Agnes GOODSIR<br/> <em>The letter</em> 1926 <!-- (recto) --><br /> oil on canvas<br /> 81.0 x 65.3 cm<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Bequest of the artist, 1947<br /> 1779-4<br /> <!--5633-->

Queer X Midsumma Symposium

QUEER: Stories from the NGV Collection shines a light on the NGV Collection to examine and reveal the queer stories works of art can tell. Gain insight into some of the stories, ideas and themes presented in this expansive exhibition through a symposium presented in collaboration with Midsumma Festival. The symposium features a Keynote Lecture by Dr Maura Reilly, followed by a moderated panel discussion with the NGV curatorial team behind QUEER: Stories from the NGV Collection.

1–1.15pm (AEDT)
Welcome & Introduction – Midsumma

Karen Bryant, Chief Executive of Midsumma will welcome and introduce the symposium

1.15–2pm (AEDT)
Keynote Lecture – Dr Maura Reilly

In this keynote lecture, delivered as a broadcast direct from New York, curator, arts writer and non-profit leader Dr Maura Reilly considers what it means to queer a museum, with reference to past LGBTQ+ exhibitions in Australia and beyond, including the NGV’s Queer: Stories from the NGV Collection exhibition.

Dr Maura Reilly is a curator, arts writer and non-profit leader based in New York. She is the author of Curatorial Activism: Towards an Ethics of Curating (Thames & Hudson, 2018), which was named a ‘Top Ten Best Art Book’ by The New York Times. She is the Founding Curator of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum, where she developed and launched the first exhibition and public programming space in the US devoted entirely to feminist art. While there, she organised several landmark exhibitions, including the permanent installation of Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party and the blockbuster Global Feminisms (co-curated with Linda Nochlin). Her book Museums & Social Justice is forthcoming in 2023, followed by a textbook on feminist art. She was recently appointed Director of the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. Reilly received her MA and PhD in art history from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.

2–3pm (AEDT)
Curator Response, Discussion and Q&A

Moderated by Chief Executive of Midsumma Festival, Karen Bryant, the curators of QUEER: Stories from the NGV Collection discuss the exhibition’s development, central themes, and the processes involved in applying a queer lens to near 400 artworks from the NGV collection, with reference to Maura Reilly’s keynote lecture.

Speakers 

Dr Ted Gott​, Senior Curator, International Art, NGV 
Myles Russell-Cook​, Senior Curator, Indigenous Art, NGV 
Meg Slater, Assistant Curator, International Exhibition Projects, NGV
Dr Angela Hesson, Curator, Australian Painting, Sculpture and Decorative Arts to 1980, NGV ​ 

Moderator

Karen Bryant, Chief Executive, Midsumma