UTS Gallery & Art Collection

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ARTIST TALK with Spence MessihThursday 27 August at 5.30pmUTS GalleryBuilding 6, Level 4, 702 Harris St, UltimoFree, RSV...
25/08/2026

ARTIST TALK with Spence Messih
Thursday 27 August at 5.30pm
UTS Gallery
Building 6, Level 4, 702 Harris St, Ultimo
Free, RSVP via link in bio

In the final week of “A river runs through’, join artist Spence Messih and exhibition curator Stella Rosa McDonald for a conversation exploring the themes and development of this ambitious body of work. Working across sculpture, print and film, Messih has developed a material language shaped by tension, movement and contradiction.

SHOW DATES EXTENDED —
‘A river runs through has been extended for an additional week and will now close on Saturday 29 August. The gallery will also be open for UTS Open Day on the final day of the exhibition, from 9.00am-2.00pm.



Images: Spence Messih, ‘Hiddener abode I–VII’, 2025, photopolymer photogravure, and Spence Messih, ‘A river runs through’ [installation views], 2025. UTS Gallery, Gadigal Nura/Sydney. Photos: Jacquie Manning.

[ID: a series of framed blue photogravure prints, and installation images of the same prints hung in two horizontal lines on a white gallery wall, alongside sculptural artwokrs made from timber and glass.]

THIS WEEK:𝚆𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚜 & 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚜, featuring creative writing practitioners Dr Delia Falconer, Dr Dave Drayton, Holly O’...
10/08/2026

THIS WEEK:
𝚆𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚜 & 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚜, featuring creative writing practitioners Dr Delia Falconer, Dr Dave Drayton, Holly O’Neil and Georgina Reid
Thursday 13 August, 5–6pm
UTS Gallery (Building 6, Level 4, 702 Harris St, Ultimo)

This program offers a critical look at the language we use to describe complex and entangled systems through live readings of recent creative nonfiction writing, to be followed by a creative writing exercise. 𝚆𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚜 & 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚜 is the final session in a series of free learning and making programs organised by Associate Professor Zoë Sadokierski, presented in parallel with the exhibition 'A river runs through' by Spence Messih. RSVP via link in bio.

Bios in comments below 👇

davedrayton hollyoneil georginareid

[ID: a carousel of images including an earth-toned colour poster with simple text, promoting an upcoming learning and making session at UTS Gallery, followed by images of the speakers.]

What can a river teach us when we trace the entangled relationships that constitute its intelligence—between water, sedi...
29/07/2026

What can a river teach us when we trace the entangled relationships that constitute its intelligence—between water, sediment, species, and seasons? And how might sitting with that complexity open up ways of thinking, making and caring, that take seriously the more-than-human?⁣
⁣
Join Indigenous water science researcher Bradley Moggridge and artist, curator and researcher Kirsten Wehner for a panel discussion on the provocations prompted by waterways, facilitated by Zoë Sadokierski, 𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 program academic lead and designer, writer, creative producer and educator.⁣
⁣
The discussion will be followed by a collage session addressed to bodies of water.⁣
⁣
A separate screening of the short documentary 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘍𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘒𝘪𝘭𝘭 (2024), co-produced by the National Museum of Australia, the Cad Factory and Otis Filley Studios, follows the session.⁣
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𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐢𝐧 with with Prof Bradley Moggridge, Dr Kirsten Wehner, facilitated by Associate Professor Zoë Sadokierski ⁣
Thursday 6 August, 12.30–2pm⁣
UTS Gallery, CB06.04.358, (Building 6, Level 4, 702 Harris St, Ultimo)⁣

𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐢𝐧 is the second in a series of free learning and making programs organised by Associate Professor Zoë Sadokierski, presented in parallel with the exhibition 𝘈 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 by Spence Messih. RSVP via link in bio.⁣
⁣
𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐊𝐢𝐥𝐥 screening⁣
2–2.40pm⁣
The Rizzo, CB06.03.022 Collaborative Theatre (Building 6, Level 3, 702 Harris St, Ultimo)⁣
A short documentary on collaborative responses to mass fish kills along the Barka/Darling River, where ecological crisis is approached through cultural and creative practice.⁣

[continued in comments]

COMING UP: 𝘽𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨 & 𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨, with Dr Astrid Lorange and Dr Ali Chalmers BraithwaiteWednesday 22 July, 1230–2pmUTS Gal...
15/07/2026

COMING UP: 𝘽𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨 & 𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨, with Dr Astrid Lorange and Dr Ali Chalmers Braithwaite
Wednesday 22 July, 1230–2pm
UTS Gallery (Building 6, Level 4, 702 Harris St, Ultimo)

In this session, Lorange reflects on recent writings and Chalmers-Braithwaite discusses her project 'The Body Traces Archive: Designing Slimy VR for Q***r Embodiment', with a dialogue to follow that examines methods for subverting dominant visual and descriptive modes of bodies in virtual space. The discussion will be followed by a body trace drawing session. 'Bodies and Boundaries' is the first in a series of free learning and making programs organised by Associate Professor Zoë Sadokierski, presented in parallel with the exhibition 'A river runs through' by Spence Messih. RSVP via link in bio.

𝗔𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗱 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 is a writer, editor, and teacher. She is Senior Lecturer in the School of Art & Design and Associate Dean of Graduate Research in the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture at UNSW Sydney. She is one-half of the critical art collective Snack Syndicate and she co-edits Rosa Press. Her recent poetry book is 'Raw Materials', Atelos Press, 2024. A book on contemporary art and police power, co-written with Andrew Brooks, is forthcoming with Power Publications.

𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗲 is a design researcher, creative practitioner, and Lecturer of Interaction Design (Education Focused) in the School of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Sydney. Their work explores how q***r and cyberfeminist approaches can be used in designing with digital mediums and interactive experiences such as virtual reality. As part of their doctoral research, Alexandra produced the VR experience 'Body Traces Archive' (2024). Alexandra also collaborates with contemporary Australian artists on projects such as 'Habit Habit' by Kalanjay Dhir (2022).

alichalmersbraithwaite

[ID: a carousel of images including an earth-toned colour poster with simple text, promoting an upcoming learning and making session at UTS Gallery, followed by images of the speakers.]

𝙱𝚘𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 is a free learning program presented in parallel with the exhibition 'A river runs through' by Spence Me...
10/07/2026

𝙱𝚘𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 is a free learning program presented in parallel with the exhibition 'A river runs through' by Spence Messih, bringing together artists, writers and researchers across July – August 2026 to explore water, place and more-than-human relations. UTS Associate Professor Zoë Sadokierski is the inaugural Academic Lead for the 2026 program. Open to researchers, students, educators and the wider public, 'Bodies of Water' offers new ways to connect with contemporary ideas through art, research and making.

Wednesday 22 July, 1230–2pm
'Bodies & boundaries'
Featuring Dr Astrid Lorange and Dr Ali Chalmers Braithwaite, who examine how bodies are produced and mediated through writing, research and VR practice, followed by a participatory workshop on embodied tracing.

Thursday 6 August, 1230–2pm
'River kin'
Convenes First Nations Water Science researcher Bradley Moggridge and artist, curator and researcher Kirsten Wehner discuss rivers as living relational systems, followed by a collage-based workshop.

Thursday 6 August, 2–330pm
'Screening: More than a Fish Kill'
A short documentary on collaborative responses to mass fish kills along the Barka/Darling River, where ecological crisis is approached through cultural and creative practice.

Thursday 13 August, 5–6pm
'Writing bodies & places'
Featuring creative writing practitioners Delia Falconer, Dave Drayton, Holly O’Neil and Georgina Reid, followed by an experimental writing exercise.

RSVP to these sessions via link in bio.



[ID: a carousel of 5 soft, earth-toned colour posters with simple text, promoting an upcoming program of free learning and making sessions around themes of water, place and more-than-human relations.]

To mark the 2026 National NAIDOC Week theme, 50 Years of Deadly, UTS Gallery and UTS’ Creative Practice Research Group p...
30/06/2026

To mark the 2026 National NAIDOC Week theme, 50 Years of Deadly, UTS Gallery and UTS’ Creative Practice Research Group present a special three-night film program celebrating the powerful Elders, activists, and communities who have championed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, resilience, and rights over the past half-century.
 
Join us for screenings of Ningla A-Na (1972), documenting the rise of the Black Power movement and the Aboriginal Embassy; Land Bilong Islanders (1989), tracing the landmark Mabo case; and The Colleano Heart (2025), Pauline Clague’s powerful documentary exploring the history of the Hidden Generation. The Thursday screening includes a post-screening panel discussion with film director Pauline Clague and documentary filmmaker and UTS Professor Rachel Landers.

All screenings are free (bookings essential). RSVP to the sessions via link in bio 🔴🟡⚫️

17/06/2026

Published on the occasion of Spence Messih's exhibition A river runs through, "Rival: Stories of water and gender" brings together perspectives on water and gender from the fields of political ecology and trans studies. Rather than documenting the exhibition, Rival opens a wider field of reflection, attending to what Messih describes as "the excess" of water and gender. Foregrounded by the shared pressures and porosities that shape both bodies and environments, contributing writers Astrid Lorange and Andrew Brooks, Amelia Groom, Arlie Alizzi, and Hil Malatino explore questions of embodiment, extraction, labour, legibility, kinship, and contamination.

The book moves through writings by invited contributors and includes one-colour reproductions of Messih’s photogravure print Hiddener abode I–VII (2025). The debossed outline on the cover recalls the shape of the feral goat hides Messih uses in his body of work, alluding to the figure of the scapegoat.

Rival is available to purchase in the gallery or online. A percentage of sale proceeds support the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations, the Bob Brown Foundation, and Headspace Broken Hill.

64 pages, 107 x 175mm
Debossed and foil stamped cover
1-spot colour internal pages
Perfect bound
Design: Zenobia Ahmed
Print: Gunn & Taylor
Published by: UTS Gallery & Art Collection, Gadigal Nura/Sydney
Authors: Spence Messih, Stella Rosa McDonald, Alie Alizzi, Andrew Brooks & Astrid Lorange, HIl Malatino and Amelia Groom
Commissioning editors: Stella Rosa McDonald, Spence Messih
Animation: Finn Marchant



[ID: a fast-paced looping animated 'flip-through' for a recently published book. Moving from a bright orange cover through still images of the internal pages with images and texts in bright blue, and finishing with the back cover which has the title and authors printed on orange paper in shiny blue foil.]

—

Connie Anthes

Assistant Curator

, UTS Gallery & Art Collection

* Please note, I work Mondays and Wednesdays in a jobshare role with Alice Rezende *

UTS Gallery & Art Collection
Marketing and Communications Un

'A river runs through' presents a new body of work by Spence Messih that considers how both water and gender are monitor...
15/06/2026

'A river runs through' presents a new body of work by Spence Messih that considers how both water and gender are monitored, categorised and disciplined. Moving between sculpture, print and film, Messih develops a material language shaped by tension, movement and contradiction.

Over the past decade, Messih has worked across sculpture, installation, and text to create works that move between abstraction and figuration. Attuned to the nuances of materiality and transformation, his practice combines intuitive and idiosyncratic processes that challenge notions of truth and reveal the contradictions and mutability of both materials and ideas. 'A river runs through' continues at UTS Gallery until 28 August.

Visit the gallery Monday to Friday, between 11am and 4pm.

Supported by Creative Australia and the Canberra Glassworks Artist in Residence Program.



[ID: a carousel of sculptural and textural details in warm tones set against a concrete-floored gallery, featuring close-ups of timber marquetry, kiln-formed glass in curved 'pipe' shapes, and a large felted goat textile.]

Select UTS Gallery titles are now available to purchase via (Naarm/Melbourne) as well as when you visit UTS Gallery.Wor...
20/05/2026

Select UTS Gallery titles are now available to purchase via (Naarm/Melbourne) as well as when you visit UTS Gallery.

World Food Books is devoted to the presentation of a rotating, hand-selection of international art, design, literary and counterculture publications with an emphasis on the anti-traditional, the experimental, and the avant-garde.



[ID: a carousel of images of UTS Gallery publications laid flat on a polished concrete floor.]

Join us at UTS Gallery from 6pm tomorrow, Thursday 7 May, to celebrate the opening of Spence Messih’s ‘A river runs thro...
06/05/2026

Join us at UTS Gallery from 6pm tomorrow, Thursday 7 May, to celebrate the opening of Spence Messih’s ‘A river runs through’.

Across sculpture, print and film, Messih presents a significant new body of work that traces the intertwined currents of water and gender, and the fragility of the systems, or fantasies, constructed to control them.

“Borders of race, gender and power are born of the same extractive forces that shape ecologies. In moments of converging ecological, social and economic crises, who benefits? Who becomes a scapegoat?”
– Spence Messih

RSVP at link in bio.

Commissioned by UTS Gallery & Art Collection. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body, and the Canberra Glassworks Artist in Residence Program.

–
Images:
1. Spence Messih stands next to ‘A river run through’ artworks. Background: ‘Hiddener abode I–VII’ [installation view detail] 2025. Foreground: ‘False antithesis I–V’ [installation view detail], 2026. UTS Gallery, Gadigal Nura/Sydney. Courtesy the artist. Photo: Jacquie Manning.
2 and 3. ‘False antithesis I–V’ [installation view details], 2026, UTS Gallery, Gadigal Nura/Sydney. Courtesy the artist. Photos: Jacquie Manning.

Address

Level 4, 702 Harris Street
Ultimo, NSW
2007

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 4pm
Tuesday 11am - 4pm
Wednesday 11am - 4pm
Thursday 11am - 4pm
Friday 11am - 4pm

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