Artist Archives with Simon Underschultz

Delve into the National Gallery’s archives facilitated by National Gallery Archivist, Simon Underschultz, for a talk focused on ACT 1, 2 & 3, a series of performance festivals held in Canberra in the late 1970s. Though not well known, it was one of the first curated exhibitions of performance art in the world and provides a great example of the pioneering history of Australian performance art. Participating artists included Bonita Ely, Mike Parr, Jill Orr, Richard Tipping, Lyndal Jones, Dale Frank, Joan Grounds, and Stelarc, among many more.

In a unique opportunity, audience members could view the original performance proposals, correspondence, newspaper articles, essays, promotional ephemera, photographs, and videos of performances. Simon shared why and how the primary sources in the ACT 1, 2 & 3 are preserved for future research, and provided insights into the archival process and the historical value of art archives.

Art Talks are a free weekly program. Hear from artists, curators and experts on the works in our collection and exhibition program. This Art Talk is part of a series focused on the people who work ‘Behind the Scenes’ at the National Gallery.