Blak Attack

Exhibition by Aretha Brown
A person with a backpack stands on a cloud, gesturing at a colorful collage.
  • Contemporary Art
  • all about women

Decolonising the everyday

Blak Attack, an exhibition of the work of Gumbaynggirr artist Aretha Brown, speaks to the strength, resistance and visibility of Blak matriarchal power in public space. The works assert presence, sovereignty and joy, positioning Blak women and communities not as subjects of history but as active forces shaping the future.

Brown’s work explores the use of pop iconography to reclaim Aboriginalia. Drawing inspiration from pop artists such as Keith Haring, Brown employs immediate, almost hieroglyphic symbols as a reclamation of street language — using visual shorthand to decolonise the public landscape and disrupt colonial narratives embedded in everyday imagery.

Sydney Opera House Presents

Event details

Aboriginal women are so often celebrated only for our strength, while our humanity is overlooked. But to be a woman is to be both strong and in need of care.

Aretha Brown

All about the artist

Aretha Brown (she/her)

Aretha Brown is a Gumbaynggirr artist, screenwriter and cultural advocate and the founder of Kiss My Art, a femme youth collective responsible for over 65 murals and public artworks worldwide.

Since 2019, Aretha Brown and the Kiss My Art collective have led the Teach Blak History Project, a youth-led creative and educational initiative sharing Indigenous Australian knowledge globally. The project spans major exhibitions such as After the Rain at the National Gallery of Australia, large-scale murals across Japan celebrating Aboriginal leaders and language, protest banners created in collaboration with Kneecap and Amyl and the Sniffers and accessible educational merchandise including the Decolonise Yourself cards.

Headshot of Aretha Brown

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Attending this event

Plan your visit

Address

Sydney Opera House
Bennelong Point
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Getting to the venue

The Opera House is a 7-10 minute walk from Circular Quay, and is easily accessible by car, train, ferry, lightrail, bus, bike and on foot.

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