We’re excited to bring the BlakView cohort together in person for our Orange Intensive at Orange Regional Gallery from Tuesday 13 – Thursday 15 October 2026.
Sessions will run approximately 10.00am–4.00pm each day, with further program details to be shared shortly.
Please complete this form to confirm your attendance and help us finalise catering and planning for the intensive.
Please note: Participants are responsible for organising and covering their own transport to/from Orange, accommodation and associated travel logistics. ARAA is not covering these costs as part of the intensive.
BLAKView Orange Intensive
BLAKView – Online Session 1
Tuesday 25th August
In our first BLAKView online session, facilitator Dr Suzie Gibson introduced participants to the foundations of critical and review writing, exploring how writers can develop their own voice while thinking carefully about audience, tone, empathy and perspective.
The session looked at how a strong review moves beyond simply deciding whether something is “good” or “bad” and instead asks what a creative work is trying to achieve, how it creates meaning, who it speaks to and why it matters. Participants also discussed the importance of regional voices in arts criticism, creating greater visibility for the incredible art and cultural activity happening across regional NSW.
Suzie also unpacked examples of published arts reviews and shared practical advice about writing for different publications, understanding your reader and approaching criticism with curiosity, fairness and confidence.
Watch the full session to learn more and start developing your own critical writing voice.
BLAKView – Online Session 2
Tuesday 8th September
In this BLAKView session, facilitator Dr Suzie Gibson took participants through two very different reviews of The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art, an exhibition touring North America.
Together, the group unpacked how each writer approached the exhibition, looking beyond whether they simply liked or disliked the work and exploring how culture, perspective, language and lived experience can shape the way art is reviewed.
The conversation also raised important questions about who gets to write about Aboriginal art, whose voices are included in those conversations, and the responsibility writers have when responding to work outside their own cultural experience.
By comparing the two reviews, participants were encouraged to think critically about writing style, audience, cultural sensitivity and the power a review can have in shaping how an exhibition and the artists within it are understood.
Watch the full BLAKView session below and join the conversation.
Video passcode: 74MYY?07
BLAKView – Online Session 3
Tuesday 22nd September
Watch the full BLAKView session below and join the conversation.
Video passcode: U4mY%++c
BLAKView – Online Session 4
Tuesday 6th October
Watch the full BLAKView session below and join the conversation.
Video passcode: UB3?8Cvs