Opening: October-November 2023 exhibitions at Firstdraft

6–8pm, Opening

Firstdraft will be undertaking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of visitors. The wearing of face masks indoors is recommended but not required.

Please read our information for visitors during COVID-19.

Mantle II

Nqa + Antoinette 

Mantle II is a part of an ongoing collaboration between the artists Nqa Blayed and Antoinette O’Brien. It emerged from their enduring friendship and was conceived for an exhibition at Elevator ARI in Lismore in 2022. After the brutal Lismore floods last March, in which Antoinette escaped out of the roof of her studio, the infrastructure of the town, the gallery, their lives, and creative pursuits had to be rebuilt to get back to their starting point in 2023.

In this project they consider assemblages of fragility and strength in the oscillations between support and insecurity in their lives. They hope to stimulate conversation and invite viewers to examine the forms of their own support networks. Read more...

Homo “Bozo” Sapiens Problemo

Dustin Voggenreiter

Homo “Bozo” Sapiens Problemo is a series of digitally animated GIFs, displayed on large LCD screens, partially concealed by prison-cell window frames. The project explores the idea of our limited capacity to understand the world around us - As creatures born with sense organs geared towards survival, we grasp at making sense of the complex, chaotic reality we inhabit. Read more...

Above and Below and Individual Works

Ozanam Learning Centre Artist Group

The Ozanam Learning Centre work with our Woolloomooloo community members to support meaningful learning and personal development and to create lasting connections.⁠ With art, pottery and craft programs, the artists at Ozanam have been able to develop their practice and are ready to have their works shown at their local gallery, Firstdraft.

Firstdraft Screening Program

Dawn Beasley; Peter Blamey; Emily Norton; 

The Screening Program is a new initiative that supports artists working across video, film, and screen-based practice to present work in a dedicated screening space at Firstdraft. Scroll down or click here to read more about the films. Read more...

All four films will screen at our October 13th Opening, for one night only. After that, visit Firstdraft at their individual screening dates to view the films. These dates can be found on our website.

Firstdraft is open 11am–5pm Wednesday–Sunday.

We acknowledge and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the traditional custodians of the land on which Firstdraft is built and operates.