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Dr Diana Baker Smith

Dr Diana Baker Smith

Lecturer
  • PhD Art & Design: UNSW Art & Design, Sydney, March 2017.
  • Bachelor of Fine Arts: Time Based Art, UNSW, Sydney, May 2008.
  • Bachelor of Arts (Honours Class 1): Film Studies, UNSW, Sydney, May 2008.
Arts, Design & Architecture
School of Art & Design

I am an artist and Lecturer in the School of Art and Design at the University of New South Wales. My artistic practice is collaborative, research driven, and informed by feminist theory. Working at the intersection of performance and moving image, I develop new methodologies for critiquing art history. I am interested in the marginal histories of artists, and their relationship to art institutions and canonical histories. I utilise collaborative approaches, archival research, oral records, fiction and feminist theory. 

I recently completed a series of works focused on the Australian artist, dancer, and choreographer, Philippa Cullen (1950-75), who was influential in Sydney during her lifetime, but has been consigned to two archival boxes held by the National Library, one of which has been misplaced. My recent exhibition at Artspace’s Ideas Platform, Tasks Yet to Be Composed for the Occasion, 2021, uses the remaining box, the memories of her peers, and re-enactment to consider her place within Australian art. It was developed in collaboration with dancer Brooke Stamp, artists Samuel Hodge and Ella Sutherland, and musicians Bree van Reyk and Miles Brown.

I am currently developing a trilogy of video essays about the origin myths of Australian art history in collaboration art historian Verónica Tello. The first work in this series, Opening Night (The Order of Arrangements), 2020, commissioned by the National Gallery of Australia, and screened at the Sydney Opera House in 2021, analyses how the origin stories of a national museum are reproduced through archives, art history and museum work.

I am also a founding member of the art collective Barbara Cleveland (formed in 2007 with Frances Barrett, Kate Blackmore and Kelly Doley). Our works are held in the collections of Artbank, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Monash University Museum of Art, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art and the Art Gallery of NSW. In 2020 Barbara Cleveland’s survey exhibition, Thinking Business launched at Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, and will tour nationally with Museums & Galleries NSW in 2021.

  • Book Chapters | 2020
    Baker Smith D, 2020, 'Sculptures That Go Home at Night: On Labour, Performance and Re-enactment', in Atwood D; Russell F (ed.), Art of Laziness: Contemporary Art and Anti-Work Politics, Art + Australia, Melbourne, pp. 63 - 80
  • Edited Books | 2020
    Baker Smith D; Blackmore K, (ed.), 2020, Barbara Cleveland: Thinking Business, Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, Goulburn,
  • Journal articles | 2018
    Baker Smith D; Doley K, 2018, 'Call and Response: A Dialogue on Collaboration with/for Pat Larter', UN MAGAZINE, SPRING,
  • Creative Works (non-textual) | 2024
    Baker Smith D, 2024, Falling Towards Another (A Score for the Void), Falling Towards Another (A Score for the Void), Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, 09 September 2024 - 22 December 2024, medium: Wall painting and performance, at: https://pica.org.au/whats-on/diana-baker-smith-falling-towards-another-a-score-for-the-void/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2022
    Baker Smith D; Blackmore K, 2022, Brief Illuminations Between Interruptions, Kate Blackmore, Ngununggula, Retford Park Southern Highlands Regional Gallery, 27 December 2022 - 12 March 2023, medium: Single channel 4K video 13:12 minutes, at: https://ngununggula.com/program/video-commission
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2022
    Baker Smith D, 2022, She Speaks in Sculpture, She Speaks in Sculpture, UTS Art Gallery, 19 July 2022 - 09 September 2022, medium: Two channel 4K video 9:35 minutes, at: https://www.uts.edu.au/uts-gallery-art-collection/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/she-speaks-sculpture
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2021
    Baker Smith D, 2021, The Drama of Hands, Tasks yet to be composed for the occasion, Artspace, 20 May 2021 - 13 June 2021, medium: Pigment print on cotton rag paper, 54 x 80cm, at: https://www.artspace.org.au/program/ideas-platform/2021/tasks-yet-to-be-composed-for-the-occasion-diana-baker-smith-curated-by-bree-richards/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2021
    Baker Smith D, 2021, The Lost Hour, Tasks yet to be composed for the occasion, Artspace, 20 May 2021 - 13 June 2021, medium: Single Channel HD Video. Duration: 15:50 minutes, at: https://www.artspace.org.au/program/ideas-platform/2021/tasks-yet-to-be-composed-for-the-occasion-diana-baker-smith-curated-by-bree-richards/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2021
    Baker Smith D, 2021, The One Hour Concert: Tasks yet to be composed for the occasion, Tasks yet to be composed for the occasion, Artspace, 20 May 2021 - 13 June 2021, medium: Screenprint on Fabriano Rosaspina paper, 70 x 50cm, at: https://www.artspace.org.au/program/ideas-platform/2021/tasks-yet-to-be-composed-for-the-occasion-diana-baker-smith-curated-by-bree-richards/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2021
    Baker Smith D, 2021, The One Hour Concert, Tasks yet to be composed for the occasion, Artspace, 20 May 2021 - 13 June 2021, medium: 2021 | Single Channel 4K Video | 9’30”, at: https://www.artspace.org.au/program/ideas-platform/2021/tasks-yet-to-be-composed-for-the-occasion-diana-baker-smith-curated-by-bree-richards/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2020
    Baker Smith D; Barrett F; Doley K; Blackmore K, 2020, Thinking Business and Meeting Time, Barbara Cleveland: Thinking Business, Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, 09 October 2020 - 14 November 2020, medium: Acrylic, timber frames, fabric, ink on paper, at: https://goulburnregionalartgallery.com.au/exhibitions/barbara-cleveland
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2020
    Baker Smith D; Blackmore K; Barrett F; Doley K, 2020, What is suspended between us can also shatter 1-3, 2020 ANNUAL SUMMER GROUP SHOW, Sullivan+Strumpf, Sydney, 01 February 2020 - 08 February 2020, medium: C-type photographic print, 30 x 34cm, at: https://www.sullivanstrumpf.com/exhibitions/2020-sydney/2020-annual-summer-group-show/art/works
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2020
    Baker Smith D; Tello V, 2020, Opening Night (The Order of Arrangements), Know my Name, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 14 November 2020 - 14 July 2021, at: https://knowmyname.nga.gov.au/events/opening-night-order-arrangements/
    Creative Written Works | 2020
    Baker Smith D, 2020, Know my Name Book (contribution of two chapters), Know my Name, Bullock N; Cole K; Hart D; Pitt E, (eds.), National Gallery of Australia,
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2020
    Tello V; Baker Smith D; Bullock N; England J, 2020, Know My Name Conference, Know My Name, National Gallery of Australia, 10 November 2020 - 13 November 2020, medium: Conference, at: https://knowmyname.nga.gov.au/events/know-my-name-conference/
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2019
    Baker Smith D; Doley K; Barrett F; Blackmore K, 2019, This is a Stained Glass Window, This is a stained glass window, Sullivan+Strumpf, 29 November 2019 - 20 December 2019, medium: Single Channel HD Video, at: https://www.sullivanstrumpf.com/exhibitions/barbara-cleveland/this-is-a-stained-glass-window/art/works
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2019
    Baker Smith D, 2019, Backwards Turning, Longitudes, Latitudes and Legacies, National Gallery of Victoria, 07 September 2019 - 07 December 2019, medium: Performance, at: http://channelsfestival.net.au/program/longitudes-latitudes-and-legacies
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2018
    Baker Smith D; Doley K; Blackmore K; Barrett F, 2018, The Barbara Cleveland Archive, DIVIDED WORLDS: 2018 ADELAIDE BIENNIAL OF AUSTRALIAN ART, Art Gallery of South Australia, 03 March 2018 - 03 June 2018, medium: 4 x digital prints (614mm x 766mm), at: http://adelaidebiennial.com.au/2018/
    Conference Presentations | 2018
    Baker Smith D, 2018, 'Performing the Art Historian: Critical and Creative Engagements with Art History', presented at AAANZ, RMIT, Melbourne, 05 December 2018 - 07 December 2018,
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2017
    Baker Smith D; Blackmore K; Doley K; Barrett F, 2017, Bad Timing, The Humours, Monash University Museum of Art, 07 October 2017 - 16 December 2017, at: https://www.monash.edu/muma/exhibitions/exhibition-archive/2017/the-humours
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2017
    Baker Smith DV; Doley K, 2017, In Search of Pat Larter, The Public Body .02, Artspace, 28 July 2017 - 02 October 2017, at: https://www.artspace.org.au/program/exhibitions/2017/the-public-body-02/
    Curatorial Outputs | 2017
    Baker Smith DV; Doley K, 2017, Moving Histories // Future Projections, exhibited at: Toowoomba Regional Gallery, QLD; Cairns Regional Gallery, QLD; Mosman Art Gallery, NSW; Blue Mountains Cultural Centre, NSW; Bega Valley Regional Gallery, NSW; Latrobe Regional Gallery, NSW, Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, NSW; Broken Hill Regional Gallery, NSW; Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Culture Centre, NT; Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, NSW, 18 February 2017 - 12 May 2018, Moving Histories // Future Projections,
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2017
    Smith D; Barrett F; Doley K; Blackmore K, 2017, Performing Barbara Cleveland, Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize, National Art School Gallery, 28 March 2017 - 20 July 2017, medium: Single Channel HD Video, at: https://www.nas.edu.au/place/gallery/past-exhibitions/redlands-konica-minolta-art-prize-2017/
    Recorded / Rendered Creative Works | 2017
    Smith D; Doley K, 2017, In Search of Pat Larter (draft), The Public Body .02, Artspace, Published: 2017, Recorded / Rendered Creative Works,
    Recorded / Rendered Creative Works | 2016
    Baker Smith D; Blackmore K; Barrett F; Doley K, 2016, Bodies in Time, Art Gallery of NSW, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Editor(s): Jaspers A, single channel HD video, Published: 2016, Recorded / Rendered Creative Works,
    Conference Presentations | 2016
    Baker Smith DV, 2016, 'Making Connections: Re-enactment, Feminist Performance and Intergenerational Dialogue', presented at AAANZ 2016: The Work of Art, Australian National University, Canberra, 01 December 2016 - 03 November 2017
    Conference Presentations | 2016
    Baker Smith DV, 2016, 'Towards a Performative Historiography:  Re-Doing Performance Histories', presented at Performance Studies International, Melbourne, 05 July 2016 - 09 November 2017,
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2015
    Baker Smith DV; Doley K; Blackmore K; Barrett F, 2015, The History of Performance, Performance Presence/Video Time, Australian Experimental Art Foundation, Adelaide, 01 April 2015 - 06 May 2015, at: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/121859-unboxed-artists-archive-2017
    Creative Works (non-textual) | 2013
    Baker Smith D; Blackmore K; Barrett F; Doley K, 2013, This is Barbara Cleveland, This is Barbara Cleveland, Carriageworks, Sydney, 20 November 2013 - 01 December 2013, medium: HD Video, at: http://www.physicsroom.org.nz/exhibitions/embodying-the-archive

My Research Supervision

PhD

  • Teresa Hunter-Hicks (art theory/history) – Labour, Collaboration and Collectivity in Australian and North American Poster Collectives (1968-1991) (joint with Verónica Tello)
  • Jade Muratore, Time-Machine-Bodies : queering time and space toward posthuman becoming (joint with Rochelle Haley)
  • Giselle Stanborough, Linguistic and sensory-affective strategies of the voice and the digital in contemporary Performance Lecture (with Edward Scheer)

MFA

  • Evgenia (Jenny) Anagnostopoulou, Untitled (topic: curatorial experiments and the global souths) (joint with Verónica Tello) 
  • Lu Forsberg, Counter-Surveillance, Extractivism and Eco-Aesthetics (joint with Verónica Tello)
  • Amber Hammad, Speculative History and Critique of Gender in/out of Pakistan (joint with Verónica Tello)
  • Anney Bounpraseuth, Textiles/Memoir (joint with Verónica Tello) 
  • Amber Koroluk-Stephenson, Pictorial dichotomy in the landscape: painting, collage and pastiche in post-colonial myth making (with Grant Stevens)