Announcing RMIT's 2025 Gallery Program

Announcing RMIT's 2025 Gallery Program

RMIT Culture is excited to announce its 2025 gallery program, a celebration of contemporary art, design and culture.

Anchored by five major exhibitions across RMIT Gallery and Design Hub Gallery, the program showcases a mix of established and emerging talent from Australia and around the world. 

From Auto-Photo: A Life in Portraits, an intimate tribute to Australia’s most photographed man, to Deep Time Real Time, a powerful reflection on design’s relationship to planetary systems, the program highlights art and design as a connective and experimental tool that can capture important moments in time. 

“We're thrilled to announce that in 2025 we are presenting a dynamic program of exhibitions that invite audiences to explore questions of identity, connection and resilience in a rapidly changing world,” says Helen Rayment, Manager of RMIT Galleries. “Our program showcases diverse, innovative works from local and international artists, offering a space to experience the transformative potential of contemporary art, craft and design.” 

RMIT Gallery

PRICK! Needlework Now

18 February – 10 May

This exhibition showcases artworks by Australian and international artists who utilise stitching as a fundamental part of their art-making process. By emphasising the slow and meditative nature of needlework, PRICK! highlights this often-overlooked medium’s profound impact. With contributions from artists across Australia, Indonesia, India and Vietnam, the exhibition invites viewers to appreciate the intricate beauty that emerges from the act of pricking—transforming simple materials into works of art.

Auto-Photo: A Life in Portraits

5 June – 16 August

Celebrating the remarkable story of Alan Adler, Australia’s most photographed man. Through maintaining photobooths across Melbourne/Narrm since 1972, Adler produced an archive of over a thousand self-portraits and contributed to the photography of over a million people. In this exhibition, witness Adler’s extensive archive, and discover the history of photobooths, their cultural significance and the individuals who use and preserve Adler’s photobooths today.  

Presented in partnership with the Centre of Contemporary Photography.

BAINZ JEWLZ

18 September – 22 November

This major retrospective exhibition surveys the eminent career of Australian artist-jeweller Robert Baines. Drawing from the philosophically rich, the blatantly pop and the historically obscure, Baines’ works are strikingly original and technically brilliant. This exhibition presents a comprehensive collection of significant works and research that showcase the diversity, depth and daring of his ground-breaking practice.

Design Hub Gallery

Deep Time Real Time: The 2025 Alastair Swayn Legacy Exhibition

25 February – 12 April

This exhibition explores design’s relationship to planetary systems through two opposing time scales – ‘deep time’ and ‘real-time’. It features an interactive structure containing geological and material samples, alongside time–based creative works curated through the lens of ecology, energy and technology.

Supported by the Alastair Swayn Foundation.  

The Mourning After

24 June – 20 September

This poignant exhibition explores diverse mourning practices and rituals, inviting visitors to consider how we can connect through shared experiences of grief. By examining various tapestries of loss—including personal, cultural and environmental—The Mourning After fosters a sense of community and collective resilience, encouraging dialogue around these vital topics.

First Site Gallery

First Site returns with exhibition program On-Site, a unique opportunity for an RMIT PhD candidate to explore ideas in their research with the broader community. Our program of student exhibitions scheduled to be announced early next year.

Sweet Enough 
On-site with Rose Agnew 

25 Februrary – 21 March

Sweet Enough looks at sugar from a feminist perspective, examining the complex history, uses and roles of the medium, while celebrating the artists layered relationship with the sweet stuff. The exhibition draws on techniques from glass blowing and culinary arts, in the form of sculpture, video installations and 2D works. The gallery will become a site of production and exchange as Rose creates exuberant sugar sculptures on-site.

tên tôi (my name) 
On-site with Nguyễn Ngọc Thảo

15 July – 8 August 2025

Names can connect us and embody our stories. tên tôi (my name) is a community-driven project that embraces and celebrates ethnic names through bead-making workshops and participatory installations. First Site visitors are invited to engage in an exchange; to 'take' and/or 'leave' a name, contributing to a collective narrative of identity and belonging. Visitors can craft bracelets with names of their choosing, using unique ceramic and clay beads handmade by individuals across the world.

For more information about the 2025 gallery program or to book a tour, please contact galleries@rmit.edu.au.

Image Credits:

Kasia Tons, Tarpaulin diary, 2018. Image courtesy of MARS and the artist.

Alan Adler, Portraits. Image courtesy of Alan Adler and Centre for Contemporary Photography.

Robert Baines, Frisches Fleisch, One Giraffe, Brooch, 2011. Image courtesy of the artist.

Paula Mahoney, Jump on through (to the other side), 2021. Image courtesy of the artist.

Rose Agnew, Sweet Enough. Image courtesy of the artist.

Nguyễn Ngọc Thảo, tên tôi (my name). Photography by Tobias Titz. Image courtesy of the artist.

20 December 2024

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20 December 2024

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