2022 Certificate in Whakairo – Māori wood carving, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, New Zealand
2009 Master of Fine Arts by Research with First Class Honours, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne University Winner Vulcan Steel Tutorship Award, Anthony Ganim Postgraduate Scholarship, Vulan Steel Merit Award
2003 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Intermedia), Elam School of Fine Art, Auckland University
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2025 Of Counting and Devotion, Craft Victoria, Naarm/Melbourne 2024 Crossing the Rubicon, Sanderson Contemporary, TāmakiMakaurau/Auckland 2024 The Reckoning, Waiheke Art Gallery - Te Whare Taonga O Waiheke, Auckland 2023 The Portrait and the Abacus, Waiheke Art Gallery - Te Whare Taonga O Waiheke, Auckland 2023 The Ministry for Mystical Reckoning, Stockroom Gallery, Kyneton, Australia 2022 Counting Frames for a Transient Era, Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland 2020 Nests, Artweek Auckland, public sculpture/installation, Durham Lane, Auckland 2019 Higher thinking, the Vivian Gallery, Matakana Higher Thought Forms, Sanderson Contemporary, Auckland 2017 Levitation Practice: Lesson two, Artists Alliance, Art Week Auckland 2016 Levitation Practice, MARS Gallery, Melbourne 2014 The Ceremonial Processions of Dreamers, Lindberg Galleries, Melbourne 2013 Of Masters and Spirits, Fort Delta Gallery and Creative Space, Melbourne 2012 The Antarctic Kingdom of Gondwanaland, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne 2011 The Antarctic Kingdom of Gondwanaland, Craft Victoria, Melbourne 2010 Escape into the Void, Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts, Melbourne Tana Swiwi, Westspace Gallery, Melbourne The Book of Levitation, collaboration with Sergei Ignatievsky, Twentybythirty Miniature Gallery 2009 Swi Gunting, Seventh Gallery, Melbourne Artefacts from the Island of Tana Swiwi, Jatiwangi Art Factory, West Java, Indonesia 2007 Passports to Forgotten Realms, Bus Gallery, Melbourne. Design collaboration with Faisal Habibi 2006 Flying for Dummies, Blindside gallery, Melbourne Ticket Booth, Twentybythirty Miniature Gallery, Melbourne Museum of Lost Worlds and the Kingdom of Wandaland, West Space gallery, Melbourne 2005 The Sculpture of Flying Dreams, Bus gallery, Melbourne
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025 A1 Salon, Bundoora Homestead, Naarm/Melbourne 2024 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, Sydney Molly Morpeth Canaday Award, Te Kōputu a Te Whanga a Toi, Whakatane, New Zealand Boon Sculpture Trail, Kirikiriroa/ Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand 2023 The Tel Aviv Biennale of Craft and Design, Eretz Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel Aotearoa Art Fair and Brick Bay Sculpture trail, the Cloud, Auckland Waiheke Small Sculpture Prize, Waiheke Art Gallery, Aotearoa New Zealand 2022 An Alternative Economics, Institute of Modern Art (IMA) Brisbane, Australia Perpetual Guardian Sculpture on the Gulf, Waiheke Headlands and Waiheke Gallery, New Zealand Molly Morpeth Canaday 3D Award, Te Kōputu a Te Whanga a Toi, Whakatane, New Zealand Out of Karekare, the Grey Place, Auckland 2021 Future Inheritance: 20 Speculative Objects for a Time to Come, NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) Design week at Truce, Melbourne Liminal Wanderlust, Fox Galleries, Melbourne Numinosity, Contemporary Art Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania 2020 The Wallace Art Awards, Jury Award Winner Pah Homestead, Auckland and touring exhibition Pataka Art and Museum, Wellington Molly Morpeth Canaday 3D Award, Te Kōputu a Te Whanga a Toi, Whakatane, New Zealand 2019 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, Sydney Friends and Family, Daine Singer Gallery, Melbourne Rites of Passage, Gympie Regional Gallery, Queensland Auckland Art Fair, Vivian Gallery Pop Up, Hotel Grand Windsor, Auckland Sculpture on the Gulf, Small Sculpture exhibition, Waiheke Community Art Gallery, Auckland Owhango Summer Sculpture Show, Owhango, Tongariro Sculpture in the Gardens (indoor exhibition), Auckland Botanical Gardens, Auckland, New Zealand 2018 Sculpture on the Shore, Fort Takapuna, Auckland The Vivian Summer show, Vivian Gallery, Matakana Disrupt, Whitespace Gallery, Auckland This Wild Song, Town Hall Gallery, Hawthorn, Melbourne Sampler, Sanderson Contemporary, Auckland Unseen, Unknown, Unveiled, Uxbridge, Malcolm Smith Gallery, Auckland One on One, Bundoora Homestead, Melbourne This Wild Song, Gallery Smith, Melbourne 2017 I Was Here, Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth Sculpture in the Gardens, Auckland Botanical Gardens, Auckland, New Zealand National Contemporary Art Award, Waikato Museum, Hamilton, New Zealand Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award, Deakin University Gallery, Melbourne Waiheke Small Sculpture Prize, Waiheke Community Art Gallery, Auckland, (Runner up award) 2016 Sculpture on the Shore, Small Sculpture Exhibition, Auckland, New Zealand Seeker (Kai) Figure, Gearbox Gallery, Melbourne Grammar, Melbourne Figure, Sanderson Contemporary, Auckland, New Zealand Melbourne Art Week, MARS Gallery at the Supper Club, Melbourne Lorne Sculpture Biennale, Small Sculpture exhibition, Wye River Hotel, Wye River, VIC Wyndham Art Prize, Wyndham Art Gallery, Werribee, Melbourne 2015 Darebin Art Prize, Bundoora Homestead, Melbourne (Highly Commended) A Little Something, MARS Gallery, Melbourne The Wallace Art Awards, Pah Homestead, Auckland and touring exhibition Pataka Art and Museum, Wellington 2014 McClelland Sculpture Prize, McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park, VIC Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award, Deakin University Gallery, Melbourne Animalia, Lindberg Gallery, Melbourne Tropaeum, Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth New, Lindberg Gallery, Melbourne Scratching Surfaces, Czech and Slovak Film Festival, Yarra Gallery Federation Square, Melbourne Christina's World, Fort Delta Gallery and Creative Space, Melbourne Lorne Sculpture Biennale, Small Sculpture Exhibition, Lorne Uniting Church, VIC 2013 Keith and Elisabeth Murdoch Travelling Fellowship, Margaret Lawrence Gallery VCA, Melbourne 2012 John Fries Memorial Prize, Gaffa Galleries, Sydney The Wilson Visual Art Award, Trinity Catholic College, Lismore Deakin Small Sculpture Prize, Deakin University Gallery, Melbourne City of Hobart Art Prize, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart 2011 Blake Prize, Directors Cut Exhibition 2010 Sports Club Project 1, No Risk Too Great, Next Wave Festival 2010, Melbourne 2009 Blake Prize, Directors Cut Exhibition Wallace Trust Art Awards, Wallace Trust Gallery, Auckland Post, Place Gallery, Richmond, Melbourne Order/ Disorder, C3 Gallery, Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne Lots of People Have What You Have, George Patton Gallery, Melbourne 2008 Proposition 4 Proposition, C3 Gallery, Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne Rumble in the City, Bus Vs Blindside, City Library, Melbourne 2007 I am Afraid, Uber Gallery, Melbourne The 22nd Asian International Art Exhibition - Imagining Asia, Selasar Sunaryo, Bandung, Indonesia Fictitious Realities, Soemardja Galleri, Bandung, Indonesia Too Near Too Far, Care of Gallery, Milan 2005 National Sculpture Prize, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Grants, Awards and Residencies
2024 Victorian Woodworkers Association Artist in Residence 2023 Waiheke Island Art Residency 2022 Barry Brickell Driving Creek Ceramic Art Residency 2021 Karekare House Artist Residency (Eden Arts Trust) 2020 Wallace Art Awards – Jury Prize Creative New Zealand Arts Continuity Grant – Funding to create a public sculpture Creative New Zealand Arts Grant – Funding to attend a specialist woodcarving school in Austria 2017Waiheke Small Sculpture Prize – Runner Up 2015 Darebin Art Prize – Highly Commended 2014 ARTAND Australia Credit Suisse Private Banking Contemporary Art Award - Winner Lorne Sculpture Biennale Artist in Schools Residency Artspace Residency, Sydney (selected but was unable to take up the residency) 2013 Australia Council for the Arts New Work Grant City of Melbourne Arts Project Grant 2012 Art Gallery of NSW, Cité Internationale Des Arts, Paris Residency 2011 Arts Victoria Arts Development Grant 2010 Australian Arts Council Artstart Grant Jump Mentorship Program 2009 Victorian College of the Arts Vulcan Steel Tutorship Award 2008 Arts Victoria Cultural Exchange Grant Victorian College of the Arts Anthony Ganim Postgraduate Award Victorian College of the Arts Vulcan Steel Merit Award 2007 Asialink Residency Indonesia 2006 City of Melbourne Youth Arts Funding 2005 National Gallery of Australia Sculpture Prize Finalist 2003 Auckland University Access Award Elam School of Fine Arts Intermedia Technicians Award 2002 Auckland University Final Year Grant
Teaching and Professional Activities
2021 Creative New Zealand, peer assessor The Warren Woodworkshop, woodcarving teacher 2020 Australia Council for the Arts, peer assessor The Warren Woodworkshop, woodcarving teacher 2019 Artist talk and abacus making workshop, Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, Sydney Artist talk and abacus making workshop, Gympie Regional Gallery, Queensland Panel discussion, Rites of Passage exhibition, Gympie Regional Gallery, Queensland 2018 Thrive Mastermind member Artist talk, Malcolm Smith Gallery, Uxbridge Arts Centre 2017 Private woodcarving tuition from home studio/workshop (ongoing) Artist talk, Art Week Auckland Artist talk and sculpture tours, Sculpture in the Gardens Artist talk and panel discussion, Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth 2014 Artist talk, Lorne Sculpture Biennale 2011 Artist talk, Craft Victoria Gallery 2010 Teaching Position, Sculpture and Spatial Practice, Victorian College of the Arts Co-curator Artland, Moreland City Council and RMIT University Public Art Exhibition Artist talk, Australia Council ArtStart Grant Info Session Artist talk, Westspace Gallery Presenter, Exhibition Installation Workshop, ALAB RMIT University Union Arts 2007-10 Exhibition Panel Member, First Site Gallery, RMIT University Union Arts 2009 Jatiwangi Arts Factory Cultural Exchange Residency Teaching Position, Animation and Photography Workshops, Jatiwangi Arts Factory Artist talk, C3 Abbotsford Convent 2008 Performance Art Workshop Perfurbance #4 Global Warming, Global Warning, Krinjing Village, Mt Merapi, Indonesia 2006-08 Secretary/ Board Member, Seventh Gallery, Melbourne 2007 Teaching Position, photography lectures and workshops, Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB) Indonesia Curator, ‘Fictitious Realities’, Soemardja Galleri, Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB) Indonesia Teaching Position, photography workshops, Jatiwangi Arts Factory, Indonesia 2006 Curator/ Founding Director, Twentybythirty Miniature Gallery, Melbourne Artist talk, Westspace Gallery
Selected Bibliography and Media
2025 Briony Downes, Wanda Gillespie's Divine Interventions, Art Guide Australia, March/April 2025 2023 Sian van Dyk, WANDA GILLESPIE The Ministry for Mystical Reckoning, Art News Aotearoa Issue 199, Spring 2023 Paul Mitchell, A Sense of Wanda, Waiheke Weekender, September 14 Emma Hughes, Artist let the Wood Chips Fly, Gulf News, September 7 2022 Pete Rees (photography), Virtuous Cycle, Gulf News, Waiheke Community Newspaper front cover, March 17 Pamela Walker, Waiheke's Sculpture Crawl is a delight for Walkers, Stuff NZ, March 7 Ginny Fisher 'The Other-Worldly World of Wanda Gillespie - Artist, Woodcarver and Mystical Archaeologist', Viva, February 25 Ginny Fisher 'Sculptural Transcendence', Viva NZ Herald, February 23 Connie Brown 'A Counting Frame for Circular Economies', Sculpture on the Gulf catalogue 2021 Dr Eliza Burke 'Numinosity - Contemporary Art Tasmania' Art Link Magazine, November 15 Nikita Bhopti 'Review: Future Inheritance' exhibition at NGV Melbourne Design Week', thedesignwriter.com.au 2019 Victoria Garnons-Williams, ‘Rites of Passage’, Exhibition Catalogue ‘Art Chat Sessions Ignite Thought and Discussion’, ‘Workshop with a Difference’, Gympie Living, April ‘What’s On at the Gallery’, Cooloola Bay Bulletin, April ‘Challenging Your Ideas’, Gympie Times, Saturday March 23rd Emil McAvoy, ‘Higher Thought Forms,’ Exhibition Essay, Sanderson Contemporary, March Camilla Wagstaff, ‘In the Stockroom’, Art Collector, February Wanda Gillespie, ‘Abacus’ Garland Magazine, Artist Interview, January 2018 Aimee Ralfini, Who Arted Artist Interview Podcast 95BFM, October 25th Ilona Nelson, This Wild Song, Artist Interview Podcast 2017 Bruce Hunt, Fact from Fiction, Fremantle Gazette, August 7th Wanda Gillespie, This Wild Song, Artist Interviews Rachel Ashby, Art Banker, Artist Interview Podcast 95 BFM, October John Mateer, ‘I Was Here’ curated by Anna Louise Richardson, Fremantle Arts Centre Catalogue National Contemporary Art Awards Catalogue Cadence Seeger, ‘Spirits and Ghosts in Gillespie’s Work’, Artists Alliance Blog October Sculpture in the Gardens Catalogue 2016 Ashley Crawford, ‘Wanda Gillespie is a Fabulist of the Highest Order’, MARS Gallery Exhibition ‘Levitation Practice’, Catalogue, September Wanda Gillespie, ‘Stockroom: Wanda Gillespie’, Art Money online, September Erin Kinley, ‘Wanda Gillespie: Levitation Practice’, Art News Portal, September 2014 Julian Murphy, ‘Wanda Gillespie’, ARTAND Australia, Issue 52.1, December Penny Teale, ‘The Music Lesson’, McClelland Sculpture Survey and Award 2014 Dan Rule, ‘Wanda Gillespie, The Ceremonial Processions of Dreamers’, The Age, October 11 Mae Aguinaldo, 'The Jatiwangi Art Factory’, Hand Eye Magazine, February 5 2013 Dylan Rainforth, 'Evoking the Gurus', The Age, December 4 Alexandra Djurichkovic, 'Gallery Wrap: Stable Updates Continue', Art Collector, December 2012 Varia Karipoff, 'Wanda Gillespie: An Australian in Paris - A View From the 3rd District', Essentials Magazine, December 13 2011 Alison Carroll, 'People, action and working together: Asialink Engaging with Indonesia', Art Monthly Australia, October Kevin Murray, 'Ideas of Antarctica', Ideas of South, November 20' 2010 Max Olijnyk, 'Wanda Gillespie, Torie Nimmervoll, Shay Minster', Threethousand, Issue 244, February 18 Jason Crombie, 'The Book of Levitation Opening' Threethousand, Issue 240, January 21 2009 Penny Modra, 'VCAM Awards', The Age, December 16 Varia Karipoff, 'Swi Gunting - Wanda Gillespie', Siberian Pepper, November 8 Mark Holsworth, 'Wanda Gillespie @ Seventh', Melbourne Art and Culture Critic, November 6 Kevin Murray, 'Craft Out of the Cage', Craft Unbound, October 29 'Wanda Gillespie at Seventh Gallery, Melbourne', Art Monthly, Issue 224, October Justine Grace, 'Lots of People Have What You Have', Un Magazine, Issue 3.1, June Anusha Kenny, 'Lots of People Have What You Have', George Paton Gallery Exhibition Catalogue, February 2008 Suzanne Robson, 'Lost Islands and an Arty Artefact', Moreland Leader, June 2 'Creative Journeys: Australian Artists in Asia - Wanda Gillespie', Australian Network (Documentry) 2007 'Fictitious Realities', Seputar Indonesia - Jawa Barat, November Aminudin TH Siregar, 'Fictitious Reality', Galeri Soemardja Exhibition Catalogue, November 'Swi Gunting', 22nd Asian International Art Exhibition Catalogue, November 2006 Mark Holsworth, 'Success & Failure' Culture Critic @ Melbourne, September 30 Charlotte Mcinnes, 'Flying for Dummies', Blindside Gallery Exhibition Catalogue, September 'Flying for Dummies and Failed Attempts' Self-published Postcard Booklet 2005 Charlotte Mcinnes, 'The Sculpture of Flying Dreams - The Ephemeral Idea and the Clunky Object' Elena Taylor, 'Impossible Flight', National Gallery of Australia, National Sculpture Prize Exhibition Catalogue, July 2003 Gwen Norcliff, '... And Other Tales', Crease Magazine, Issue 1 '...And Other Tales' New Zealand National Radio, August Amie Hammond, '... And Other Tales', George Fraser Gallery Exhibition Catalogue
Collections
Wallace Arts Trust Vulcan Steel Collection Institute of Technology Bandung, Indonesia Various private collections, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, United States