Bundanon

Dr Daniel Mudie Cunningham is an independent curator and critic renowned for his work with contemporary Australian artists and collections.

Also practicing as an artist, his work over three decades was surveyed in the exhibition and accompanying book, Are You There? curated/edited by James Gatt at Wollongong Art Gallery (2023, book forthcoming 2024). Based on Gadigal land in Sydney, Australia, he was Performance Space’s Guest Co-Artistic Director in 2023 and is the Curator of Cementa’s 2024 festival. He has held leadership and curatorial roles at Carriageworks, Artbank and Hazelhurst Arts Centre, and teaching and research positions at Western Sydney University, where he completed a BA Honours (First Class) in Art History and Criticism (1997) and a PhD in Cultural Studies (2004). Since the mid-1990s, his prolific writing practice has taken the form of artist monographs, catalogue essays, academic papers, articles, reviews and editing.

In Residence at Bundanon

I am developing a book anthology of writings on Australian contemporary artists, which draws from my near 30-year practice of art writing. The link between persona and performance is a recurring theme in my practice, and through writings on individual artists and collectives, my work unpacks the construction of identity through persona. This residency will be used to work towards early drafts of new essays and expanding existing texts in preparation for the completion of a first draft manuscript.