POWER – The Future is Here
Denis Golding, curated by Kyra Kum-Sing
7 November 2026 – 30 January 2027
Location | Canberra Contemporary, Queen Elizabeth Terrace, Parkes ACT 2600
Opening Hours | Open Tuesday–Saturday, 11am-5pm
Entry | Free | No bookings required
Access | template, template, template
EXHIBITION OPENING EVENT | FRIDAY 6 NOVEMBER, 6PMCanberra Contemporary is pleased to present POWER – The Future is Here, the result of a collaboration between artist Dennis Golding and Torres Strait Island students from Alexandria Park Community School. Superhero capes were created during a 2020 workshop led by Golding as artist in residence through Solid Ground, a program supporting First Nations students through arts engagement. Students from Kindergarten to Year 12 designed their capes with iconography drawn from their lived experience and cultural identity.
As superheroes, Golding and his young collaborators are empowered and reminded of the strength of their culture in forming their identity and connection to Country. Together and individually, the capes critique social, political and cultural representations of contemporary First Nations experience.
A Solid Ground project with Dennis Golding and Alexandria Park Community School, curated by Kyra Kum-Sing, presented by Carriageworks and Blacktown Arts, and touring with Museums & Galleries of NSW. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Visions of Australia program.
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Dennis Golding is a Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay artist from the northwest of New South Wales and was born and raised on Gadigal land (Redfern, Sydney). Through his mother’s lineage Dennis also has ancestral ties to Biripi country situated along the mid-north coast of NSW. Working in a range of mixed media including painting, video, photography and installation, Golding critiques the social, political and cultural representations of race and identity. His practice is drawn from his own experiences living in urban environments and through childhood memories. Goldin was surrounded by art from his urban upbringing living in an Aboriginal community in Redfern (often referred to as ‘The Block’). As a young child, he often watched his mother and grandmother paint on large canvas and sheen fabrics which depicted Australian native plants and animals, cultural motifs, and human figures. Golding developed his professional practice in art school through mentorships with leading curators, educators and artists. Golding graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) at UNSW Art & Design in 2019 and now works independently as an artist and curator.
SEE ARTIST WEBSITE HERE -
Kyra Kum-Sing is a Malera Bandjalan, Mitakoodi woman. Kyra has paved a unique and important path within the arts as both an artist and curator. She has been the curator at Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative for the past four years and has curated significant and acclaimed exhibitions including Boomalli’s 25th Anniversary Mardi Gras Exhibition: Original Box (2019); Warriors for the Environment (2019); invisible (2020) and Shell It (2021).
Proudly supported by Canberra Contemporary
A Solid Ground Project with Dennis Golding and Alexandria Park Community School, curated by Kyra Kum-Sing, presented by Carriageworks and Blacktown Arts, and touring with Museums & Galleries of NSW. This program has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Visions of Australia program.
Images | Dennis Golding with The Future is Here, 2021 | The Future is Here Installation at Carriageworks, 2021 | Photos by Zan Wimberley