Artist Talk | Lucy Chetcuti 'Thought forms from the queer utopia imaginarium'

Please join SSG and Lucy Chetcuti for an artist talk about her solo exhibition 'Thought forms from the queer utopia imaginarium'.

The exhibition runs from 6 - 29 August, 2026.

There will be a place of joy and beauty, where good vanquishes the evil forces that oppress and enslave the human spirit. Where difference is sacred. Where stars shine down to fill hearts with hope. Where connection and love can be sought and found, where everything you have been and everything you could be will be met with a warm embrace.

Imagine the possibility of another world, one that has never existed before this day. Your next step is the beginning of the end. Tread lightly through the world, leaving joy and beauty in your path. Honour the dead and dying. Fight for the living.

Thought forms from the queer utopia imaginarium is an exhibition of imaginative new works that arise in a complex and dystopian time. These horrors are not new to many people, there is a heightened awareness that the structures holding the Western world together are failing now more than ever. In order to fight for a better world, we must first imagine that another world is possible. This requires creativity, hope, and determination. Queer Utopianism is not merely fantasy or escapism, it's a socio-political tool which inspires change.

This exhibition reaches for an idealised queer utopia in response to the rise of fascism, white supremacy and imminent climate collapse. What does it mean to choose to move forward with a vision and inspire hope for conscious world-building? How can we create sanctuaries of safety and community for the oppressed and ensure their survival? There is an argument to be made that there is no better time than now to dream of something better. Our capacity for change is determined by the limits of our imagination, and creativity is a necessary condition of hope.

Cultivating a utopian vision for the future, nurturing it, and sharing it is just one small step in the work that must be done. The vivid, abstract paintings in this exhibition are inspired by tree canopies, seen through the eyes of a queer person searching for hope, joy, beauty, intimacy, community and connection. The works are an expression of a deeply personal inner world, coded in the language of abstraction.

"We must recognize and nurture the creative parts of each other without always understanding what will be created."

- Audre Lorde

View Exhibition

There will be a concurrent exhibition running by Emily Valentine.

Lucy Chetcuti is an emerging artist based in Kamberri/Canberra with a growing exhibition history and recognition across Australia. She has presented four solo exhibitions, including All Fours at Canberra Contemporary Art Space Manuka (2023), Causal Relationships at Strathnairn Arts (2022), and Undivided Attention at The Front Gallery (2022) and Waxing, Waning at M16 Artspace (2015).

Chetcuti has featured in several curated group exhibitions including Exhibition No.1 at Civic Art Bureau (2024), Monuments of Nature at Red Gallery in Melbourne (2024), On Exhibition at Stanley Street Gallery (2024), Loose Ends at ANCA (2024), and Hot Mess at Sawtooth ARI (2024). She was selected for BLAZE at CCAS Lakeside (2023), and has participated in exhibitions at Beaver Galleries, M16 Artspace, and the ANU School of Art and Design Gallery. She has twice been a finalist in the Goulburn Art Award (2022, 2024), exhibited in Small Dreams and Reprise at Stanley Street Gallery, and multiple exhibitions at Tributary Projects.

Her practice has been recognised with several awards. In 2021, she received the ANU School of Art and Design Drawing Prize, the M16 Residency and Exhibition Prize, and the CAPO Allinsure Emerging Artist Award. That same year, she undertook a six-month studio residency at M16 Artspace.

In addition to her art practice, Lucy has curated several exhibitions, including Cathy Zhang: Medium of Wonders at ANU’s China in the World Gallery (2024) and The Fig Tree, a gallery exchange project with UNSW AD Space (2019). Her multidisciplinary approach and commitment to community-led projects reflect a practice grounded in an evolving engagement with place and identity.