Contemporary Art Tasmania

25/06/2026

Some more picks from Sarah Boyadjian's What are you talking about? list!

Join us for an artist talk and discussion led by Sarah on Saturday 11 July 2026 to hear about how this list relates to Sarah's work, which informed by lots of different contemporary and historical influences.

In the meantime, explore the list online or in hardcopy form in the gallery foyer:
https://contemporaryarttasmania.org/whats-on/what-are-you-talking-about-6/

18/06/2026

“The more I made, the more attention they brought. Now it’s become this obsession of mine to make the world love pigeons."

New York's famous pigeon lady, from Sarah Boyadjian's reference list for What are you talking about? — exploring fashion, music and Armenian film.

Explore the list in your own time, and then join us for an artist talk and discussion led by Sarah on Saturday 11 July 2026, 2:30pm-3:30pm (free event).

📖 Find the full list online or in hardcopy form in the gallery foyer:
https://contemporaryarttasmania.org/whats-on/what-are-you-talking-about-6/

18/06/2026

We visited 2026 resident Jacob O’Shannassy in his studio to chat about his creative process and the development of his practice. Catch his work in the Project Space later this year!

Jacob.O'Shannassy

Video: Huemen Media // Commercial

08/06/2026

TrunkMan opens this week! Join us on Thursday night from 5pm for the opening, with the first of Sabio's three performances at 6pm.

For extended opening hours during Dark M**o, and performance times, check our pinned post or our website.

https://contemporaryarttasmania.org/whats-on/trunkman/

04/06/2026

For the latest edition of What are you talking about? artist and designer Sarah Boyadjian .tas shares the fashion, music and film that is inspiring her at the moment.

Explore the list in your own time, and then join us for an artist talk and discussion led by Sarah on Saturday 11 July 2026, 2:30pm-3:30pm.

📖 You can find the full list with links online (https://contemporaryarttasmania.org/whats-on/what-are-you-talking-about-6/) or in hardcopy form in the gallery foyer from 12 June.

About the artist:
Sarah Boyadjian is a textile artist, upcycler and designer based in Nipaluna/Hobart. Sarah creates clothing and wearable art under the label Elsewhere, using repurposed and thrifted materials. Her work is inspired by making something new from the old, often combining bold colours, patterns and different techniques — from painting to embroidery to patchwork using scraps. And rejecting beige at all costs. Sarah's designs have been worn by artists like Amy Taylor from Amyl and the Sniffers, ALOK, and Elektronik Girl Epic and featured on Rage.

About the project:
What are you talking about? is a recurring event where artists are invited to curate a "reference list" of things that are sparking their interest at this moment. The ongoing project provides artists and audience with insights into artistic practice and process outside of the exhibition model, prompting us to consider what ideas, content, and material artists are engaging with as they shape the cultural landscape around us.

01/06/2026

Our latest podcast episode, Eat the art, has dropped! Starting at the intersecting point of culinary and creative practice, Haneen Mahmood Martin and Caitlin Fargher discuss how an arts practice can be productive medium to unpack lineage and familial history, talk models of curatorial care and explore what it can look like to hold space for different experiences.

Listen to the full episode on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts.
https://contemporaryarttasmania.org/whats-on/eat-the-art/

This episode was hosted by Sharifah Emalia Al-Gadrie and produced by Honor Marino.

28/05/2026

Xiyue CiCi Zhang moved to Lutruwita/Tasmania in 2020 and works from a studio in Maydena, surrounded by mountains and rainforest. She studied at the prestigious Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing from the age of 15 until attaining her MFA degree. She has exhibited in China, Korea, Germany, France and Australia.

Cici's magical TrunkMan playground opens soon in the main gallery, in partnership with Dark M**o. The installation will be activated by three performances featuring Sabio.

For extended festival opening times and performance times, check our pinned post or our website.

22/05/2026

On "Art that remakes", our latest episode of the pod, Noah Johnson shared the ideas and values that drive their practice.

Noah is a black multidisciplinary artist, born in Lutruwita (Hobart). They first began painting as a way to visually represent their creative mind and their roots to their African American culture which paved the way for their love of fashion and consequently sewing & design.

Noah runs a fashion label DERECYCLER, an upcycling slow fashion label which came to fruition when they were 16 years old. Their values lie in sustainability and story telling through their textile art while they use a mixture of simple to intricate design choices to convey that.

🎧 Find What are you looking at? on most podcast apps

21/05/2026

Our latest Journal explores contested space through the eyes of louen, a direct-action activist, [redacted] side of the hemisphere.

"We had to filter in new ways of solidifying our position, test new things that would push back on the authority’s blockade. But the police had new products too. We called them smurf bombs — teargas water, bright blue dye. You’d strip down in front of everyone, try to stop it sticking to your skin, peppery, burning, and you’re freezing too, late winter, dripping wet, but also on fire. The stains lasted, even if you got out you were marked. So you stayed."

📖 Read the full piece here:

We had to filter in new ways of solidifying our position, test new things that would push back on the authority’s blockade. But the police had new products too. We called them smurf bombs — teargas water, bright blue dye. You’d strip down in front of everyone, try to stop it sticking to your s...

19/05/2026

UPCOMING // A fantastical playground where the real and the imagined mingle. Xiyue CiCi Zhang's immersive installation of animations, paintings, soft sculptures, set design and performance tells the story of TrunkMan, journeying through a world of mystery and myth. Supernatural beings traverse the dualities of light and darkness, order and chaos. Born in China, and now living in Lutruwita, CiCi considers that ‘magical and strange stories like this happen every day on the island of Tasmania.’

During Dark M**o, the TrunkMan installation will be activated with three performances featuring Sabio.

▶︎Opening event:
Thursday 11 June, 5pm-10 pm

▶︎Opening hours during Dark M**o:
Friday 12 – Sunday 14 June, 12pm-8pm
Wednesday 17 June, 12pm-5pm
Thursday 18 – Sunday 21 June, 12pm-8pm

▶︎Performance times:
Thursday 11 June, 6pm
Saturday 13 June, 6pm
Friday 19 June, 6pm

▶︎Exhibition continues:
Wednesdays–Saturdays, 12pm-5pm until 18 July

Location: Contemporary Art Tasmania, 27 Tasma St, North Hobart

Accessibility: The galleries are mobility accessible. An audio description will be available from 11 June. A roomsheet will be available online and in large font hardcopies at the front desk. Find more at contemporaryart.org.au/access.

Presented in partnership with Dark M**o.