Join us on 25th March for NorthSite Open, a unique opportunity to meet the artists and curator of the current exhibitions at NorthSite, who will take visitors on a tour of the galleries, explaining the works on display and answering your questions.

Weaving these four exhibitions together is a shared concern around human connection to the environment and nature. Ranging from watercolours to cyanotypes, video to large inflatable sculptures, our current suite of exhibitions encompass a diverse range of practice. Hear from the artists, meet other likeminded people, stay for lunch at the Hungry Pitcher Café and start your weekend with art at NorthSite Contemporary Arts.

What's On

10AM Doors Open - morning tea provided.

10.30AM Hamish Sawyer opening speech

10.40AM Julie McEnerny Artist Talk for the exhibition opening of Melaleucas and Mangroves

10.50AM Daniela Vavrova's Artist talk for the exhibition opening of I is Another

11AM Emma Gardner's floor talk in Gallery 2 for the exhibition opening of Ethereal Selves

11.30AM Tess Maunder's floor talk in Gallery 1 and launch the publication of Planetary Gestures

12.15PM Lunch available to purchase from The Hungry Pitcher cafe

More Information

Planetary Gestures Floor Talk and Publication Launch – Gallery 1

Independent curator and arts worker Tess Maunder will present a guided tour of her exhibition, Planetary Gestures on display in Gallery 1 until April 15.

Tess will share insights about curating Planetary Gestures, as well as launch the exhibition publication. Designed by Nina M. Gibbes, the broadsheet publication features newly commissioned texts by exhibition curator Tess Maunder, NorthSite Director Ashleigh Campbell and Filipino researcher Renan Laru-an . Copies will be available to purchase on the day via NorthSite Store.

Emma Gardner ‘Ethereal Selves’ – Gallery 2

Emma Gardener works with a range of materials to experiment with the laborious and process-driven techniques of cyanotype, trace-monotype and embroidery. The female nude appears figuratively and performatively in her work to explore the ethical, class-based and gendered ramifications of the naked body and use drawing to explore these ideas. Emma will discuss her exhibition, Etheral Selves, in which her cynatope self-portraits are digitally translated onto Perspex to create a haunting installation, responding to the gallery architecture.

Julie McEnerny –‘Melaleucas and Mangroves’ Foyer Gallery

Julie McEnerny is a Cairns based artist who makes exacting watercolour studies of the paperbark trees and mangroves that surround her home. Julie is especially interested in the complex relationships between trees and other plants which rely on host species for nutrients and the crucial roles both play in maintaining biodiversity. Julie will talk about some of the plants depicted in her exhibition, as well as her process of close observation and care.

Daniela Vavrova – ‘I Is Another’ Long Gallery

Dr Daniela Vávrová left her birth country in 1998. She has travelled through different countries and draws upon her work as an anthropologist, together with a passion for photography, to create multi-media installations to share her experiences with a wider audience. Join Daniela as she discusses her display of photographs and video works, I is Another.

*Free entry for NorthSite Members and people under the age of 16. All events moving forward in 2023 will incur a minimum fee of $15 with most events still free to NorthSite Members - who still need to register online. Free tickets are provided to personal guests of the artists. If this fee is a financial barrier to anyone intending to attend, please email connect@nothsite.org.au and provide your name and email address and we will send you a free ticket. This commitment to purchasing a ticket will ensure a positive experience for: Minjil and other Traditional Owners presenting a Welcome to Country at the event, local artists presenting work, interstate artists presenting work, the artists performing (DJ's Musicians etc), NorthSite staff rostered on for the event, NortSite staff rostered on in the shop, The Hungry Pitcher Bar Staff rostered on, catering estimates for a no-waste event, the photographer and/or videographer, tech crew - PA and other elements, the audience, who can have a positive, engaging experience.