First Fridays: Tending to nature through art

This First Friday we will be tending to nature through art in collaboration with the Nature Festival, join us to enjoy a selection of talks and activations. Listen to a panel discussion which will unpack how engaging deeply with art could be a tool for resilience in facing the ecological crisis and other emergency states of our age. Join a floor talk about the meditative art of Ikebana; the art of Japanese flower arrangement, then witness a demonstration of techniques associated with Sogetsu Ikebana. Sit back and enjoy the sounds of DJ Shibuya-Bun who will bring Japan's nightlife to AGSA. Explore a collection of art inspired by the natural world with a Gallery Guide or discuss art's power to address climate change in a facilitated 'idea's circle' hosted by of our Vanguards.

Image credit: Nat Rogers

FULL PROGRAM

5pm & 7pm

Guided Tours

Join a Gallery guide for a tour of works of art in the collection inspired by the natural world or meet one of our Vanguard and have your say in a facilitated ‘ideas circle’ looking at art’s power to address climate change.*7pm, an Auslan interpreter accompanies the tour of works inspired by the natural world.

Meet at the Information Desk

From 5pmMusical Performance - DJ Shibuya-Bun

DJ Shibuya-Bun brings Japan’s nightlife to AGSA with a mix of Japanese EDM, avant-garde and electronic music.

Courtyard

5.30pm Art, Climate and Resilience - Nature Festival Symposium

Art, Climate and Resilience will unpack how engaging deeply with Art could be a tool for resilience in facing the ecological crisis and other emergency states of our age.The panel discussion will position art as a creative force, a way of orienting ourselves in the world. This position assesses our cultural relationship with the earth through art making and considers the art form of tending (tending to a garden, to a practice, to daily modes of connection) as a re-humanising activity in the face of upheaval. Could tending to a daily practice of being in connection have a reparative effect? Could it help our ability to frame utopias and then move purposefully towards them? A panel of artists, thinkers and researchers respond to these provocations in this panel discussion presented in partnership with the Nature Festival.

Radford Auditorium

6pmFloor talk - Pure form and the art of Ikebana

Hear from Russell Kelty, Curator of Asian Art, Ray Bywaters and Maureen Arnott, Director and Deputy Director of the Australian Sogetsu Teachers Association in SA and and Christopher James, Director of the Victorian ASTA, for a discussion about the art form of Ikebana and its continuing influence on ceramic artists of Japan. Join Russell and Ray in the Pure Form exhibition to learn more about creating a conversation between plants + objects.

Gallery 20

6.45pm Demonstration - Ikebana

Join Ray Bywaters, Maureen Arnott and Christopher James of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana as they articulate the finer points and principles of flower arrangement using Australian native plants. Drawing inspiration from the works in Pure Form: Japanese sculptural ceramics, Ray and Maureen will demonstrate the techniques associated with the art of Japanese flower arrangement.

In the Atrium

7pmAuslan interpreted tour

Join a Gallery guide and an accredited Auslan interpreter for a tour of works in the collection inspired by the natural world.

Meet at the Information Desk