A&D at the Venice Biennale 2019

Angelica Mesiti

Angelica Mesiti (BFA 2001, MFA 2012) is one of Australia’s most and internationally profiled contemporary artists, who combines performance with video, sound and spatial installations. Angelica has developed a practice characterised by large-scale video and sound works, and in recent years has been creating videos that reveal how culture is manifested through non-linguistic forms of communication – especially through sound and gesture. 

Angelica Mesiti’s acclaimed ASSEMBLY exhibition for the Venice Biennale examines the collective power of ‘the people’ through a three-channel video and installation created during her two-month residency at UNSW Art & Design.

Clare Armitage

Clare Armitage (BAT Honours 2012) has a particular interest in cross-cultural curational practice and storytelling. Clare has been working in the Northern Territory for the past seven years in public and private art galleries between Darwin and Katherine. In 2014, Clare was awarded an Australian Council Curatorial Fellowship at the Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts & Culture Centre in Katherine, where she currently works as the Curator. In 2017, Clare was also named the Inaugural SPARK NT curator, and her exhibition Fecund: Fertile Worlds has been touring the Northern Territory for the past year.

Amanda Saker

Amanda Saker (BFA 2009, MD 2015) is an emerging curator from Sydney who is in interested in young and emerging artists working across disciplines. Amanda was recently awarded a Master of Curating & Cultural Leadership from UNSW and has broad experience in exhibiting development and production. Amanda has held internships with The Curators’ Department (Sydney), and has worked and volunteered for key art organisations including Carriageworks, Sydney Biennale and Kaldor Public Art Projects.

Hannah Rose Carroll Harris

Hannah Rose Carroll Harris (BFA Honours 2014) is a Sydney-based arts facilitator and artist working in sculpture and installation. Hannah draws inspiration from the Australian landscape and her practice engages in a process of collecting and reassembling to re-image our place in the natural world. Over the past five years through both artistic and professional practices, Hannah has worked with arts organisations to help deliver engaging and immersive experiences. 

Nadia Odlum

Nadia Odlum (MFA 2016) is an emerging artist whose practice explores the experience of navigation within urban and architectural environments. Nadia works as an artist educator at the Art Gallery of NSW, as a public programs producer at the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences and is a current artist in residence at the Parramatta Artists Studios. Nadia’s work has been exhibited at a number of institutes including the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), the New York Transit Museum, The Murray Art Museum in Albury and Artspace.

Kate Davis

Kate Davis (BFA 2010) is an artist and curator whose practice lies at the intersection of art, education and community. She seeks to make sense of a rapidly changing world by offering experiences that promote collaboration and exchange. Kate uses these experiences to examine systems of knowledge, power dynamics in digital spaces, methods of resistance and the accessibility of contemporary art. She undertook a research residency at the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, founded Pavement Projects and participated in the 4A Curators’ Intensive, the Shanghai Curators Lab and MoreArt Public Art Show.

Jasmin Stephens

Jasmin Stephens (Sessional Lecturer, UNSW Art & Design) is an independent curator and lectures in the fields of curatorial studies and contemporary Asian art. Since 2011, Jasmin has pursued a critical practice as a curator and educator and has contributed to programming across Australia and in Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan. Jasmin has previously held senior positions with Artbank, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) and Fremantle Arts Centre.

Blake Griffiths

Blake Griffiths (BAE 2017, BD Honours 2017) is a textile designer and art educator who is captivated by social issues. Blake has initiated a collaborative project FRESHbark, which is a mentoring program working with emerging Indigenous artists in far west NSW, where Blake lives. His passion encourages and promotes art-making experiences as a holistic approach to wellbeing in regional areas. Blake investigates the interrelationships between our state collections, geographic environment and individual identity to inspire and stimulate participation within the arts.

Read more about Angelica Mesiti and Clare Armitage.