What are the alternative art histories that are spoken through our public collections of Australian art? What do they say about us, and what don’t they say? In this tour of the Australian collections presented at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Federation Square, Professor Lisa Slade looks at how curators and art historians shape our sense of ourselves.

What to expect:

A 60-minute walk and talk across the First Nations and non-Indigenous collections in the NGV Australia.

This tour will be offered in two separate sessions. Each session runs for 1 hour.

Session 1: Wednesday 5 November, 2:00pm-3:00pm
Session 2: Saturday 8 November, 2:00pm-3:00pm

You’ll be able to select your preferred session at the point of registration.

Your tour guide

Professor Lisa Slade is the Hugh Ramsay Chair in Australian Art History in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne. Between 2015 and 2024 she was Assistant Director, Artistic Programs at the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) where she led the gallery's creative output including exhibitions, collection displays, public and educational programs. Lisa has curated major exhibitions including Vincent Namatjira: Australia in colour and the 14th Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Magic Object.

Being Human 2025
This project was produced in collaboration with the 2025 Being Human Festival. Founded in the UK as the only national festival of the humanities, Being Human is now a global celebration dedicated to demonstrating the breadth, diversity and vitality of the humanities.

View the full Being Human program here

Enquiries

Please send your enquiries to arts-engage@unimelb.edu.au

Top image: Courtesy of NGV and Tobias Ritz
Headshot: Courtesy of AGSA and Saul Steed