Atong Atem is joining an intimate panel discussion Matresence: What Makes a Mother? at Fitzroy Library next Tuesday 4 February from 6:30pm to 7:30pm, reflecting on how motherhood and art synthesise. Having just welcomed her second child in late 2026, this is an opportunity to hear how the thread of motherhood weaves into Atong's rich practice interrogating family and identity.
Works from Atong's series Men In This Town, exploring her bodily autonomy and masculinity after becoming a mother, are currently hung as an installation at Liverpool Powerhouse's Revealing Dress until 19 April. Atong's Studio series are also showing at the Museum of Australian Photography's latest group show, Young | youth in Australian photography: 1980s to now, until 22 February. These staged studio portraits explore Melbourne's black diaspora through a riot of colour and pattern.
Currently, Atong is showing internationally in a permanent exhibition at the National Maritime Museum of the Netherlands and at Stadtgalerie's Summ Summ Summ group show in Germany until 22 February. Across Australia, Atong is exhibiting at the Art Gallery of New South Wales' portico and the National Portrait Gallery's forecourt until July 2026, as well as in Liverpool Powerhouse's Revealing Dress until 19 April 2026.
