Opening Celebrations | r e a : c l a i m e d and Tourmaline: Transcendent

Please join us for the Opening Celebrations of r e a : c l a i m e d and Tourmaline: Transcendent.

ACCA is delighted to present two brand new exhibitions this Summer Season.

r e a : c l a i m e d and Tourmaline: Transcendent are two distinct exhibitions that together explore identity, history, and resilience during a critical time for trans and intersectional rights globally.

r e a : c l a i m e d is a focused retrospective of work by Gamilaraay, Wailwan, and Biripi digital media artist r e a. Featuring newly commissioned installation alongside a selection of works from over three decades of r e a’s practice, this thoughtful survey highlights their influential contributions to photography, video, sound, and installation. Renowned for exploring themes of identity, language, memory, and Indigenous representation, r e a’s work illuminates the ongoing impacts of colonisation on queer and Indigenous bodies. Both personal and politically charged, r e a : c l a i m e d affirms r e a as a vital figure in Australian contemporary art and a pioneer in experimental new media.

Launching alongside this exhibition, ACCA is also thrilled to publish r e a's first monograph, a stunning new book that reflects on the artist's expansive career, featuring new scholarship and essays from notable contributors, including Sophie Gerhard, Dr. Shelley McSpedden, Sophie Prince, Professor Lynette Russell AM, and Judith Ryan AM.

Presented in dialogue, Tourmaline: Transcendent marks the first Australian solo exhibition by acclaimed American artist, filmmaker, and writer Tourmaline. Developed in close collaboration with the artist, this powerful presentation features large-scale photographs, the global debut of a major new video commissioned by ACCA, and the first Australian showing of the artists iconic video work Pollinator (2022). Transcendent offers an urgent reflection on the legacies of queer and trans resistance, promising to touch audiences with Tourmaline's signature strength, tenderness, and political insight.

r e a : c l a i m e d is curated by Myles Russell-Cook

Tourmaline: Transcendent is curated by Sophie Prince