SYDNEY.- Sullivan+Strumpf announced their representation of South Sudanese Australian artist Atong Atem, known for her richly staged images that explore photography as a space where history, memory, performance and imagination converge.
Drawing on Dinka philosophy, African studio photography, family archives and diverse spiritual and visual traditions, Atem (b.1991), reimagines portraiture as a site of self-determination, where inherited histories are continually reconfigured rather than simply preserved.
The announcement comes at a significant juncture in Atom’s career, with her first-ever major institutional solo exhibition, Passage: The Art of Atong Atem, set to open at the National Gallery of Victoria 30 October 2026 until 14 June 2027; premiering new works alongside a comprehensive survey of the past decade of the artist’s practice.
Atem’s Sullivan+Strumpf solo exhibition debut will be held at their Sydney gallery in May 2027, with a limited collection of the artist’s work to be made available in advance, as part of Sullivan+Strumpf’s presentations at Sydney Contemporary 2026 and Frieze London 2026.
Atong Atem’s work has been exhibited widely across Australia, including at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, National Portrait Gallery, the Immigration Museum, and Dark MOFO 26 at the State Library of Tasmania.
Internationally, her work has been exhibited at the Tate Modern (London) Wereldmuseum (Rotterdam), Fotografiska Shanghai, Stadtgalerie (Germany), Victoria and Albert Museum (London) and the National Maritime Museum (Amsterdam) (Het Scheepvaartmuseum).
In 2025, Atem exhibited at the Les Rencontres de la Photographie, Arles, France in partnership with PHOTO Australia, where she was selected as one of the six nominees for the Prix de La Photo Madame Figaro-Arles.
Other prizes and awards include the recipient of La Prairie Art Award (2022) by the Art Gallery of New South Wales for her originality and ambitiously crafted and vibrant photographic portraits that celebrate their subjects, and also the recipient of NGV Mecca M-Power Grant (2017).
Alongside her studio practice, Atem maintains a strong media presence, engaging with public discourse on contemporary art, culture, fashion, architecture and motherhood.
In 2025, she collaborated with Australia UNHCR to celebrate World Refugee Day creating an arresting oversized print of her work, Three Women, in one of Australia’s busiest public thoroughfares, Martin Place between Elizabeth and Phillips Street, Sydney.
Her work and insights have been featured in major international publications, including Vogue, Financial Times, The Guardian, Financial Review, ABC, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Dazed, and many more.
