STAFF PROFILE
Professor Grace McQuilten
Grace McQuilten is a Senior Lecturer in Art History and Theory, and Leader of the Contemporary Art and Social Transformation Research Group in the School of Art.
Research
Grace is a published art historian, curator and artist with expertise in contemporary art and design, public art, social practice, social enterprise and community development.
Grace's book Art as Enterprise: Social and Economic Engagement in Contemporary Art is published by IB Tauris (UK) (2016, co-authored with Dr Anthony White) considers new economic models for the arts in the context of social practice, creative industries and transformations in the public realm. In 2011 she published Art in Consumer Culture with Ashgate Publishing, looking at the work of contemporary international artists engaging critically with design.
Grace's research challenges and transforms conventional understandings of the relationship between margin and centre in relation to the cultural economy, contemporary art practice and art history. She has pioneered work on the field of art-based social enterprise in Australia, and has worked extensively in migrant and refugee settlement. She has a multidisciplinary approach that engages with a range of fields including art, design, architecture, sustainability, sociology, business and international development. In addition, through her leadership of the CAST research group, she collaborates with industry and across disciplines to develop research projects that address issues of access, equity and justice.
Grace is a Chief Investigator on the ARC Discovery Project 'The underworld: outsider artists and the reformulation of Australian art,' (2018-2020) and the ARC Discovery Project 'Art-based Social Enterprises and Marginalised Young Peoples Transitions,' (2017-2019). She has published numerous articles in refereed and unrefereed publications, published creative works in literary journals, authored exhibition catalogues and worked as an editor on local newspapers and engaged widely with local and national media. Grace is the founding CEO & a current Board Director of The Social Studio, a fashion and art based social enterprise working with young people from humanitarian migrant backgrounds in Melbourne.
Research supervision
Modern and contemporary art, art history, intersection of art and design, art and community development, art and politics, social enterprise.
Links
- Bachelor of Creative Arts (Honours), University of Melbourne
- PhD Art History, University of Melbourne
- McQuilten, G. (2024). Sensorial Contemporary Arts, Mindfulness and Play for Children's Post-Pandemic Recovery – Qualitative Evaluation of The Children's Sensorium In: International Journal of Art and Design Education, , 1 - 17
- Hewitt, J.,Parker, L.,McQuilten, G.,Khan, R. (2023). Sustainability Chic and the Future of Fashion Marketing In: Beyond the Dark Arts: Advancing Marketing and Communication Theory and Practice, World Scientific, Singapore
- McQuilten, G. (2023). Who Can A!ord to Fail? Art and Risk in an Era of Precarity In: Failurists – When Things Go Awry, Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- McQuilten, G.,Palmer, D. (2023). Introduction: Contemporary Art and Crisis In: Dystopian and Utopian Impulses in Art Making, Intellect, United Kingdom
- Harwood, T.,McQuilten, G.,White, A. (2023). Variations: A More Diverse Picture of Contemporary Art, Monash University Publishing, Clayton, Australia
- Lye, J.,Hirschberg, J.,McQuilten, G.,Powell, C.,MacNeill, K.,Badham, M. (2023). The impact of COVID-19 on the well-being of Australian visual artists and arts workers In: Australian Journal of Social Issues, , 1 - 21
- McQuilten, G. (2022). Repetition, Transgression and Fashion in David Sequeira’s untitled, India In: All the things I never said that I should have said Melbourne, Australia
- McQuilten, G.,Hulbert, T.,Nguyen, T. (2022). dây dó (here/there) In: dây dó (here/there) Melbourne, Australia
- Hussey-Smith, K.,McQuilten, G. (2022). Archives of Feeling In: The Big Anxiety Festival Melbourne, Australia
- MacNeill, K.,Lye, J.,McQuilten, G.,Badham, M.,Powell, C. (2022). The Incomes of Visual Artists: Which Artists, What Income? In: The Australian Economic Review, 55, 558 - 567
8 PhD Completions8 PhD Current Supervisions
- Care and Repair: Rethinking Contemporary Curation for Conditions of Crisis (administered by Monash University). Funded by: ARC Discovery Projects 2023 via Other University from (2024 to 2027)
- The Children’s Sensorium in the Community: Nature, art & play for post-pandemic recovery. Funded by: Australia Council for the Arts - Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups from (2024 to 2024)
- Expanding contemporary craft and fashion entrepreneurship for sustainable development. Funded by: Academy of Medical Sciences UK_AU Networking Grants from (2024 to 2025)
- The Children's Sensorium – Exhibition for Children's Resilience and Wellbeing. Funded by: Victorian Health Promotion Foundation - JumpStart! Grant from (2022 to 2023)
- The Platform: Emerging Artists Take Over. Funded by: City of Melbourne Arts Grant from (2022 to 2022)