith and Michael Snape, finalists of the Sulman Prize 2025.
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Daniel McClellan, ‘Jupiter’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 169.9 x 110.4 cm; Jasmine Mowbray, ‘Under an ancient tortoiseshell sky’, 2025, oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 150.2 x 120 cm; Gemma Smith, ‘Windward’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint, linen and canvas on linen, 230.2 x 199.5 cm; Nicola Smith, ‘The beginning of spring’, 2025, oil on linen, 85.4 x 80.2 cm; Michael Snape, ‘Painting with fluid subject’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 91.7 x 92 cm; Image courtesy the artists and Art Gallery NSW (@artgalleryofnsw) and © the artists
May 26
Congratulations to NAS alumni/staff Mitch Cairns, Nick Collerson, Sarah Contos, Brodie Cullen, Daniel Hollier and Ildiko Kovacs, finalists of the Sulman Prize 2025.
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Mitch Cairns, ‘Narrow cast (studio mural)’, 2025, vinyl on primed linen, 91.9 x 76.4 cm; Nick Collerson, ‘Interpretation of remembrance’, 2025, oil on linen, 137.5 x 152.5 cm; Sarah Contos, ‘Hypnagogia zeitgeist’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint on cotton, screenprint on canvas, tufted Australian wool on cotton monk`s cloth, 184.2 x 169.7 cm; Brodie Cullen, Untitled (mattress painting)’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint on found mattress, 200.2 x 155 cm; Daniel Hollier, ‘Summer rains in dragon veins’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint on polyester, 90 x 100 cm; Ildiko Kovacs, ‘Tracing light’, 2025, oil and oil stick on plywood, 240 x 180 cm; Image courtesy the artists and Art Gallery NSW (@artgalleryofnsw) and © the artists
May 26
Congratulations to NAS alumni/staff Joe Frost, Eliza Gosse, Catherine O`Donnell, Ebony Russell, Michael Snape and Natasha Walsh, finalists of the Wynne Prize 2025.
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Joe Frost, ‘Cumberland / Wallumatta and Wanne’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint on polyester, 183 x 244.1 cm; Eliza Gosse, ‘Flannel flowers under the wattle tree’, 2025, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, oil on birch plywood, 183.4 x 152.7 cm; Catherine O`Donnell, ‘Echoes of home’, 2025, oil on linen, 45.5 x 120.3 cm; Ebony Russell, ‘Polychrome loutrophoros gesture of revealing in blue’, 2025, porcelain, stain, 120 x 35 x 30 cm; Michael Snape, ‘Witness’, 2025, carved cedar wood, 245.5 x 79.8 x 80.5 cm; Natasha Walsh, ‘chrysanthemum tea by the window’, 2025, oil on copper, 40 x 31.6 cm; Image courtesy the artists and Art Gallery NSW (@artgalleryofnsw) and © the artists
May 25
Congratulations to NAS alumni/staff Seth Birchall, Margaret Campbell, Mark Maurangi Carrol, Armando Chant, Casey Chen, Lucy Culliton and Stephen Evans, finalists of the Wynne Prize 2025.
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Seth Birchall, ‘Soft spoken and proud’, 2025, oil on canvas, 163 x 183.2 cm; Margaret Campbell, ‘Minyma pulka (big woman)’, 2025, stoneware with underglaze and sgrafitto, 25.6 x 15.7 x 5.5 cm; Mark Maurangi Carrol, ‘Song palm (stay forever)’, 2025, oil enamel and permanent marker on linen, 198.2 x 244 cm; Armando Chant, ‘Aura’, 2025, linen thread, pigment and binder on linen, 150.4 x 160.7 cm; Casey Chen, ‘Military maneuvers 7 (after Rousseau), 2025, glazed earthenware tiles, overglaze enamels, gold lustre, wood, grout, 39.5 x 49.5 cm; Lucy Culliton, ‘Cliff Hole, Bottom Bullock’, 2025, oil on canvas, 183.4 x 244 cm; Stephen Evans, ‘Brunswick creek’, 2025, concertina book; ink and watercolour on paper, 5 x 49 cm; Image courtesy the artists and Art Gallery NSW (@artgalleryofnsw) and © the artists
May 25
On Thursday, we celebrated the graduating cohort of 2024. Here are some of our favourite moments.
May 24
