A Baroque Archbishop in colonial Australia: James Goold (1812-1886). This project aims to investigate the cultural vision of the first Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, James Goold (1812-1886), whose architectural patronage changed Melbourne. An Irishman educated in Italy, Goold was a passionate collector and missionary bishop. He imported a library and late Italian Baroque paintings to convey the intensity of European religious experience. When Goold was appointed to Melbourne, it was a provinc ....A Baroque Archbishop in colonial Australia: James Goold (1812-1886). This project aims to investigate the cultural vision of the first Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, James Goold (1812-1886), whose architectural patronage changed Melbourne. An Irishman educated in Italy, Goold was a passionate collector and missionary bishop. He imported a library and late Italian Baroque paintings to convey the intensity of European religious experience. When Goold was appointed to Melbourne, it was a provincial town, but the discovery of gold and the commissioning of St Patrick's Cathedral made Melbourne an international metropolis. The project will examine Goold’s collection and communicate the results through an exhibition and conference. The research may change our understanding of the narratives of Colonial Australia.Read moreRead less
Eurasian exchange and artistic transformation in art. This project aims to bring European and Chinese art history into dialogue. It explores the early Italian Renaissance in the larger geopolitical context of Mongol Eurasia and the Yuan Empire, to address the questions of influence, contact, and exchange. In reframing the development of early European art as a fundamentally cross-cultural phenomenon, this project aims to offer a better understanding of the roots of our own global visual culture. ....Eurasian exchange and artistic transformation in art. This project aims to bring European and Chinese art history into dialogue. It explores the early Italian Renaissance in the larger geopolitical context of Mongol Eurasia and the Yuan Empire, to address the questions of influence, contact, and exchange. In reframing the development of early European art as a fundamentally cross-cultural phenomenon, this project aims to offer a better understanding of the roots of our own global visual culture. The project will benefit and enrich the study of cross-cultural contact and exchange in art history as a larger field, leading to the re-examination of art in the Australasian region.Read moreRead less
Outsider artists and the reformulation of Australian art. This project aims to produce an understanding of outsider artists, their lives, their histories, and the socio-historic context in which they made their work. “Outsider artists” includes artists experiencing incarceration, disability, mental illness and other forms of marginalisation. Integration of their work will lead to a deeper understanding of mainstream art in Australia to paint a richer, more complex picture of the history of Aust ....Outsider artists and the reformulation of Australian art. This project aims to produce an understanding of outsider artists, their lives, their histories, and the socio-historic context in which they made their work. “Outsider artists” includes artists experiencing incarceration, disability, mental illness and other forms of marginalisation. Integration of their work will lead to a deeper understanding of mainstream art in Australia to paint a richer, more complex picture of the history of Australian art. The project will alter the perspective of arts policy and agencies, and of Australian artists themselves.Read moreRead less
Light, place and presence in the history of Australian photography. Photography is central to Australian history and national identity. It is a powerful tool through which our identities are forged, and through photography our understanding of our place in relation to our environments, each other and the world are made visible. By grounding this research in the unique status of light as a physical agent in photography and a key symbol of identity and place in Australia, this project will develop ....Light, place and presence in the history of Australian photography. Photography is central to Australian history and national identity. It is a powerful tool through which our identities are forged, and through photography our understanding of our place in relation to our environments, each other and the world are made visible. By grounding this research in the unique status of light as a physical agent in photography and a key symbol of identity and place in Australia, this project will develop a new approach to photography that enriches our social and cultural imagination, and propels Australian scholarship onto the international agenda. Read moreRead less
Curating Photography in the Age of Photo Sharing. This project aims to develop new curatorial models to enable Australian art galleries to respond effectively to changes in the medium of photography wrought by digital technologies. By conducting the first comprehensive analysis of nearly five decades of Australian photography curating and comparing it to curatorial approaches in related institutions locally and internationally, the project seeks to: identify the crucial role of photography exhib ....Curating Photography in the Age of Photo Sharing. This project aims to develop new curatorial models to enable Australian art galleries to respond effectively to changes in the medium of photography wrought by digital technologies. By conducting the first comprehensive analysis of nearly five decades of Australian photography curating and comparing it to curatorial approaches in related institutions locally and internationally, the project seeks to: identify the crucial role of photography exhibitions in the shaping of Australian visual culture; and develop opportunities for curators to better engage with the current proliferation of images, including new forms and practices of photography enabled by the Internet.Read moreRead less
Human kind: transforming identity in Australian and British portraits 1700-1900 in the National Gallery of Victoria. The National Gallery of Victoria's outstanding collection of Australian and British portraits, spanning the Enlightenment and the dawn of Federation, say much about this nation's cultural evolution within a global context. This project will produce the first interdisciplinary study of these portraits, enabling their online publication and extensive educational programs.
The Living Dead: witchcraft and apparition in European culture (3rd to 18th century). By providing a major monograph, an edited collection of papers by national and international scholars, and an electronic pictorial catalogue, the project will be of immense benefit to this rich new field of international research, and also help maintain the high reputation Australian scholarship enjoys in the field of medieval and early modern studies. But the relationship of societies to their dead continues t ....The Living Dead: witchcraft and apparition in European culture (3rd to 18th century). By providing a major monograph, an edited collection of papers by national and international scholars, and an electronic pictorial catalogue, the project will be of immense benefit to this rich new field of international research, and also help maintain the high reputation Australian scholarship enjoys in the field of medieval and early modern studies. But the relationship of societies to their dead continues to evoke keen interest in contemporary Australia outside the bounds of the academy. A fully researched history of Europe's changing views towards the dead will contribute to this topical discussion, made more urgent by our aging population and changes to traditional religious and cultural responses to death. Read moreRead less
Reading the signs: disaster, apocalypse and demonology in European print culture, 1450-1700. Religious identity and belief have been critical to understanding, explaining, controlling and also exploiting natural disaster within the cultures of early modern Europe. Religion continues to shape responses today to phenomena such as climate change, drought and pandemic. By exploring religious responses to natural disaster, this project will both promote Australia's high international reputation for e ....Reading the signs: disaster, apocalypse and demonology in European print culture, 1450-1700. Religious identity and belief have been critical to understanding, explaining, controlling and also exploiting natural disaster within the cultures of early modern Europe. Religion continues to shape responses today to phenomena such as climate change, drought and pandemic. By exploring religious responses to natural disaster, this project will both promote Australia's high international reputation for early European research, and also offer new perspectives for contemporary public discussion of natural disasters and the fears they generate. It will foster cross-institutional research, and in mounting a major public exhibition, promote awareness of Australia's rich artistic and historical collections.Read moreRead less
The Field of Artistic Production in Colonial Australia: People, Institutions, History. This study of the development of Australian art in the nineteenth century focuses on the citizens, infrastructure and institutions that fostered the production of the visual arts. It eschews a Sydney-Melbourne bias in favour of the ?regions? and goes beyond ?professional? cultural elites to include amateurs, women, activists and entrepreneurs who cajoled the public and government into supporting a visual arts ....The Field of Artistic Production in Colonial Australia: People, Institutions, History. This study of the development of Australian art in the nineteenth century focuses on the citizens, infrastructure and institutions that fostered the production of the visual arts. It eschews a Sydney-Melbourne bias in favour of the ?regions? and goes beyond ?professional? cultural elites to include amateurs, women, activists and entrepreneurs who cajoled the public and government into supporting a visual arts infrastructure. This study is of regional benefit and will interest art and cultural historians and policy-makers in heritage management, cultural policy and cultural tourism. The outcomes will include a major book and a database of archival sources.Read moreRead less
Spiritual and cross-cultural elements in contemporary Australian art. This project will benefit the Australian community through new research on Australian art as an arena for the expression of spirituality. Its exploration of the spiritual and cross-cultural aspects of seven outstanding contemporary Australian artists, especially in relation to Aboriginal Art and Asian Art, will provide a strong basis for further comparative research on the history of the relationship between art and spirituali ....Spiritual and cross-cultural elements in contemporary Australian art. This project will benefit the Australian community through new research on Australian art as an arena for the expression of spirituality. Its exploration of the spiritual and cross-cultural aspects of seven outstanding contemporary Australian artists, especially in relation to Aboriginal Art and Asian Art, will provide a strong basis for further comparative research on the history of the relationship between art and spirituality in contemporary Australian art. The resulting book and conference papers will make the fruits of this research widely known in the community.Read moreRead less