Friends with Strangers is an artist-focused cultural organisation that seeks wonder, connection and revolution. We produce, curate, consult and create.



PROJECTS

CARRIAGEWORKS NIGHTS

Friends with Strangers curated and produced a series of up late programming spanning performance, music, film, and food.

Read more2023




BLUE WORLD - THE VALERIE TAYLOR ART PRIZE

Friends with Strangers Co Directed this invitational art prize. The Valerie Taylor Art prize is for Oceania's leading and most innovative artists who care about the degradation of our oceans. This art prize presents an opportunity for invited artists to promote a love of the ocean, awareness of the vastness of the problems, and practical solutions to fix them.

Read more2023



THE FRONT ROOM

Friends with Strangers curated and produced a series of 5 artist led events in the heritage bar at The Alex. Including Hannah Bronte, Emily Parsons- Lord, Samuel Hodge and Rosie Deacon
2023




SOUND OUT THE STREETS

Friends with Strangers was the Co- Artistic Director with Sēini 'SistaNative' Taumoepeau of Sound Out the Street. Sound Out the Street was a site-specific relational space activation in Erskineville Village which honoured the transient and itinerant nature of the local Art community of creatives. Sound Out the Street centered storytelling and the call’n’response of conversation as an intervention throughout Erskineville   

Read more2022
- 2023




HOME

In 2020, Sam Watson Wood  co- curated and co-produced 'HOME' a bushfire relief fundraiser with Rae Begley at the National Art School. HOME was a one night only exhibition and art auction event with 67 leading and emerging artist works including Mike Parr, Del Kathryn Barton and Ben Quilty raising almost $250, 000 for the Climate Council, Seed Mob and Firesticks  

Read more2020





LIVEWORKS

Sam Watson Wood  was Executive Producer and then Artistic Advisor at Performance Space from 2020 - 2022. Emerging 40 years ago in response to artists’ articulated desire to explore and investigate new forms of art, Performance Space has consistently identified, nurtured and presented new directions in contemporary practice championing risk, experimentation, and new modes of creative expression.  

Read more2020
- 2022




SYDNEY CONTEMPORARY

Sydney Contemporary - Sydney Contemporary is an international art fair’s with Australia ’s largest and most diverse gathering of local and international galleries. Sam Watson Wood was The Director of Programs and Partnerships and part of the launch team. In 2023 Friends with Strangers curated the performance and talks program of the Fair.


Read more2013
- 2021





ART MONTH

Art Month Sydney is an annual festival that encourages engagement with contemporary art and artists through a culture of gallery visitation, fostering pathways for the next generation of collectors and facilitating access to artists and their stories. Sam Watson Wood  was the Festival Director of Art Month in 2016 and 2017 

Read more2016 
- 2017




CLERKENWELL DESIGN WEEK

Clerkenwell Design Week - Clerkenwell Design Week is an award-winning international design festival that celebrates all disciplines of design in London’s creative hub. The festival houses 4 major exhibition spaces and over 60 design showrooms with an array of installations, workshops, seminars, performances and street activations. Sam Watson Wood was part of the launch team working across communications, audience development and commissions.

Read more2010
- 2012


SERVICES

Curation and Artistic Direction -
Friends with Strangers curates diverse contemporary art experiences, including new commissions, exhibitions, performances, public programs, and outreach initiatives. Our mission is to enrich culture and foster community vibrancy through meaningful engagements with cutting-edge contemporary art, embracing risk, experimentation, collaboration, and advocacy.


Producing - We specialise in producing both large and small-scale events, exhibitions, performances, installations, and public art projects. Collaborating closely with artists, organisations, and institutions, we adeptly develop and deliver projects within specified timelines and budgets. Our dedicated team of highly skilled and experienced crew ensures the successful and seamless execution of every endeavour

Partnerships - We have keen understanding of commercial practice and aligning the objectives of business with meaningful, genuine creative collaboration that aligns with the artistic vision and values


Communications - We develop comprehensive, strategically-driven communication and marketing plans that encompass branding, audience development, strategic partnerships, and a cohesive voice across all touchpoints.


Strategy - We collaborate with artists, organisations, and institutions to develop and refine creative concepts, ensuring both artistic innovation and practical viability, all while fostering meaningful audience engagement

We would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people, who are the traditional custodians of the land we meet, play and work on. We pay our respects to all Elders past and present. We acknowledge the ongoing and important practice of storytelling and art making from the Gadigal people who have been creating and dreaming since the first sunrise.