Discussion Once We Were Mudskippers

Left to right: James Gatt, Dr Susan Best and Ellie Buttrose. Images courtesy the speakers.

Left to right: James Gatt, Dr Susan Best and Ellie Buttrose. Images courtesy the speakers. / View full image

When

1.00 – 1.45 pm, Sat 3 Oct 2026
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Where

Queensland Art Gallery, Watermall

Accessibility

  • Wheelchair Accessible

What to expect

Admission

Free

About

Explore the ideas, influences and artistic traditions that underpin ‘Justene Williams: Once We Were Mudskippers’.

Hear from special guests as they reflect on Justene Williams's distinctive practice, considering how it draws on art history to transform everyday materials, suburban histories and popular culture into exuberant, multi-sensory artworks.

Speakers:

  • Dr Susan Best (Professor of Art History and Theory at Queensland College of Art and Design, Griffith University)
  • James Gatt (Curator & Writer)
  • Host: Ellie Buttrose (Curator, Contemporary Australian Art, QAGOMA)
Susan Best / Image courtesy of Susan Best

Susan Best / Image courtesy of Susan Best / View full image

Susan Best

Susan Best is Professor of Art History at Queensland College of Art and Design. She is the author of Visualizing Feeling: Affect and the Feminine Avant-Garde (2011), Reparative Aesthetics: Witnessing in Contemporary Art Photography (2016) and It's Not Personal: Post 60s Body Art and Performance (2021). She's currently working on a book on aesthetic reception in the era of cancel culture and #MeToo.

James Gatt / Image courtesy of James Gatt

James Gatt / Image courtesy of James Gatt / View full image

James Gatt

James Gatt (b. 1988, Darug/Sydney) is a curator and writer based in Gadigal Nura/Sydney. His practice traces the conceptual and sociopolitical charges of art across contexts, often reenvisioning the aspirations of 1960s and ’70s art and politics as strategies for contemporary exhibition-making. With a specific interest in solo and duo exhibitions, Gatt approaches curating dialogically, establishing interactions between artists and artworks that map local histories and shape new interpretations. Since 2013, he has worked independently alongside institutional roles, delivering exhibitions and programmes for institutions including Sydney Opera House, Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, UNSW Galleries, Kaldor Public Art Projects, and the Art Gallery of NSW.

Portrait of Ellie Buttrose, Curator, Contemporary Australian Art, QAGOMA, 2023 / Photograph: J Ruckli, QAGOMA

Portrait of Ellie Buttrose, Curator, Contemporary Australian Art, QAGOMA, 2023 / Photograph: J Ruckli, QAGOMA / View full image

Ellie Buttrose

Ellie Buttrose is a Curator, Contemporary Australian Art, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art and Curator of ‘Justene Williams: Once We Were Mudskippers. Ellie curated the ‘2026 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Yield Strength’ at Art Gallery of South Australia, Samstag Museum of Art and Adelaide Botanic Gardens featuring 24 artists who push their materials to build visual complexity or contort it to convey the limits of existence. Alongside artist Archie Moore and commissioner Creative Australia, Ellie won the Golden Lion for Best National Participation for the 2024 Australia Pavilion at the Venice Biennale for ‘Archie Moore: kith and kin’, the exhibition is now on display at QAGOMA.

Justene Williams, Australia b.1970; A Metal Cry (performance still, Carriageworks, Sydney) 2017; Courtesy: The artist, The Commercial, Sydney, and Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne; Photograph: Ashley Barber / © Justene Williams /

Justene Williams, Australia b.1970; A Metal Cry (performance still, Carriageworks, Sydney) 2017; Courtesy: The artist, The Commercial, Sydney, and Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne; Photograph: Ashley Barber / © Justene Williams / / View full image

'Justene Williams: Once We Were Mudskippers'

3 Oct 2026 – 7 Mar 2027, QAG

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GOMA Friday Nights, May 2026 / Photograph: C Baxter courtesy QAGOMA

GOMA Friday Nights, May 2026 / Photograph: C Baxter courtesy QAGOMA / View full image

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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

  • You are welcome to come with a friend or by yourself. Many people attend the Gallery solo.
  • This program is free and unbooked and has an approximate seated capacity of 100 attendees.
  • 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

  • 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 may be used during the event.
  • We try our best to minimise sound in the space, but sometimes there might be low-level noise from a nearby artwork or the sounds of the Gallery.
  • A combination of stools without backs and chairs with backs will be provided.
  • This event is wheelchair and pram accessible.
  • Pre-reserved accessible seating is available, please email events.plus@qagoma.qld.gov.au in advance to request accessible seating.
  • The Gallery air conditioning is set to 21°C to conserve the artworks.
  • If the event becomes overwhelming or stressful, earmuffs and sensory kits are available. Each kit contains a number of resources for self-regulation and calming. Please speak to a staff member for assistance. These kits can also be requested in advance by emailing events.plus@qagoma.qld.gov.au
  • This event will be photographed by QAGOMA staff. If you do not wish to be photographed, please advise a QAGOMA staff member on arrival.