Patricia Piccinini joins RMIT

Patricia Piccinini joins RMIT

Revered Australian artist Patricia Piccinini has been appointed a Professor of Practice with RMIT’s School of Art.

Piccinini will work with students and staff across the university – spanning learning and teaching, research and engagement – to share knowledge and practice, work on projects as part of the Planetary Civics Inquiry and be involved with a range of transdisciplinary initiatives. 

Piccinini said she is delighted to be joining RMIT, a university she admires for “its willingness to engage with the complex issues that face our society, and especially our young people.” 

“I’m excited to work with an institution that puts connection, collaboration and care at the heart of what it does,” she said. 

Patricia Piccinini and Tim MarshallPatricia Piccinini (left) and Tim Marshall (right)

Piccinini’s work encompasses sculpture, photography, video and drawing and her practice examines the increasingly nebulous boundary between the artificial and the natural as it appears in contemporary culture and ideas. 

Among her many significant works, Piccinini represented Australia at the 2003 Venice Biennale and in 2013 was commissioned by the Centenary of Canberra to create The Skywhale hot air balloon, which was joined in 2020 by Skywhalepapa.  

In 2022, her major exhibition, A Miracle Constantly Repeated, was held in the Flinders Street Station Ballroom in Melbourne. 

Piccinni’s first public engagement as Professor of Practice was a special in conversation event with philosopher and RMIT Honorary Professor Rosi Braidotti.  

Held at The Capitol, the unique and highly successful event coincided with the international launch of the Planetary Civics Inquiry which brings together local and international researchers, creative practitioners and industry professionals united by the goal of transforming fundamental structures and processes in caring for our planet and collective futures.

Patricia Piccinini and Rosi Braidotti: Planetary Civics and Regenerative Futures

Patricia Piccinini and Rosi Braidotti: Planetary Civics and Regenerative Futures

Professor Tim Marshall, Deputy Vice-Chancellor College of Design and Social Context said it is an honour to have an artist of Piccinini’s calibre join RMIT. 

“Patricia is without question one of Australia’s greatest artists. The concerns that inform her practice, exploring, as she does, ideas of the natural, the technological, the human and the blurring of these categories, raises complex questions about what it means to be human in a post human era,” he said.

“Her expertise as a practitioner and vast international network will bring a richness and invaluable perspective to her work with our students and academic community.” 

RMIT’s School of Art is known as a place of innovative and diverse art, craft and photographic practices, research and education. RMIT is ranked #1 for Art & Design in Australia and #26 in the world (2025 QS World University Rankings by Subject) and is internationally renowned for its creative programs led by accomplished artists, photographers and professional staff.

Story: Rosie Shepherdson-Cullen

17 March 2025

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