As part of the 'High Tides: Yuki Kihara and Morgan Hogg' exhibition held at 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, this 4A Talks was organised as a 'talanoa' session, which saw renowned Japanese and Sāmoan interdisciplinary artist Yuki Kihara (via Zoom) and emerging Cook Island Māori (Ngāti Tāne) and Tahitian artist, creative producer Morgan Hogg in conversation with and moderated by Western Sydney based Sāmoan Tusitala and People Weaver Gabriel Faatau'uu-Satiu.

The discussions explored the High Tides exhibition, as well as the power of ancestral knowledge, resilience and intergenerational exchange in the face of the climate crisis.

Grounded in the lived realities of Te Moana-nui-a-kiwa, this conversation offered a space for reflection, healing and dialogue around rising seas, cultural continuity and creative resistance.

It was recorded on unceded indigenous Gadigal land of the Eora nation.

How can everyday staples like rice, bananas, and medicinal plants unravel complex migratory and colonial histories, transcultural languages, and political strategies? In this 4A Talks episode, artists Keg de Souza and Chu Hao Pei are in-conversation with Mariam Ella Arcilla about eating practices and the transformative act of cooking, harvesting, archiving, and sharing food. Timed to coincide with the release of the publication Tastes of Justice: The Aesthetics and Politics of Food Art Practices in Asia and Australia (2026), this interview explores four seminal works: Keg’s artistic publications If a coconut falls (2024) and Bananas: A Wild Story (2026) and Hao Pei’s multimedia project Nasi Goreng Diplomacy (2023-present) and Seeding Sovereignty (2022).

More information about the Food Art Research here: https://www.foodartresearch.network/project/tasting-justice-cooking-the-coda/

Recorded on 16 February 2026 at Magenta House on Gadigal land, this episode was commissioned by the Tastes of Justice Curatorial Collective (Francis Maravillas, Marnie Badham, Stephen Loo, and Madeleine Collie), 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, and the Food Art Research Network; in partnership with Magenta House, UNSW, LASALLE College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore, RMIT University and CAST research group.

Tian Zhang, an independent curator, writer, facilitator and collective worker facilitates ‘Nomadic Journeys: The Ulaanbaatar Biennale, art and exchange.’

In her role as Ulaanbaatar Biennale Chief Curator, Zhang will lead a discussion with Executive Director of Arts Council of Mongolia, Odgerel Odonchimed, Mongolian curator and artist Ariuntuya Jambaldorj, and Ulaanbaatar Biennale participating artist Jazz Money.

They will offer insights into the emerging Mongolian arts community, the development of the Ulaanbaatar Biennale On the horizon, under the moon (2025), and reflections on art and cultural exchange between Mongolia and so-called Australia.

This project is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.

Exhibiting artist Emil Cañita discusses their new work Poz Cocksucking Tranny Exposed (2025) with Con Gerakaris, Curatorial Program Manager, 4A.

4A TALKS: Emil Cañita is a public program for Antivenom: Year of the Snake, part of 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Arts' Lunar New Year 2025 artistic program.

Curated and produced by Platform Asia, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney and Dreamy Place.

Supported by Art Fund, Arts Council England, Creative Australia, Diversity Art Forum, People’s Postcode Trust and The Chalk Cliff Trust. Special thanks to arebyte Gallery and Chinabot.

Speakers:

• Elsewhere in India (Artists: Murthovic and Thiruda)
• Amrita Dhallu (Assistant Curator, International Art at Tate)
• Kinnari Saraiya (Curator, Somerset House & Guest Curator, arebyte Gallery)
• Morgan Sully, aka Memeshift (Artist, Musician & Curator, Latent Sonorities)
• Gary Zhexi Zhang (Artist)

Chair & Moderator: Michelle Rocha (Head of Touring, Factory International)

For this episode of 4A Talks, we speak with Sophia Cai, the curator of our ongoing exhibition, A Soft Touch, which brings together ten contemporary Australian artists and explores empowerment and dissent through the art of textile.

"There's nothing wrong in being a soft person," she says as she shares why she chose the name, what defines 'a soft touch' and why she doesn't really stop thinking about her curations - even if the exhibition closes.

Tune in!

Artist and designer Evi O talks with Con Gerakaris (4A, Curatorial Program Manager) about her recent commissioned public artwork A Pair of Marbled Cone Snails Races to Chinatown for the Special Braised Eggplant. They discuss design as art, food tourism, the ongoing gentrification of Sydney's Chinatown and public art.

Artist Rel Pham discusses his new commissioned exhibition Cache with curator Con Gerakaris (4A, Curatorial Program Manager). Rel discusses the range of influences which informed his new work including PC operations, Big Data, memory, the I-Ching and more.