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Upcoming exhibitions

Keep up to date with our upcoming exhibitions and events. Exhibitions are held at the Deakin University Art Gallery, Melbourne Burwood Campus and are free and open to the public.

Image right: Brigit Heller, Poles Apart 2003 (detail), blue band painted pipe and steel wire, Purchase 2004, Deakin University Art Collection. Image © and courtesy of the artist.

Alumni in Focus

16 April – 6 June 2025

Focusing on recent alumni of Deakin’s Higher Degree by Research program, four artists Anindita Banerjee, Deanne Gilson, Aaron Hoffman and Todd Johnson have been invited to present recent projects, celebrating the diverse voices and practices of our creative researchers. This exhibition is the tenth iteration in a long running series of collaborative exhibitions between the Deakin University Art Gallery and the School of Communication and Creative Arts. The project seeks to showcase the interdisciplinary and experiential approaches of our creative researchers and the distinctive success and quality of the teaching and learning program.

A hand near water. detail of a photo by Aaron Hoffman

Image: Aaron Hoffman Words in the Ground 2023 digital video still, HD, colour, single-channel, stereo sound image © copyright and courtesy of the artist

Venetian Bind

18 June – 8 August 2025

Venetian Bind is an exhibition capturing key elements of an ambitious research project developed by Deakin University for European Cultural Centre in conjunction with the Venice Biennale. Featuring the creation of six interconnected artworks by teams of Deakin researchers and HDR candidates produced in situ across 2024, this project is curated by David Cross and Cameron Bishop from the Public Exchange Bureau with a specific focus on the ecology and cultures of Venice, the lagoon it sits in, and the islands that surround it. Cross and Bishop asked each group of researchers to respond to a unique ‘bind’, a provocation set in six specific Venetian locations. These experiences, ranging from encounters with local experts to hands-on workshops, fostered creativity and collaboration manifested in public performances and a series of artefacts and videos first exhibited in the Palazzo Mora and reinvented for Deakin University Art Gallery.

A painting of a old Italian village

Image: Bernardo Bellotto The Campo di SS. Giovanni e Paolo, Venice, 1743/1747 oil on canvas. Promotional image only, provided by Curators of the Venetian Bind exhibition. Image in the public domain, Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award

28 August – 10 October 2025

In its sixteenth year, this annual acquisitive award and exhibition is organised by the Art Collection and Galleries Unit at Deakin University.

The award celebrates contemporary sculpture with an exhibition of finalists' work at the Deakin University Art Gallery. A fascinating snapshot of contemporary Australian sculpture.

Small sculptures on display in the Deakin Art Gallery

Image: Installation image of the 2024 Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award, 2024, photo Fiona Hamilton image © copyright and courtesy of the artists

Face to Face Revisited

22 October – 12 December 2025

This exhibition revisits the original Face to Face exhibition from 2012 and will display creative responses to the Deakin University Art Collection by current Deakin University students, alumni and staff. Selected artists will be commissioned to develop new works that reflect, reconsider and reimagine artworks from the University’s art collection, displayed in the first exhibition. The project presents the cherished nature of the Deakin University Art Collection and its role as a resource and inspiration for the wider university community.

Eric Ormond Baker Charitable Fund logoSupported by the Eric Ormond Baker Charitable Fund, managed by Equity Trustees

A pop art style painting with Japanese script

Image: Song Ling Kong Fu - Our dream 1 2007 (detail) acrylic on canvas. Purchase, 2008. Deakin University Art Collection image © copyright and courtesy of the artist and Niagara Galleries, Melbourne

Finding the gallery

To find the gallery on campus, enter Deakin University via Entrance 1, (Holland Avenue), off Burwood Highway. Continue straight for 500 metres. As you pass the overhead foot bridge, the gallery is on your right. If arriving by car, you can park in any of the bays on the left of Holland Avenue. Alternatively, follow Holland Avenue all the way around to the second parking entrance.

Find out more about how to get to Deakin