8 WALL; photo by Jas Higgins
8 Wall Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Owners upon whose unceded lands we live and work. We honour and celebrate the ongoing cultural and spiritual connections to these lands, skies and waterways in which stories, ancestors, and dreamings of First Nations peoples are woven, and pay our utmost respect to Elders past, present, and emerging. This always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
Welcome, we're a new project-based art gallery offering a collaborative space designed to connect people by celebrating artists' practices, cultures, and programming. Exhibitions will run every 4-6 weeks and focus on Indigenous, emerging, and international art. The new model is slowly evolving, with hopes to create a not-for-profit structure in support of artists' projects and participation, such as the upcoming Weaving Project.
We're located on Gadigal land in the heart of the Paddington Arts Precinct, alongside the highly respected Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, just above Annette Larkin Fine Art. Please pop in and say hello - find us under contact, Frankie's our manager, and staff, friends, and artists are often around - we look forward to sharing with you what's in store.
8 Wall Gallery was founded by Samantha Houben, a first-generation Australian with a Māori (Ngāti Kahu & Te Rarawa) mother and Dutch/European descent. Sam is interested in concepts of belonging and decolonisation, with a strong desire to learn more about Indigenous knowledge systems, values, and connecting communities. After years of studying in the arts, working in commercial galleries, and caring for her twins, she felt a need for an alternative approach to representing and showing art. Since 2021, Sam has been researching new platforms and approaches to exhibitions, travelling between here in Sydney, Aotearoa/New Zealand, and New York, spending time looking at contemporary art, museums, and fairs. She also runs an advisory, Samantha Houben Arts, and is co-chair with Ashton Biddulph and the great directors at Schmick Contemporary. Sam hopes this initiative will offer a new, welcoming way to engage with art in our world today.
Frankie Chow is a conceptual artist and manager of 8 Wall Gallery. Since graduating BVA Hons from Sydney College of the Arts in 2014, Frankie has participated in artist residencies and international exhibitions across Finland, Iceland, France, England, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, and Japan. Working mostly with performance, video, and installation, they're interested in exploring facets of the human psyche shaped by traditional and contemporary discourse as well as physical and psychopathological landscapes. Their recent works draw from East Asian legends and philosophies to reflect on existentialist themes and concepts of rebirth and immortality. Frankie is a second-generation Australian with Hong Kong and Chinese ancestry, and anticipates that this initiative will provide a dynamic space for artists and art enthusiasts taking part in the current cultural sphere.
Why 8 WALL GALLERY?
[*not affiliated]