Andrew Bailey - Emily
Location
About
6pm for 6.30pm Wednesday 11th November
Andrew Bailey in conversation with John McDonald
An Anmatyerr woman from the Central Desert may be Australia's most important artist. This is the incredible story of how Emily Kame Kngwarreye came to fame and was the catalyst for an art movement that changed the nation.
Emily Kame Kngwarreye only started painting at the age of 79. She is now regarded by many as Australia's most important artist, with an international reputation that continues to grow.
Drawing on accounts from those close to her as well as previously unexamined sources, Andrew Bailey reveals the inside story of how a senior law woman from one of the most remote parts of the country came to prominence in just seven years. She has twice been represented at the Venice Biennale, and a solo retrospective of her work appeared at the Tate Modern in London in 2025.
Yet Bailey shows we still greatly underestimate Kngwarreye. He demonstrates how her striking work was a catalyst for profound national cultural change in the final decade of the twentieth century. This is the previously untold story of the emergence of contemporary Indigenous art, and a compelling insight into how Australia sees itself.
Andrew Bailey is a former business executive and publisher of the weekly art newsletter The Easel. He has held roles in the Commonwealth Treasury and McKinsey & Company; and senior executive roles at Optus Communications, Crown Castle Australia and the Department of Climate Change.
John McDonald has been a professional critic for over 40 years. He is best known for his art columns in the Sydney Morning Herald from 1983-2024, and his cinema columns for the Australian Financial Review, from 2011-24. He has served as Head of Australian Art at the National Gallery of Australia, and Curator of the NGA exhibition ‘Federation: Australian Art and Society 1901-2001’.
Andrew Bailey in conversation with John McDonald
An Anmatyerr woman from the Central Desert may be Australia's most important artist. This is the incredible story of how Emily Kame Kngwarreye came to fame and was the catalyst for an art movement that changed the nation.
Emily Kame Kngwarreye only started painting at the age of 79. She is now regarded by many as Australia's most important artist, with an international reputation that continues to grow.
Drawing on accounts from those close to her as well as previously unexamined sources, Andrew Bailey reveals the inside story of how a senior law woman from one of the most remote parts of the country came to prominence in just seven years. She has twice been represented at the Venice Biennale, and a solo retrospective of her work appeared at the Tate Modern in London in 2025.
Yet Bailey shows we still greatly underestimate Kngwarreye. He demonstrates how her striking work was a catalyst for profound national cultural change in the final decade of the twentieth century. This is the previously untold story of the emergence of contemporary Indigenous art, and a compelling insight into how Australia sees itself.
Andrew Bailey is a former business executive and publisher of the weekly art newsletter The Easel. He has held roles in the Commonwealth Treasury and McKinsey & Company; and senior executive roles at Optus Communications, Crown Castle Australia and the Department of Climate Change.
John McDonald has been a professional critic for over 40 years. He is best known for his art columns in the Sydney Morning Herald from 1983-2024, and his cinema columns for the Australian Financial Review, from 2011-24. He has served as Head of Australian Art at the National Gallery of Australia, and Curator of the NGA exhibition ‘Federation: Australian Art and Society 1901-2001’.