Jerry Saltz: In Conversation

Insightful, outspoken and refreshingly unpretentious Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Jerry Saltz brings his trademark irreverence and razor-sharp wit to Sydney Town Hall in his first Australian appearance.

Exclusive to Vivid Sydney, the best-selling author of How To Be An Artist and longstanding senior art critic of New York Magazine will cut through the rapidly shifting art world’s pressures, contradictions and possibilities with a keynote address, followed by a lively conversation with art historian Mary McGillivray.

Deemed the “critic of the people” by Architectural Digest, Saltz’s decades of snappy, personality-filled criticism has shaped how we understand and think about art — as have his fast, fun and furious takes on social media.

Plainspoken and passionate, Saltz will tackle the challenges facing artists today, from visibility and sustainability to authenticity in the age of algorithms and AI. He’ll also explore how artists can best navigate our fast-moving, digital and global culture, and where traditional galleries, institutions and collectors fit in today’s state of the art.

Certain to be provocative, candid and illuminating, Saltz will challenge assumptions, champion creativity and remind us why art still matters.

Hear from one of contemporary art’s most influential and unfiltered voices, in a night essential for artists, curators, collectors, students and anyone eager to understand where contemporary art and culture is headed.