This Friends night we invite you to the ANU School of Art Painting Department to celebrate the latest acquisitions to the ANU Art Collection. Join Honours student Florence Steel and Senior Painting Lecturer Peter Alwast in conversation as we discuss contemporary painting practice and creative inspiration. Steel's paintings Microcosm (dark) and Becoming a star were purchased for the ANU Art Collection as part of the 2025 Emerging Artists Support Scheme, thanks to generous contributions made by our DHG Friends. Supporting emerging artists as they take their first steps towards a career in the visual arts, these purchases also develop the ANU Art Collection’s representation of local culture.

Florence Steel is an emerging visual artist working predominantly on Ngunawal / Ngunnawal / Ngambri Country (Canberra, ACT). Florence holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts and a Bachelor of Art History & Curatorship from ANU (2025), and will complete honours in Visual Art this year.

Through symbolic oil painting, Florence explores personal and cultural relationship to the universe. Their work sits at the intersection of art history, metaphysics, and cosmology, referencing both historical and contemporary iconographic languages to explore how knowledge is constructed through symbolic and material processes.

While the Drill Hall is closed for roof remediation Friends events will take place at alternate venues on and off campus. If you require accessibility accommodations or a visitor Personal Emergency Evacuation plan please contact the event organiser.

Image: Florence Steel, Microcosm (dark) 2025, oil on canvas, 35 x 45 cm. Australian National University Art Collection, 2025 EASS award acquisition

Contact the host of March Friends Night: Florence Steel

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