Artspace

Artspace Visual Arts Centre is a leading international residency-based contemporary art centre, housed in the historic Gunnery Building in Woolloomooloo fronting Sydney Harbour.

Artists and their working practices are at the heart of Artspace. Advancing critical practices in contemporary art and culture, Artspace supports artists to create new work that defines the present and proposes future possibilities for contemporary art. As Australia’s leading international residency-based contemporary art centre, Artspace is both the key hub of the contemporary art community in Sydney, fostering dialogue between local artists, writers and curators and their national and international counterparts, and an evolving entity that connects with artists, audiences and ideas in an expanding range of sites regionally and globally.

Artspace is committed to the development of new ideas and practices in contemporary art and culture. Each year Artspace presents twelve to fifteen gallery-based exhibitions as well as touring and off-site projects; hosts around thirty artist residencies, a number the result of key national and international partnerships; operates a regular open studio program; initiates a range of public program and education activities including conferences, symposia, lectures and artist discussions; and publishes Column, a regular Artspace periodical as well as cultural theory books and artist monographs.

Artspace opened the gallery doors of its first premises in Surry Hills in 1983. From that moment on Artspace has supported critical and experimental practices across media and cultures. Artspace moved to its present location at the Gunnery Building in Woolloomooloo in 1992. A few years later Artspace initiated a local and international residency program, significantly expanded at the beginning of 2007. Artspace has been a regular venue for the Biennale of Sydney from 1993 onwards. Since 1983 many of the major figures of Australian and international contemporary art have developed and presented major projects with Artspace, which continues to provide one of the most substantial platforms for contemporary visual art and related practices in Australia and the region.