CURRENT + FORTHCOMING
STORMBORNE
30 May – 30 June 2025 | Alpha60 Chapter House, Melbourne
Enter the wild sonic landscapes of contemporary artist Jen Valender. Filmed during a winter residency at Police Point on the Mornington Peninsula, Stormborne captures a season of storms and rising winds along Australia’s vulnerable coastline.
At its centre are sculptural drums, built from recycled local materials and an antique weather map. These instruments are played not by hand, but by the wind and rain—activated during inclement weather to translate atmospheric forces and generate haunting, percussive sound.
Projected across the historic walls of Alpha60 Chapter House, the dual-channel film installation draws audiences into a visceral meditation on ecological fragility, climate history and the intensifying rhythm of coastal change.
The exhibition opens with a one-night-only performance event on Friday 30 May 6–8pm featuring live jazz percussionist Alastair Kerr & Associates (6pm) and the thunderous Wadaiko Rindo Taiko drumming troupe (6.30pm), extending the elemental experience into live movement and sound.
Stormborne is accompanied by the Stormborne Artist Series, a limited-edition collection of weatherproof garments created by Alpha60 and Jen, inspired by the sculptural forms and storm-worn textures of the work.
Opening Night Friday 30 May, 6–8pm
Venue Alpha60 Chapter House, Level 2, 195 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Exhibition Dates 30 May – 30 June 2025
Mon - Sat 10am - 6pm, Sun 11am - 5pm
Admission Free
Supported by the City of Melbourne Arts Gants & Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery’s Artist in Residence Program. Produced in partnership with Centre for Projection Art & Alpha60.
Jen is working on something special for Science Gallery Melbourne… stay tuned for updates on this one! July 2025.
It’s always a busy time for Jen in the studio! Details about new works, commissions and exhibitions coming soon…
RECENT EVENTS
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Alpha60 is proud to present Stormborne, a powerful new installation by contemporary artist Jen Valender, running from 30 May to 30 June 2025 at Chapter House, an atmospheric and historic venue adjacent to St Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne’s city centre.
In parallel with the exhibition, Alpha60 will release a limited-edition Stormborne Artist Series, developed in close collaboration with Valender. The collection includes a weatherproof raincoat and bag, inspired by the coastal storms and sculptural elements seen in the film. The tassel elements which are central to Jen Valender’s film and drum sculptures have been reimagined in the garments as tactile design features, translating atmospheric motion into wearable form.
The limited-edition Stormborne Artist Series launched 30th May 2025.
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ACMI ART+FILM – a program showcasing bold, single-channel works by leading contemporary artists.
On Thursday 29 May 6.30pm Jen screened Clearfell, a cinematic work featuring an Aeolian harp built from a salvaged ABC TV satellite tripod, filmed on a former logging tramway in the Otways. Also showing is a special single-channel version of Stormborne, created during a winter residency on the Mornington Peninsula – where sculptural drums built from recycled materials and an antique weather map are played by wild weather, translating storms into sound.
Following the screenings, Jen was joined by Associate Professor Simone Slee, Head of the School of Art at the Victorian College of the Arts, for a discussion about performing for film, performance art and the act of performing with sculptural objects.
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The Future Isn’t What It Used to Be (2024) headed to Montsalvat as a finalist artwork for the 2025 Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art. Jen’s work was exhibited alongside pieces by an incredible lineup of artists from 04 April to 25 May.
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Exciting News: Jen was a feature artist in the Lorne Sculpture Biennale running from 1–30 March. Her work was experienced along the stunning Victorian coastal trail.
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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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Jen Valender Named Regional Winner of Saatchi Group Art For Change Prize, Art Now NZ.
Alpha60 is proud to present Stormborne, a powerful new installation by contemporary artist Jen Valender, running from 30 May to 30 June 2025 at Chapter House, an atmospheric and historic venue adjacent to St Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne’s city centre.
In parallel with the exhibition, Alpha60 will release a limited-edition Stormborne Artist Series, developed in close collaboration with Valender. The collection includes a weatherproof raincoat and bag, inspired by the coastal storms and sculptural elements seen in the film. The tassel elements which are central to Jen Valender’s film and drum sculptures have been reimagined in the garments as tactile design features, translating atmospheric motion into wearable form.
The limited-edition Stormborne Artist Series launched 30th May 2025.
ACMI ART+FILM – a program showcasing bold, single-channel works by leading contemporary artists.
On Thursday 29 May 6.30pm Jen screened Clearfell, a cinematic work featuring an Aeolian harp built from a salvaged ABC TV satellite tripod, filmed on a former logging tramway in the Otways. Also showing is a special single-channel version of Stormborne, created during a winter residency on the Mornington Peninsula – where sculptural drums built from recycled materials and an antique weather map are played by wild weather, translating storms into sound.
Following the screenings, Jen was joined by Associate Professor Simone Slee, Head of the School of Art at the Victorian College of the Arts, for a discussion about performing for film, performance art and the act of performing with sculptural objects.
The Future Isn’t What It Used to Be (2024) headed to Montsalvat as a finalist artwork for the 2025 Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art. Jen’s work was exhibited alongside pieces by an incredible lineup of artists from 04 April to 25 May.
Exciting News: Jen was a feature artist in the Lorne Sculpture Biennale running from 1–30 March. Her work was experienced along the stunning Victorian coastal trail.
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 Valender Named Regional Winner of Saatchi Group Art For Change Prize, Art Now NZ.
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.