Organizer Information
MADA Gallery is the public gallery of Monash Art, Design and Architecture (MADA), the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture at Monash University's Caulfield Campus in Melbourne, Australia. Formerly known as the Faculty Gallery (1999–2012), MADA Gallery is dedicated to exhibiting art and design of a high standard underpinned by research excellence, serving as both a public exhibition space and a teaching resource for the benefit of students, staff, and the wider community. Admission is free, and the gallery sits alongside the Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA) at the Caulfield Campus. The Faculty itself was created from the former Monash University College of Art and Design and later renamed to include architecture in 2008; it encompasses the Department of Fine Art, Department of Design, and Department of Architecture. As stated in the source, in addition to hosting examination exhibitions by PhD candidates, MADA Gallery runs a programme of exhibitions by artists, curators, designers, architects, and other creative practitioners, extending critical debate about contemporary visual culture. In 2026, the gallery's Curators in Residence were Isabella Hone-Saunders and Paul Boyé, who presented the two-part exhibition project Inter-narratives of hope: building catastrophe resilience.
Title & Description
MADA Gallery 2027 Curator-in-Residence
MADA Gallery is now accepting applications for its year-long, 2027 Curator-in-Residence programme, offering the successful applicant the opportunity to deliver two curated exhibitions over the course of the year. As stated in the source, the application process is open to anyone, and the gallery welcomes proposals from Australian and international practitioners, including Monash academic and professional staff, current students, and alumni. As a gallery located within a tertiary school, MADA Gallery is especially interested in proposals that are speculative, propositional, and experimental — ones that engage students, connect to urgent contemporary issues and ideas, or think critically about the relationship between exhibition-making, teaching, and research. Applicants are encouraged to consider how their proposed programme connects to the Faculty's departments (art, design, and architecture) and to the University's key priorities, including Climate Change, Geopolitical Security, and Wellness, and/or the Faculty's research areas. While the residency is structured around two curated exhibitions building on one another to form a cohesive programme, the source notes there is scope for alternative proposals, subject to resourcing and scheduling.
Theme
Open theme, with particular interest in proposals connecting to Climate Change, Geopolitical Security, and Wellness (Monash University priorities), and/or research areas within the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture. Speculative, propositional, and experimental approaches to exhibition-making are especially encouraged.
Categories
- Curatorial Practice
- Visual Arts
- Design
- Architecture
- Interdisciplinary Arts
- Exhibition Making
- Education
Eligibility
- Open to anyone; the application process is described as open to all
- Welcomes applications from Australian and international practitioners
- Open to Monash academic and professional staff, current students, and alumni
Program Benefits & Awards
- A year-long curator-in-residence position with the opportunity to deliver two curated exhibitions
- Total annual exhibition budget of $18,000, plus a curator fee of $6,000 (plus superannuation)
- Discretion over how to divide the exhibition budget and curator fee across the programme
- Option to request the loan of works from the Monash University Collection of Art (managed by MUMA)
- Installation support (1–2 days per exhibition, plus advice and consultation from the Gallery Manager in the lead-up to exhibitions)
- Equipment including projectors, speakers, media players, and screens
- Gallery Assistants providing administrative assistance
- Digital invitations and social media promotion
- Line listings in Art Almanac and Art Gallery Guide
- Professional documentation of the exhibition
- Event opening costs, including catering and wait staff
- Access to MADA Gallery facilities (9 x 14 m space with track and spotlights, and AV equipment including TVs, projectors, media players, and sound systems)
- Invigilation provided on Fridays and Saturdays by the Gallery Assistant, and by student volunteers during the week
- Support for pursuing additional funding through grant applications or other fundraising
Application Fee
None
Application Requirements
- Up to 3 x A4 pages of text, including:
- Project Summary: a detailed description of the proposed programme, including a rationale for each exhibition and an explanation of how the two exhibitions relate to one another
- A brief CV of the applicant(s)
- For each exhibition, a list of artists or practitioners and proposed works to be included
- A description of how works will be installed and displayed
- An explanation of how the exhibition engages MADA audiences and relates to a tertiary education context and strategic goals, including any proposed public programmes
- Up to 10 captioned images or video/audio/weblink relevant to the exhibition
- A draft budget listing income and expenditure and any additional funding the applicant might bring to the project
- All materials collated into a single PDF document
How to Apply?
Submit the single PDF proposal by email to: mada.gallery@monash.edu
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 20 August 2026
- Results Announced: October 2026
- Residency Period: Year-long (2027)
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Additional Details
- The budget must cover: artist fees, artwork loan fees, transport of artwork, any publication costs or specific signage for the exhibition (posters/lettering, etc.), and contingency
- Gallery facility dimensions are 9 x 14 m; a copy of the floor plans is available for download from the source page
- MADA Gallery follows Monash University's accessibility guidelines, including the Disability Action Plan, and gallery-specific accessibility guidelines are available
- Applicants requiring additional assistance, or for whom the application format is inaccessible, are invited to discuss alternative formats with gallery staff
- All enquiries can be directed to mada.gallery@monash.edu or 03 9903 4034