When a commission is spent on engagement, not outcome

The conclusion of TextaQueen’s latest exhibition prompts consideration of the value of a significant commission.
TextaQueen program 4A

Built upon a collaborative practice of over 20 years, TextaQueen is a queer, disabled South Asian diasporic artist whose works continually push back against ‘the white gaze’.

In 2021, TextaQueen received the inaugural Australian Copyright Agency Partnership commission of $80,000 and their exhibition, Bollywouldn’t , which opened at Sydney’s 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art (4A) in October this year.

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Celina Lei is the Diversity and Inclusion Editor at ArtsHub. She acquired her M.A in Art, Law and Business in New York with a B.A. in Art History and Philosophy from the University of Melbourne. She has previously worked across global art hubs in Beijing, Hong Kong and New York in both the commercial art sector and art criticism. She took part in drafting NAVA’s revised Code of Practice - Art Fairs and was the project manager of ArtsHub’s diverse writers initiative, Amplify Collective. Most recently, Celina was one of three Australian participants in DFAT’s the Future of Leadership program. Celina is based in Naarm/Melbourne. Instagram @lleizy_