Through a series of Ballot Box discussions presented in partnership with the Australian Queer Archives (AQuA), we will explore how art making can intersect with archival work.

Part One took place on Sunday 4 June with Melbourne Now artist Raf McDonald in conversation with Coral Guan, Project Assistant, International Exhibition Projects, NGV. More information on Part One can be found here.

Part Two on Sunday 25 June will feature a conversation with Melbourne Now artist Drew Pettifer, hosted by Angela Bailey, President of AQuA. Their discussion will respond to the following provocation: How do social values and historical context impact upon how histories are recorded and kept?

Held in Community Hall and in keeping with the spirit of Australian community halls, these discussions will be informed by your voices. We invite you to share your responses to the provocation here.

Angela Bailey

Angela Bailey is a curator, photographer and creative producer whose practice actively explores and interprets our rich and diverse queer histories and culture by creating exhibitions, installations, discourse and public programs of engagement. Her experiences as a young activist participating in the fight for gay law reform in Queensland continue to inform her work with LGBTIQ+ communities. Angela has a Postgraduate Degree in Fine Art, a Masters of Art Curatorship and is currently a Fellow at Arts Centre Melbourne and Vice President of the Australian Queer Archives.

Drew Pettifer

Drew Pettifer is an artist and academic. His art practice frequently explores themes of intimacy, gender, sexuality, power, the archive and social politics, using a combination of photography, video, installation and performance. His subjects are often young men, through whom the artist explores both private and public notions of desire. Included in Melbourne Now are two of Pettifer’s video works, Untitled (Ruel) and Untitled (Bram), 2020. These works were also shown in the NGV’s recent QUEER: Stories from the NGV Collection exhibition in 2022. Here, the artist interrogates the historical archive to draw attention to forgotten queer histories and to explore gender, sexuality and the politics of desire. In addition to his artistic practice, Pettifer is also Program Lead of the Bachelor of Arts (Fine Art) Hong Kong program at RMIT University. He is currently a member of the Shepparton Art Museum Artistic and Acquisitions Committee, is a qualified solicitor, and also works as an independent curator and writer. His work is held in a number of collections, including the NGV, Monash Gallery of Art and Shepparton Art Museum, as well as private collections both nationally and around the world.

NGV x AQuA: Pride Month

This program is part of NGV x AQuA: Pride Month, a series of talks, discussions and workshops in Community Hall every Sunday in June presented by NGV in collaboration with the Australian Queer Archives (AQuA). Shining a light on subjects ranging from the role of community archives within society to the potential for art to function as an archive, these programs will invite community members and Melbourne Now artists to reflect on the importance of documenting, sharing and interpreting marginalised histories and experiences. More information on the series can be found here.