Join us for a special conversation with visiting Thai artist Naraphat Sakathornsap and Australian artist Nathan Beard, recipients of the 2024 Debra Porch Award, moderated by UNSW Galleries Director José Da Silva.
Naraphat Sakarthornsap uses photography and installation to probe themes of social inequality and gender discrimination. He meticulously selects flowers as central motifs, imbuing each blossom with symbolic depth. These floral arrangements serve as conduits, revealing hidden messages and reflecting deeper emotional layers.
Nathan Beard is a multidisciplinary artist who draws from his Australian-Thai heritage to unpack the porous and precarious influences of culture and memory. In exploring the slippery intersection of family history, archives and broad cultural signifiers of ‘Thainess’, Beard’s work articulates the complexities surrounding authenticity and diasporic identity.
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The Debra Porch Award is a three-year partnership between Creative Australia, UNSW Galleries, and SAC Gallery, Bangkok. Established in honour of the life and work of artist and academic Debra Porch, it supports artists in pursuing long-term engagement through international residencies and strengthening strong intercultural connections across the Asia Pacific region.
Naraphat Sakarthornsap uses photography and installation to probe themes of social inequality and gender discrimination. He meticulously selects flowers as central motifs, imbuing each blossom with symbolic depth. These floral arrangements serve as conduits, revealing hidden messages and reflecting deeper emotional layers.
Nathan Beard is a multidisciplinary artist who draws from his Australian-Thai heritage to unpack the porous and precarious influences of culture and memory. In exploring the slippery intersection of family history, archives and broad cultural signifiers of ‘Thainess’, Beard’s work articulates the complexities surrounding authenticity and diasporic identity.
José Da Silva has twenty-five years of curatorial and management experience in art museums and private and public sector environments. Since early 2018, he has been the Director of Sydney’s UNSW Galleries, overseeing a dynamic program of contemporary Australian art and design, and is also the Chair of University Art Museums Australia. Previously, he led the Australian Cinémathèque, and contributed to an ambitious program of exhibitions, acquisitions, and projects at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art for over a decade. José is deeply committed to working closely with Australian artists to develop projects that explore contemporary visual and material cultures. In 2024, he curated the 18th Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art at the Art Gallery of South Australia.
Join us for an insightful conversation
