Dr Julie Rees is a contemporary Australian artist who examines the psychological, spiritual, and personal dimensions of human experience through her work. Based in Brisbane, she draws on a strong academic background to create conceptual photography, mixed‑media works, immersive installations, and reflective writing.
Her recent creations align closely with conceptual photography, where she employs advanced techniques to build narratives around esoteric and symbolic themes, offering a perspective on the turbulence of human existence. Rooted in action research, her practice uses creativity as a catalyst for insight, healing, and shared reflection, inviting viewers to explore the connections between reality, imagination, intuition and inquiry.
As founder of Contemporary Art Awards (www.contemporaryartawards.com), Rees has also helped support and elevate emerging and mid‑career artists across Australia. Her leadership reflects a long‑standing commitment to creative development, community engagement, and accessible pathways for artistic growth.
As a trained academic researcher, artist, and 30‑year professional psychic and medium, she weaves her skills together to allow Spirit — a collective within the Greater Good Network — to work through her, channelling messages that guide her practice and reveal what is influencing humanity and the planet. Their intelligence moves directly into Rees's creative field, becoming artworks that permanently record their revelations and support humanity through this new transition on Earth.
Qualifications
Julie Rees is a visual‑arts scholar who integrates academic research directly into her studio practice, demonstrating a sustained commitment to both theory and artistic creation.
• Doctor of Visual Arts (2015), Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Brisbane
Julie’s doctoral dissertation, Our App Crashed: Expression of Desire in the Context of Online Dating, is a pioneering study of how desire is shaped through digital communication. Her research blends personal narrative, interviews, and data analysis with psychoanalytic, sociological, and contemporary art theory, offering a nuanced view of modern dating cultures. Recognised with the Griffith University Award for Academic Excellence and international travel grants, Julie has presented her work at leading conferences worldwide.
Curriculum Vitae
Biographical Notes
2015 Doctor of Visual Arts, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Brisbane
2009 Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours First Class, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Brisbane
2005 Diploma of Visual Arts, North Point Institution, Brisbane
Dissertation
2015 Our App Crashed: Expression of Desire in the Context of Online Dating This practice-based research explores how desire is modified and expressed in mediated texts sent via online dating applications.
Conferences
2016 Dating Online, Delegate presenter, Eleventh International Conference on the Arts in Society, Los Angeles.
2012 Desire, Delegate presenter, Tenth International Conference on the Humanities, Montreal, Canada.
2011 The Angst of Youth in Contemporary Art Practice, Delegate presenter, Ninth International Conference on the Humanities, Granada, Spain.
Curated Exhibitions
2019 A Sense of Wonder - https://www.contemporaryartawards.com/exhibition-a-sense-of-wonder
Imagined - https://www.contemporaryartawards.com/exhibition-imagined
2015-19 Contemporary Art Awards Finalist Exhibition
Solo Exhibitions
2023 Cloud Gazing, Artworld Studio Gallery, Norman Park, Queensland
2018 A Series of Predicted Events and Peculiar Statements, Crows Nest Regional Art Gallery, Crows Nest, Queensland.
A Series of Predicted Events and Peculiar Statements, Artworld Studio Gallery, Norman Park, Queensland
2016 It’s About Breaking Down your Thoughts, Pop-up Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
2015 Kissing Toads, Whitebox Gallery, South Bank Queensland
2014 Our App Crashed, Webb Gallery, South Bank, Queensland
2012 Alluring, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy, Victoria
2011 Nikko San’s Copic Utopia II, Pop Gallery, Woolloongabba, Queensland
2010 Nikko San’s Copic Utopia, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy, Victoria
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023 Lethbridge 20000, Lethbridge, Paddington, Queensland
Lethbridge Landscape Prize, Lethbridge, Paddington, Queensland
2021 Tranquil Waters Exhibition, Artworld Studio Gallery, Norman Park, Queensland
Seascape, Artworld Studio Gallery, Norman Park, Queensland
Fauna, Artworld Studio Gallery, Norman Park, Queensland
Emblematic (metaphorically speaking), Artworld Studio Gallery, Norman Park, Queensland
Solid Foundations, Artworld Studio Gallery, Norman Park, Queensland
Breakthrough Exhibition, Artworld Studio Gallery, Norman Park, Queensland
2018 Moreton Bay Region Art Awards, Pine Rivers Gallery, Strathpine, Queensland (Finalist)
Wyndham Art Prize 2018, Wyndham Art Gallery, Werribee, Victoria (Finalist)
Petite Pieces, Aspire Gallery, Paddington, Queensland (Finalist) 1
2017 30 x 30 Art Prize, Art Piece Gallery, Mullumbimby, New South Wales (Finalist)
Linden Postcard Art Show 2017, Domain House, South Yarra, Victoria (Finalist)
The Gippsland Print Award, Gipplandsland Art Gallery, Sales, Victoria (Finalist)
Wyndham Art Prize 2017, Wyndham Art Gallery, Werribee, Victoria (Finalist)
2016 The 25 Print Folios, Webb Gallery, South Brisbane, Queensland Wyndham Art Prize
2016 Wyndham Art Prize 2016, Wyndham Art Gallery, Werribee, Victoria (Finalist)
2015 Flanagan Art Prize, Ballarat, Victoria (Finalist)
Moreton Bay Region Art Awards 2015, Strathpine, Queensland (Finalist)
2014 Clayton Utz Art Award, Brisbane, Queensland (Finalist)
Flanagan Art Prize, Ballarat, Victoria (Finalist)
2012 Moreton Bay Region Art Awards 2012, Strathpine, Queensland (Finalist)
2011 Agendo Art Prize 2011, St Heliers Gallery, Abbotsford, Victoria (Finalist)
Moreton Bay Region Art Awards 2011, Strathpine, Queensland (Finalist)
PopStart, Pop Gallery, Woolloongabba, Queensland
2010 St Patrick’s Art Prize and Exhibition 2010, Ballarat, Victoria (Finalist)
Erotica: A National Acquisitive Art Prize, Satellite Gallery, Paddington, Queensland (Finalist)
Moreton Bay Region Art Awards 2010, Strathpine, Queensland (Finalist)
Williamstown Festival Contemporary Art Prize, Newport, Victoria (Finalist)
2009 Hashi Hashi, Galleria Gallery, Southbank, Brisbane, Queensland
Wherever you go, there you are, Whitebox Gallery, South Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland
St Patrick’s Art Prize and Exhibition 2009, Ballarat, Victoria (Finalist)
2008 Planet Ueno, Sakamoto Gallery, Taito-Ku, Tokyo, Japan
St Patrick’s Art Prize and Exhibition, Ballarat, Victoria (Finalist)
2007 Agendo Exhibition, Gardner Galleries, Richmond, Melbourne, Victoria (Finalist)
Exit Strategy, Southbank, Brisbane,
Queensland Codes of Practice, Art Factory Gallery, Brisbane, Queensland
Awards & Grants
2015 Queensland Government, Business Initiative Grant, Brisbane
2011 Griffith University, Conference Travel Grant – Granada, Spain
2009 Griffith University, Award for Academic Excellence
2008 Griffith University, Travel Grant for residency, Tokyo, Japan, with Geidai-Tokyo University of Fine Arts,
Griffith University.
Award for Academic Excellence
2007 Highly Commended - Crows Nest Regional Art Gallery Acquisitive Sculpture Competition, Crows Nest,
Queensland.
Griffith University, Award for Academic Excellence
Art Residencies
2012 University of Montreal, Canada
2010 Peel Island, Moreton Bay, Queensland
2008 Tokyo University of Fine Arts, Geidai, Tokyo
Collections
Redland Art Gallery, Brian Tucker Collection, Tokyo Fine Art and Music University, Griffith Artworks and various private collections.
Associate Editor
The International Journal of Architectural, Spatial, and Environmental Design, Volume 9, Issue 1, 2015,
Adopting Augmented Reality in Design Communication: Focusing on Improving Spatial Abilities, pp.1-14.
Participatory Slum Upgrading and Community-based Development: Practices and Challenges, pp.15-27. The International Journal of Design Management and Professional Practice, Volume 9, issue 1, 2015. Enabling User Stakeholders: Crowdsourcing in Crowdfunded design Projects, pp.1-8,
The Impact of Contractors' Capabilities on Lessons Learned in the Standard Design Models in Saudi Construction, pp.10- 20.
The International Journal of Visual Design, Volume 7, Issue 2, 2014
The Origins of Japanese Animation and Its Repercussion on the History of Animation, pp. 1-5, The International Journal of the Humanities, Volume 9, Issue 4, 2012.
The Twitter Election Day Theatre and Poetry Project, pp.269-286. The International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations, Volume 11, Issue 4, 2012, A Tale of Two Cities: Globalisation on the Border, pp. 85-98.
Publications
2017 Rees, J. 2017. Contemporary Art Awards: Finalist Exhibition 2017. 23 June-10 January 2017, Contemporary Art Awards, Brisbane, Queensland.
2016 Rees, J. 2016. Contemporary Art Awards: Finalist Exhibition 2015. 23 January-23 June 2016, Contemporary Art Awards, Brisbane, Queensland.
2015 Expressions of Desire in the Context of Online Dating (Thesis), Griffith University Publishing, Brisbane. 2013 Desire: The Influence of Japanese Manga, The International Journal of Critical Cultural Studies, Volume 10, Issue 4, pp. pp81-92, Common Ground, Publishing, Illinois.
2012 The Angst of Youth in Contemporary Art Practice, International Journal of Humanities, Volume 9, Issue 4, pp. 9- 20, Common Ground Publishing, Illinois.
Australian Art Collector, Issue 61, July-September 2012, p182. 2010 Australian Art Collector, Issue 53, July-September 2010, p. 240. 2008
Machinakaart, Ueno Town Museum, Tokyo, Art Residency: collaboration with Geidai - Tokyo University of Fine Arts.