Artistic Program
52 ACTIONS
Activist works from Australian artists across generations, geographies and cultural backgrounds.
52 ACTIONS is grounded in art as action. Here, artists explore and reflect on what art is, what it can do within the gallery and far beyond: art as a political motivator, a cultural transmitter, a means for understanding, a tool for shifting perspectives, holding memory, bridging divides and inciting change. These ideas are intimately connected with the role of the artist, from facilitator to provocateur, creator to witness.
Operating in both virtual and physical realms, 52 ARTISTS 52 ACTIONS serves as an open and experimental platform for generating new artistic works that engage with pressing contemporary issues. Each action manifests in various forms, encompassing live performances, photography, video, sound and text-based creations, interventions, digital public programs, and more.
Artspace is currently partnering with ten venues to deliver a nationwide exhibition tour of 52 ACTIONS supported by Museums & Galleries of NSW. The exhibition has evolved from Artspace’s online commissioning platform of the same name, which presented new works each week by 52 participants in 2020 to 2021. The exhibition brings together a selection of these works and others in an adaptive, site-specific tour that is responsive to each unique context.
52 ACTIONS was developed and curated by Artspace, Sydney. The exhibition is touring nationally with Artspace, Sydney, with support from Museums & Galleries of NSW. This project is proudly funded by the NSW Government through Create NSW. It has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Visions of Australia program and through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body. It is also supported by the City of Sydney and by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.