Concrete Playground

Art is difficult to talk about and even more difficult to unconditionally support – but not so for Gene and Brian Sherman. Gene, the former director of Sherman Galleries, and husband Brian are synonymous with cultural patronage, and Words, Etc. at the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation is simply the next link in the chain.

Thus far, the bi-monthly-ish events, focusing on the written or spoken word, have been the site for a guest lecture on the significance of Australian literature from academic Nicholas Jose, and the launch of Anne Summers’ The Lost Mother: A Story of Art and Love.

This month, Andrew Cameron, Deputy Chair of the Biennale of Sydney, will launch Contemporary Art + Philanthropy: Private Foundations — Asia-Pacific Focus, a new publication which contains contributions from Gene Sherman, Nicholas Jose, Elaine W. Ng, Carrillo Gantner and Britta Erickson, addressing the role and impact of private philanthropy in the contemporary art sector.


Image: Permanent installation at SCAF, designed by Chris Bosse (LAVA). Photo by Melody Willis.