50 Years of Collecting
12 February – 4 April 2025
This survey of the University’s Art Collection has been compiled in celebration of Deakin University’s 50 year anniversary. The exhibition takes audiences on a journey through our 50 years of collecting. Pieces are displayed marking significant milestones alongside new acquisitions, allowing visitors to explore not only the collection's origins, but also its ongoing development and reflect on the shifting trends in contemporary Australian art. Whilst on display, Deakin University students, alumni and staff will be invited to contribute an expression of interest in developing a new work for display later in the year. Launching in conjunction with this exhibition will be an updated publication about the collection as well as a publicly accessible searchable art collection database.
Image: Deanne Gilson Karringalabil Bundjil Murrup, Manna Gum Tree (The Creation Tree of Knowledge) 2020 ochre and acrylic on linen 90 x 100 x 3cm Deakin University Art Collection Purchase, 2021 image © copyright 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.
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.
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.
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.
Supported by the Eric Ormond Baker Charitable Fund, managed by Equity Trustees
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.