Art Chat: Gabby Malpas on Licensing (26 November 2026)
Art Chat: Gabby Malpas on Licensing
5–6:30pm AEST (Brisbane) / 6–7:30pm AEDST (Sydney) Thursday 26 November 2026
Join us online for an engaging chat with master artist Gabby Malpas as she shares her knowledge on the creative and commercial aspects of licensing art.
There are few artists in Australia who share Gabby's extensive licensing experience, with four decades of experience working on numerous product design, textiles, corporate advertising and public art projects with commercial clients including Maxwell & Williams Australia, Blue Island Press Australia, Liberty London, Coopers beer, Meriton hotels, World Square Sydney, and many more.
Gabby's paintings and ceramic artworks carry a distinct chinoiserie-inspired aesthetic that translates beautifully into commercial licensing projects. While others may reject commercial work as compromising their art, Gabby has embraced licensing opportunities as opportunities to reimagine her art, extend the reach and impact of her work, and of course to create financial sustainability that, in turn, affords her greater creative freedom as an artist. In this art chat, Gabby will share how she approaches commercial work and provide real-life advice on some of the practical aspects of art licensing.
This talk will be moderated by Plant Empire's founder, Sue McKell, who has a background in intellectual property management, commercialisation and business development.
About Gabby Malpas
Gabby graduated from the Otago School of Fine Arts in New Zealand in 1986 with a major in ceramics. In her early years of practice, Gabby pivoted towards watercolour as a natural progression from liquid underglazes that were the feature of her undergraduate work, but returned to clay in 2020 after an absence of 34 years. Gabby’s work could be interpreted as decorative but she engages in quiet activism by weaving stories into her work based on her life experience as trans-racial, Chinese adoptee, raised in a white family. Her paintings and ceramics are rich with engaging and lavish imagery and forms, inviting the viewer for a closer look. Many of her pieces have stories and hidden meanings within them, while others are made purely for joy. Her works are a true and unique amalgamation of western and Chinese aesthetics.
Who Should Attend?
This talk is suitable for both practising artists and curious art lovers.
How to Join?
You will receive a link from Plant Empire via email on how to login to the presentation. The formal talk and demonstration will be approximately 1 hour in length, followed by 30 minutes of questions from participants. We will be streaming the talk and demonstration online, and will have an online moderator to assist with facilitating questions online and in person.
This is a live event with no recording. To ensure the best experience for attendees, places will be strictly limited for this event, so register early to ensure you have a seat online.
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Cost
$20
Location
Online
Reminders
You have full control over how (and how often) you receive reminders for our events. You will receive one email confirmation from us when you purchase your workshop registration and one subsequent email with the online login details if you are joining online; but we won't send any further email reminders, so please ensure that you have the workshop details in your diary. You can also use the "add to calendar" function in our events calendar to add workshops to your digital calendar and customise your reminder preferences.
Cancellation Policy
Please choose carefully before registering for this talk as we do not offer refunds on event bookings. If you need to cancel your place up to 24 hours before the talk, we will provide you with a voucher that you can use to attend a future talk or any other purchase at Plant Empire. We regret that we are unable to provide vouchers for cancellations made within 24 hours of the talk.
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