GROUP EXHIBITION

Arenas are the physical spaces where we come together to witness—and participate—in public life. Figuratively speaking, they embody a multitude of ‘fields’: zones of interest inviting active or competitive engagement. From walls and vantage points to implicit codes and customary cues, each arena’s activities are shaped by its own specific set of conditions. Whether looking on or joining in, we take comfort in knowing the rules.

Spanning moving image, sound, sculptural intervention and performance, The same crowd never gathers twice tests the limits of the arena. The artists consider the social and structural architectures that bind these spaces, and by extension, the elastic relationship between performance and reality, audience and participant, public and private.

Like theatres, sports stadiums and ‘the media’, the art gallery is subject to its own conditions and expectations. The exhibition invites visitors to consider their presence and agency inside this space, and the potential for more active forms of engagement. Throughout the exhibition, the physical gallery is offered as a site for critical discussion and performance responses.

Curated by Annika Aitken, Curator, Art Museums, the University of Melbourne.