What's on
Personal mythologies
14 Jul to 16 Oct
This exhibition explores the role that fantasy and imagination play in our constructions of self and our relationships to place and history. Curated by Sophia Cai, it brings together sculpture, installation, textiles, painting and photography by seven Australian and international artists.
Chunxiao Qu: An artist doesn't need a label
3 Sept 2022 to 6 Mar 2023
China-born artist and poet Chunxiao Qu writes tender, funny short poems in English and Mandarin. Her words invoke recollections and observations of contemporary life. Through illumination and upscaling, Qu will transform selected poems for a major public art commission on our View Street façade.
7 Oct, from 5:30 pm at Bendigo Art Gallery and from 6 pm at La Trobe Art Institute
Join us for an evening of performance and poetry.
Hong Kong-born, Melbourne-based artist Scotty So will lead us on a roving drag performance that combines Chinese opera costumes with an acapella version of Signore, ascolta! by Giacomo Puccini.
Following the performance, China-born, Melbourne-based artist and poet Chunxiao Qu will read from her latest book of cutting, humorous poetry, published by Discipline. She will be joined in conversation by the book’s co-editors and contributors.
Please register for this free event.
Citational choices
25 Oct 2022 to 5 Feb 2023
Organised by guest curator Isabelle Sully, this exhibition looks at biographical stories that often don’t make it onto the record. It presents diverse histories through elements including the University's Etta Hirsh Ceramics Collection, contemporary moving image, sculpture, exhibition design and publishing.
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.
Emily Floyd: Anti-totalitarian vectors – Bendigo Campus
Ongoing
A selection of six major works from Emily Floyd’s 2019 series is situated on level 2 of the Heyward Library. Acquired by the University in 2022, the installation pays homage to the work of internationally renowned philosopher Ágnes Heller and her contemporaries. Constructed in aluminium, bronze and adhesive vinyl, Floyd's bold sculptural forms are both playful and provocative.
Thriving: reflections on resilience from the La Trobe University Art Collection – Shepparton Campus
From 18 Mar 2022
Through their large-scale photographs, artists Michael Cook and Siri Hayes have reflected on relationships with the land. From Melbourne’s inner north, where the Merri Creek cuts through train lines and freeways, to the diverse, sweeping landscapes of Central Australia, Thriving explores our connection to locality post-colonisation.
In our time: four decades of art from China and beyond – the Geoff Raby Collection
Bendigo Art Gallery, 20 Aug 2022 to 19 Feb 2023
In partnership with Bendigo Art Gallery, we will present the inaugural exhibition of contemporary art from the collection of Australian economist and diplomat Dr Geoff Raby AO. Through humour, fantasy and sarcasm, more than 30 artists address themes ranging from urban life, Chinese philosophy and cultural difference to social justice, human rights and nationhood.
One foot on the ground, one foot in the water
Touring 2022–23
We are proud to partner with NETS Victoria to tour this thematic group exhibition to five Australian public galleries, beginning with Bunjil Place in February 2022. The NETS Victoria exhibition webpage provides a tour overview, further information about the artists and a learning guide.