Our students and graduate researchers have certainly arrived. They are unapologetically engaging in the world; wrestling with ideas and the matter of art that matters now.

In this fourth iteration of our online catalogue, there are profiles on each graduate’s art practice and the Graduate Exhibition installation across the numerous Art Studios, the Stables, The Fiona and Sidney Myer Gallery and the Martyn Myer Arena.

The artwork of this year’s graduates reflects a striking sense of confidence, scale and ambition. I note that some experienced their first year of the program predominantly in lock-down during 2021, which makes this sense of confidence even more inspiring.

Across our Graduate Exhibition and in this catalogue, you will see arresting, show-stopping gestures: Jurassic Park roarings; poetic everyday moments, such as the rainfall on umbrellas; performances that are tender and link the incidental and uncanny with life – and life after life.

You will see reflections on Country, on landscape, the environment, the sublime and the ruinous; you will see reflections on the socio-political, the institutional, the corporate; and contemplations of the diasporic experience.

You will also see the expanded embodiment of the body and its numerous gendered possibilities, from both the perspective of the technological to the corporeal. Beauty and the celebration of difference are found in these artworks, with narratives once hidden now revealed.

This is the myriad of perspectives viewed through the lens of our diverse VCA Art graduates.

Here, I wish to congratulate our brilliant students and graduate researchers. It is a gift for us to experience your work. Thank you for your resolve, innovation and commitment. Thank you for taking the conceptual risks, of being willing to go to that unknown place, with all the possible failures that may occur along the way, to bring your work to fruition. You are a complete inspiration.

Beneath the surface of every artwork and exhibition that looks like it was always meant to be lies a huge amount of unseen labour. This includes yards of simple hard work and logistics, advice from talented people from numerous places and the psychological resolve to maintain and follow where the artwork takes you. Realising such immense projects also involves simple but profoundly important care; care received, the care of each other and oneself.

I extend my thanks to our graduates’ loved ones, to their friends and family who have unfailingly supported them to arrive at this point. Making art takes a village and none of us who are artists can ever underestimate the value of this support!

In addition, I wish to thank our deeply committed and talented VCA Art team. We are all artists, some of us are academics and others are the professionals who support us.

At VCA Art, because we are artists ourselves, we deeply understand the process of making and exhibiting. A huge thanks to you all for your vision, your tireless work and extraordinary commitment of our graduating students.

While I cannot name everyone I would like to thank here, I must highlight the dedication of the Heads of our nine programs: Dr Lisa Radford, PhD Convenor; Vikki McInnes, Master of Fine Art Research Coordinator; Dr Janelle Evans, Acting Head of the Master of Contemporary Art; Dr Jamie O’Connell, Head of the Graduate Certificate of Visual Art; Dr Cate Consandine, Honours Coordinator; Dr Alex Martinis Roe, Head of Drawing and Printmaking; Dr Kiron Robinson, Head of Photography; Claire Lambe, Acting Head of Sculpture and Dr Raafat Ishak, Head of Painting. I cannot thank you – or your teams – enough.

It’s also essential to acknowledge the extraordinarily fabulous professional teams (the ‘techs’), who are the ones who really make things happen – while we academics are still busy talking about ideas. I know every student here can account for their incredible contribution and support. Again, I cannot mention everyone here, but to note those who are right on that coalface include: Kylie White, Jess Milne, Mark Friedlander, Nina Gilbert, Adrian Kellet, Darren Munce, Aaron Rees and Julien Comer-Kleine.

We also thank David Sequeira, Director of The Fiona and Sidney Myer Gallery, in which our students show and we cannot thank HeeJoon Youn, Gallery Manager, enough for their support.

Beyond our VCA Art community are those within the broader VCA and Faculty whose incredible grace and support we could not do without. This includes the amazing Programs and Operations team, Abe Watson, Naomi Adams and Candy Cooper and the University’s Communications and Marketing team, to only name some: Susan Bird, Eric Gardiner, Jen Frean, Mo Minami and Tim Walsh.

I would like to also acknowledge our indebtedness to the wonderful work of our Health Safety and Risk team. Each year you are presented with all sorts of creative ideas that need to be negotiated and developed to keep us all safe in the production of these artworks shown here in this catalogue: Jacqui Towns and Liz Mundell.

Many thanks go to my colleagues for their advice and curatorial eye on this catalogue. A particular thanks to our catalogue designers, Jack Loel, Jack Fowler and Tait Sengstock for this most beautiful website and the University Marketing and Communications team.

A huge thank you also goes to our photography team for their beautiful documentation of the graduate’s artwork: Christo Crocker, Zamara Robison, Kenny Suico, Astrid Mulder and Lauren Dunn.

Of course, I would also like to express my gratitude for the unfailing support of VCA Director, Professor Emma Redding and our Dean, Professor Marie Sierra– thank you both so much!

We are delighted this year to engage with three important Melbourne galleries who have provided tours of this website: Adam Stone Director of Lon Gallery, Zara Sigglekow, Director of FUTURES Gallery and Beatrice Rubio-Gabriel, Gallery Coordinator of KINGS Artist Run Space. We are honoured to be associated with them and thank them for their generosity.

A very special thanks go to our donors and the industry professionals whose generous awards and artist opportunities have been more important than ever before.

I also thank the eminent Dr Edward Colless and artist Yhonnie Scarce, who were involved in judging some of these awards, the outcome of which you will see listed on the Donors and Awards page of this catalogue.

My final tribute and very special thanks must go to the incredibly talented Katie Paine. With extraordinary grace, logistical ease, kindness and good humour, Katie has shepherded both the students and staff through the extraordinary logistical exercise of the catalogue. Thank you, so much Katie! We are so lucky to have you on board.

To end, please enjoy this beautiful catalogue!