COLLABORATION //
peacefender x TUNZ 

Alongside one of the most significant solo exhibitions to date for Lebanese Australian artist Khaled Sabsabi at The Lock Up (14 Sep – 24 Nov 2024), is an exhibition collaboration between Sabsabi, known by his Hip Hop name peacefender, and his hip-hop, friend and graffiti artist TUNZ (Shane Kennedy).

peacefender and TUNZ, is a first-time exhibition collaboration between two Hip Hop and visual artists that have known each other for over 30 years. The impetus behind the collaboration and starting point for the works on display in the exhibition was born out of both artists’ lyrics and rhythms. The commonality for peacefender and TUNZ is the appreciation of an ‘alternative’, a way in which to open up and share untold Hip Hop connections and stories.

An Artist Walkthrough on 28 September 2024, presented in partnership with New Annual, will offer audiences a chance to go behind the scenes and back through Australian Hip Hop history through the collaboration, conversation, and deep friendships and connections the creative duo have forged and fostered on a national scale for close to three decades.

Audiences will also be invited by the duo to take part in a special event following the Walkthrough with TUNZ’s participatory street art commission on the Hunter Street hoarding as part of The Big Picture Fest.

ARTIST WALKTHROUGH // Saturday 28 September 2-3pm
With artists peacefender (Khaled Sabsabi) & TUNZ (Shane Kennedy).

Free event, bookings essential
BOOK TICKETS HERE

ABOUT KHALED SABSABI

Khaled Sabsabi works across multiple mediums and his art deals with concepts of nationhood, identity and change. Since the late 1980s, the artist has worked with communities on arts projects that explore place, displacement, marginalisation, and ideological differences associated with the human condition. Born in 1965, Tripoli, Lebanon and currently lives and works in Sydney, Australia. Khaled Sabsabi’s process involves working across art mediums, geographical borders and cultures to create immersive and engaging art experiences. He see’s art as an effective tool to communicate with people, through a familiar language. Sabsabi makes work that questions; rationales and complexities of nationhood, identity and change. His practice speaks to audiences in ways that interconnect the interrelatedness and cycles of daily life. Khaled was awarded an Australia Council for the Arts CCD fellowship in 2001, Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship 2010, 60th Blake Prize 2011, MCG Basil Sellers fellowship 2014, Fishers Ghost Prize 2014, Western Sydney ARTS NSW Fellowship 2015 and Sharjah Art Programme Prize 2016. He is represented by Milani Gallery, Brisbane and has 14 works in private, national and international collections. He has also participated in the 5th Marrakech Biennale, 18th Biennale of Sydney, 9th Shanghai Biennale, Sharjah Biennial 11, 1st Yinchuan Biennale, 3rd Kochi Muziris Biennale, Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art 2018 and the 21st Biennale of Sydney.

SHANE KENNEDY

TUNZ (Shane Kennedy) the co-creator of UP&UP Inspirations is an energetic and enthusiastic artist, youth worker and community engagement specialist from Newcastle NSW. With a career spanning 30 years, he has been instrumental in designing and leading creativewell-being programs, that draw on his passion of Hip Hop culture. Through these initiatives, Shane instils inspiration, helping people discover their unique capabilities and strengths, fostering self-development, confidence, and creativity. Shane employs a vibrant celebration of Hip Hop culture, incorporating elements like graffiti, music, storytelling, passion, and honesty to create a nurturing environment for self-expression and self-respect.

Beyond his excellence in youth work and community development, Shane is a seasoned artist. Before co-founding UP&UP Inspirations in 2014, he established himself as a graffiti artist with over two decades of experience both in Australia and internationally. As a graffiti artist, Hip Hop MC, community worker, and wellness speaker, Shane’s contagious energy and enthusiasm captivate individuals of all ages and backgrounds.