Announcement
Meet the program participants
A diverse group 14 Australian creative and cultural workers living in Europe and the United Kingdom will oversee the day-to-day visitor experience of Marco Fusinato’s exhibition during the Venice Biennale, curated by Alexie Glass-Kantor.
Participants will advance their exhibition invigilation and arts administration skills, be exposed to different approaches to contemporary visual arts practice, and build networks.
Laura Carey is an arts worker, educator and artist. Laura has over 10 years of experience working across galleries, events, public engagement, and education. Her organisational experience has ranged from artist-run gallery spaces in her hometown of Dublin, community-based galleries in Sydney to key cultural institutions.
Most recently, Laura has been managing the creative learning team and the operation of the National Centre for Creative Learning at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Laura is also the co-founder of a newly formed engagement-focused partnership FLENK collective that connects audiences with contemporary art and artists.
In 2018, Laura collaborated with international artist Ciara Phillips to deliver her 2016 Biennale of Sydney participatory installation and print studio “Workshop 2010 -ongoing”. Laura holds a BFA Hons (National College of Art & Design, Dublin) and later continued graduate studies at UNSW Art & Design Sydney.
Joel Mu is a curator and writer living in Berlin. He studied philosophy, contemporary art-theory and art-history and curating performance in Sydney, Munich and Salzburg. Joel has worked for many years in the context of visual and performing arts, at times in international museums and galleries, as well as guest curator for the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Programme, the Schinkel Pavillon and KW Institute for Contemporary Art.
Since 2015 he has been programming his own project space @groupsandindividuals, in Berlin. He writes about artists who follow atypical paths in life and art and is the author of Jupiter: Andreas Sell ‘Life Performance’ (BOM DIA, 2020), an artist monograph realised with funding from the Berlin Senate, Department of Culture and Europe. Joel Mu was born on Larrakia country and acknowledges the Larrakia people as the Traditional Owners of the Darwin region of northern Australia.
Penelope Cain is an artist with a research science background. She works with landscape in its widest definition, in particular the colonised, extracted and transformed landscapes of the Anthropocene and post-human. Cain’s art practice is located interstitially between scientific knowledge and unearthing connective untold narratives in the world; using video, installation, objects, flags, text, public participation in storytellings about the lands of the Anthropocene.
Across 2021 she has been researching the connection between lyrebirds impacted by climate-change associated forest-fires in Australia, and the effect of ash from these fires on glacier longevity in the New Zealand Southern Alps/ Kā Tiritiri o te Moana, working towards a sonic performance for three voices; lyrebirds, glaciers + snow algae.
Her work has been exhibited in commissioned and curated exhibitions nationally and internationally in Brazil, Britain, Australia, Taiwan, China and Korea. Most recently she has been awarded the S+T+ARTS Repairing the Present fellowship in The Hague (2022), working with urban lichen.
Francis Carmody is an Artist working between Melbourne and London.
Carmody’s work is presented as products of distribution and power structures characterised by a wide range of forms, objects, actions and promiscuous research methodologies. Enacted by an initial action from the artist or a constructed model to be carried out by someone else, administrative and hysterical steps are rehearsed to realise projects.
In 2022 Carmody will begin a residency at Gertrude Contemporary as a Studio Artist.
Luke Conroy is a Tasmanian multidisciplinary artist currently based in The Netherlands. With a sociology and arts education background, Luke’s artistic practice engages with socio-cultural topics in meaningful yet playful ways, utilising humour and irony as essential tools for critical reflection and expression. The outcome of his work utilises an ever-evolving multimedia and audio-visual practice which includes photography, digital-art, video, sound, VR, textile, text and installation.
Luke currently works full time in an artist duo alongside the Dutch audio-visual designer and visual artist Anne Fehres. Working together since 2018, the duo specialises in undertaking socially oriented projects. These projects are the outcome of embedding themselves in a diversity of community contexts for between four to twelve weeks. To date, the duo has been selected for artist residencies across ten different countries and exhibited their work in multiple solo and group shows in galleries and public spaces across Europe.
Julian Day is an artist, composer, and writer who uses sound as a social and civic practice that reveals hidden power dynamics by stealth. This plays out within individual artworks (performance, sculpture, video) and in ongoing initiatives such as Super Critical Mass, a ‘radical orchestra’ project that reimagines the ensemble as a participatory vehicle for interaction.
Day has presented work at Whitechapel Gallery, Royal Academy of Music, Bang On A Can, Jewish Museum, Fridman Gallery, Sydney Opera House, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art, Institute of Modern Art, and MONA.
Day has created many programs for ABC radio, interviewing such artists as Janet Cardiff, Laurie Anderson, and Pauline Oliveros, and has given presentations at Harvard University, UCLA, and Goldsmiths. Day recently completed their MFA at Columbia University and is now studying at the University of Oxford’s Ruskin School of Art.
Daniel Green is an artist, educator and producer living in London, United Kingdom. His artistic practice explores the objects and media we use to occupy our time, and how they are used to give our lives meaning.
Daniel’s work has been exhibited within Campbelltown Arts Centre, Runway Journal, Firstdraft, Pelt, Artspace and BUS Projects, and has performed at Electrofringe, The Now Now Festival, Liquid Architecture, Cementa and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.
Daniel was a co-director of the artist-run initiatives Firstdraft between 2005-2006 and Electrofringe in 2009-2010. He produced the Sydney Mini Maker Faire at the Powerhouse Museum between 2013-2016, and helped inaugurate the Young Creators Conference in 2016.
Jolyon Jones is an artist based currently in Berlin, where he has been studying fine arts at the University of Arts, Berlin since 2019. Simultaneous with completing his bachelor’s degree in Anthropology at Macquarie University, Jolyon became involved in various collaborative arts projects and exhibitions, all of which took place on Darug and Gadigal land.
Jolyon has been a practising artist for four years and has shown in Australia and Germany. Working between sculpture, drawing, video, and sound Jolyon seeks to interrogate the relationship between physical materials and the concept of memento as well as the consequences of narrative in charging and disarming the objects they possess.
Ella Judd is an emerging arts worker and artist who graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Arts from The University of Sydney in 2016. Since graduating, she has exhibited in multiple group shows and worked in cultural organisations in Sydney, Australia and Toronto, Canada. She has held a range of museum education and arts programming roles at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, Australian Museum, Sydney Living Museums and Australian National Maritime Museum.
Ella is currently studying a Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Teaching at The University of Melbourne and values the importance of facilitating connections between audiences of all ages and contemporary art.
Julius Killerby is an artist living and working in London. His work focuses on the psychological ripple effects of certain cultural and societal transformations. Part of Julius’ practice also includes portraiture and in 2017 was nominated as a finalist in the Archibald Prize for my portrait of Paul Little. His work has been exhibited at the VCA Art Space, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Art Gallery of Ballarat and Lumen Gallery.
Julius has 5 years of experience working within a team environment at three of Melbourne’s galleries, where he has co-curated, hung, and promoted over 30 exhibitions across a variety of media. He has also been invited to partake in a variety of educational outreach programs. Some of these include artist talks at several secondary schools as well as an ‘In Conversation’ with Richard Lewer and Lisa Sullivan on the relationship between Art and Philanthropy at Geelong Gallery.”
Beau Lai (formerly Lilly) is an artist and writer currently based in Paris, France. Beau spent their formative years working intensively within the contemporary arts industry on Darug and Gadigal land in so called Australia. They are most well known for self-publishing their essay and work of institutional critique, “Working at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. It does not exist in a vacuum”, in 2020.
Additionally, Beau has been a practising artist for 6 years and has exhibited across France, South Korea, Thailand and Australia. They envisage their works as acts of forging familial connections, through realising overt, self-indulgent fantasies of unified alternative realities. Through video, performance and installation, they aim to investigate the intentions behind making art as more than a spectacle or performative gesture within the structures of the gallery space.
They tried to obtain a Bachelors in Fine Arts at Paris College of Art but didn’t like it and dropped out.
Jessie Nash is an emerging artist and arts worker who seeks to provide for her surrounding arts communities, through a focus on accessibility, curiosity, and visitor experience. Most recently based on Bundjalung country in Northern NSW, Jessie has worked for the Institute of Modern Art, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, and has worked in the drawing department at Queensland College of Art as a tutor.
Martyn Reyes is a Filipino-Australian writer and artist. He explores various intersections of identity in the form of creative nonfiction. This includes but is not limited to themes such as race, sexuality, gender, class, mental health and pop culture. His essays, articles, interviews and memoir has been published in the Sydney Review of Books, SBS Voices, Peril Magazine, LIMINAL Magazine and more. Martyn holds a BA in Communication from the University of Technology Sydney
Martyn has participated in literary development programs such as the WestWords Academy and The Writing Zone by the Writing and Society Research Centre at Western Sydney University. In addition to writing, he has a passion for creating and producing audio content. He was previously the host of FBi Radio’s Sunday Lunch (2018-2019) and produced stories for All The Best, Canvas and The ReReaders podcast.
In 2020, Martyn exhibited his video artwork ‘Ikaw Ang Ligaya Ko’ at PARI, Parramatta.
As a projection artist, Carla Zimbler distorts digitised fragments of her surroundings to alter perception and trigger sensory response. Working between on/offline environments, audiences are drawn into immersive spaces where sound-responsive visuals expand and dissolve into darkness.
Exploring the therapeutic qualities of colour and its impact, Carla siphons vivid light across interior/exterior architecture and soaks sculptural forms in rich textures as a live performative experience. Embracing projection mapping as an artistic device to induce shared emotion, she kindles desire for an otherworldly place of belonging.
Utilising creative technology and textiles to reposition the body in two concurrent realities, Carla shifts orientation, time and perspective to warp memory, redefine spatial boundaries and transcend the everyday. She invites audiences to question connectedness permanence and contemplate the intricacies of the micro/macro worlds we exist in.
Carla’s site-specific installations examine how light binds and separates, obscures and awakens.
About the program
For the Venice Biennale 2022, the Australia Council is inviting applications for invigilators of the exhibition in the Australia Pavilion.
Marco Fusinato is the artist commissioned for Australia’s national representation at the Venice Biennale 2022. The exhibition is curated by Alexie Glass-Kantor. Read more about the 2022 artistic team here.
The Australia Pavilion invigilation program is a professional development opportunity open to Australian citizens, based in Europe or the United Kingdom. The program provides development and opportunities for Australian’s based abroad during this challenging time.
Participants will:
- advance their skills in exhibition invigilation and arts administration;
- be exposed to different approaches to contemporary visual arts practice; and
- build networks that aim to foster future collaborations and exchanges.
The Venice project team will work with participants to co-design additional professional development activities to expand upon the invigilation experience of the Australia Pavilion.
We are offering two types of placements for the program:
A leadership opportunity to oversee the daily operations and management of the invigilation team during the Venice Biennale 2022. The role will be responsible for maintaining a consistently high level of service to a large volume of visiting public and ensure a presentable, secure, operable Australia Pavilion.
The Attendant Manager will be the critical on-the-ground interface for visitors and audiences to the Australia Pavilion and Marco Fusinato’s exhibition. They will also advocate for the Australian visual arts sector, engaging with other national pavilions and key delegates visiting the Australia Pavilion.
There are two Attendant Manager positions rostered for a period of 17 weeks over the length of the exhibition (23 April – 27 November 2022). Successful applicants will take part in an induction prior to commencement.
The Attendant Manager will report directly to nominated Australia Council staff working on the Australia at Venice project. The role will manage the Pavilion Attendants.
For more details about the Attendant Manager role, including key responsibilities, and requirements, please see the Invigilation Program Role Overview page.
Pavilion Attendants take on a supporting role, assisting the Attendant Manager with the daily operations of the Australia Pavilion during the Venice Biennale 2022. They will be responsible for direct exhibition invigilation and communicating the significance of Marco Fusinato’s practice to visitors.
Each day, Pavilion Attendents will be required to ensure all installation components are in good working order and ensure the overall presentation of the exhibition meets high standards.
Pavilion Attendant positions will be assigned to a rostered period of six weeks over the length of the exhibition (23 April – 27 November 2022). Each successful applicant will be expected to take part in an induction prior to commencement.
Pavilion Attendants report directly to the Attendant Manager and are supported by the Australia Council Venice project team through fortnightly check-ins.
For more details about the Pavilion Attendant role, including key responsibilities please see the Invigilation Program Role Overview page.
These placements are suitable for creative and cultural workers with knowledge and experience of contemporary visual art. Proficiency in Italian or other languages is desirable.
The nature of the Venice Biennale presents unique challenges for exhibition monitoring and invigilation. Successful applicants will be expected to have a flexible ‘can-do’ approach to the environment and to the challenges associated with living and working in Venice.
We encourage applications from all parts of of the visual arts industry. This includes but is not limited to artists, cultural producers, arts administrators, technical producers, artists, engagement and development coordinators and curators.
We recognise the privilege of international engagement can be inaccessible to people with lived experiences of marginalisation. We are committed to providing additional support to ensure inclusive and safe participation for First Nations peoples, culturally and linguistically diverse people, people with disability, LGBTIQA+ people, regionally based people and the intersections across these.
We encourage you to speak to us about any specific access needs or support you may require to assist your participation in this program.
It is the responsibility of the applicant to seek all relevant visa clearances to support their participation in the program.
The Micro-grants for the Australia Pavilion Invigilation program are generously supported by the Cross Family Foundations.
- €20,000 for 17 weeks of engagement.
- Micro-grant of €600 to support additional professional development activities.
- Reimbursement for economy return travel to Venice (maximum €450).
- Reimbursement for relevant first aid training.
You will need to arrange and pay for:
- Accommodation (the Australia Council can assist with options).
- Travel insurance (you will need to provide proof of cover).
- Any additional costs in excess of the support listed above.
- €2,800 for six weeks of engagement.
- Micro-grant of €300 to support additional professional development activities.
- Reimbursement for economy return travel to Venice (maximum €450).
- Accommodation in a shared apartment (private room)
You will need to arrange and pay for:
- Travel insurance (you will need to provide proof of cover).
- Any additional costs in excess of the support.
You can apply if:
- you are an Australian citizen
- you are based in Europe or the United Kingdom
- you are an individual.
Click on the ‘Apply Now’ button at the top of this page.
The application form will require you to identify the placement you are applying for. You can only apply for one type of placement.
The application form requires you to nominate your preferred participation timeframe:
- Mid April – mid August 2022 *you will be involved with vernissage
- Mid August to end November 2022 *you will be involved with deinstall
Support material items:
- A short introductory video (maximum 90 seconds). Introduce yourself and tell us why you are interested in this opportunity.
- A maximum two-page pdf file responding to the following selection criteria:
- Experience in leading and managing a team within the creative and cultural industries. (150 words)
- Operational and technical ability with reporting, maintenance, invigilation (including security) and daily risk management of exhibitions. (150 words)
- Relevant customer service, communication and audience engagement skills. (150 words)
- Interest, advocacy or connection to Australian visual arts practice. (150 words)
- Connection to or interest in Marco Fusinato’s artistic practice. (150 words)
- A maximum two-page CV illustrating relevant work experience, including the contact details of two referees
Please also state in your CV if you have;
- Fluency in other languages (Italian is highly desirable).
- Tertiary qualifications in Visual Arts, Art History, Art Theory or Arts Administration (desirable).
- Demonstrated ability to work with Microsoft products and SharePoint (highly desirable).
- Technical experience with audio visual exhibitions (highly desirable).
The application form requires you to nominate a minimum of two preferred participation timeframes for 2022:
- session one: 15 April to 29 May (6 weeks) *you will be involved with vernissage
- session two: 27 May to 10 July (6 weeks)
- session three: 8 July to 21 August (6 weeks)
- session four: 19 August to 2 October (6 weeks)
- session five: 21 October to 4 December (6 weeks) *you will be involved with deinstall.
Support material items:
- A short introductory video (maximum three minutes) Introduce yourself and tell us why you are interested in this opportunity.
- A maximum one-page pdf file responding to the following selection criteria:
- Relevant experience in a team environment, in the visual arts sector, with an operational skill set for reporting, maintaining and monitoring the security and daily risk management of audio visual exhibitions. (150 words)
- Experience with customer service, communication and audience engagement skills. (150 words)
- Interest, advocacy or connection to Australian visual arts practice. (150 words)
- A maximum two-page CV illustrating relevant work experience, including the contact details of two referees.
Please also include in your CV if you have:
- Fluency in other languages (Italian is highly desirable).
- Tertiary qualifications in Visual Arts, Art History, Art Theory or Arts Administration.
- Demonstrated ability to work with Microsoft products and SharePoint (highly desirable).
- Technical experience with audio visual exhibitions (highly desirable).
Please refer to our How to apply page for further information and guidance on support material upload requirements.
Applications will be assessed by Australia Council staff.
Council will assess applications against the following assessment criteria:
- Relevance: Relevant skills and capacity to support the invigilation of the pavilion.
- Leadership: An active and/or reflective approach to Australian and international visual arts practice and/or sector development.
Assessments will be completed in a two step process:
- Stage 1: Internal shortlist by Australia Council staff.
- Stage 2: Shortlisted applicant interviews by Australia Council Venice project team (December 2022).
Notification: Early January 2022
Frequently asked questions
Manage the Pavilion Attendants
- Manage the diverse team of Pavilion Attendants (PA) including:
- supervision and coordination of the PA roster
- delivering and delegating daily priorities such as cleaning and maintenance
- human resource topics, including wellbeing and safety, with the support of the Pavilion Supervisor and the Australia Council project team
- Encourage the PAs to use this opportunity to network and connect with other national pavilions.
Reporting and risk management.
- Provide a detailed weekly report, including risk management and accurately recorded visitor numbers, to the Australia Council project team.
- This role reports to the Project Manager, Venice Biennale on all matters. Maintain clear and ongoing communications in relation to all aspects of exhibition monitoring, visitor attendance, the Pavilion invigilation team, and media issues including escalating urgent issues as required.
Manage the exhibition in the Australian Pavilion
- Monitor and check the security and technical operability of the exhibition artworks and venue on a daily basis.
- Coordinate the opening and closing of the Australian Pavilion, within the appointed Giardini opening hours.
- Maintain clear and ongoing communications with the Pavilion Supervisor regarding exhibition monitoring and security, venue maintenance, any staffing changes or human resource requirements.
- Facilitate and action requests from the Artistic team and Australia Council project team.
- Coordinate petty cash and keep detailed financial records.
Audience engagement
- Research and communicate the practice and importance of Marco Fusinato’s work, and Australian contemporary visual arts, to an international audience.
- Coordinate the public program with the Artistic team and Australia Council project team.
- Maintain a consistently high level of service to a large volume of visiting public, while ensuring the security and invigilation of the exhibition and the Australian Pavilion.
- Provide information on the exhibition and Australian visual arts and when required, provide walk-throughs of the exhibition to VIPs
- Act as an ambassador for Australia by positively represent Australian culture to visitors and stakeholders at all times.
- Edit and upload engaging content for the Australia Council’s social media platforms.
- Abide by the Council’s social media protocols and communication and marketing strategy.
General
- Work five days a week in the Australian Pavilion for a maximum of six (6) hours a day reporting directly to the Attendant Manager (AM).
- Maintain clear and ongoing communications with the AM.
- Establish daily priorities with the Attendant Manager including:
- day-to-day exhibition and venue cleaning and maintenance
- timely opening and closing of the Australian pavilion
- leading tours, and
- front of house presentation
- Support the Attendant Manager to organise and host a monthly networking event with your team and attendants from other national pavilions.
- Undertake other duties as required by the Attendant Manager, Pavilion Supervisor, and the Australia Council project team.
Coordinate the exhibition in the Australian Pavilion
- Maintain clear and ongoing communications with the AM in Venice regarding exhibition security and monitoring of the exhibition artworks, venue, and technology on a daily basis.
- Facilitate and action requests from the Artistic team and Australia Council project team.
Audience Engagement
- Provide a high-level and welcoming service to visitors including providing information on the artworks and Australian visual arts.
- Act as an ambassador for Australia by positively representing Australian culture to visitors and stakeholders at all times.
- Strive to position the Australian Pavilion as a destination and a ‘must see’ exhibition at the Venice Biennale.
- As directed by the AM, create, edit and upload engaging content for the Australia Council’s online communication channels. Abide by the Council’s social media protocols and communication and marketing strategy.
Reporting
- Research exhibiting artist Marco Fusinato practice and familiarise yourself with the central themes of his work.
- Accurately record visitor statistics for the Australian Pavilion.
- Submit responses to a feedback survey to the Australia Council at the end of your rotation.