Programs
PhD
The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) involves completion of a substantial piece of original research, demonstrating ability to communicate research findings effectively in professional arenas and international contexts. In most cases the thesis includes a body of exceptional artwork and a substantial written paper. A rigorous and sustained piece of work is presented indicating that the academic research process is complete, with the holder admitted to the community of scholars in the discipline.
Staff
Dr John Meade (Head)Dr Laura Woodward (on leave)
Jeremy Eaton
Master of Fine Art
The Master of Fine Arts (Visual Art) is a two-year program that extends an artist’s potential for academic research. This studio-based program facilitates and develops mastery in a chosen field of practice and contributes to a deeper understanding of contemporary artistic practice, cultural theory and discourse more broadly. The practice-led MFA culminates in a substantial piece of original research that generally comprises a body of creative work and a written dissertation.
Graduates
Adam John CullenAshley Perry
Isabelle Rudolph
Jake Preval
Jen Valender
Jessica Curry
Matt Bailey
Natalie Mather
Rob McHaffie
Tess Mehonoshen
Travis Ficarra
Staff
Vikki McInnes (Head)Dr John Mead
Dr Tessa Laird
Jeremy Eaton
Master of Contemporary Art
The Master of Contemporary Art program serves as a bridge between undergraduate study and independent art practice. This coursework program prepares students to develop a professional art practice, situate their practice within contemporary art contexts and gain important networks in a supportive community of staff, artists and industry professionals. The course encourages experimentation and speculation, as well as engaged dialogue with staff and students, in an independent studio setting. In the second year, students identify an area of research to investigate and they undertake a year-long studio project. Throughout the degree, students engage in a range of professional opportunities, including graduate intensives, group and solo exhibitions, and local and international travel.
Graduates
Christina DarrasClaire Bridge
Darren Tanny Tan
Emily Simek
Ezz Monem
Katie Stackhouse
Kayleigh Goh
Leanne Bock
Lisa Waup
Melanie Cobham
Melody Spangaro
Melody Woodnutt
Meredith Marshallsea
Michelle Destefano
Nila Shekarvand
Oliver Hämäläinen
Rachel Jessie-Rae O'Connor
Rebecca Diele
Spencer Harrison
Staff
Dr Kim Donaldson (Head)Dr Kate Just
Archie Barry
Eugenia Lim
Dr Hoda Afshar
Dr Lucreccia Quintanilla
Dr Masato Takasaka
Steven Rhall
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours)
The Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) degree is an esteemed program designed to support students wishing to develop research skills and deepen their understandings of contemporary artistic practice and related theoretical discourse. With an emphasis on independent artistic research and devising and managing a major creative project, this dynamic program prepares candidates for advanced critical and creative thinking and problem solving. Honours is located in The Stables, a world-class teaching and learning facility at the heart of Melbourne’s arts precinct and with strong connections to a diverse range of professional partnerships and networks. Academic staff within the program are leading artists, theorists and curators in their fields.
Graduates
Cat LawranceAlex Smith
Anna McGirr
Amina Briggs
Christina May Carey
Camille Perry
Christopher Theofanous
Claudia Saballa Hobbs
Cristina Dawn
Elsie Preston
Freda Drakopoulos
Georgie Hoaddley
Giulia Kelly
Grace Spence
Harry Zed Hughes
Iona Mackenzie
Jah Maskell
Jay Presland
Jemima Lucas
Jivan Simons Mistry
Josh V.E.
Lhotse Collins
Lǐ Xīng Yǔ - Echo Li li
John Lim
Liv Moriarty
Megan Evans
Mia Carey
Narelle White
Nicholas O'Connell
Pang Siah
Rebecca Martin
Simon Clark
Steven Bellosguardo
Tom Bourke
Yasmin Hopkins
Yundi Wang
Yvette James
Zachary Rockman
Staff
Dr Cate Consandine (Head)Lisa Radford
Dr Renee Ugazio
Dr Sean Lowry
Dr Tessa Laird
Abbra Kotlarczyk
Alicia Frankovich
Archie Barry
Eric Jong
Jess Milne
Graduate Certificate of Visual Art
The Graduate Certificate in Visual Art is a part-time course that facilitates practical and theoretical frameworks for studio workshops, complimented by studies in art history and theory. As it is graduate level, GCVA students can choose to work in painting, drawing, digital technologies, printmaking, sculpture, installation, performance or photography, and/or a combination of the above. Throughout the year formal group critiques and individual discussions encourage critical reflection on the works made. The Graduate Certificate in Visual Art is designed for students who have completed a degree and wish to further develop their skills in the visual arts.
Graduates
Yuankang ChenAndrea Salcedo
Joanna Buckley
Imogen Kerr
Anna Mallyon
Chrissie Demos
Cindy Cui
David Cherian
David Haidon
Dilara Akguner
Edwina Badgery
Frances Gaffney
Kevin Thorley
Krishna Mohajer
Samantha Thompson
Shannon Slee
Simone De Petro
Susan Mountford
Tom Coleman
Staff
Jamie O'Connell (Head)André Piguet
Corinna Berndt
Eugenia Lim
Dr Hoda Afshar
Sharon Goodwin
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Drawing & Printmaking)
This program is taught by leading contemporary artists in immersive studio- and workshop-based environments, and it enables students to develop their own professional art practice. Students experiment with a wide range of approaches, including traditional drawing and print media as well as digital media, video, installation, performance and socially-engaged art. Students develop their material and conceptual methods in response to their interests, contextualised in relation to relevant historical and contemporary art practices and theory. Through their work, students address broader concerns, such as social and political issues, often drawing from other fields of knowledge. As genealogies of artistic practice, the fields of drawing and printmaking provide a foundation upon which students can invent the art practices of tomorrow.
Drawing and Printmaking staff and students dedicate their 2021 graduate show to the memory of our colleague and teacher Damiano Bertoli, who passed away in September this year. Damiano worked in our program for more than 20 years and touched the lives of hundreds of students during that time, including this year’s graduating cohort. His legacy will live on in their practices and those of our alumni.
Graduates
Addie Lee-ShawAdem Aquila
Alanna Paxton
Alice Tsiavos
Angela Nolan
Arthur Nyakuengama
Ava Hattam
Han Bing
Callum Holmberg
Callum Riley
Charlie Robert
Chelsea Rosenbrock
Eleanor Laver
Hannah Atherton
Jacob Sturgeon
Jana Papantoniou
Jessie Marshall
Jordan Smart
Keely Varmalis
Lauren Murphy
Liam Donoghue
Madeline Lamb
Madlena Kaindel
Mikayla Holland
Mina McSweeney
Molly Stanko
Panisa Ongwat
Patricia Agus
Rosie Stanton
Ruby Zogopoulos
Sebastian Zylinski
Solomon Kendal
Staff
Dr Alex Martinis Roe (Head)Dr Mark Dustin
Stieg Persson
Irene Hanenbergh
Adrian Kellet
Amrita Hepi
Briony Galligan
Damiano Bertoli
Deborah Williams
Ihab Balla
Katerina Teaiwa
Lauren Burrow
Masato Takasaka
Prudence Flint
Roberta Rich
Tony Garifalakis
Tristen Harwood
Therese Keogh
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting)
The Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) is taught in an immersive studio-based environment. Reflecting the diversity of contemporary art practice, the course supports independent and conceptually innovative practice. By developing technical and conceptual methodologies, students gain a sound knowledge of traditional and contemporary painting skills, techniques and concepts.
Through the practice of critical analysis, students become more confident in expressing their own visual ideas and observations in light of the historical, contemporary and theoretical contexts in which they work.
Graduates
Alexander EatherCaesar Florence-Howard
Caitlin Aloisio Shearer
Clara Joyce
Eleanor Newbound
Elmira Cheung
Emily Arenas Zarate
Evangela Lines-Morison
Fiona Arbab
Hakira Coleman-Wilson
Jack Collee
Jackson McLaren
Luke Gerrard
Mabel Hutterer
Melissa Nguyen
Miream Salameh
Paul Prato
Rebecca Suares-Jury
Tom Sporne
Yixuan Wu
Staff
Dr Stephen Haley (Acting Head)Dr Raafat Ishak (On leave)
Dr Lisa Radford
Yhonnie Scarce
Nick Selenitsch
Darren Sylvester
Chris Hill
Georgina Cue
Nadine Christensen
Simon McGlinn
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Photography)
These days, anyone and everyone takes photos. But what is a photo and what is the photographic? How do you ‘think’ through the practice of photography to make artworks? How do you apply photographic thinking to develop artworks even without a camera?
The Bachelor of Fine Arts (Photography) challenges students to consider these questions and more as they undergo an immersive experience in contemporary photographic practice and theory. Photography’s history meets the students’ own, as they pursue their own specific questions and attitudes through making. In a studio-based learning environment, independent exploration is encouraged using various techniques, including black-and-white darkroom photography, colour darkroom printing, digital imaging and the projected image in installation. These and many other methods of making enable the discovery of what a photograph can become – and the kind of artist one can be.
Graduates
Adina KrausChloe Thomas
Christy Chudosnik
Constantine Virtanen
Courtney Watson
Elena Misso
Joshua Kidd
Julian Shnider
Sammy-Jo Lang-Waite
Siro Cavaiuolo
Tom Retallack
Staff
Dr Sanja Pahoki (Head)Dr Kiron Robinson
Dr Lou Hubbard
Aaron Rees
Christo Crocker
Clare Rae
Darren Sylvester
Dr Emmanuel Rodriguez
Janina Green
Dr Lani Seligman
Lauren Dunn
Liang Luscombe
Lucy Foster
Madeline Bishop
Martina Copley
Norbert Loeffler
Simon Zoric
Siri Hayes
Tamsen Hopkinson
Trent Crawford
Yandell Walton
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Sculpture)
Sculpture is where we test material, any material, your material.
Material comes from our body – our place and time, from a history, from a cultural memory, or the all-too-present future. Material suggests, reflects, cascades, shatters, lingers, transforms, protrudes and disappears. It pulls you in and pushes you away. We circle material, develop new techniques, strategies and languages that challenge established knowledge. Material is supported, physically politically and intellectually, by space, place and context, but let’s not go there right now; let’s stay with material and the impossibility of pinning it down.
Graduates
Aden MillerAnaïs Lesage Baker
Bettina Purdie
Blair Leggatt
Blake McCord
Caitlyn Baulch
Chelsea Young
David Zeleznikow
Ebony Hoiberg
Imogen Arnol
Josh Krum
Lilith Angle
Mona Quilty
Nyssa Levings
Peta Treble
Raisa Mclean
Tara Denny
Tarquin Charlesworth
Staff
Dr Mark Shorter (Head)Claire Lambe
Archie Barry
Aleks Danko
Debris Facility
Elizabeth Presa
George Egerton-Warburton
Rosie Isaac
Spencer Lai