Rachel O’Connor
Biography:
Rachel Jessie-Rae O’Connor is a Melbourne based interdisciplinary artist/designer working across fields including community projects, education, illustration and fashion to create colour fuelled socially-conscious projects with a pop fun edge. She has exhibited across Australia, as well as undertaking residencies and workshops at the National Gallery of Victoria, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Matoom Artspace -Thailand, Yarra Youth Services and more. Rachel currently teaches at the Northern College of Arts and Technology in Preston, and makes art from her studio in Brunswick. Rachel acknowledges her studio practice takes place on the stolen lands of the Woi wurrung people of the Wurundjeri and that sovereignty was never ceded.
Solo Exhibitions – Selected
2018 Cozens Street Studio Gallery, Residency Exhbition, Melbourne
2016 Glitter Modern, Rubicon ARI, Melbourne
2014 Heart Break Call Center, Blender Studio Gallery, Blender Studios, Melbourne
2009 Glitter World View, Art Wranglers, Canberra
2007 Glitter Eyes, Art Wranglers, Canberra
Photocopy Nights, tcb art inc., Melbourne
2006 DinoDraw, Art Play, Melbourne. (Co-ordinator and designer)
2005 Technostalgia v.3, Platform Gallery, Melbourne
2003 Technostalgia, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Manuka.
Invitation and Group Exhibitions
2019 Troublemakers #2, VS. Gallery, Melbourne
The Dressing Room, Babespace, Melbourne
Connections, Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors, Melbourne
Victoria St, Victoria, The Wandering Room, Brunswick
Festshrift, Canberra School of Art Foyer Gallery, Australian National University
2018 Moreland Summer Show, Counihan Gallery
TAP2018 Community, studioFive, MGSE, University of Melbourne
FAC Open, Frankston Art Centre
A1 Darebin Art Award, Bundoora Homestead
The Exquisite Palette, Tacit Gallery, Melbourne
2017 TAP2017 Making Connections, studioFive, Melbourne Graduate School of Education
The Australia Post Midsumma Art Prize, Fort Delta, Melbourne
2016 CUT, The Dirty Dozen, Campbell Arcade, Melbourne (Co-curated with JordanWood)
2014 Connections, Teacher Art Maker Exhibition, George Paton Gallery, UOM
2012 Crossing Boundaries, The Journey from Artist to Teaching Artist George Paton Gallery,University of Melbourne
Manifestation, Urban Mesh Exhibition, SIGNAL Artspace, Melbourne
Fluoresce Studio Residency, NGV Studio, National Gallery of Victoria
2007 Trouble, Canberra School of Art Gallery
Commissions/Awards/Residencies
2007 Big Draw: Drawing Innovation Award for Dino Draw, Maquarie University
2005 Melbourne City Council Young Artist Grant
2003 The Peter and Lena Karmel Anniversary Award for Art, A.N.U
2002 University Medal, Australian National University
Megalo Print Workshop Emerging Artist Support Scheme Award
Canberra Contemporary Art Space Exhibition and Residency Award
1999 Australian National University Undergraduate Scholarship
1998 National Gallery of Australia Summer School Scholarship
