Events
Since 2006, we have delivered a robust residency program with international guests. Founded on exchange and research, we prioritise creative processes over predetermined outcomes. This model has proven deeply generative for artists, for our curatorial research, and for our wider program.
Our place-responsive residency program is driven by solid partnerships with First Nations led organisations in Victoria and key partners in the Asia Pacific region. Guided by the Djaara seasons, our residencies are grounded on Country and informed by the principles of self-determination, place and reciprocity. Rather than set outcomes, national and international artists are offered the opportunity to connect with place and community, to seed ideas and explore new directions. This program centres global First Nations artists and Indigenous ways of knowing.
Forthcoming public programs associated with artists visiting us and sharing knowledge include:
Le Ceol
Free public programs from November to February
Exhibition opening & performance program
Friday 28 November 5 to 7:30 pm
Refreshments provided
- Welcome to Country with Jason Kerr
- Brief exhibition introduction by curator Jacqui Shelton
- Performance of Brigid by Alice Heyward and Oisín Ó Manacháin/Oisín Monaghan
Exhibiting artists: Dr Lou Bennett AM, Harley Dunolly-Lee, Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori, Alice Heyward and Oisín Ó Manacháin/Oisín Monaghan, Susan Hiller, Tamsen Hopkinson, Mary Lloyd Jones and Ciwas Tahos
Please join us to celebrate the opening of our next exhibition Le Ceol and to experience a one-off live performance of Brigid by Alice Heyward and Oisín Ó Manacháin/Oisín Monaghan, with collaborators Gregor Kompar and Oonagh Slater.
Brigid is a choreographic and sound work that engages with the ancient practice of sean nós (the Old Way) song and dance to explore embodied and vocal spaces where mythology, transgenerational grief, horror, and diasporic identity intertwine.
The performance will move through the gallery spaces and will be followed by refreshments and nibbles in the galleries.
Curator-led tour
Wednesday 10 December 1 to 2 pm
Join curator of Le Ceol La Trobe Art Institute Curator Jacqui Shelton for a relaxed and conversational tour of the exhibition.
We offer guided tours and curatorial walk-throughs for schools and community groups to engage with the themes and materials of our exhibitions. Interested groups are invited to get in touch.
Plus information on workshops for kids and community to be announced.
سفر نصیب / Safar Naseeb / Fated to journey community event
Sunday 2 November, 1pm – 3 pm
Join exhibiting artists Elyas Alavi and Fazil Mousavi together with commissioned writer Aziz Sohail for an afternoon of conversation, learning and traditional Hazara food at La Trobe Art Institute.
Alavi, Mousavi and Sohail will discuss the new commission, نصیب / Safar Naseeb / Fated to journey, on our building’s façade. In this work, artist and poet Elyas Alavi has collaborated with Quetta-based senior artist Fazil Mousavi, bringing their explorations of the Hazara migratory experience into dialogue across oceans.
In conversation with Sohail, the artists will reflect on the history, art and culture of the Hazara people, including the Hazara experience in Pakistan and globally, as well as the Sketch Club school in Quetta where Alavi and Mousavi first met.
The event will conclude with a casual meal of traditional Hazara food cooked by local Hazara community.
This is a free public program. Please RSVP for catering purposes.
Healing: Art and Institutional Care
Free public programs from August to November
Saturday 23 August, 2pm – 4.30pm
Refreshments provided
- Exhibition introduction with Amelia Wallin and Jacina Leong
- Artist floor talks with Fayen d’Evie, Jenny Hickinbotham, Helen Johnson, Sue Robertson and Grace Wood
- Performance by Jenny Hickinbotham, Joel Stern and band
Drop in and make: join us for an afternoon of mindful making with a registered art therapist
Sunday 24 August, 2pm – 4pm
- Bring an art or craft project you're working on or explore new techniques in a relaxed, supportive environment. All are welcome—no experience necessary. Register here.
Friday 12 September, 12 noon
- Join curators of Healing Dr Jacina Leong and La Trobe Art Institute Senior Curator Amelia Wallin for a tour of the exhibition.
We offer guided tours and curatorial walk-throughs for schools and community groups to engage with the themes and materials of our exhibitions. Interested groups are invited to get in touch.
Sunday 9 November, 3:30pm – 4.30pm
Refreshments provided
- Join a registered art therapist and explore new techniques in a relaxed, supportive environment. All are welcome—no experience necessary. Register here.
This project has been supported by Curatorial Practice at Monash University.
Sculpture Park – Melbourne Campus
Ongoing
Follow our map of the Sculpture Park [PDF 1MB] to explore more than 20 public sculptures in the bushland setting of the La Trobe Melbourne Campus. Works by artists including Charles Robb, Inge King, Robert Klippel, David Wilson, Karen Ward and Reko Rennie reflect key movements in contemporary Australian sculpture since the mid-1960s.