Curated by local young people, this exhibition reveals prominent works from the Gallery’s permanent collection made between 1975 and 2025. Supported by Gallery staff, youth participants consider the works of ten living artists whose contribution to the Gallery’s holdings, exhibition history, and local storytelling has been immense. Artworks presented take the form of textiles, painting, drawing, photography, collage, and video. However, the artistic concerns behind them traverse archiving, education, choreography, archaeology, family history, agriculture, psychology, climate change, and queer identities.

 Paired with interviews of each artist responding to youth participant enquiries, Speaking collections perceives art making, collecting, and curation as a form of intergenerational connection, problem solving, and time-traveling. A cosmology of meaning and personal journeys, this exhibition offers a vibrant study of our region’s significant physical, social, and psychological fabric as witnessed by a lifetime of leading artists and future arts practitioners.    

 Speaking collections: youth perspectives on contemporary art is supported by Museums & Galleries NSW through the Audience Development Fund