GAIL SMITH
Gail Smith is a British/Australian artist whose solo show, No-one Told Me There’d Be Days Like These was exhibited at Latrobe Regional Gallery in Morwell, Victoria as the recipient of the Dick Bishop Memorial Award and also at Walker Street Gallery, Melbourne as the winner of the 2016 She award. In the same year, Smith was also handed the Leica and Ilford Excellence in Photo Media prize at Salon, through the Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne. Her photographs are held in private collections in Australia and overseas and in 2017, her work Selvedge II was acquired for the Patrick Corrigan AOM collection. She was also the recipient of the National Gallery of Victoria Women’s Association Award in 2015.
Selected group exhibitions include silences between the ticks of a clock, George Paton Gallery, Melbourne (2020); My Melbourne, for the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, Deakin Edge, Melbourne (2017), One Hundred and Sixty Five Degrees, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne (2016), and .jpeg, George Paton Gallery, University of Melbourne (2014).
Smith graduated with first-class Masters from the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne in 2019.
EDUCATION
2019: Master of Contemporary Art, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne
2016: Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons), Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne
2013-2015: Bachelor of Fine Arts, VCA, Melbourne
2011-2012: Diploma of Visual Arts, Gippstafe, Yallourn, Victoria
AWARDS
2022 Grant recipient, Sustaining Creative Workers Initiative, Regional Arts Victoria
2020 Grant recipient, National Assistance Program for the Arts, The Myer Foundation
2017 Dick Bishop Memorial Award, Latrobe Regional Gallery, Morwell
2017 Patrick Corrigan AOM Acquisitive Award, Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne
2016 Leica-Ilford Excellence in Photomedia award, Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne
2016 She award recipient, Walker Street Gallery, Melbourne
2015 National Gallery of Victoria Women’s Association Award
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
2022 Aldbrough, Hommage Cine, Melbourne.
2021 Aldbrough, St Kilda Film Festival, Melbourne; Dumbo Film Festival, New York; Flickfair Film Festival, Los Angeles; Sandgrounder Film Festival, UK
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2018 No-one Told Me There'd Be Days Like These, Latrobe Regional Gallery, Morwell
2017 No-one Told Me There'd Be Days Like These, Walker Street Art Gallery, Melbourne
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2020 silences between the ticks of a clock, George Paton Gallery, Melbourne
2019 VCA Grad Show, VCA
2017 Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne
2016 One Hundred and Sixty Five Degrees, VCA graduate show
2016 Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne
2016 She, Walker Street Gallery, Melbourne
2016 Honours, Student Gallery, VCA
2015 Precinct 015, VCA graduate show
2015 Proud, Margaret Lawrence Gallery, VCA, Melbourne (group show)
2015 Conflict of Interest, Student Gallery, VCA, Melbourne (group show)
2014 Compromise, Student Gallery, VCA, Melbourne (group show)
2014 Proud, Margaret Lawrence Gallery, VCA, Melbourne (group show)
2014 .jpeg, George Paton Gallery, University of Melbourne (group show)
2014 Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne
2012 Unexpected, Gippstafe, Yallourn (group show)
2011 Message, Events, News Feed, Friends, Latrobe Regional Gallery, Morwell (group show)
2011 Firsts, Latrobe Contemporary Gallery, Morwell (group show)
2011 Untying the Knot, Francis Keevil Gallery, Sydney (finalists’ exhibition)
EXPERIENCE
2022-current Artist/gardener, Warragul and District Specialist School, Victoria.
2021 Artist-in-residence, Warragul & District Specialist School, Victoria, Creative Workers in Schools program under the auspice of
Regional Arts Victoria
2018-current Gallery Assistant, Buxton Contemporary Gallery, Melbourne
2016 Model brick constructor, Ai Wei-Wei-Warhol exhibition, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
2014 Reader-invigilator for An Uncertain Reader (Agatha Gothe–Snape), Nothing Beside Remains, Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne