About
Helen Grogan (b. 1979) is an artist working through performance, exhibition, and documentation practices, conceptually, as critical, processual strategies. Her work often engages and re-stages the working processes of practice—sometimes her own, and at other times the practices of the institutions or communities she works within—addressing peripheral or otherwise underseen activities and relations in these contexts.
In 2025, she was awarded the Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarship (2026–2027) to investigate the ways processual artistic practices may operate through and against institutional documentation as forms of connection and resistance.
Her work has been presented in institutional and independent contexts, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Knulp, Biennale of Sydney and Serial Space (Eora/Sydney); Ian Potter Museum of Art, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, National Gallery of Victoria, Gertrude Contemporary, Center for Contemporary Photography, Sutton Gallery, and Liquid Architecture (Naarm/Melbourne); Samstag Museum of Art and Adelaide Festival (Tarntanya/Adelaide); Rijksakademie; Netherlands Institute of Architecture; HAU Hebbel am Ufer, and Kontex Festival; Galerie Stadtpark; and Tbilisi Triennial (Rustavi) and in publications by Perimeter Books and SCHLEBRÜGGE.EDITOR.
Helen moves between professional roles as artist, curator, and lecturer, and also collaborates on curation–conservation initiatives. She is Associate Curator-Archivist for the sound art organisation Liquid Architecture. As a lecturer, supervisor, and assessor, her work supports contemporary art as a transdisciplinary field. Her curatorial work includes Specific Inbetween (Australian Centre for Contemporary Art), Feedback Projected (Gertrude Contemporary), the art space Open Archive (co-directed with Jared Davis), and projects with Joanna Kitto and John Nixon.
Helen holds qualifications in philosophy, choreography, dance, and visual art as an alumna of the University of Melbourne, Amsterdam University of the Arts, City University of New York, and Deakin University. In 2019 her practice-led research was awarded the Jennifer Bowskill Photography Award from the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. She was the 2017 recipient of RMIT’s International Artist in Residency, Austria, which led to the solo exhibition and publication ‘Up to and Including’ with Galerie Stadtpark. She is a Gertrude Contemporary Studio Artist alumna (2015-2017). While at the School for New Dance Development, Amsterdam (2002-2006), she received the Hanny Velkmap Scholarship.
Since 2023, she has investigated artist-led archives as relational and connective systems, spending time with De Appel Archive (Amsterdam) and The Kitchen Archive (New York City). This work considers how the (processual) politics of these artist-led organisations are themselves stewarded and transmitted through embodied processes. Together with The Kitchen Archivist, Alex Waterman, Grogan devised and developed the initiative: The Kitchen Archive Fellowship, which continues to support technical and conceptual developments in The Kitchen Archive. This project drew on Grogan’s time at The Kitchen decades earlier (2001-2002), when she acted as assistant to Kristina Yang, The Kitchen’s first New Media Arts Curator and worked on description, digitisation, and collection engagement in The Kitchen Archive. More recently, Helen’s experience in contemporary art documentation and stewardship includes projects with Naarm/Melbourne-based arts organisations such as Liquid Architecture, Performance Review, Gertrude Contemporary, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, West Space, BalletLab and Dance Massive. She has collaborated on related projects with curators Hannah Mathews, Jared Davis, and Joanna Kitto, and choreographers Shelley Lasica, Phillip Adams, Andrea Ines, and (research with) Jo Lloyd.
In 2022, Helen set up OPEN PRACTICE STUDIO, as a framework for working with other artists, curators and arts organisations in an advisory, consulting or research capacity, collaboratively. Helen’s OPS practice draws on her attention to and capacity for complex and nuanced problems of practice, across diverse professional contexts.
Contact
helen@openpracticestudio.org
IG Message @helen_grogan
Signal Message: +61 (0) 431690832
Helen Grogan (b. 1979) is an artist working through performance, exhibition, and documentation practices, conceptually, as critical, processual strategies. Her work often engages and re-stages the working processes of practice—sometimes her own, and at other times the practices of the institutions or communities she works within—addressing peripheral or otherwise underseen activities and relations in these contexts.
In 2025, she was awarded the Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarship (2026–2027) to investigate the ways processual artistic practices may operate through and against institutional documentation as forms of connection and resistance.
Her work has been presented in institutional and independent contexts, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Knulp, Biennale of Sydney and Serial Space (Eora/Sydney); Ian Potter Museum of Art, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, National Gallery of Victoria, Gertrude Contemporary, Center for Contemporary Photography, Sutton Gallery, and Liquid Architecture (Naarm/Melbourne); Samstag Museum of Art and Adelaide Festival (Tarntanya/Adelaide); Rijksakademie; Netherlands Institute of Architecture; HAU Hebbel am Ufer, and Kontex Festival; Galerie Stadtpark; and Tbilisi Triennial (Rustavi) and in publications by Perimeter Books and SCHLEBRÜGGE.EDITOR.
Helen moves between professional roles as artist, curator, and lecturer, and also collaborates on curation–conservation initiatives. She is Associate Curator-Archivist for the sound art organisation Liquid Architecture. As a lecturer, supervisor, and assessor, her work supports contemporary art as a transdisciplinary field. Her curatorial work includes Specific Inbetween (Australian Centre for Contemporary Art), Feedback Projected (Gertrude Contemporary), the art space Open Archive (co-directed with Jared Davis), and projects with Joanna Kitto and John Nixon.
Helen holds qualifications in philosophy, choreography, dance, and visual art as an alumna of the University of Melbourne, Amsterdam University of the Arts, City University of New York, and Deakin University. In 2019 her practice-led research was awarded the Jennifer Bowskill Photography Award from the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. She was the 2017 recipient of RMIT’s International Artist in Residency, Austria, which led to the solo exhibition and publication ‘Up to and Including’ with Galerie Stadtpark. She is a Gertrude Contemporary Studio Artist alumna (2015-2017). While at the School for New Dance Development, Amsterdam (2002-2006), she received the Hanny Velkmap Scholarship.
Since 2023, she has investigated artist-led archives as relational and connective systems, spending time with De Appel Archive (Amsterdam) and The Kitchen Archive (New York City). This work considers how the (processual) politics of these artist-led organisations are themselves stewarded and transmitted through embodied processes. Together with The Kitchen Archivist, Alex Waterman, Grogan devised and developed the initiative: The Kitchen Archive Fellowship, which continues to support technical and conceptual developments in The Kitchen Archive. This project drew on Grogan’s time at The Kitchen decades earlier (2001-2002), when she acted as assistant to Kristina Yang, The Kitchen’s first New Media Arts Curator and worked on description, digitisation, and collection engagement in The Kitchen Archive. More recently, Helen’s experience in contemporary art documentation and stewardship includes projects with Naarm/Melbourne-based arts organisations such as Liquid Architecture, Performance Review, Gertrude Contemporary, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, West Space, BalletLab and Dance Massive. She has collaborated on related projects with curators Hannah Mathews, Jared Davis, and Joanna Kitto, and choreographers Shelley Lasica, Phillip Adams, Andrea Ines, and (research with) Jo Lloyd.
In 2022, Helen set up OPEN PRACTICE STUDIO, as a framework for working with other artists, curators and arts organisations in an advisory, consulting or research capacity, collaboratively. Helen’s OPS practice draws on her attention to and capacity for complex and nuanced problems of practice, across diverse professional contexts.
Contact
helen@openpracticestudio.org
IG Message @helen_grogan
Signal Message: +61 (0) 431690832