4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art

🔥 ON NOW AT 4A // May 2026 This May, 4A showcases climate realities, ancestral memory and cultural knowledge, as well as new forms of storytelling across games, code and lived experience. 🌊 Exhibition // High Tides: Yuki Kihara and Morgan Hogg High Tides continues this month with art by Yuki Kihara (@yukikihara ) and Morgan Hogg (@morgan._.hogg ), centering Pasifika knowledge in the face of the escalating global climate crisis. On Level 1, Yuki Kihara presents works from her ‘Tala o le tau: stories from the weather series’, translating satellite imagery of cyclones into intricately woven pandanus mats that confront the realities of extreme weather affecting the Samoa archipelago. On the ground floor, Morgan Hogg presents the installation ‘Tūoro, Tūoro’ alongside newly commissioned works ‘Death Talks’, drawing on Cook Islands ceremonial cultural performance to create a space of mourning, remembrance and connection across oceanic diasporas. 🪐 Exhibition // Transmedia Worldbuilding Residency Exhibition Presented at 4A LAB in collaboration with Antariksha Studio (@antariksha.studio ), this exhibition showcases work-in-progress works by Sage Godrei (@seemoresage ), Myra Javaid (@_myrajav ), Sim Kaur (@s1mkaur ), Vidya Rajan (@vidyarrrr ) and Dipa Mahbuba Yasmin (@pink_myth_of_hell ). After undergoing months of mentorship via the Transmedia Worldbuilding residency where the artists explored storytelling using game engines, programming and generative systems, this exhibition features installations which reimagining the artists’ lived experience through female gaze, to navigating surveillance and power in public space, tracing memory through diasporic digital archives. These works open up new ways of sensing identity, history and belonging across worlds both real and imagined. Step in, check out the interactive works, try out the much-loved photo booth, then share it with your friends! #4acentre #4alab #hightides #transmediaworldbuilding #whatsonsydney

🎉 EXHIBITION OPEN // Join us between tides, memory, and resilience. Celebrate with us on Friday 17 April, 6–8pm, as 4A launches High Tides: Yuki Kihara and Morgan Hogg, a shared exhibition centering the importance of ancestral knowledge sharing and resilience in the face of the current climate catastrophe. Working in the context of communities on the front lines of severe weather events, High Tides brings together new and existing works by renowned Japanese and Sāmoan interdisciplinary artist Yuki Kihara (@yukikihara ) and emerging Cook Island Māori (Ngāti Tāne) and Tahitian artist and creative producer Morgan Hogg (@morgan._.hogg ). This exhibition, held on Gadigal land on the dredged shores of Warrane (Sydney Cove), explores notions of grief, collective healing, and cultural survival. It is also a site for discourse and learning, as Kihara and Hogg transpose objects of traditional ceremony — the pāreu kiri'au skirt, Pare ’eva festival masks, and fala su’i woven mats — into contemporary political statements of endurance and authority. Auxiliary to this exhibition is a series of community-based programs expanding upon ideas of conversation and intergenerational exchange, convened by Western Sydney-based Sāmoan creative producer Gabriel Faatau'uu-Satiu (@gabrielsatiu ). These include a kava circle and talanoa, rethinking the established artist floor talk format, and a bespoke 4A LIVE event promoting Pasifika excellence in performance and music, held in partnership with The House of IMAN and supported by a development residency with Brand X (@brandxinc ). High Tides is proudly supported by Creative Climate (@creativeclimateau ). Opening Night 🗓 Friday 17 April, 6–8pm 📝 RSVP via link in bio 🔗 🎟 Free entry Exhibition 🗓 18 April – 28 June 2026 🕐 Wed–Sun, 11am–5pm 🎟 Free entry 📍 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Haymarket Image: Yuki Kihara, Pola from Tala o le tau: stories from the weather series, 2025, pandanus mat, embroidered with the assistance of Moata’a Aualuma Community, Upolu Island. Courtesy of the artist and Gow Langsford, Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland.

🎉 NEW EXHIBITION // Transmedia Worldbuilding Residency Exhibition ✨ Join us on Friday 1 May, 6–8pm, as 4A LAB launches the showing of the outcomes of the 4A LAB Transmedia Worldbuilding Residency. Following months of online mentorship across game design including Unreal Engine, classical dance and generative art, and a one-week physical intensive in Sydney, led by Antariksha Studio (@antariksha.studio ), five artists present works-in-progress installation of interactive games, immersive art and new media works. See works from Sage Godrei (@seemoresage ), Myra Javaid (@_myrajav ), Sim Kaur (@s1mkaur ), Vidya Rajan (@vidyarrrr ), and Dipa Mahbuba Yasmin (@pink_myth_of_hell ). Supported by Creative Australia (@creative.australia ), this residency is presented at 4A LAB (@4a_aus ), supporting South Asian Australian women and gender diverse artists working across art, technology and cultural storytelling. Opening Night 🗓 Friday 1 May, 6–8pm 📝 RSVP via link in bio 🔗 🎟 Free entry Exhibition 🗓 2 May – 14 June 2026 🕐 Wed–Sun, 11am–5pm 🎟 Free entry 📍 4A LAB Video credit: Vidya Rajan, Good Morning Land (excerpt), 2026. Courtesy of the artist.

4A CHAMPION // We’re excited to welcome Man&Wah as 4A Champions, as we mark 4A’s 30th anniversary celebrations! Man&Wah (@manandwah ) are brothers and an artistic duo based in Meanjin/Brisbane. Over the past decade, their unique style of botanical and cosmic-inspired work has been exhibited and experienced in galleries, museums, state libraries, universities, opening events, music and entertainment festivals, conferences and public installations. They work across multiple mediums, including photography, video, audio, illustration, lighting, technology and live events. Man&Wah’s work is an invitation for people to slow down and reflect on the connections between nature, humans and the cosmos. It is also a celebration of the beauty and wonder that exists within this cosmos. Man&Wah first connected with 4A in 2024 through the preparation of ‘Propagate / Germinate / Bloom’, exhibited in June 2025. Accompanied by performances, meditations and conversations, the project reflected on their migration from Asia to Australia and how this journey shaped their lives and creative practice, alongside their fascination with plants, future imaginaries and cosmic existence. The 4A Champion Circle brings together artists, alumni and supporters who have helped shape 4A over the past three decades. It’s about legacy, visibility and supporting what comes next. We’re proud to have Weizen as part of the 4A Champion Circle💫 📷1, 4,10,12: Man&Wah, Propagate/Germinate/Bloom (opening event), 2025. Photograph by Christina Mishell. 📷 2,3,5,7,9: Man&Wah, Propagate/Germinate/Bloom (installation view), 2025. Photograph by Kai Wasikowski. 📷 6: Man&Wah, DOMES: Flowers of Garden by the Bay, 2016. Courtesy of the artists. 📷 11: 4A LIVE x Prop Records present: Gayab (ग़ायब) + Szem (performance documentation), 2025. Photograph by Christina Mishell. 🎥 8: Scene Mandala, created by Man&Wah. Music: Star Seed by Jonn Serrie. Courtesy of the artists. #4acentre #manandwah #australianartist

🎧 NOW STREAMING // 4A Talks: ‘High Tides: Yuki Kihara and Morgan Hogg’ is now live on the 4A website. Presented as part of ‘High Tides: Yuki Kihara and Morgan Hogg’ at 4A, this special 4A Talks ‘talanoa’ session brought together renowned Japanese and Sāmoan interdisciplinary artist Yuki Kihara (@yukikihara ) (via Zoom) and emerging Cook Island Māori (Ngāti Tāne) and Tahitian artist and creative producer Morgan Hogg (@morgan._.hogg ), in conversation with and moderated by Western Sydney based Sāmoan Tusitala and People Weaver Gabriel Faatau'uu Satiu (@gabrielsatiu ). The discussions explored the ‘High Tides’ exhibition and the power of ancestral knowledge, resilience and intergenerational exchange in the face of the climate crisis. Grounded in the lived realities of Te Moana-nui-a-kiwa, this conversation offered a space for reflection, healing and dialogue around rising seas, cultural continuity and creative resistance. Recorded on unceded indigenous Gadigal land of the Eora Nation. Public programming by Gabriel Faatau'uu Satiu for ‘High Tides’ is supported by Create NSW (@creatensw ) through the Next Steps Professional Development Grant. High Tides is also supported by Creative Climate (@creativeclimateau ). 🔗 Full recording via link in bio or on the 4A website! #4Acentre #HighTides #PacificArts #artist

🌀 ON VIEW // ‘Tūoro, Tūoro’ (2024) and ‘Death Talks’ (2026) by Morgan Hogg If you’re passing by 4A, don’t miss Morgan Hogg’s installations exploring ancestry, ritual, memory and collective grief. ‘Tūoro, Tūoro’ (2024) draws from the Pe’e, an ancient Cook Island chant tradition connecting storytelling, dance and spiritual remembrance. Tūoro is locally believed to be the departure point for spirits on their journey to the afterlife, moving through the winds and waves of moana, echoed in the movement of Hogg’s handmade pāreu kiri‘au (skirt). Through this work, Hogg evokes a longing connection to the wider Te Moana nui a kiwa diaspora, and a yearning for ancestral guidance during times of personal and collective crisis. ‘Death Talks’ (2026), newly commissioned by 4A, is a series of Pare ’eva festival inspired masks exploring how grief becomes tangible and collectively felt. The individual pieces suggest bodily figures: ancestors gathering, mourning and inviting viewers into a shared ritual of remembrance. Their woven fibres absorb light and displace shadow through layered surfaces, creating an installation that feels both ceremonial and haunted. Morgan Hogg is an artist and creative producer of Cook Island Māori (Ngāti Tāne), Tahitian and English descent, living and working on unceded Wangal and Dharug country. Through installation and performance, Hogg explores cultural displacement, identity and ancestral continuity through a contemporary Pacific lens. ‘High Tides: Yuki Kihara and Morgan Hogg’ is on view at 4A until 28 June 2026. Exhibition 🗓 18 April – 28 June 2026 🕐 Wed–Sun, 11am–5pm 🎟 Free entry 📍 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Haymarket 📷 by @garrytrinhphotography #4Acentre #HighTides #PacificArts #artist morganhogg

4A CHAMPION // We’re excited to welcome Sophia Cai 蔡晨昕 as a 4A Champion, as we mark 4A’s 30th anniversary celebrations! Sophia Cai 蔡晨昕 (@sophiatron ) is a curator and writer based in Kamberri/Canberra, Australia. Sophia’s ongoing research interests include Asian art histories, the intersections between contemporary art and craft, and building communities of practice rooted in feminist and anti-racist work. Sophia is the current Artistic Director + CEO of Canberra Contemporary, one of Australia’s leading contemporary art organisations, and the Deputy Chair of NAVA, a peak advocacy body for Australia’s contemporary arts sector, while maintaining an independent writing and curatorial practice. In 2017, Sophia published the essay ‘Performing Geographies: Asia TOPA Arrives in Melbourne’ in 4A Papers. In 2021, she participated in 4A’s group exhibition ‘Acute Actions: Responses to I Am Not a Virus, Part 1’ in Darlinghurst. She returned to 4A in 2023 as a guest curator of the major group exhibition ‘A Soft Touch’. The 4A Champion Circle brings together artists, alumni and supporters who have helped shape 4A over the past three decades. It’s about legacy, visibility and supporting what comes next. We are proud to have Sophia as part of the 4A Champion Circle💫 Video 1–3: SONG DONG, Dad and Mum, Don’t Worry About Us, We Are All Well, 2013. Video courtesy of Carriageworks. Image 4, 13–15: A Soft Touch (opening event), 2023. Photograph by Anna Hay. Image 5–9: A Soft Touch (installation view), 2023. Photograph by Rohan Venn. Image 10, 12: Sophia Cai, Safety Yellow Woman, 2020–2021, hand-knitted wool garment (adult size). Courtesy of the artist. Image 11: Sophia Cai, Safety Yellow Woman, 2020–2021, hand-knitted wool garment (adult size). Photograph by Kai Wasikowski. Image 16: Screenshot of Sophia Cai’s ‘Performing Geographies: Asia TOPA Arrives in Melbourne’ in 4A Papers, 2017. Image 17: Portrait of Sophia Cai and her dog Rosie. Photograph by Pia Johnson. #4acentre #sophiacai #australianartist artist

4A CHAMPION // We’re excited to welcome Louise Zhang 张露茜 as a 4A Champion, as we mark 4A’s 30th anniversary celebrations! Louise Zhang (@louise__zhang ) is an Australian multidisciplinary artist working across painting, sculpture, and installation. Her practice investigates the interplay of aesthetics and cultural identity, often embracing contrasts to evoke a sense of otherness. Drawing inspiration from mythology and botany, Zhang weaves together symbols and motifs into compositions that balance harmony with dissonance. In 2023, Louise presented her first institutional solo exhibition ‘No Dust Left in the Lilies’ at 4A. She previously participated in 4A’s 2019 group exhibition ‘Dark Fantasy’, and in 2020 was commissioned by 4A to create ‘Moon Gates’ in celebration of Lunar New Year. The 4A Champion Circle brings together artists, alumni and supporters who have helped shape 4A over the past three decades. It’s about legacy, visibility and supporting what comes next. We’re proud to have Louise as part of the 4A Champion Circle💫 Image 1, 4, 6: Louise Zhang, No Dust Left in the Lilies (installation view), 2023. Photograph by Jessica Maurer. Image 2, 5, 7, 11: Louise Zhang, No Dust Left in the Lilies (opening event), 2023. Photograph by Jessica Maurer. Image 3, 12: Louise Zhang, Hybrid Cultures: Mimicry, Migration and the Third Space panel discussion. Photograph by Nolan Murphy. Image 8: Louise Zhang, Moon Gates, 2020. Photograph by Anna Kucera. Image 9: Claudia Nicholson, On Our Terms, 2015. Courtesy 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art. Video 10: Claudia Nicholson, On Our Terms, 2015. Courtesy the artist. #4acentre #louisezhang #australiaartist

ON VIEW // Tala o le tau: stories from the weather series (2025) by Yuki Kihara After witnessing directly the devastating impacts of cyclones in the Sāmoan archipelago over the past two decades, Yuki Kihara (@yukikihara ) felt compelled to work directly with local weaving communities — the Moata’a Aualuma community based on Upolu Island — to map the catastrophic weather events, which are continuing to increase in severity and frequency. Eliciting blurry topographical codes and symbols of severe weather through glaringly bright colours, the ‘Tala o le tau: stories from the weather series (2025)’ straddles literal and emotional representations of landscape. These embroidered mats are known as fala su’i in Sāmoa; gifts exchanged during ceremonies, funerals, and commemorative events. The practice of fala su'i points to the depthlessness of weaving as a way of co-organising in the Pacific Islands. Specifically, textile practice as a way of ordering and making sense of one’s reality—weaving and doing so collectively with others, sharing story and collectively mapping fragments of time and place. Yuki Kihara is a Japanese-Sāmoan conceptual artist living and working in Sāmoa. Her interdisciplinary art practice challenges dominant historical narratives and their socio-political persistence in contemporary culture. She poetically incorporates Sāmoan aesthetics and cultural codes by deploying a variety of media, including performance, sculpture, textiles, film, photography, and curation. Kihara's projects are often rooted in Sāmoan/Pacific communities that are co-created locally but designed to circulate, speak to, and influence local and international audiences, institutions, and discourses—without losing accountability to the community that shaped them. Kihara's practice is widely considered to be at the forefront of contemporary Pacific art and cultural theory today. ’High Tides: Yuki Kihara and Morgan Hogg’ is on view at 4A until 28 June 2026. Visit the exhibition and follow @4a_aus for more stories from artists. Exhibition 🗓 18 April – 28 June 2026 🕐 Wed–Sun, 11am–5pm 🎟 Free entry 📷 by @garrytrinhphotography

4A CHAMPION // We’re thrilled to announce Chun Yin Rainbow Chan as a 4A Champion, as we mark our 30th anniversary celebrations! Chun Yin Rainbow Chan (@chunyinrainbowchan ) is a multidisciplinary artist working across sound, performance and installation. Her practice draws on traditional Chinese forms and reimagines them in uncanny, contemporary ways. Through her highly personal and experimental pop music, she is one of the most distinctive and innovative voices in Australia today. Rainbow first connected with 4A through her participation at the Longli International New Media Arts Festival in Guizhou, China in 2016. She later presented Familiar Stranger at 4A in 2017. Over the years, she has remained a close collaborator and supporter of 4A, including serving as a Board Member of 4A from 2020 to 2024. The 4A Champion Circle brings together artists, alumni and supporters who have shaped 4A over the past three decades. It’s about legacy, visibility and shaping what comes next. We are proud to have Rainbow Chan as part of the circle 💫 Image 2. Chun Yin Rainbow Chan performing Familiar Stranger, opening night, 2017. Image 3. Chun Yin Rainbow Chan rehearsing in Wang Ancestral Temple, Longli, 2016. Photograph by Pedro de Almeida. Image 4. Chun Yin Rainbow Chan performing Broken Vessel of 1996, Wang Ancestral Temple, Longli, 2016. Photograph by Pedro de Almeida. Images 5–6. Chun Yin Rainbow Chan at Longli International New Media Arts Festival, 2016. Photograph by Pedro de Almeida. Image 7. Poster for Chun Yin Rainbow Chan, Club 4A, 2019. Courtesy of 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art. Images 8–11. Chun Yin Rainbow Chan performing Familiar Stranger, 2017. #4acentre #rainbowchan #australiaartist

We are excited to share a 4A Talks collaboration between @food_art_research_network and @4a_aus featuring Chu Hao Pei & Keg de Souza hosted by Mariam Ella Arcilla. Listen via link in bio How can everyday staples like rice, bananas, and medicinal plants unravel complex migratory and colonial histories, transcultural languages, and political strategies? In this 4A Talks episode, artists Keg de Souza and Chu Hao Pei are in-conversation with Mariam Ella Arcilla about eating practices and the transformative act of cooking, harvesting, archiving, and sharing food. Timed to coincide with the release of the publication Tastes of Justice: The Aesthetics and Politics of Food Art Practices in Asia and Australia (2026), this interview explores four seminal works: Keg’s artistic publications If a coconut falls (2024) and Bananas: A Wild Story (2026) and Hao Pei’s multimedia project Nasi Goreng Diplomacy (2023-present) and Seeding Sovereignty (2022). Recorded on 16 February 2026 at Magenta House on Gadigal land, this episode was commissioned by the Tastes of Justice Curatorial Collective (Francis Maravillas, Marnie Badham, Stephen Loo, and Madeleine Collie), 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, and the Food Art Research Network. @4a_aus @chu_h_p @fakinandkeggs @marzigold @magentahouse.redfern @madeleine___collie @francis_maravillas @steveycloo @marniebadham Tasting Justice is a curatorial programme that accompanies the launch of the publication Tastes of Justice: The Aesthetics and Politics of Food-art Practices in Asia and Australia @routledgeart It has involved two day event of food, art and politics held at LASALLE College of the Arts and an event at Magenta House in Sydney. These connected events and exchanges have been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body, and by the McNally School of Fine Arts, LASALLE College of the Arts Singapore, in collaboration with the CAST research group at RMIT University, Art & Design UNSW, Food Art Research Network, Magenta House and 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art. @creative.australia @lasallesingapore @unswada @cast_rmit @rmituniversity

OPENING NIGHT // Transmedia Worldbuilding Residency Exhibition 🎮 Excited to welcome you all tonight for the opening of the Transmedia Worldbuilding Residency Exhibition at 4A LAB ✨ Thank you for spending your evening with us and for all the love for these imaginative, narrative-driven works.# This exhibition runs alongside High Tides: Yuki Kihara and Morgan Hogg, so feel free to drop by 4A LAB during opening hours and explore! Artists Sage Godrei (@seemoresage ) Myra Javaid (@_myrajav ) Sim Kaur (@s1mkaur ) Vidya Rajan (@vidyarrrr ) Dipa Mahbuba Yasmin (@pink_myth_of_hell ) Mentor Elsewhere In India (@elsewhereinindia ) Antariksha Studio (@antariksha.studio ) Exhibition 🗓 2 May – 14 June 2026 🕐 Wed–Sun, 11am–5pm 🎟 Free entry 📍 4A LAB This exhibition is supported by Creative Australia via the Create Lab: Digital Alumni Fund. #4acentre #transmediaworldbuilding #asianart #whatsonsydney