Interview by Maria Wang
This Saturday night, Sydney’s own St. O’Donnell collective are throwing the fourth edition of their Select Gallery parties, looking to tingle all the senses in all the right ways.
Encompassing music, art, fashion and film, the event will continue St. O’Donnell’s unwavering quest to uncover the country’s most exciting talents from the bubbling underground, fusing a range of mediums in their all-encompassing approach. It’s all going down in an ‘undisclosed Inner West location’ with free beverages, so stick close to the I-Dub and stay thirsty.
Ahead of the night, we spoke to the St. O’Donnell crew to see what we should expect this Saturday night. Read on below and grab your tickets right here:
How would you describe the vibe or atmosphere of your Select Galleries to someone who’s never been to one?
I’d love to say that ‘different’ is the best way to describe the Select Galleries. We really pride ourselves on creating a unique all-inclusive environment that’s really set itself apart from everything else going on. With the balance of music, fashion, film, art and booze I feel it doesn’t fall too heavily into one category – it’s not too much of a piss-up, and not too much of an art gallery. It’s treading a fine line between it all which I think makes it accessible for everyone without pigeonholing the label.
What can St O’Donnell veterans expect that’s coming fresh to #004?
The most obvious addition is a food truck – the homies at Lemon Rose Eats will be on site serving up some goodness. And a couple fresh faces on the music lineup – we’re stoked to have booked beat-smith Mohi and all-round legend Carmody to throw down some sets. There’s some new merch on show toom, and it’s the first time we’ve presented a skate film – local cinematographer Joel Lumbroso’s new piece will be exhibited fresh off it’s web premiere, which we’re really hyped about.
From choosing the location to the exhibiting artists, what’s the usual curatorial process in putting together a gallery which showcases such diversity in its art forms?
There have been a lot of group chats and surprisingly very little conflict in opinions – the whole team are definitely on the same mindset of who and what we want to show – so it’s actually not that hard to all come together. We’ve had mood boards floating around for a while and it’s a theme that’s been brewing since we wrapped up the last one.
Is there usually a specific message you try to portray, or a theme which runs across all the works?
#04 will probably be the most themed one to date, as the pre-production has been super meticulous to organise how the whole space will look and feel, but in terms of a message I wouldn’t say there’s an overarching concept behind it. They all tread around a combination of local grassroots creatives expressing what they deem most important, whatever that may be. Obvious elements of multiculturalism and independence will be prevalent, as we really let the artists present what they see fit.
Can you give us a run-down of the producers and DJs performing at Select Gallery #004, and hot tips on which artists we should especially look out for?
First timer Mohi – a beatmaker and drummer who we’ve wanted to showcase forever – will grace the stage late, and people’s champ Carmody is on right after to throw down a huge set. The homie Suede Francisco from the Mozaick Records crew is on dropping absurd Panda remixes and more – we booked him for a night at our recent pop-up, and HAD to get him back for a bigger audience. Here’s hoping he brings up some special guests, too
Our dear friends Best Before will be sending a rep over with a USB, word is they’ve got a bunch of industry exclusives to leak. And last but not least we had to get our in-house dudes on it – St. O’Donnell DJs will be up there warming the space up. Still B2Bs though, anyone?
