Symposium: Louise Bourgeois

Dive into the work of Louise Bourgeois, one of the most influential artists of the past century, during an exciting three-day symposium at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Join artists, writers, curators and scholars for talks, performances and screenings as they explore the work of Louise Bourgeois in this three day symposium.

This symposium will explore the ebbs and flows of Bourgeois’s career, which encompassed many themes, practices and mediums, and discuss the circulation and reception of her work in Australia and beyond.

Come along for the full three days or jump into a session that interests you. Entry is free, no need to book.

Day 1 | Sunday 10 March: ‘Sound Waves’

Includes a performance and talk by British artist Satch Hoyt on the sonic possibilities of Bourgeois’s art, artist talks on animal songs and non-human forms, and a screening of rarely-seen footage of a 1978 performance Bourgeois staged in New York.

Day 2 | Monday 11 March: ‘Ins and Outs’

Features Sydney-based artists on psychoanalysis and the creative process, a talk by award-winning writer Mireille Juchau and a conversation between eminent French curator and author Marie-Laure Bernadac and major Australian contemporary artist Julie Rrap.

Day 3 | Tuesday 12 March: ‘Ecologies’

Takes us strolling through the streets of New York with a screening of a documentary on Bourgeois. It also includes a talk by Marie-Laure Bernadac on cross-oceanic connections, and artists speaking about performance, forms of extinction and queer ecologies.

Held in conjunction with the exhibition Louise Bourgeois: Has the Day Invaded the Night or Has the Night Invaded the Day?at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Louise Bourgeois: Tides and currents is convened by Léa Vuong from the University of Sydney and produced by the Art Gallery with support from The Power Institute and the French Embassy in Australia.

Image: Louise Bourgeois Ode à la Bièvre 2007 (detail), private collection, New York © The Easton Foundation / VAGA at ARS / Copyright Agency 2023, photo: Christopher Burke