State of the Art: Culture

Overview

If 13 Rooms has left you pining for more interactive and performance art, State of the Art has you covered. What's the point of reinstalling Brecht's fourth wall in the world of art when you could instead be wandering through an inflatable gold environment, taking an active role in screen printing and live performance, creating imagery for a paste-up wall, and photo blogging? Presented by the Art Gallery of NSW, Kluster and blackandwhite creative, State of the Art invites the viewer to make his or her own mark on what's being viewed. Artists and musicians contributing to the sensory melee include Numskull, Jason Wing, Hollie Martin and Damon Williams, Urban Future Organisation, Adam Hill aka Blake Douglas, Alice Richards & Teresa Gay, Chico Monks, Oscar Wuts and The Seaport & The Airport.

"The beauty of interactive art is its capacity to challenge the viewer," says State of the Art co-director Kat Hartmann. "It asks its audience for engagement and promises something richer than simple observation in return." Self-described as "someone with zero fine arts abilities — but a huge love for and interest in contemporary art", she finds that "there is something infinitely attractive about that exchange."