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Dr Diana Baker Smith

Dr Diana Baker Smith

Senior Lecturer

  • PhD Art & Design: UNSW Art & Design, Sydney, March 2017.

  • Bachelor of Fine Arts: Time Based Art, UNSW, Sydney, May 2008.

  • Bachelor of Arts (Honours Class 1): Film Studies, UNSW, Sydney, May 2008.

Arts, Design & Architecture (ADA)
School of Art & Design

Diana Baker Smith is an artist and Senior Lecturer in Fine Arts at the School of Art & Design, UNSW. Her research is grounded in feminist methodologies and collaborative processes, activating embodied and affective responses to historical materials. Working at the intersection of performance and moving image, she engages with sites, archives, and institutional histories to reimagine what is remembered, forgotten or deliberately obscured. She is currently developing a new body of work that draws on her familial archive to trace the entangled colonial histories of Ireland and Australia, using water as both subject and method.

Recent solo exhibitions and commissions include, This Place Where They Dwell (Penrith Regional Gallery, 2024), Falling Towards Another (Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, 2024), A Score for Reconstruction (Newcastle Art Gallery, 2024), She Speaks in Sculpture (UTS Art Gallery, 2022), The Lost Hour (Contemporary Art Tasmania, 2022) and Tasks yet to be composed for the occasion (Ideas Platform, Artspace, 2021). Her solo and collaborative works have been presented nationally at institutions including the Art Gallery of NSW, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, National Gallery of Australia, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Art Gallery of South Australia, La Trobe Art Institute, and the Biennale of Sydney. Internationally her work has been presented at institutions including Te Uru, Auckland, The Physics Room, Christchurch, Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea, Milan, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, and Hayward Gallery, London.

In 2025 Diana was awarded the Major Acquisitive Gosford Art Prize, and in 2024 was the recipient of the Judy Wheeler Commission at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts. She has undertaken international residencies in Ireland, Korea and China, and was awarded the Creative Australia London Studio Residency at Acme Studios in 2018. Diana is also a founding member of the art collective Barbara Cleveland. Their collaborative works are held in institutional collections including Artbank, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art and Monash University Museum of Art. Diana is currently undertaking the inaugural Vaucluse House Creative and Cultural Residency through Museums of History NSW.

Diana Baker Smith Website

Selected Creative Works

  1. D. Baker Smith, Falling Towards Another (A Score for the Void), 2024, Installation,  performance and single channel 4K video 5:05 minutes. Commissioned by Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts for the 2024 Judy Wheeler Commission.
  2. D. Baker Smith, This Place Where They Dwell, 2024, 4 channel 4K video, 5:15 minutes. Commissioned for Penrith Regional Art Gallery, Home of the Lewers Bequest. Subsequently presented at Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, Campbelltown Art Centre, Sydney, 2024.
  3. D. Baker Smith, A Score for Reconstruction, 2024. Digital print on vinyl, 2 x 20m panels. Commissioned by Newcastle Art Gallery for Laman Street Hoarding Commission, Newcastle.
  4. D. Baker Smith, K. Blackmore, 2022, Brief Illuminations Between Interruptions, single channel 4K video, 13.12 minutes. Commissioned for Video Commission by Ngunungulla Regional Art Gallery, Bowral. Subsequently presented at: Gosford Art Prize, Gosford Art Gallery, 2022.
  5. D. Baker Smith, 2022, She Speaks in Sculpture, two channel 4K video, 9.35 minutes. Commissioned for She Speaks in Sculpture at UTS Art Gallery, Sydney, 2022. Subsequently presented at Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize, Sydney, 2022; Circles of Dialogue, La Trobe Art Institute, Bendigo, 2023; Darebin Art Prize, Bundoora Homestead Art Centre, Victoria, 2024.
  6. D. Baker Smith, 2021, The Lost Hour, single channel HD video, 15:50 minutes. First presented at Tasks yet to be composed for the occasion, Artspace Sydney. Subsequently presented at the Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize, Sydney, 2021; Phillipa Cullen: Know my Name, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Contemporary Art Tasmania, Hobart; The Condensery, Somerset Regional Art Gallery, Toogoolawah, 2022.
  7. D. Baker Smith, 2021, The One Hour Concert, single channel 4K video, 15:50 minutes. First presented at Tasks yet to be composed for the occasion, Artspace Sydney. Subsequently presented at Phillipa Cullen: Know my Name, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Contemporary Art Tasmania, Hobart, 2022.
  8. D. Baker Smith, V. Tello, 2020, Opening Night (The Order of Arrangements) single channel HD video, 17:15 minutes. Commissioned for Know my Name Conference, National Gallery of Australia, 2020. Subsequently presented at: All About Women, the Sydney Opera House, 2021; quietly, carefully, casually, Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney, 2022; Photosynthesiers: Women and the Lens, Te Uru Contemporary Gallery, Auckland, 2025
  9. D. Baker Smith, K. Blackmore, F. Barrett, K. Doley, 2019, This is a Stained Glass Window, single channel HD video, 13.28 minutes. First presented at Sullivan+Strumpf Gallery, Sydney, 2019. Subsequently presented at Goulburn Regional Gallery, 2020; Penrith Regional Gallery, 2021; Melbourne International Film Festival, 2022; Gosford Art Gallery, NSW, 2022; Pine River Gallery, QLD, 2023; The Condensery | Somerset Regional Art Gallery, 2023; Goldfields Arts Centre, WA, 2023.

 
E-mail
diana.smith@unsw.edu.au
  • Book Chapters | 2020
    Baker Smith D, 2020, 'Sculptures That Go Home at Night: On Labour, Performance and Re-enactment', in Atwood D; Russell F (ed.), Art of Laziness: Contemporary Art and Anti-Work Politics, Art + Australia, Melbourne, pp. 63 - 80
  • Edited Books | 2020
    Baker Smith D; Blackmore K, (ed.), 2020, Barbara Cleveland: Thinking Business, Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, Goulburn, https://goulburnregionalartgallery.com.au/exhibitions/barbara-cleveland
  • Journal articles | 2018
    Baker Smith D; Doley K, 2018, 'Call and Response: A Dialogue on Collaboration with/for Pat Larter', UN MAGAZINE, SPRING, http://unprojects.org.au/magazine/issues/issue-12-2/diana-baker-smith-kelly-doley/
  • Creative Works (non-textual) | 2024
    Baker Smith D, 2024, Falling Towards Another (A Score for the Void), Falling Towards Another (A Score for the Void), Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, 09 September 2024 - 22 December 2024, medium: Wall painting and performance, at: https://pica.org.au/whats-on/diana-baker-smith-falling-towards-another-a-score-for-the-void/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2022
    Baker Smith D; Blackmore K, 2022, Brief Illuminations Between Interruptions, Kate Blackmore, Ngununggula, Retford Park Southern Highlands Regional Gallery, 27 December 2022 - 12 March 2023, medium: Single channel 4K video 13:12 minutes, at: https://ngununggula.com/program/video-commission
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2022
    Baker Smith D; Blackmore K, 2022, Razzle Dazzle, Video Commission, Ngunungulla Regional Art Gallery, Bowral, 27 December 2022 - 12 March 2023, medium: 4 x pigment print on cotton rag paper (1200mm x 800mm), at: https://ngununggula.com/program/video-commission
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2022
    Baker Smith D, 2022, She Speaks in Sculpture, She Speaks in Sculpture, UTS Art Gallery, 19 July 2022 - 09 September 2022, medium: Two channel 4K video 9:35 minutes, at: https://www.uts.edu.au/uts-gallery-art-collection/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/she-speaks-sculpture
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2021
    Baker Smith D, 2021, The Drama of Hands, Tasks yet to be composed for the occasion, Artspace, 20 May 2021 - 13 June 2021, medium: Pigment print on cotton rag paper, 54 x 80cm, at: https://www.artspace.org.au/program/ideas-platform/2021/tasks-yet-to-be-composed-for-the-occasion-diana-baker-smith-curated-by-bree-richards/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2021
    Baker Smith D, 2021, The Lost Hour, Tasks yet to be composed for the occasion, Artspace, 20 May 2021 - 13 June 2021, medium: Single Channel HD Video. Duration: 15:50 minutes, at: https://www.artspace.org.au/program/ideas-platform/2021/tasks-yet-to-be-composed-for-the-occasion-diana-baker-smith-curated-by-bree-richards/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2021
    Baker Smith D, 2021, The One Hour Concert: Tasks yet to be composed for the occasion, Tasks yet to be composed for the occasion, Artspace, 20 May 2021 - 13 June 2021, medium: Screenprint on Fabriano Rosaspina paper, 70 x 50cm, at: https://www.artspace.org.au/program/ideas-platform/2021/tasks-yet-to-be-composed-for-the-occasion-diana-baker-smith-curated-by-bree-richards/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2021
    Baker Smith D, 2021, The One Hour Concert, Tasks yet to be composed for the occasion, Artspace, 20 May 2021 - 13 June 2021, medium: 2021 | Single Channel 4K Video | 9’30”, at: https://www.artspace.org.au/program/ideas-platform/2021/tasks-yet-to-be-composed-for-the-occasion-diana-baker-smith-curated-by-bree-richards/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2020
    Baker Smith D; Barrett F; Doley K; Blackmore K, 2020, Thinking Business and Meeting Time, Barbara Cleveland: Thinking Business, Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, 09 October 2020 - 14 November 2020, medium: Acrylic, timber frames, fabric, ink on paper, at: https://goulburnregionalartgallery.com.au/exhibitions/barbara-cleveland
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2020
    Baker Smith D; Blackmore K; Barrett F; Doley K, 2020, What is suspended between us can also shatter 1-3, 2020 ANNUAL SUMMER GROUP SHOW, Sullivan+Strumpf, Sydney, 01 February 2020 - 08 February 2020, medium: C-type photographic print, 30 x 34cm, at: https://www.sullivanstrumpf.com/exhibitions/2020-sydney/2020-annual-summer-group-show/art/works
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2020
    Baker Smith D; Tello V, 2020, Opening Night (The Order of Arrangements), Know my Name, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 14 November 2020 - 14 July 2021, at: https://knowmyname.nga.gov.au/events/opening-night-order-arrangements/
    Creative Written Works | 2020
    Baker Smith D, 2020, Know my Name Book (contribution of two chapters), Know my Name, Bullock N; Cole K; Hart D; Pitt E, (eds.), National Gallery of Australia, https://knowmyname.nga.gov.au/book/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2020
    Tello V; Baker Smith D; Bullock N; England J, 2020, Know My Name Conference, Know My Name, National Gallery of Australia, 10 November 2020 - 13 November 2020, medium: Conference, at: https://knowmyname.nga.gov.au/events/know-my-name-conference/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2019
    Baker Smith D; Doley K; Barrett F; Blackmore K, 2019, This is a Stained Glass Window, This is a stained glass window, Sullivan+Strumpf, 29 November 2019 - 20 December 2019, medium: Single Channel HD Video, at: https://www.sullivanstrumpf.com/exhibitions/barbara-cleveland/this-is-a-stained-glass-window/art/works
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2019
    Baker Smith D, 2019, Backwards Turning, Longitudes, Latitudes and Legacies, National Gallery of Victoria, 07 September 2019 - 07 December 2019, medium: Performance, at: http://channelsfestival.net.au/program/longitudes-latitudes-and-legacies
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2018
    Baker Smith D; Doley K; Blackmore K; Barrett F, 2018, The Barbara Cleveland Archive, DIVIDED WORLDS: 2018 ADELAIDE BIENNIAL OF AUSTRALIAN ART, Art Gallery of South Australia, 03 March 2018 - 03 June 2018, medium: 4 x digital prints (614mm x 766mm), at: http://adelaidebiennial.com.au/2018/
    Conference Presentations | 2018
    Baker Smith D, 2018, 'Performing the Art Historian: Critical and Creative Engagements with Art History', presented at AAANZ, RMIT, Melbourne, 05 December 2018 - 07 December 2018, http://aaanz.info/aaanz-home/conferences/2018-conference/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2017
    Baker Smith D; Blackmore K; Doley K; Barrett F, 2017, Bad Timing, The Humours, Monash University Museum of Art, 07 October 2017 - 16 December 2017, at: https://www.monash.edu/muma/exhibitions/exhibition-archive/2017/the-humours
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2017
    Baker Smith DV; Doley K, 2017, In Search of Pat Larter, The Public Body .02, Artspace, 28 July 2017 - 02 October 2017, at: https://www.artspace.org.au/program/exhibitions/2017/the-public-body-02/
    Curatorial Outputs | 2017
    Baker Smith DV; Doley K, 2017, Moving Histories // Future Projections, exhibited at: Toowoomba Regional Gallery, QLD; Cairns Regional Gallery, QLD; Mosman Art Gallery, NSW; Blue Mountains Cultural Centre, NSW; Bega Valley Regional Gallery, NSW; Latrobe Regional Gallery, NSW, Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, NSW; Broken Hill Regional Gallery, NSW; Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Culture Centre, NT; Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, NSW, 18 February 2017 - 12 May 2018, Moving Histories // Future Projections, https://mgnsw.org.au/sector/exhibitions/now-showing/moving-histories-future-projections/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2017
    Smith D; Barrett F; Doley K; Blackmore K, 2017, Performing Barbara Cleveland, Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize, National Art School Gallery, 28 March 2017 - 20 July 2017, medium: Single Channel HD Video, at: https://www.nas.edu.au/place/gallery/past-exhibitions/redlands-konica-minolta-art-prize-2017/
    Recorded / Rendered Creative Works | 2017
    Smith D; Doley K, 2017, In Search of Pat Larter (draft), The Public Body .02, Artspace, Published: 2017, Recorded / Rendered Creative Works, https://www.artspace.org.au/program/exhibitions/2017/the-public-body-02/
    Recorded / Rendered Creative Works | 2016
    Baker Smith D; Blackmore K; Barrett F; Doley K, 2016, Bodies in Time, Editor(s): Jaspers A, single channel HD video, Published: 2016, Recorded / Rendered Creative Works, https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/barbara-cleveland/
    Conference Presentations | 2016
    Baker Smith DV, 2016, 'Making Connections: Re-enactment, Feminist Performance and Intergenerational Dialogue', presented at AAANZ 2016: The Work of Art, Australian National University, Canberra, 01 December 2016 - 03 November 2017
    Conference Presentations | 2016
    Baker Smith DV, 2016, 'Towards a Performative Historiography:  Re-Doing Performance Histories', presented at Performance Studies International, Melbourne, 05 July 2016 - 09 November 2017, http://www.psi2016.com/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2015
    Baker Smith DV; Doley K; Blackmore K; Barrett F, 2015, The History of Performance, Performance Presence/Video Time, Australian Experimental Art Foundation, Adelaide, 01 April 2015 - 06 May 2015, at: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/121859-unboxed-artists-archive-2017
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2013
    Baker Smith D; Blackmore K; Barrett F; Doley K, 2013, This is Barbara Cleveland, This is Barbara Cleveland, Carriageworks, Sydney, 20 November 2013 - 01 December 2013, medium: HD Video, at: http://www.physicsroom.org.nz/exhibitions/embodying-the-archive

My Research Supervision

  1. Mel Deerson, PhD, Stained glass guts: towards an undisciplined vision of (queer) creative practice (joint with Fernando do Campo)
  2. Shireen Taweel, PhD, Celestial navigation, sacred architecture and space travel: decolonising space migration through speculative fiction and pilgrimage (joint with Fernando do Campo)
  3. Elaine Su-Hui Chew, MFA, The role of art and artists in times of crisis and apocalypse (joint with Clare Milledge)
  4. Lisa Myeong-Joo, MFA, Transcending Korean adoptee subjectivity through performance practice in relation to the mobius strip (joint with Consuelo Cavaniglia)

 

Completed Supervisions
  1. Jade Muratore, PhD, Going Down: fannish art methods for rendering a queerness out of time (joint with Rochelle Haley), 2026
  2. Emma Fielden, MFA, Inherited stones and bodies (joint with Fernando do Campo), 2026
  3. Evgenia (Jenny) Anagnostopoulou, MFA, Performing the institution as artistic and curatorial practice (secondary with Verónica Tello), 2026
  4. Teresa Hunter-Hicks, PhD, Labour, collaboration, and collectivity in the poster practice of Redback Graphix, Group Material, and Gran Fury (1978–1996) (joint with Verónica Tello), 2025
  5. Amber Koroluk-Stephenson, MFA, Pictorial dichotomy in the landscape: painting, collage and pastiche in post-colonial myth-making (joint with Grant Stevens), 2024
  6. Amy Prcevich, MFA, Workaround: claiming time and space for art making (joint with Grant Stevens and Verónica Tello), 2023
  7. Lu Forsberg, MFA, Counter-surveillance, extractivism and eco-aesthetics (joint with Verónica Tello), 2022
  8. Amber Hammad, MFA, Speculative history and critique of gender in/out of Pakistan (joint with Verónica Tello), 2022
  9. Samuel Hodge, MFA, The Wit of the Staircase: re-narrating queer connections (joint with Grant Stevens and Rochelle Haley), 2020
  10. Chun Yin Rainbow Chan, MFA, Shanzhai style in artistic practice: mythologising creativity and ownership in the global rise of China (joint with Astrid Lorange and Rochelle Haley), 2020
  11. Emily Galicek, MFA, Painting and parody in a post-digital age (joint with Grant Stevens), 2019

My Teaching

Diana teaches across studio and theory courses in the Fine Arts program at UNSW Art & Design. She convenes Moving Image 1, Performance Art, Studio Art Practice and Art & Design in Practice.