Talking Posters: Garage Graphix 1981-1998

For the first time since Garage Graphix closed its doors, the exhibition at The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre in 2022, called ‘Talking Posters: Garage Graphix 1981 – 1998’, presented a range of artworks alongside archival objects, photographs and memoirs. The selection was drawn from the Garage Graphix archive, and provided a snapshot of the role of ‘The Garage’ in shaping western Sydney identity. Speaking with a distinct voice, the posters tell stories of cross-cultural collaboration, artistic innovation, and the ongoing power of community action.

The exhibition was curated by Nadia Odlum, through a mentorship program with Julie Ewington, and toured to Wagga Wagga Art Gallery in 2022 and the Sydney Festival in 2024. Blacktown Arts acknowledges the support of the Garage Graphix Reference Group in developing the project: Alice Hinton-Bateup, Maxine Conaty, Marla Guppy, Lee-Anne Hall, Lin Mountstephen, Jenny Bisset, Paul Howard and Alicia Talbot.

ESSAY BY NADIA ODLUM

Selected artworks from Garage Graphix

Image Credits:

Garage Graphix: Making Art in Mt Druitt, 1986 Calendar page,1986, screenprint on paper. © the artists. Photo: Lin Mountstephen.
Garage Graphix: 200 Years of Colonisation, 1986, screenprint on paper. © Alice Hinton-Bateup. Photo: Jennifer Leahy.
Garage Graphix: Now Let’s Crack the System, screenprint on paper. © Alice Hinton-Bateup and Marla Guppy in collaboration with Tanya Ellis. Photo: Jennifer Leahy
Garage Graphix: Talking Posters Project Promotional Poster, 1985, screenprint on paper. © Leeanne Donohoe. Photo: Jennifer Leahy
Garage Graphix: We Have Survived, 1987, screenprint on paper. © Alice Hinton-Bateup and Marla Guppy. Photo: Jennifer Leahy
Garage Graphix: Garage Graphix Report Cover 1982, 1982, screenprint on paper. © Lin Mountstephen. Photo: Jennifer Leahy
Garage Graphix: Do You Get Hassled Because You’re Different?, 1983, screenprint on paper. © Leanne Clerke (Crissy). Photo: Jennifer Leahy
Garage Graphix: Australia Day = Invasion Day, 1987, screenprint on paper. © Wendy Holland (nee Dunn) in collaboration with Alice Hinton-Bateup. Photo: Jennifer Leahy
Garage Graphix: Women’s Dreaming Continues, 1988, screenprint on paper. © Karen Vance. Photo: Jennifer Leahy.
Garage Graphix: Love Express, 1983, screenprint on paper. © Marla Guppy. Photo: Jennifer Leahy
Garage Graphix: Pittuma Arts, Craft and Resource Centre, screenprint on paper. © Alice Hinton-Bateup in collaboration with Tanya Ellis. Photo: Jennifer Leahy.
Garage Graphix: Liverpool Young Women’s Resource Centre, 1987, screenprint on paper. © Marla Guppy. Lent by Marla Guppy. Photo: Jennifer Leahy

Acknowledgement of Country