Emily WAKELING

Profile

Born in 1984 in Brisbane, Australia. Lives and works in Ballarat, Australia. Graduated with an MA in Art History from the University of Queensland in 2010.

Emily Wakeling is an Australian curator and art writer who specializes in contemporary Japanese art. She was part of the curatorial team for the 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, with experience at Artspace Mackay and Rockhampton Museum of Art. She is now Curator for the Art Gallery of Ballarat.


Recent exhibitions and activities
2022, “Storymakers in Contemporary Japanese Art”, Japan Foundation Sydney
2021, “Compassionate Grounds: 10 Years After Tohoku”, Metro Arts, Brisbane and Composite, Melbourne
2019, “All We Can Do is Pray”, Boxcopy, Brisbane
2018, “9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art”, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane 
2015 , “Come Close: Japanese Artists within their Communities”, Bus Projects, Melbourne

Grants
2022 Ishibashi – Japan Foundation Fellowship for Research in Japanese Art
2020 Projects for Individuals, Australian Council for the Arts “Compassionate Grounds”
2010 Monbukagakusho Graduate Research Scholarship

About curation

Emily Wakeling's research will look to artists and creative people who strengthen their practices through collaborative and collective relationships, with particular focus on women and LGBTQI+ people. The research will address the rising awareness of gender, and the important but often unacknowledged role of groups and collaborations in the artistic methods and outputs of contemporary artists. I would like to meet with artists whose artworks and studio environment are shaped by informal mentorships, friendships, and even supportive romantic partners. The research will also artists who work in named groups, or share studios and art-making equipment with other artists.