Art IRL

Parking information
Due to the underground visitor’s carpark being used as one of the venues on the night, it will be closed on Saturday 30 April 2022 from 5pm. Alternate parking is available in the outdoor carpark off Bowen Drive.
Let’s get together and connect through art at our hybrid (online/on site) youth event – Art IRL, developed by the National Gallery Youth Council. Expect live art activations, exclusive access to all exhibitions, performances, music, light refreshments and more for 15–25 year olds.
Get real as you create, dance, think and make some noise with guest artists and hundreds of other young people. Enjoy VIP access to all exhibitions including the 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony and Jeffrey Smart.
Can’t make it to Kamberri/Canberra? Join us on Instagram and Facebook for a full program that includes artists interviews, live conversations with the Youth Council and activities to create and share from home.
- Art IRL is free – register to attend.
- Bookings are required for some programs (marked with *) throughout the evening due to limited capacities. You will be prompted to do this when registering to attend the event.
- Art IRL is a drug and alcohol free event.
Programs
There are five categories used to describe the activities in Art IRL:
- MEET SOMEONE NEW – Discussions, open microphone, round table, young people's say, try something new, collaborative activities
- CREATIVE MAKERS – Art making activities
- COOL DOWN – Quiet spaces, mindfulness, relaxation, mental health
- YOUNG TALENT – Music & performance, reading & poetry
- ART & IDEAS – Art talks, tours, exhibitions, Q&A with curators, artists or conservators.

Artist Robert Fielding
Ceremony Stories Listening Party
Online
ART & IDEAS
6–8.30pm
Navigate at your own pace through the digital content produced for Ceremony.
Register to attend to receive a link to this program
A Place of Connection (Sensory)
On Site
COOL DOWN/ART & IDEAS
6.10–8.40pm (four 30-minute sessions)
Members Lounge
Bookings required
25 capacity per session
For those who prefer the peace and quiet and those with sensory needs. Relax on comfy bean bags in the Members Lounge and listen to First Nations music and digital content produced for Ceremony on provided headsets. Feeling inspired? Use materials to weave, sculpt and draw.

4th National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony installation view, including Kunmanara Carroll, Luritja and Pintupi peoples, 2021, installation view and Gutiŋarra Yunupiŋu, Gumatj people, Maralitja, 2021, installation view.
A picture is worth a thousand words
On site & Instagram
ART & IDEAS/CREATIVE MAKERS/MEET SOMEONE NEW
6.15–7.45pm
Dining Room & Instagram
Get inspired by works from Ceremony and Jeffrey Smart and create an original piece of writing as part of this writer-led workshop. Finish off the session with a social activity where you will have time to meet someone new and connect with them over a chat about art and writing. Can’t make it to the Gallery? Tune into the Instagram @nationalgallery.youth stories throughout the evening to chat with the Youth Council about selected works.

Sharing culture
On site
ART & IDEAS/COOL DOWN ZONE/MEET SOMEONE NEW/CREATIVE MAKERS
6.30–8.30pm (four 30-minute sessions)
Gallery 12 - Level 1
Bookings required
25 capacity per session
Surrounded by First Nations art, partake in a variety of culture activities involving weaving, yarning & connecting. Auslan interpretation and audio description is available for all sessions.

The Underground Parking Lot
On site
MEET SOMEONE NEW/CREATIVE MAKERS
6.30–8.30pm
National Gallery Underground Car Park
Come and create your own life-sized Jeffery Smart urban landscape in our interactive, collaborative collage making in the car park! Immerse yourself in the ideas that shape Jeffrey Smart’s work.

Jeffrey Smart, Corrugated Gioconda, 1976, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, purchased 1976, © The Estate of Jeffrey Smart.
Jeffrey Smart Moment
Online
CREATIVE MAKERS
6.30–8.30pm
Instagram – #jeffreySmart.IRL
Wherever you are, see what is happening in the Underground Parking Lot and share your own #jeffreysmart.IRL moment on Instagram @nationalgallery.youth

Sharing ceremony
On site
MEET SOMEONE NEW/CREATIVE MAKERS
6.30–8.00pm
Ground Floor
Engage, reflect, and connect on the small things that mean the most. Sharing ceremony invites visitors to anonymously get to know another participant through their sharing of personal experiences. Participants write down a 3-word prompt relating to a personal ritual, which is then placed into a box. Participants then draw out another prompt, and produce an artistic response based on their interpretation of the words.
Create a design for invisible disabilities
On site
CREATIVE MAKERS
6.30–8.30pm
Level 1 (Near escalators)
Help the Youth Council design a logo that represents invisible disabilities, including mental health.

Performance by Artist Joel Bray
On site
ART & IDEAS
6.40pm
Gallery 12 – Level 1

Joel Spring, Wiradjuri people, untitled (winhangarra) (work in progress), 2022, commissioned by the National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra for the 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony, created in consultation with Yuin Traditional Custodians, and with the support of Penelope Seidler AM, image courtesy and © the artist.
Artist Talk
On site & live Stream
ART & IDEAS/MEET SOMEONE NEW
7.00 - 7.30pm
James Fairfax Theatre & live stream
Join Youth Councillors Odette Miller and Matthew Hattrick in coversation with Ceremony artist Joel Spring. Listen to the conversation in-person or online. Auslan interpretation available.

Collaborative Mural
On site
CREATIVE MAKERS
7–8.30pm
Undercroft
Create a digital drawing of your own ceremonies and rituals. The collective responses become a digital mural projected on the walls of the undercroft.

Live Music
On site
YOUNG TALENT
6.30–8.30pm (times TBC)
Bridge outside Level 1 Foyer
Enjoy live music while you connect with like-minded peers