Artists in conversation Marikit Santiago

The Artists in conversation series offers insights into the creative practices of Australian artists. Maria Stoljar, host and producer of the popular Talking with painters podcast, facilitates conversations, revealing what inspires and informs artists’ creative practice.

Western Sydney–based Filipina–Australian artist Marikit Santiago is a three-time Archibald Prize finalist and winner of the Sulman Prize 2020. She is also the recipient of the 2024 La Prairie Art Award.

In her paintings, Santiago probes her relationship between art and life, career and family, myth and reality. Using oil paint and gold leaf alongside humble materials such as cardboard boxes and markers, she produces rich and detailed compositions, layered with cultural and religious symbolism. Her deeply personal and meticulous practice explores her lived Filipina–Australian experience through the canon of Western art history.

Santiago’s works A Seat at the Table (Magulang) and A Seat at the Table (Kapatid), which were acquired by the Art Gallery of New South Wales as part of the La Prairie Art Award, are currently on display in the Making Worlds exhibition on lower level 1 of Nula Badu, the Art Gallery’s north building, until 28 July 2024.

The online version of this talk will be available as a free and exclusive benefit to current members of the Art Gallery of New South Wales in the coming months.