4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Contemporary Asian art centre in Haymarket, Sydney, Australia
The 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art occupies the heritage-listed Corporation Building on Hay Street in Haymarket, owned by the City of Sydney. It moved there in 2000 after two earlier sites, and commissions, exhibits, documents and researches Asian and Asian-Australian contemporary art. The centre also runs residencies for emerging artists and advocacy work.
4A began in 1995 as meetings of artists, curators and theatre-makers, who set up the Asian Australian Artists Association in 1996. Gallery 4A opened on Sussex Street in 1997, moved to Liverpool Street in 1999, and the next year to the heritage-listed Corporation Building on Hay Street in Haymarket, owned by the City of Sydney. It was renamed 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art in 2009.
The 4A shows works by artists from Asia, the Pacific, and the Asian Australian diaspora that raise questions about identity and belonging. Visitors can see how these perspectives take shape across painting, video, and installation in the gallery rooms.
The centre sits in the middle of Sydney's Chinatown and is easy to reach on foot from the main train stations and public transport stops. Visitors who want to attend a talk or workshop should check in advance, as these events do not take place every day.
The centre's name comes from its first home: Gallery 4A opened in 1997 at 4A Sussex Street in Chinatown, before moving to Liverpool Street in 1999 and then to the heritage-listed Corporation Building on Hay Street. The building is owned by the City of Sydney.
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