The Institute of Modern Art (IMA) presents the final Essay Club session for 2026, hosted by Tay Haggarty, exploring Gordon Hall’s essay Object Lessons: Thinking Gender Variance Through Minimalist Sculpture.
Adapted from a presentation titled Sexing Sculpture, delivered at the 2013 Annual College Art Association Conference in New York, Hall’s essay examines how minimalist sculpture can challenge conventional ways of understanding bodies and gender.
The discussion will consider how we might read minimalism differently and use its frameworks to shift broader perceptions of the world. Hall asks: “If it is possible to learn from objects how to see bodies differently, can they teach us to see gender differently, to shift the way we perceive non-normative genders?”
Tay Haggarty will connect these ideas to their own curatorial and artistic practice, while considering their broader applications within the local Meanjin/Brisbane arts ecology.
Essay Club welcomes university students, emerging arts workers, artists and anyone interested in critical conversations about culture and contemporary art. Each session brings together a selected text and informal discussion, exploring how global ideas can translate into local arts practice.
The essay will be emailed to registered participants. Drinks and conversation will follow.
Registration: Opens 10am Friday 30 October 2026. Places are limited and early registration is essential.
Date: Wednesday 25 November 2026
Time: 6pm–8pm AEST
