Special Event

Judy Watson & Helen Johnson In Conversation

Reconciliation Week

Two women sit on a timber bench, within a gallery space, surrounded by paintings and work of art suspended from the ceiling and walls

Artists Helen Johnson and Judy Watson, Waanyi people in Judy Watson & Helen Johnson: the red thread of history, loose ends at the National Gallery.

At the Gallery Live Stream
Thu 2 Jun 2022, 6–7pm AEST
Wheelchair Accessible Auslan Interpretation Open Captioning
No performances scheduled

Join us in the James Fairfax Theatre or online to hear how artists Judy Watson, Waanyi people, and Helen Johnson have forged a dialogue on the roles of women in contemporary and colonial Australia for Reconciliation Week.

National Gallery Members can join us on site for an after-hours viewing of the exhibition from 5.15pm, prior to the event at 6pm (no extra booking required).

For their current exhibition Judy Watson & Helen Johnson: the red thread of history, loose ends, Watson and Johnson have each developed new works that explore complex and varied perspectives on colonisation, with an emphasis on the experience of women.

Hosted by the National Gallery’s Head of First Nations Engagement, Cara Kirkwood, Mandandanji and Mithaka peoples, the artists will be joined in conversation with Curator Elspeth Pitt.

Judy Watson & Helen Johnson: the red thread of history, loose ends is a Know My Name project and part of The Balnaves Contemporary Series.

This accessible live stream event will be presented here with closed captions and Auslan interpretation and on Facebook. Register your interest for live stream updates.

Check the starting time in your state:

ACT, NSW, VIC, TAS, QLD: 6pm

SA, NT: 5.30pm

WA: 4pm

Watch

Related

Touring Exhibition

Judy Watson & Helen Johnson
the red thread of history, loose ends

Past Exhibition

Museum of Art and Culture, yapang Lake Macquarie, NSW
27 May – 23 Jul 2023

Work by two of Australia’s leading artists – Judy Watson and Helen Johnson – is a Know My Name project and part of The Balnaves Contemporary Series.

First Nations

First Nations work of art detail of painted black hollow logs on display in dark exhibition space

We are committed to equity and social justice for the First Peoples of this continent and that of our global neighbours.

First Nations

The Aboriginal Memorial

A wide-angle photograph showing an installation of 200 painted hollow logs standing upright in a large gallery space. The surrounding walls are painted in a dark colour and the logs are positioned on a navy plinth shaped to resemble both sides of a river bank.

The Aboriginal Memorial is an installation of 200 hollow log coffins commemorating all First Nations people who, since 1788, have lost their lives.