As part of Gertrude Contemporary’s No-Name Station exhibition, an exhibition walk-through by the curators and artist talks took place during the exhibition’s afternoon opening function. On Saturday 17 March from 3:00pm, curators Alexie Glass-Kantor, Colin Chinnery, Quentin Sprague and artist Wang Wei (Beijing, China), presented talks about No Name Station, an innovative China/Australia cultural exchange project.

A collaborative endeavour between Gertrude Contemporary (Melbourne), Iberia Center for Contemporary Art (Beijing), and Warmun Arts Centre (Warmun, WA), this multi-faceted project has involved contributions by 13 visual artists, 1 writer, and a curatorium from Australia and China; and has encompassed 2 exhibitions, a group residency, a major publication and public programs from 2010 – 2012.

As part of Helen Grogan's curated exhibition Feedback Projected (Proposals Towards an Exhibition), there will be a series of performances that will be open to the public.

Friday 29 April
6-8pm Opening at Gertrude Contemporary
8:30 SHARP: MoHa! Performance at Dear Patti Smith (+ drinks until 10pm).The Patterson Building, L2, 181 Smith St, Fitzroy.

Friday 29 April – 4 May
The Input / Output Routine (an arrangement of microphones, amplifiers, and loudspeakers) by Koen Nutters and Morten J. Olsen at Gertrude Contemporary

Wednesday 4 May
9pm: Fields by Koen Nutters and Morten J. Olsen in collaboration with local artists at Gertrude Contemporary

Tuesday 31 May CANCELLED
6.30pm:  Forum Discussion with artists, curator, guests and select audience at Gertrude Contemporary

Thursday 5 May – Tuesday 17 May
Earphones by André Avelãs at Gertrude Contemporary

Tuesday 17 May – 4 June
Special Project(s) to be developed in situ by André Avelãs at Gertrude Contemportary. Further information will be made available shortly.

As part of the exhibition Reason and Rhyme two sets of artist talks and one closed forum occurred during the exhibition period.

On Saturday 19 March the curators Emily Cormack, Charlotte Huddleston and Amita Kirpalani along with participating artists Maddie Leach, Richard Frater, Campbell Patterson, Simon Morris and Mimi Tong participated in a walk-through of the exhibition and artist talks.

On Saturday 2 April the curators Emily Cormack, Charlotte Huddleston and Amita Kirpalani along with participating artists Damiano Bertoli, Jake Walker and Hanna Tai participated in a walk-through of the exhibition and artist talks.

On Monday 21 March a closed forum was held in the gallery within the exhibition. Pariticipants included each of the participating artists who were in Melbourne along with Adrien Allen, Jan Bryant, Justin Clemens, Kyla McFarlane, Katie Lee, Lou Hubbard, Rebecca Coates, Jacqueline Doughty, Alexie Glass-Kantor and the project's curators as well as the fabio Ongarato Designers Meg Philips, Matt Edwards and Dan Peterson. 

As part of this project, which includes a reciprocal residency with New Zealand and two exhibitions, the curators were interested in expanding this discussion via a closed forum to explore the  broader implications of the intersections between subjectivity and systems across curatorial methodology and other areas such as publishing.

The purpose of the discussion was to bring together the Reason and Rhyme artists and curators, along with several curators and artists based in Melbourne - with whom we have worked with in the past or hope to work
with in the future.  The curators felt that this was a unique opportunity to discuss a range of topics as they related to the parameters of Reason and Rhyme as a curatorial model and more importantly in regards to the content of the exhibition itself where overlapping themes and points of contact between practices are concerned.  The discussions were an opportunity to broaden the scope of the project and discuss its content. 

The discussion topics were as follows:

• Curating as just another system? Can the exhibition model and curatorial methodology in general be understood as  a kind of system that can give shape or order to creative output, and if so what are the ethical and creative outcomes of this process.

• Integrated curatorial processes: When curating is approached as  a macro model of the ideas presented within works in the exhibition, what happens to the status of the art object? And the status of the exhibition? Is this a productive way of approaching group exhibitions? Where the exhibition is merely a sum of its parts?

• Exhibition catalogues:  Are they a further encrypting of curatorial methodology on an art work or are they a useful archive and living monument to the ideas explored within an exhibition?

• These discussions will feed into and directly influence the form and content of the second incarnation of the exhibition that will occur at ST PAUL st, Auckland in October 2011. The discussions will also be used to shape and formulate the exhibition catalogue  - and as such our graphic designers from Fabio Ongarato Design will  actively participate in the discussions.  These designers have worked on each of the catalogues for our past Gertrude’s residency/exhibition exchange projects and see that this kind of involvement feeds into the catalogue design.

• Collaborative international exchange: how do these exhibitions create productive conduits for dialogue, are they ultimately impositions of unnatural traffic grids?

As part of Dylan Martorell's exhibition in the Front Gallery Agaves De Marco, Gertrude Contemporary presents a series of musical, performative and discursive events.

Wednesday 23 February, 12-5pm
Symposium presented by Carl Scrase including members of the Wernakeus collective.
There will be a day long discussion about the state of the arts in Melbourne.
Where: Studio 12, Gertrude Contemporary
No booking necessary - If you would like more information please contact the Wemakeus collective at: info.wemakeus@gmail.com

Thursday 24 February, 6-8pm
The Wizard: a series of performances
Where: Front Gallery, Gertrude Contemporary
Featuring: Paul Kidney, Marcus Griffin, Craig Skull, Trevelyan Clay, Guitar – Justin K Fuller, Tym Krasevac, Harriet Miiltary, Shags, Paul Sloan, and Roarawar (Craig Peade)
No booking necessary

Saturday 26 February, 3-4pm
Performance
Snawklor and special guests including Battery Powered Action, Mini Golf, Penelope Trotter, The Hi God People performance group, Julian Williams
Where: Front gallery, Gertrude Contemporary
No booking necessary

For a complete list of events please visit http://raeliankraal.blogspot.com

Sriwhana Spong will discuss her work in conversation with Gertrude Curator Emily Cormack. The talk is presented as part of the exhibition Unnerved: The New Zealand Project at The National Gallery of Victoria.

VENUE: National Gallery of Victoria International, St. Kilda Rd, Melbourne
DATE: Saturday 5 February, 12.30pm

19/03/09
During the development of their exhibition for Craft Victoria, Chicks On Speed were in residence at Gertrude Contemporary. In this one-off event in Gertrude's Studio 18, they opened the doors of their studio for a conversation with Alexie Glass (and the audience) in an intimate tête-à-tête.

26/03/09
North. At the Junction of Inwood Hill Park New York and Jökulsárlón Southeast Iceland, February - May 2008
In conjunction with a major new sound installation by Melbourne artist Geoff Robinson, Gertrude Contemporary hosted a performance event featuring acclaimed Melbourne sound artists and musicians including:  Julie Burleigh, Nathan Gray, Geoff Robinson, Eamon Sprod and Philip Samartzis.

23/05/2009
ARTISTS AND CURATORS IN CONVERSATION
Artists talks: Justin Clemens, Gabrielle de Vietri, Danielle Freakley, Simon Pericich, Kiron Robinson, Lani Seligman, Heman Chong, Charles Lim, Ming Wong
Curatorium: Heman Chong, Emily Cormack, Jacqueline Doughty, Alexie Glass, Qinyi Lim, Ahmad Mashadi 

And the difference is... was part of Gertrude Contemporary’s ongoing international exhibition series - The Independence Project. This exhibition explored the human and personal perspectives that are embedded within bureaucratic agreements, and featured artists from Australia and Singapore.

19/04/08
ARTISTS TALKS

Richard Bell, Mark Hilton, Roslisham Ismail, Helen Johnson, Vincent Leong, Ahmad Fuad Osman, Shooshie Sulaiman, Wong Hoy Cheong

 The Independence Project was the first of Gertrude's ongoing international exhibition series, with the first exhibition taking place at GALERI PETRONAS in Kuala Lumpur in 2007 and at Gertrude in April 2008. Five of the Malaysian artists in the exhibition traveled to Australia for the opening at Gertrude and gave floor talks about their work.

17/12/08
21:100:100 DOWNLOAD: FORUM AND BOOK LAUNCH

The 2008 Forum, 21:100:100 Download was an opportunity to discuss sound art and its relationship to contemporary art. The debate centred on ways in which the exhibition of sound art in a gallery context effects sound’s reception, perception and generation.

Using the Melbourne International Arts Festival exhibition 21:100:100 as a foundation for discussion, the forum brought artists, academics, curators, interdisciplinary writers, activists, composers/sound artists and practitioners from all over Australia to critically examine the sonic arts.  The forum also coincided with the launch of an accompanying 370 full colour book designed by Fabio Ongarato Design. 

The forum was chaired by Emily Cormack.  Speakers included: Alexie Glass (Curatorium member and Gertrude Contemporary Art Space Director), Oren Ambarchi (Curatorium member and artist in 21:100:100), Marco Fusinato (Curatorium member and artist in 21:100:100), Anthony Pateras (composer and performer and artist in 21:100:100), Philip Samartzis (academic and artist in 21:100:100), David Shae (composer and artist in 21:100:100), Annalee Koernig (Experimental Music Performer and curator), Pat O’Brien (owner of Sunshine and Grease, sound performer and curator).  

26/08/09
Starf*ckers, Arterarti and Rockpigs 2
The Tote Hotel

In conjunction with the opening of Robert Cook’s Don’t Show Me Your Poetry, GCAS hosted Starf*ckers, Arterati and Rock Pigs at the Tote. Featuring the sounds of Perth-based artists Diode, Geoff Newton and Masato Takasaka’s band Vixxen Larvae, and The Is Not magazine DJs who battled it out with Robert Cook’s hits from his collection. Debuting at Starf*ckers this year was Melbourne band Freakgeek – featuring photographer Andrew Curtis and his 12 year old boy genius, Ike on drums and vocals.

Click here to see video of Freakgeek on Youtube

26/10/07
As part of their Melbourne International Arts Festival projects for Gertrude Contemporary, artists Daniel Arsham and Alex Somers gave Saturday floortalks about their collaborative practices, which both meld the visual and performing arts: Daniel Arsham with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and Alex Somers with Jonsi Birgisson, member of Icelandic band Sigur Ros.

19/11/07

CHAIR: Alexie Glass (Director, GCAS) and Emily Cormack (Assistant Curator, GCAS)
PANELLISTS:  Amelia Douglas (Curator and Academic), Bianca Hester (Artist), Andrew McQualter(Artist),  Jarrod Rawlins (Director, UPLANDS Gallery), Russell Storer (Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney)

Full Time Intimacy was a discussion about the role of relational aesthetics in contemporary visual culture. Highlighting the increasing prevalence of projects that engage with process and collaborative practice, the forum investigated the changes in relational practices within Australia.

26/11/07
PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Felicity Colman (Lecturer – University of Melbourne), Lilly Hibberd (Artist), Anne Marsh (Associate Professor, Theory of Art and Design, Monash University), Alex Martinis Roe (Artist), Julie Rapp (Artist), Lyndal Walker.
CHAIRS: Alexie Glass and Emily Cormack.

Feminism Never Happened engaged with the perceptions of (and problems facing) feminism within contemporary culture. Discussion centred around several different topics; the influence of the media and popular culture, feminisms effect on different generations, feminism’s position as a movement and it’s possible future trajectory.

Contact the Communications Manager if you wish to obtain an MP3 recording of this Forum.

9/11/06
CHAIR: Gary Carsley (artist and writer)
PANELISTS:  Scott Redford (artist), Sue Dodd, (artist and lecturer), Phillip Brophy (writer, film-maker), Alex Martinis Roe (artist)

Drag/Mash explored creative strategies stemming from earlier forms of art making that were strongly influenced by 1980s theories of bricolage, appropriation and the archive. As a term, Drag/ Mash describes the incremental convergence of remixing, sampling and mimicry into art making.  Drag/Mash is characterised by a synthesis of disparate techniques and technologies, the active use of illusion, and a reliance on text and articulation through performance.

16/11/06
Co-CHAIRS: Alexie Glass (Director of GCAS) and Christos Tsiolkas (Author/Producer)
PANELISTS: Robert Connelly (Ozsedition campaigner, writer and director of The Bank and Producer of The Boys); Dr Liz Connor (cultural activist and founder of Mothers of Intervention); Helen Johnson (artist); Antony Loewenstein (journalist and author of My Israel Question); Stephen Mayne (Founder of Crikey.com)

In a time when international conflict, terrorism and border control were dominating our headlines and leading to a political climate of fear and aggression, this forum turned to artists and writers to provide a humane perspective on global turbulence. This forum examined how cultural producers and commentators connect to our humanity in a time when sedition is legislation. Turbulence investigated the consequences of speaking out against prevailing ideologies, and perhaps even challenging the party line of communities with which you, yourself, identify.

Contact the Communications Manager if you wish to obtain an MP3 recording of this Forum.

5/02/05
Perth-based artist Kate McMillian gave an artist talk about her recent work.

05/03/05
Pakistani Artist in Residence Sabeen Raja gave a talk about her recent work.

8/11/05
SPEAKERS: David Broker, Deputy Director, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane;
Kate Fulton, Melbourne-based artist; Lisa Kelly, Sydney-based artist; Zara Stanhope, Deputy Director, Senior Curator, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne
CHAIRS: Jacqueline Doughty, Program Manager; and Edward Colless, Board Member, Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces.

Inside Boxes; Outside Systems addressed the way artists work within and outside of art institutions. The forum investigated the various ways that artists have created their own alternatives to the institutional network of state galleries, contemporary art spaces and commercial galleries.

15/11/05
SPEAKERS: Michael Brennan, Founding Director, Trocadero Art Space, Melbourne;
Andrea Kliest, Public Art Program Manager, City of Melbourne; Simon Maidment, Melbourne-based new media artist; Russell Storer, Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
CHAIRS: Jeff Khan, Communications Manager; and Alexie Glass, Director, Gertrude Contemporary.

Working Space explored relationships between artistic practice and the landscape of the inner city. The forum addressed questions such as: Is the studio still an essential site of production for contemporary artists, or is the shift towards new methods of production changing the parameters in which artists work? And what are the challenges and opportunities for artists working in the contemporary urban landscape?