What does Australian artist mean in 2022?

Curators weigh in on the complex layers of Australian contemporary art.
an artwork showing a black and white photograph of a man in a cleared bush location surrounded by a high contrast colour photograph of a rural scene.

Questions of identity can be central to artists’ paths. Whether it’s gender, sexuality, race or belief – art often mines artists’ personal experience to reveal truths about the wider world.

When it comes to ideas of national identity/ies, there can be even more complex factors at work. ArtsHub spoke to three curators who speculated on how notions of nationhood are playing out in galleries today.

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ArtsHub's Arts Feature Writer Jo Pickup is based in Perth. An arts writer and manager, she has worked as a journalist and broadcaster for media such as the ABC, RTRFM and The West Australian newspaper, contributing media content and commentary on art, culture and design. She has also worked for arts organisations such as Fremantle Arts Centre, STRUT dance, and the Aboriginal Arts Centre Hub of WA, as well as being a sessional arts lecturer at The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).