Artspace, Sydney presented Jonathan Jones, untitled (transcriptions of country) on December 15, 2023, featuring a massive presentation of work by the Aboriginal artist. The exhibition was launched to mark the occasion of the art centre’s 40^th anniversary and to celebrate its reopening after a multimillion-dollar series of renovations stretching over three years. The publicly funded institution was established in 1983 and is one of the leading presenters of contemporary art from the Asia Pacific region. It rests on Gadigal land in Sydney and shifted from its former home on Randle Street to its current address at The Gunnery, Woolloomooloo in 1992. Alexie Glass-Kantor, Executive Director of Artspace and co-curator of the exhibition joins us for a stirring conversation, discussing the centre’s legacy, its plans for the future, and the immediacy of Jones’ work.

Glass-Kantor has a great sense of hope surrounding the institution’s reopening and continued relevance. She notes, “It’s not that we have existed for 40 years, and it’s not that we’ve reopened today, but it’s that there are artists who haven’t yet been born, who are going to live and work in this building; artists who come from global contexts, and who will be speaking to their stories, to their backgrounds, to their complex lived experiences…” Here, Glass-Kantor discusses the value of Artspace, which has historically fostered a culture of self-expression and dialogue, however contentious, for artists old and young.

…it’s that there are artists who haven’t yet been born, who are going to live and work in this building… – Alexie Glass-Kantor

Glass-Kantor’s prior curatorial endeavours at Artspace include 52 ARTISTS, 52 ACTIONS (2020-2021) and its accompanying nationwide exhibition tour, and UN/LEARNING AUSTRALIA (2021), which was co-curated with the Seoul Museum. For the former, every week, an artist across Asia performed an action that was broadcast on social media. The latter was undertaken to commemorate the 60^th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Australia and South Korea and explored how Australian artists articulated ideas of learning and unlearning within their practices.

With its recent renovations, Artspace has expanded its galleries and studio spaces, allowing the art centre to launch an ambitious programme over the course of its 35-year lease on The Gunnery: the institution will be welcoming 10 local and international artists every year. In commissioning works by these artists, Glass-Kantor intends to strengthen Artspace’s ties to festivals, galleries and other contemporary art centres within and beyond the Asia Pacific region.

Coming to Jonathan Jones, the contemporary artist has a massive and complex installation art practice that involves a diverse body of materials, speaking to his Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi heritage, as well as the histories and practices of all First Nations people. Glass-Kantor has worked with Jones for over 20 years and regards him as one of Australia’s foremost contemporary artists. Throughout their time working together, Jones has used printmaking, drawing, sculpture and naturally occurring materials, along with lighting design, which has garnered him great acclaim.

The art exhibition untitled (transcriptions of country) is the result of five years of painstaking work by the Australian artist, using archival material to explore French colonialist perspectives on First Nations people and the indigenous flora and fauna of Australia. Among the many artworks in the exhibition are embroideries depicting over 300 plant samples originally collected by French explorers. These monochrome pieces were woven by migrant women across Asia, along with the Adorned Collective, and Aboriginal knowledge-holders. While other staggeringly intricate projects make up the work on display at the exhibition, Jones’ greatest achievement with this body of art is the radical sense of hope it expresses that yesterday’s colonial projects can contribute meaningfully to the art of today. Hope, then, is a sentiment that is shared here by both curator and artist, for Artspace, for the legacies of First Nations peoples, and artmaking within the Asia Pacific region.

Tap the cover video to watch the full conversation with Alexie Glass-Kantor.