Vale Destiny Deacon

The School of Art community is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Destiny Deacon, an icon in the Australian contemporary art world and a beloved colleague and friend to so many of us in the school.

Destiny was known for her generosity, bountiful warmth, humour and keen insight. Our community will dearly miss her joyful spirit and creative leadership, and we wish to acknowledge her impactful contributions to our university and to the broader cultural sector.

Destiny was a sessional staff member in the School of Art from 1999–2012 and in 2010 we were fortunate to have Destiny as an artist-in-residence. During her residency she connected with our staff and students by giving lectures, conducting tutorials at our City and Bundoora campuses and hosting screenings of significant video works. She also developed a new body of work in response to the university as a place, people and history; this work was exhibited in Doing Time…, a solo exhibition at RMIT Spare Room Gallery (catalogue pictured below).

Destiny will be greatly missed. We extend our thoughts and condolences to Destiny’s family, especially John Harding and Clinton Naina who have been such an important part of our community.