Just Not Australian

Just Not Australian brings together 19 Australian artists across generations and mediums to deal broadly with the origins and implications of contemporary Australian nationhood.

This timely exhibition will showcase the sensibilities of larrikinism, satire and resistance to interrogate presenting and representing Australian national identity. The exhibition presents a broad exploration of race, place and belonging at this time. The exhibition engages with the moral and ethical undertones of the loaded rejoinder ‘un-Australian’ – an increasingly pejorative phrase in our national lexicon that is instrumentalised for various political agendas.

Curated by Artspace and developed in partnership with Sydney Festival and Museums and Galleries of NSW. The exhibition is touring nationally with Museums & Galleries of NSW. The exhibition has been assisted with funding through the Australia Council for the Arts.

Just Not Australian contains strong language, images and themes that some visitors may find challenging. The content is intended to reflect the everyday, lived experiences of Australians represented in the exhibition.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visitors are advised that some works contain images of deceased persons.

The artists featured in this exhibition include Abdul Abdullah, Hoda Afshar, Tony Albert, Cigdem Aydemir, Liam Benson, Eric Bridgeman, Jon Campbell, Karla Dickens, Fiona Foley, Gordon Hookey, Richard Lewer, Archie Moore, Vincent Namatjira, Nell, Raquel Ormella, Ryan Presley, Joan Ross, Tony Schwensen and Soda Jerk.

Guests at the launch of Sydney Open 2018 listening to speakers Dr Caroline Butler Bowden, Director of Strategy and Engagement at Sydney Living Museums and Lisa Davies, Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald in the Gold Melting Room at the Mint
16 April, 2 May, 3 June - 2pm
Film

Films: Just Not Australian

Watch a curated selection of films that relate to the themes of the exhibition and the included works

Soda Jerk, TERROR NULLIUS (video still), 
2018, HD video, 54 minutes. Commissioned by 
the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, 
Melbourne. Courtesy the artists.
27 May, 2pm
Talk

Just Not Australian Unpacked

Join Just Not Australian artists and curators for a panel discussion about the exhibition and its themes, followed by an exclusive screening of Soda Jerk’s political revenge fable TERROR NULLIUS

Just Not Australian logos
Corner Phillip and Bridge streets, Sydney NSW 2000. Phone +61 2 9251 5988

Museum of Sydney

Corner Phillip and Bridge streets, Sydney NSW 2000. Phone +61 2 9251 5988
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  • Wheelchair accessible
Plan your visit

  • 11 March - 4 June 2023