Arts Project Australia celebrates 50-year milestone and looks to the future

APA Executive Director Liz Nowell shares reflections on the organisation's longevity and future ambitions, including aiming for a shot at the Venice Biennale.
Celebrate Arts Project Australia's 50th anniversary at the Northcote Studio Open Day. Photo: Supplied. APA artists at work in the studio. Artworks and material can be seen on walls and laid out on tables, with around 10 people inside the studio.

As noted in ArtsHub‘s earlier round-up of organisations celebrating significant anniversaries this year, 2024 marks the 50th anniversary for Arts Project Australia (APA), a gallery and supported studio founded in 1974 that represents, platforms and advocates for artists with intellectual disabilities.

The golden anniversary celebrations include an open day on 24 March at its Northcote Studio in Melbourne’s inner north-east, alongside workshops, demonstrations, art sales and live music.

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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_