Research

School of Art Research

Research in the School of Art focuses on contemporary art, photography and craft.

CAST (Contemporary Art and Social Transformation) is the School’s core research group, leading collaborative socially-engaged artistic projects. CAST has established capability in the areas of public art, socially-engaged art (including culturally-driven social enterprises), art and the environment (Aegis network) and art and education; and emerging strengths in creative care, migration and mobilities and queer creative practices. Visit CAST’s website for more details. 

Other identified areas of research strength include:
– Art and Technology
– Craft and Materiality

In partnership with community, industry and government partners, our staff and postgraduate researchers work locally, nationally and internationally to undertake research and present their work. Our artistic research is exhibited at prestigious national venues such as the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art and National Gallery of Victoria, as well as internationally at venues including Tate Modern, Institute of Contemporary Art, Singapore, Museum for Moderne Art, Arnhem, Netherlands, and Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art. Researchers also participate in international festivals, residencies and fellowships including the Glasgow International Festival of Art, the International Symposium of Electronic Art, Liquid Architecture Festival of Sound, the Venice Biennale, the Sonic Arts Australian Antarctic Fellowship, the Taiwan Ceramics Biennale and the Havana Biennial. Staff and postgraduate researchers are also active in publishing their work nationally and internationally.

The quality of our research has been recognised by the financial support of Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage and Discovery Projects, the Australia Council, Creative Victoria, the City of Hume, the City of Melbourne, the City of Port Philip, the Victorian State Government’s Department of Transport and Department of Housing. Industry partnerships have been undertaken with St Vincent’s Hospital, Grocon and Fairfax, Reutlingen University (Germany), the Karolinska Institutet and Lund University (Sweden) and East China Normal University (China) among others.

Research in the School of Art is supported by gallery spaces (such as RMIT Project Space), public art projects, an international Artist in Residence program and conferences held at RMIT’s City Campus. The residence program generates opportunities for cross-cultural dialogue and international mobility.

Postgraduate research

The School of Art offers two dynamic postgraduate research programs in the School of Art, the Master of Fine Art (MFA) and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Postgraduate research is predominantly carried out through practice-based projects, involving media such as painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, sculpture, installation, sound and media arts, drawing, gold and silversmithing and ceramics, extending to public art, socially-engaged art, art history and curating. Candidates can either contexualise their creative research with a written dissertation or write a full thesis. The School of Art offers supervisory expertise across the full spectrum of contemporary art, photography and craft.

Application information for Art Postgraduate Research
Contact: art.hdradmin@rmit.edu.au

Image: Philip Samartzis