Kirsty Grant and Alisa Bunbury with Eric Thake’s ‘Brasilia at Corio’
Curator Lecture: Eric Thake—Do You See What I See?
Saturday 14 November 2026, 1.00 to 2.00pm
- Cost—
- Members $15
- Non-members $20
- Students $15
- Exhibition entry not included in ticket price
Location: Geelong Regional Library, Level 5
Join guest curators Kirsty Grant and Alisa Bunbury for an in-depth exploration of Eric Thake—Do You See What I See? the major summer exhibition celebrating one of Australia’s most inventive and perceptive artists.
Drawing on more than 140 works spanning printmaking, drawing, photography and painting, the exhibition reveals how Thake transformed everyday observations into images of wit, humour and surprise. This lecture will examine key themes across his practice, including his striking photographic response to the Second World War, his much-loved Christmas card designs, and the enduring relevance of his distinctive visual language within Australian art.
The lecture will also highlight Thake’s significant connections to Geelong, from his solo exhibition at Geelong Gallery in 1976 to the Gallery’s important holdings of his celebrated Christmas card suite and the acquisition of Brasilia at Corio (1976). Through these works and stories, discover how Geelong played a meaningful role in preserving and celebrating Thake’s artistic legacy.
This lecture offers an opportunity to gain deeper insight into the life, work and enduring influence of one of Australia’s most original creative voices.
About the curators
Kirsty Grant and Alisa Bunbury have been curatorial colleagues for many years and worked together at the National Gallery of Victoria. They have been working towards an exhibition and publication of Eric Thake’s engaging art for around twenty years.
Alisa Bunbury is a curator and art historian with a specialisation in works on paper. She is a senior curator at the Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne, where she co-curated the exhibition Ngarn Wa’ngal: Art of the gum tree, and also works as a freelance curator, writer, researcher and presenter on a wide range of topics. In 2018 she held a State Library Victoria fellowship to research Thake’s art and is compiling a catalogue raisonné of his oeuvre.
Kirsty Grant is a curator and writer with a specialist knowledge of Australian art and design developed over two decades working with major public collections. She was Director of Heide Museum of Modern Art (2015-16) and prior to that held various roles at the National Gallery of Victoria, including Senior Curator of Australian Art (2007-14).
