Opening on July 1 at the Grafton Regional Gallery are two new exhibitions showcasing the work of LGBTIQA+ artists from across the nation.

Figuring Ground is a major survey exhibition of artwork from queer artists, developed through community consultation and curated by queer artist and curator, Abbra Kotlarczyk, originally from the Northern Rivers of New South Wales.

Figuring Ground presents a broad range of practice across video, sculpture, painting, photography and performance from 17 artists who work across Australia including Léuli Eshrāgi, Briony Galligan, William Yang and Mira Oosterweghel.

Curator Abbra Kotlarczyk explains, “Figuring Ground starts from the premise of where and how we stand, as queer, constituted beings on vibrant and unstable ground. Through queer framings of the classical western convention of the figure/ground relationship, it seeks to draw out intimate contact zones for queer world making, as a means to collapse and expand traditional self/world binaries.”

Alongside Figuring Ground, the Re-Figuring Ground exhibition is borne from a project where six artists were invited to engage with the Grafton Regional Gallery collection to develop queer retellings. The project is an opportunity to be critically reflective of the museum and gallery practices that have shaped Grafton Regional Gallery and a chance to reframe how artists and members of the LGBTIQA+ community have been represented in the region and beyond. In this exhibition, artists have chosen works from the collection to respond to, or a theme presented across the collection in general.

Figuring Ground and Re-Figuring Ground will open with a celebration at the Grafton Regional Gallery on Saturday July 1, from 3pm. All are welcome to attend this free event. Bookings to be made via the Gallery Eventbrite page.

These exhibitions are supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.

On exhibition from 1 July – 3 September 2023 at Grafton Regional Gallery