Sydney Contemporary supports artists throughout October
October 15, 2020
At the start of October Sydney Contemporary unveiled a month-long experiential platform to help audiences explore, discover and buy new work from Australian and international artists.
With the annual art fair unable to proceed at Carriageworks this year, the organisers launched Sydney Contemporary Presents 2020: “an art buying adventure from the comfort of your own home”. Prospective buyers can take a quiz to find an artwork that matches their taste and budget, or they can browse the more than 450 artworks on offer from more than 380 artists.
The Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund is a major sponsor and has supported the commissioning of two new works for the program.
In (XXX), SJ Norman and Joseph L Pierce (in partnership with Performance Space) will exchange love letters on daily live streams between Wednesday 21 to Sunday 25 October. Norman (a Koori artist and writer based in Sydney) and Pierce (a Cherokee writer and scholar based in New York) will read each other’s letters direct-to-camera at sunset each day, proposing a queered, decolonial inhabitation of the epistolary form.
Meanwhile, Jess Johnson and Simon Ward present Fleshold Crossing 360. This is an adaptation of the first chapter of the virtual reality world TERMINUS, taking viewers on an adventure through alien architecture via a network of travelators and gateways. After the TERMINUS multi-city tour was cancelled, the artists created a 360° video to make it more widely accessible, and without the need for a VR headset.
Sydney Contemporary Presents 2020 is a fun and engaging experience for those looking to buy or simply peruse art from this memorable year. The platform updates each week with new pieces, all of which can be purchased directly through the artists’ gallery.
It’s a great way to support artists and galleries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and a unique opportunity to acquire work from this unforgettable moment in time.