Dr. Courtney Coombs
Details
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Department: School of Design
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Campus: City Campus Australia
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courtney.coombs@rmit.edu.au
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ORCID:
0000-0002-2923-0868
Open to
- Collaborative projects
- Industry Projects
- Masters Research or PhD student supervision
- Membership of an advisory committee
About
Courtney Coombs is an artist, maker, and educator specialising in socially engaged practice and practice-based research spanning object design, weaving, installation, and public art. They have exhibited nationally and internationally and hold a PhD in Visual Art (Practice-based Research) from QUT, a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Bergen, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) from QUT. With extensive experience in developing and realising complex concepts as cohesive projects, Courtney has secured local, state, and federal funding and received numerous awards, including the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Sessional Teaching. They have co-founded multiple artist-run initiatives such as No Frills* and LEVEL, served as Director of Outer Space, and continue to maintain an active exhibition practice while contributing to critical discourse on gender, sexuality, and inequity in contemporary art and design.
Research fields
- 360602 Fine arts
- 500302 Critical theory
- 440501 Feminist and queer theory
- 330304 Design history, theory and criticism
- 330306 Design practice and methods
- 340309 Theory and design of materials
- 330310 Interaction and experience design
- 36 Creative arts and writing
UN sustainable development goals
- 3 Good Health and Well Being
- 4 Quality Education
- 5 Gender Equality
- 10 Reduced Inequalities
- 13 Climate Action
- 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
- 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Academic positions
- Lecturer
- RMIT University
- Industrial Design
- Melbourne, Australia
- 1 Jul 2025 – Present
- Teaching Associate
- RMIT University
- Industrial Design
- Melbourne, Australia
- 1 Feb 2024 – 30 Jun 2025
- Teaching Associate
- Monash University
- Fine Arts
- Melbourne, Australia
- 1 Feb 2024 – 28 Jun 2024
- Unit Coordinator, Lecturer, Tutor
- Griffith University
- Fine Arts
- Brisbane, Australia
- 1 Jul 2019 – 27 Jun 2021
- Unit Coordinator, Lecturer, Tutor
- Queensland University of Technology
- Fine Arts, Design, Creative Industries
- Brisbane, Australia
- 1 Jul 2008 – 28 Jun 2019
Non-academic positions
- Founding Co-Director
- Kink Collective
- Australia
- 1 Feb 2021 – Present
- Director
- Outer Space Contemporary Art Organisation
- Brisbane, Australia
- 3 Jun 2019 – 25 Jun 2021
- Founding Co-Director
- LEVEL ARI
- Australia
- 1 Feb 2010 – 20 Dec 2019
- Founding Co-Director
- No Frills* ARI
- Brisbane, Australia
- 5 Nov 2007 – 29 Jan 2010
Teaching interests
Courtney fosters collaborative, non-hierarchical learning environments that support students in pushing creative and conceptual boundaries. Their approach emphasises flexible mentoring tailored to socially engaged and community-led design, practice-based research methodologies, queer and decolonial design approaches, and collaborative design processes. Since 2008, they have taught across Undergraduate, Honours, and Masters programs as tutor, lecturer, and unit coordinator, working with cohorts in Visual Arts, Design, Industrial Design, and Creative Industries. Guided by the belief that education is both a privilege and a right, their pedagogy centres on creating safe, inclusive spaces where diverse perspectives are valued and empowered.
Research interests
Courtney’s research interrogates inequity and experiences of 'otherness' through queer feminist methodologies of abstraction, recontextualisation, and queering normative ways of thinking. Their current projects examine how natural and industrial landscapes, alongside sustainable materials and practices, can act as connective frameworks for recognising and celebrating difference. This continues earlier research undertaken during their PhD, which investigated the intersection of gender politics and the legacies of Minimalist and Conceptual Art. As co-founder of Kink Collective, they contribute to documenting and shaping a history of queer Australian art through publishing, scholarship, advocacy, and public access initiatives. Additional research interests include creative pedagogy and the evolving relationship between technology and craft-based practice. Their practice-led outputs manifest as dialogical art, sculptural works, and critical writing, with a central aim of generating positive cultural and structural change.
