FORTHCOMING
The Future Isn’t What It Used to Be is heading to Montsalvat as a finalist artwork for the 2025 Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art. Come and see Jen’s work along pieces by an incredible lineup of artists from April 4 to May 25.
It’s a busy time for Jen in the studio! Details about new works, commissions and exhibitions coming soon…
RECENT EVENTS
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Exciting News: Jen is a feature artist in the Lorne Sculpture Biennale running from 1–30 March. Experience her work along the stunning coastal trail and stay connected on Instagram for updates and insights.
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Jen’s moving image and sculpture work, Storm Lamp Passage, was on display at Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery as part of the group exhibition The Ecologies Project: How Climate Changes Culture. This exhibition explored the impact of climate change on the deep time of human culture and ran until 16 March 2025.
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On 14th December 2024, Jen’s aeolian harp-sculptures were accompanied by harpist Genevieve Fry to create a cross-elemental quartet at MONA, Hobart.
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In November Jen exhibited her work Sediment White Cube in Venice at the Arsenale Nord as a finalist in the 2024 Arte Laguna International Contemporary Art Prize.
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New commission now on the big screen in Federation Square in the heart of Melbourne. Screening daily at dusk 5-6pm from 1-30 June 2024.
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Jen Valender presents Field a solo exhibition of work developed during the artist’s creative residency at the University of Melbourne’s Agricultural Campus for the Centre of Visual Art’s Art + Ecology program. Shepparton Art Museum Open 3 Feb - 5 May 2024.
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Sick Rose was a multichannel moving image installation for Testing Grounds, Melbourne. Inspired by William Blake’s The Sick Rose—described as one of the most enigmatic poems in the English language—this exhibition screened a suite of Valender’s video artworks that consider thorny perceptions of lifecycles, ecosystems, adaptation, death and dying through the guise of insects. The exhibition was punctuated with a performance by musicians Destory//Delacroix. 7pm Friday 23 Feb 2024.
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M&C Saatchi & Saatchi Art for Change Prize Award Ceremony at Saatchi Gallery London, Duke of York Square.
Winners were selected from over 3,000 entries from across 130 countries within M&C Saatchi key global regions. The evening included a panel discussion with some of the leading voices in arts, culture and sustainability, who discussed the power of global creativity to transform the conversation around the climate emergency: Justine Simons OBE, London's Deputy Mayor for Culture & Creative Industries and Founder and Chair of the World Cities Cultural Forum; Hannah Peck, Deputy Director at Cool Earth Action; Kate Waters, Director of Client Strategy and Planning at ITV, chaired by Tom Firth, Founding Partner of M&C Saatchi LIFE. December 2023.
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Interview for the Centre of Visual Arts (CoVA) December screening at Federation Hall. Jen spoke about her experience working with scientists in regional Victoria from within the stunning Dookie Quarry. Watch here.
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Aeolus: Wind Harp Jam was a combination of sculpture, the elements and live performance at the 2023 MPavilion. Three aeolian harp-sculptures were played by the wind within the Queen Victoria Gardens accompanied by Harpist Genevieve Fry to form a cross-elemental quartet. Sat 25 November 2023.
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Exciting News: Jen is a feature artist in the Lorne Sculpture Biennale running from 1–30 March. Experience her work along the stunning coastal trail and stay connected on Instagram for updates and insights.
Jen’s moving image and sculpture work, Storm Lamp Passage, was on display at Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery as part of the group exhibition The Ecologies Project: How Climate Changes Culture. This exhibition explored the impact of climate change on the deep time of human culture and ran until 16 March 2025.
On 14th December 2024, Jen’s aeolian harp-sculptures were accompanied by harpist Genevieve Fry to create a cross-elemental quartet at MONA, Hobart.
In November Jen exhibited her work Sediment White Cube in Venice at the Arsenale Nord as a finalist in the 2024 Arte Laguna International Contemporary Art Prize.
New commission now on the big screen in Federation Square in the heart of Melbourne. Screening daily at dusk 5-6pm from 1-30 June 2024.
Jen Valender presents Field a solo exhibition of work developed during the artist’s creative residency at the University of Melbourne’s Agricultural Campus for the Centre of Visual Art’s Art + Ecology program. Shepparton Art Museum Open 3 Feb - 5 May 2024.
Sick Rose was a multichannel moving image installation for Testing Grounds, Melbourne. Inspired by William Blake’s The Sick Rose—described as one of the most enigmatic poems in the English language—this exhibition screened a suite of Valender’s video artworks that consider thorny perceptions of lifecycles, ecosystems, adaptation, death and dying through the guise of insects. The exhibition was punctuated with a performance by musicians Destory//Delacroix. 7pm Friday 23 Feb 2024.
M&C Saatchi & Saatchi Art for Change Prize Award Ceremony at Saatchi Gallery London, Duke of York Square.
Winners were selected from over 3,000 entries from across 130 countries within M&C Saatchi key global regions. The evening included a panel discussion with some of the leading voices in arts, culture and sustainability, who discussed the power of global creativity to transform the conversation around the climate emergency: Justine Simons OBE, London's Deputy Mayor for Culture & Creative Industries and Founder and Chair of the World Cities Cultural Forum; Hannah Peck, Deputy Director at Cool Earth Action; Kate Waters, Director of Client Strategy and Planning at ITV, chaired by Tom Firth, Founding Partner of M&C Saatchi LIFE. December 2023.
Interview for the Centre of Visual Arts (CoVA) December screening at Federation Hall. Jen spoke about her experience working with scientists in regional Victoria from within the stunning Dookie Quarry. Watch here.
For the 2023 Art Association of Australia and New Zealand Conference, Jen convened the panel ‘Artist & Animal’ and presented new research along with Chandra Sekararn, Director for Biological Arts Theatre (BAT) Singapore, and Professor Shannon Johnstone, Meredith College (USA) / University of Canterbury (NZ). Gold Coast QLD 6 – 8 December.
In November 2023 Jen presented new research at the Australasian Animal Studies Association Conference, University of Sydney. For the panel, ‘Birds and Language’ she convened and presented alongside Dr Madeleine Kelly, Dr Zoë Sadokierski and Dr Timo Rissanen.
Aeolus: Wind Harp Jam was a combination of sculpture, the elements and live performance at the 2023 MPavilion. Three aeolian harp-sculptures were played by the wind within the Queen Victoria Gardens accompanied by Harpist Genevieve Fry to form a cross-elemental quartet. Sat 25 November 2023.
Jen’s moving image artworks Sediment and Artist as Animal exhibited on the Benalla Art Gallery outdoor projection façade every evening for the month of September, 2023.
Dr. Suzie Fraser and Jen in conversation for the September First Mondays session at Benalla Art Gallery. Suzie and Jen provided insights into the University of Melbourne’s Art + Ecology residency program at Dookie College and a glimpse into the creative process behind the art showcased in the exhibition Always and Altered. 4 September 2023.