Artist Talk Stelarc

Stelarc, EAR ON ARM | Image courtesy: The Artist

Stelarc, EAR ON ARM | Image courtesy: The Artist / View full image

When

6.00 – 7.00 pm, Thu 26 Mar 2026
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Where

Gallery of Modern Art, Cinema A

Accessibility

  • Wheelchair Accessible

What to Expect

Admission

Free

About

For over fifty years, Stelarc has tested the limits of the human body, placing art at the intersection of science, technology and performance.

Through his performances, installations and experiments with robotics, prosthetics and biomedical technologies, Stelarc challenges our understanding of what it means to be human.

Featuring a keynote talk by the artist, followed by an in conversation with Sally Brand (Curatorial Manager, Australian Art, QAGOMA), Stelarc will share insights from his pioneering practice, an intimate and rare opportunity to hear directly from an internationally acclaimed artist.

This event is free and unbooked. Seating is limited, available on a first-in, first seated basis. To ensure equal access for all, seats cannot be saved. Queueing for the event will commence at 5.30pm, with seating to commence at approximately 5.45pm. In addition to the live event in Cinema A, the session will be live streamed to Cinema B and recorded for release on QAGOMA’s YouTube channel.

This event is presented in collaboration with World Science Festival Brisbane 2026, and is co-hosted by the STELARC / BUNSHIN: Split Body Multilateral Research Lab and Living Together Co. This activity received grant funding from the Australia-Japan Foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Stelarc, EAR ON ARM | Image courtesy: The Artist

Stelarc, EAR ON ARM | Image courtesy: The Artist / View full image

Stelarc

Stelarc is an Australian performance artist, who has lived in Japan for 19 years. His projects and performances explore alternate anatomical architectures, interrogating issues of embodiment, agency, identity and the post-human. Stelarc’s works incorporate Prosthetics, Robotics, Medical Imaging and Biotechnology. One of the most significant works, Third Hand, was created with the Japanese robotics engineers in 1980.

He has been surgically constructing and stem-cell growing an ear on his arm that will be electronically augmented and internet enabled (Golden Nika, Ars Electronica Hybrid Arts Prize, Linz, Austria,2010). He is continuously working on large-scale projects, creating works that incorporate remote interactivity and bio-sensing systems.

What to Expect

Here’s what to expect at this event.

Everyone is welcome! Please contact events.plus@qagoma.qld.gov.au in advance of the program if you have any access needs or queries about the event. Find out more about Accessibility at QAGOMA and planning your visit.

Participation and content

  • This talk may contain references to medical procedures and body modification.
  • This event is free and unbooked. Seating is limited, available on a first-in, first seated basis. To ensure equal access for all, seats cannot be saved. Queueing for the event will commence at 5.30pm, with seating to commence at approximately 5.45pm. In addition to the live event in Cinema A, the session will be live streamed to Cinema B.
  • You are welcome to come with a friend or by yourself. Many people attend the Gallery solo.
  • We ask all attendees to be kind, respectful and courteous to all participants, speakers and staff at this event. This program will be monitored by QAGOMA staff to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our attendees, speakers and staff.

Sensory aspects and Accessibility

  • Accessible seating is available at this event for those with accessibility requirements. Please contact events.plus@qagoma.qld.gov.au for more information.
  • Speakers will use an amplified microphone. Please let us know in advance if you are hard of hearing so we can make this talk accessible for you.
  • A screen/projection will be used during the event.
  • This event will be held in Cinema A, which is a 220 seat theatre space, the lights will be turned down on the audience during the event. You can leave the space at any time and re-enter the event.
  • The Gallery air conditioning is set to 21°C to conserve the artworks.
  • This event will be photographed and filmed by QAGOMA staff. If you do not wish to be photographed or filmed, please advise a QAGOMA staff member on arrival.