2025 NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging)

The NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging) program celebrates the dynamism of early-career artists in New South Wales. Each year, an independent panel of esteemed industry peers select a shortlist of finalists to work closely with an early-career curator to develop ambitious presentations for a group exhibition. Within a supportive and collaborative environment, these artists are given a generative platform to be experimental, expansive and risk-taking. One finalist will be the recipient of $30,000 to undertake a self-directed professional development program.

The 2025 exhibition presents work by Ellen Ferrier, Ellie Hannon, Ali Noble, Vedika Rampal, Joel Sherwood-Spring and Ali Tahayori. Traversing a diverse range of conceptual and material concerns, these artists consider the social, political and cultural conditions of our contemporary moment. By interrogating dominant structures and the ideologies that sustain them, they invite us to ponder new imaginaries and possible futures. What unfolds is not a singular narrative but a shared proposition of subtle resistance: a call to reflect, rethink, reconnect and reimagine. 

Supported by Create NSW, this long-standing fellowship has been presented at Artspace since 1997. Grounded in professional development, this program fosters artistic innovation, peer relationships and curatorial advocacy, continuing to be a significant springboard for the next generation of contemporary artists in NSW.

2025 NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging) Recipient: Ali Tahayori

Exhibition wall labels