About

Annette Wagner is an practice-led, interdisciplinary artist who grew up along the Murray–Barka (Darling) rivers, Australia’s largest and most complex river system, and understands water is a social medium as much as it is a biological necessity. Her interdisciplinary practice is situated in contemporary arts exploring concepts of memory and water ecology. Seeking to reveal new understandings of our connection with water she records memories and conducts spatial investigations to map social assemblages of consumption, sustainability and ecology.

A social engagment practice deconstructs psychological distance using water as both subject and medium. Regularly conducting interviews to build an archive of recordings she reveals our diverse knowledge systems of both fact and fiction and our social and political memories of water.

Symbolically for the artist, she considers humanities outer space exploration for the life giving resource as curiously absurdist, revealing the duality in our nature, joy and hope, fear and despair. Her own site based absurdist performances, documented by both moving and still images, consider place across diverse bodies of water and explore the tension of an individual within the anthropocene.

Both practices coalesce into multimedia immersive installations, combining sculpture, abstracted sound, light and site installations which seek to reveal our collective understanding of water and act to provoke the audience’s attention to consider water’s critical currency. She does this to reveal and highlight our emotive interdependence with water as she argues, we are part of the fragile ecosystem itself.

Exhibitions

2025 Absurd Ecologies, PhD Presentation Exhibition Deakin Waterfront Project Gallery
2025 Preconcieved Interrogation - Body, Trocadero, Footscray
2025 Venetian Bind, at Deakin University Gallery and publication.
2024 In The Deep West, West End Art Space, West Melbourne
2023 Voice Plains and Memory Depth Meters, fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne.
2021 Autobiographical Memories of Water, Schoolhouse Studio Gallery, Coburg
2021 The Last Act, Yoho Collective, Schoolhouse Studio Long Division Gallery, Collingwood
2020 Provocative Cakes, Schoolhouse Studio Long Division Gallery, Collingwood
2020 Use Your Words, Schoolhouse Studio Long Division Gallery, Collingwood
2020 Motif Repeat, Schoolhouse Studio Long Division Gallery, Collingwood
2019 UnShut, Schoolhouse Studio Long Division Gallery, Collingwood
2019 VCA Grad Show GCVA, Victoria College of the Arts, Melbourne University (OCT 2019)
2019 Linear Notion, Schoolhouse Studio Long Division Gallery, Collingwood
2019 Camouflage, Schoolhouse Studio Long Division Gallery, Collingwood
2019 Beg. Borrow. Steal. Schoolhouse Studio Long Division Gallery, Collingwood
2018 CCP Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne

Public Engagement - Lectures, Presentations, Conferences and Workshops

2025 Presentation and panelist "Locating Art: What is “Site-Specific" Deakin University x F Project, Warrnambool
2025 Boston University, Tuesday Night Lecture Series Speaker and Guest Lecturer (Crit Sessions) with MFA in Print Media & Photography students.
2025 CAA13 College Art Association Conference New York, Abstract - Sustaining Artistic Practice through Community Engagement and Feminist Theories
2025 The Feminist Art Project ‘Making Trouble: Women, Art and Science’ panel event (CAA13 adjacent program - attendance)
2025 VCUArts Qatar, Guest Lecturer at Innovative Media Studios (IMS) with postgraduate students, invitation from Head of IMS, Josh Rodenberg .
2025 Deakin University, Public Exchange Bureau Symposium, NGVA Theatrette
2024 The Arctic Circle Residency and presentation, Svalbard, Norway
2024 Selected Bundanon Artist Residency
2024 Venetian Bind, Palazzo Mora, Venice, Deakin University for European Cultural Centre in conjunction with the Venice Biennale. View publication.
2024 Artist As Curator program and host, with Sophia Cai at Bus Projects, Dr Vikki McInnes, Steven Rhall, Illana Russell at Platform Arts, Elyse Goldfinch at ACCA and Dr David Cross.
2024 Deakin University, Public Exchange Bureau Symposium, Testing Grounds, Melbourne
2023 California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) Guest Lecturer and postgraduate presentation: On Water & Irrigation Flows of the Californian Chaffey Brothers, hosted by Tom Lawson
2023 Q&A Interview with Elvis Richardson, NGV Ian Potter Gallery, Community Hall
2023 Fringe Festival and Wyhndam City and Hobson Bay, Panel host
2022 National Gallery of Victoria Design Week and Art Book Fair event & ‘No Shit‘ publication launch/release.
2022 Q&A Panel Event, Tilly Boleyn, Head of Curatorial & Arie Glorie, Curatorial Assistant, Science Gallery Melbourne, Annette Wagner.
2021 How to Price Artworks, Dr. Annie Wilson, facilitated by Annette Wagner for Wyndham City Council
2021 How to Write About Your Art, Dr. Fiona Lee, facilitated by Annette Wagner for Wyndham City Council
2019 Presenter, Craft Cubed Festival, Craft Victoria
2018, 2019 & 2021 Art Direction Workshop host, Craft Cubed Festival, Craft Victoria

Grants, Awards and Residencies

2025 Finalist Bundoora Homestead Art Centre, Darebin A1 Art Salon
2025 Venetian Bind, at Deakin University Gallery and publication.
2024 Finalist Incinerator Art Prize
2024 Selected residency participant The Arctic Circle Expedition (October)
2024 Selected HDR Candidate, Deakin University & European Cultural Centre ‘Veneitan Bind’ for the Venice Biennale at Pelazzo Mora (March/April)
2024 Selected Bundanon Artist Residency (May)
2023 UTS x Australia Council of the Arts, Digital Transformation for the Creative Industries (funded course recipient)
2022 Finalist Wyndham Art Prize
2021 PICA Hatched, National Graduate Award (Nominee), at Perth Institute for Contemporary Art
2020 Yarra City Arts, Resident Grant, Schoolhouse Studio

Education & Creative Research Training

PhD Candidate (Creative Practice / Arts Research)
2022 - 2026 Deakin University: Practice-led research exploring memory, water ecology, oral history, sound and spatial methodologies within contemporary art contexts.

Professional & Post-Graduate Studies
2021 Deakin University: Honours, School of Communication and Creative Arts
2019 University of Melbourne: Graduate Certificate of Visual Arts
2017 University of the Arts, London (Central St. Martins): Certificate, Contemporary Painting & Drawing

Interdisciplinary Arts & Creative Practice Training
Ongoing doctoral practice workshops and training integrating methodologies across artistic practice, ecology, sound, archives, and social engagement, shaping the theoretical foundation for works such as Voice Plains and other site-based research-informed projects.

Early Formal Education & Professional Background
1990 - 1994 Monash University: Undergraduate degree in Graphic Design / Visual Communication
2000 TAFE: Certificate Education Assessment, Testing and Measurement
2000 TAFE: Certificate Multimedia
2000 TAFE: Certificate Adult and Coninuing Education and Teaching

20+ years experience in design, communications and creative industries (including UI/UX and design work), which informs conceptual and media-based aspects of my art practice.