Utopian Slumps

About

Public art management, art consulting and curating

Story

Utopian Slumps operated as a non-profit curator-run gallery in Melbourne, Australia from 2007 to 2009, and as a commercial gallery from 2010 to 2014. It closed in December 2014.

In its eight years of operation the gallery achieved significant critical acclaim and gained a reputation as one of Australia’s pre-eminent young commercial spaces. Beginning with a stable of nine, the gallery came to represent eighteen early-to-mid-career Australian and New Zealand artists who specialise in emerging and experimental art forms spanning conceptual painting to video and installation.

Utopian Slumps was renowned for its focus on curatorial practice, often inviting guest curators to stage exhibitions, collaborating with key local curators, and curating noteworthy Australian and international artists into its exhibition program.

In addition to its curatorial focus, Utopian Slumps maintained an emphasis on producing critical writing and publications to accompany and support its exhibitions and artists. The gallery published a retrospective book, Utopian Slumps: The Collingwood Years, documenting its first three years as a non-profit curator-run space, in 2011.

Utopian Slumps’ reputation in the contemporary art landscape was also demonstrated through its artists’ inclusion in national and international art fairs, collections, exhibitions and biennials.

Melissa Loughnan, Utopian Slumps' founding director, continues to manage public art projects and perform freelance curatorial work under the same name.