About the Group Exhibition:

‘You Got A Friend’ is an In the Skies annual group show where we invite everyone who has exhibited throughout the year to return and, here’s the twist, bring a friend!

‘You Got A Friend’ deliberately coincides with the Surf Coast Arts Trail as a great opportunity to broaden our audience as we re-showcase everyone we’ve worked with this season, to represent or shine extra light on their work and contribution to regional Arts (and beyond!). There is no specific theme for the show, it is purely a celebration of the artists involved.

‘You Got A Friend’ is also a way to learn more about the artists who have exhibited at In the Skies throughout the year. Opening up the space for them to include an ‘artist friend’ - someone they know, whose work they admire - enriches our connection to them as artists in context. Additionally, including a whole new hand of artists is an opportunity to expand and connect our worlds and communities a little more, for all involved - the gallery, artists, audiences and patrons alike.

The element of surprise and unknown around who the artists’ will invite, what themes will be explored, and how the works will look in the space together, felt to us like a beautifully open and freeing concept for a group show. By, in a way, surrendering curatorial control, and with no specified theme, the show is fundamentally a celebration of the artists in our orbit. Inevitably it also acts as a kind of revealing of the gallery itself. We throw the meaning of this out there for you to interpret, as we are equally interested and open to seeing what is reflected by the exhibition.

As the years go on, we imagine that our annual ‘You Got A Friend’ group shows will, retrospectively, become fascinating snapshots of a time and place. And with the wisdom of predicted hindsight in mind, we warmly encourage you to truly engage with, appreciate and celebrate the presence and perspective of these unique and vital artists.

View You Got A Friend Catalogue here (please note, sales from this catalogue have now closed)