Events & Ideas

Bringing Blak History to Brooklyn
Aretha Brown's New York connection

Gumbaynggirr artist and activist Aretha Brown looks back on her 2023 trip to the United States to create a new mural in DUMBO, Brooklyn.

Jeffrey Gibson: Untitled figure 2

Published 13 July 2026

Artist Jeffrey Gibson reflects on his sculpture Untitled figure 2 2022.

Jeff Koons Balloon Venus Dolni Vestonice (Yellow) 2013-17

Published 13 July 2026

Artist Jeff Koons reflects on his sculpture Balloon Venus Dolni Vestonice (Yellow) 2013-17.

2026 Betty Churcher AO Memorial Oration
Quincy Houghton, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Published 2026

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Quincy Houghton visits the National Gallery to deliver this year's Betty Churcher Memorial Oration.

In Practice: Raven Halfmoon

Following the acquisition of Raven Halfmoon’s The Guardians 2024, we visit the Caddo Nation artist at her Oklahoma studio.

The Frick of the West Side
Blue poles' last night in New York City

Journalist and author Tom McIlroy shares the story of how New York collector Ben Heller parted with Jackson Pollock's Blue poles.

Like We Were Mechanics
Donald Sultan on Kenneth Tyler

Renowned American artist Donald Sultan reflects on his time working alongside Kenneth E. Tyler in the late 1990s.

Already Famous
Steve Martin shares his collection

Actor, art collector and American Friends board member Steve Martin reflects on his collection of First Nations art, and a new online initiative.

In Practice: Dana Schutz

Published 05 March 2026

Celebrating the acquisition of Dana Schutz's sculpture Sea Group, take a tour of the artist's multidisciplinary Brooklyn studio.

Show Me the Proof

Assistant Curator Kira Godoroja-Prieckaerts examines the artistic and technical choices behind Helen Frankenthaler's Reflections series.

Donald Sultan at Tyler Graphics
IFPDA Print Fair

Sat 11 April 2026, 4pm

Something New Something Else
Julie Mehretu on Epigraph, Damascus

Julie Mehretu talks to Jennifer Higgie about the radical uses of abstraction, the importance of music and her interest in the art of the past.

Tyler Graphics: The Baroque Phase

Dr Jane Kinsman discusses the building of one of the most comprehensive records of a pivotal moment in printmaking history.

In Practice: Jeffrey Gibson

Published 28 October 2025

The Art Leaves with Us
Jeff Koons at the National Gallery

The National Gallery recently welcomed Jeff Koons to Kamberri/Canberra as the inaugural participant of a new Visiting Creatives Program.

Ten Questions with Jeffrey Gibson

Jeffrey Gibson reflects on the role of art and nature, how art can be a political tool and his constant questioning of value.

Betty Churcher AO Memorial Oration 2025
with Judy Chicago and Katy Hessel

Published 06 March 2025

Join ground-breaking feminist artist Judy Chicago and award-winning author Katy Hessel, for the 2025 Betty Churcher AO Memorial Oration.

The Evolution of Rainbow Pickett

Artist Judy Chicago discusses the significance of this new acquisition with Jennifer Higgie.

Your World is About to Change

American artist Kara Walker’s animation uses performance and text to tell a story ‘reminiscent of a slave testimony or folktale’.

2022 Annual Lecture
Kara Walker in conversation with Daniel Browning

Published 13 Oct 2022

Contemporary African American artist Kara Walker speaks with Daniel Browning, host of ABC’s The Art Show on Radio National.

Matthew Barney
Introducing Redoubt and Basin Creek Burn

Published April 2023

American contemporary artist Matthew Barney introduces us to his film 'Redoubt' and the sculptural work 'Bason Creek Burn'.

Come Together

Curator of photography Anne O'Hehir discusses the evolution of Nan Goldin's portrait of her community, The ballad of sexual dependency.

Finding a new language

Mark Setrakian and Richard Taylor discuss the use of sound in Jordan Wolfson's Body Sculpture.

The Shock of the Old

Jackson Pollock's Blue poles was acquired by the National Gallery 50 years ago. Sebastian Smee investigates what else entered the collection in 1973.

Nan Goldin’s lens on relationships
The ballad of sexual dependency

Curator of Photography Anne O’Hehir probes Nan Goldin’s The ballad of sexual dependency (1986) – the defining work of Goldin’s life.

Jordan Wolfson Body Sculpture

Published 22 January 2024

Explore the artistry of Jordan Wolfson in this captivating video. This video offers a unique exploration of societal issues and our roles within them.

Jordan Wolfson

Ahead of the unveiling of Body Sculpture, VAULT spoke to Jordan Wolfson about consciousness, Buddhist mindfulness and the positives of AI.

Jackson Pollock: Blue poles

Published 19 March 2020

Directed by Alison Chernick, this new documentary explores how the purchase of this masterpiece heralded a new era of art in Australia.

Blue poles: a new perspective

Senior Conservator David Wise reflects on working on one of the most iconic paintings in the national collection

Kenneth Tyler: In Conversation

Published 30 May 2019

National Gallery of Australia Director Nick Mitzevich was joined by Kenneth Tyler AO for an in-depth conversation about his remarkable life and career

Robert Motherwell: Elegies

The Kenneth Tyler collection team discusses one of printmaker Robert Motherwell's most pervasive motifs: the elegies.

Reflections on a life in print: Kenneth Tyler in conversation

Assistant Curator David Greenhalgh in conversation with master printer Kenneth Tyler at his home in the countryside surrounding New York.

Robert Hughes and The Shock of the New
Presented by the American Friends of the National Gallery of Australia

Published 21 July 2020

Robert Hughes’ inner circle discusses his life and work on the eve of the 40th anniversary of his landmark series and book, The Shock of the New.

The American Connection

Michael Maher, President of the American Friends of the National Gallery of Australia, explains its mission of mutual cultural enrichment.