Which Young Artists Were Chosen for MCA’s ‘Primavera 2023’?

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Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) has announced the six artists selected for the exhibition Primavera 2023: Young Australian Artists, which runs from 9 September 2023 to 4 February 2024.

The chosen artists, each aged 35 or under, are: Tiyan Baker, Christopher Bassi, Moorina Bonini, Nikki Lam, Sarah Poulgrain, and Truc Truong.

This year’s show, which centres around the theme of the collective body, is curated by Sydney-based New Zealand artist Talia Smith.

Smith said what unites this year’s artists ‘is the way they reckon with the perils of history, education, culture, and language to question authoritative structures and systems.’

‘They assert that there is more than one way of living and offer impressions of how it might look,’ she said.

Suzanne Cotter, Director Museum of Contemporary Art Australia stated, ‘each year is a privileged opportunity to see the energy and the commitment of a new generation of artists who will be defining how we see and understand art now and in the future.’

‘Primavera’ is Latin for ‘springtime’. Since its first showing in 1992, the annual exhibition series has showcased over 250 works by emerging Australian artists.

They include HOTA award winner Shaun Gladwell, Artes Mundi Prize nominee Taloi Havini, Abdul Abdullah, James Angus, Mikala Dwyer, and Danie Mellor. —[O]

Main image: Tiyan Baker, Personal computer: ramin ntaangan (2022), installation view, PLAYGROUND, The Lock-Up, Newcastle, NSW (2022). Computer parts, computer monitors, screensaver video, bamboo, timber, palm and coconut leaf, plastic twine, heirloom machete food. Courtesy the artist. Photo: Ben Adams.