The National Gallery of Australia is serving up a diverse program from Friday evening, with the launch of its new monthly event, Arts Weekend.
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The last weekend of each month - except December - will now see the gallery team up with a different artist to bring a uniquely curated event that aims to encourage people to explore their creative side.
"The offering is very diverse and that's very intentional because we want people to have multiple entry points to what we have on offer here," National Gallery head of programs and education Katie Russell said.
"On Friday night the theme is to party and to engage in a recreational and enjoyable way with the collection.
"Of course that's always the case but we've turned up the dial. We will have live music, we will have life drawing for those who are that way inclined in terms of working in the Matisse and Picasso exhibition and in our very important and provocative new collection display, Bodies of Art."
For the first event renowned Australian contemporary artist Julie Rrap - currently on show in the Bodies of Art exhibition and will feature in the gallery's Know My Name initiative - will guide visitors to the gallery through a life drawing session, host art workshops and lead a conversation with local artists on the ethics of the body in art.
The weekend will also include a descriptive tour and an Auslan sign interpreted tour of Matisse and Picasso, as well as a Sensory Sunday session that will see the gallery open two hours early for people on the autism spectrum, with social anxiety or people who are neuro diverse.
As for young art lovers, there will be art making, storytelling, music and dance at Super Sunday, as well as the opportunity to try out digital drawing on tablets.
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"The need not be any impediment to visiting an art gallery," Ms Russell said.
"Often people are intimidated by art gallery because they think they don't know anything about art, and this is what we are trying to address and invite people to maybe reconsider that choice with Art Weekends.
"What we're creating with the inauguration of this program ... is a sense of predictable about when you will have this variety of immersive experiences at the National Gallery.
"I say predictability about the when ... but once you get here there's nothing predictable about it. There's so many surprising and novel ways to engage with the collection."
"We think an artist's perspective on things that are happening in society is actually a really unique and valuable contribution to society and it helps us navigate the world which is very unpredictable and very scary and we think that artists have a way forward," she said.
"We want to support that, we're the national art collection and we think the artist's voice is a really important voice in society."
- For the full program for Art Weekend go to nga.gov.au.