The highly anticipated Artbank Social Club returns to Sydney this November for Artbank’s annual open day celebrations with more art, artists and a brand new Artist Flea Market expected to attract record crowds. Now in its fourth year, the Artbank Social Club provides a unique opportunity to go behind the scenes of one of the largest collections of Australian art in the world and explore over 5,000 artworks on site at the organisation’s award winning Waterloo headquarters.
This year the Artbank Social Club will also introduce a brand new Artist Flea Market initiative; an Australian first that will see the gallery and public spaces transformed by over 30 contemporary artists from across Australia into a unique artists’ marketplace that is part jumble sale, part open studio, a little bit left-of-field and a whole lot of fun. The flea market is a novel rethinking of the longstanding tradition of the open studio concept used by artists and will allow the public to interact directly with emerging Australian talent and glimpse into the artists’ world for one day only at Artbank Sydney.
Curated by Léuli Eshraghi (VIC), Kimberley Moulton (VIC), Anna May Kirk (NSW) and Miriam Kelly (NSW), the Artist Flea Market will see each artist given the opportunity to present their work, display elements from their studio, offer items for sale or provide an opportunity for exchange at a bespoke market stall. With participating artists to be announced over the coming weeks, visitors will be invited to abandon expectations of the traditional flea market at the door.
In addition to the Artist Flea Market all the usual open day favourites return including exclusive behind the scenes access to artworks in the collection store, a pop-up bar and garden party plus Mexican street food by Cantina Movil and vintage vinyls playing all day by Sydney’s iconic Rolling Records truck shop.
“The Artbank Social Club is part of Artbank’s ongoing commitment to supporting Australian contemporary artists. Now in its fourth year, the Social Club is part open day, part garden
party and a whole lot of fun. It is a great opportunity to go behind the scenes and really get to understand what Artbank is about – told through the great art we collect and subsequently make available for rent.
For this year’s event, we have also initiated the Artist Flea Market – an exciting new initiative that will see over 30 Australian artists transform Artbank Sydney’s gallery and public spaces into an artists’ bazaar full of unexpected surprises, experiences, items for sale and of course Australian art.
Importantly, the Artbank Social Club is for everyone, no matter how much or how little you may know about contemporary art. Come down and visit what I am sure will be a day like many haven’t experienced before” – Says Artbank Director Tony Stephens
What: Artbank
When: Saturday 19 November from 10am
Where: 222 Young St Waterloo
To Find Out More & To Book FREE Tickets Online Click Here
About Artbank
For over 35 years, Artbank has been at the forefront of the Australian contemporary art sector. Established in 1980 as a federal government support program, Artbank provides direct support to Australian contemporary artists through the acquisition of their work and promotes the value of Australian contemporary art to the broader public. Artbank funds its operations through a unique leasing programme; working with individuals, companies, governments and embassies in over seventy countries across the globe. With approximately 10,000 works by over 3,000 artists, Artbank holds one of the largest collections of Australian contemporary art in the world, which includes some of the best examples of Indigenous and non-Indigenous artwork produced over the past four decades. As the largest collector of Australian art in the country, Artbank’s support for artists is often applied early in their careers, with further acquisitions made at regular intervals to form an extensive and constantly evolving collection of Australian contemporary art.