About Sally Gray
Dr Sally Gray is an independent scholar in art, design and urban studies and an inter-disciplinary creative in the visual arts. She originates and executes diverse cultural projects under the umbrella of her Melbourne-based arts consultancy.
Before establishing a career in the arts, Sally was an educator in Melbourne, London and Sydney. A leader in progressive educational thinking, practice and research, she was at different stages of her career: a teacher; subject department head (English); curriculum innovator; advocate for gender, racial and sexual equality; academic in the history of education; teacher educator; writer of public policy; senior ministerial policy advisor and state-wide educational program manager.
At the end of the 1980s, Sally transferred her skill and passion from education to the arts. From 1990 she was Exhibitions Program Manager at the State Library of New South Wales. In 1994, seeking wider cultural horizons, she established the Sally Gray and Associates, arts and cultural consultancy, from which she currently operates as an independent multi-disciplinary creative.
In 2002 Sally returned to academia as an independent scholar. She holds undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in history from Monash University Melbourne and the University of Sydney. Her PhD in Art History and Theory was awarded in 2006 at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. Her scholarly writing appears in books, refereed journals and popular arts publications. Her 2017 book Friends, Fashion and Fabulousness: The Making of an Australian Style, written with the support of an ARC Post-Doctoral Fellowship, was re-issued in a new edition in 2019. She lectured on Art, Fashion and Design History at UNSW and UTS, Sydney, between 2005 and 2009 while simultaneously pursing her independent creative practice. She continues to publish and give public lectures and conference papers on art, design, cities and fashion.
Sally’s work as educator, artist, curator and cultural consultant has been reviewed or reported in a range of publications: Art and Australia; Monument; Object; Architecture Australia; Artlink; Art Monthly; Museum National; The Australian Creative; Design News Japan; Vogue Living; 24 Hours; The Beijing Daily; Asian Art; The Asian Wall Street Journal; Imprint; The Bulletin; The Financial Review; Good Weekend; The Sydney Morning Herald; House and Garden; The Weekend Australian; The Sunday Telegraph; The Herald Sun; The Daily Telegraph; Spectrum; The Canberra Times; The Sunday Age; Business Sydney; ABC on-line; BBC on-line; The Illawarra Mercury; The Australian Magazine; Artist Profile; Fashion Theory; Fashion, Style, & Popular Culture, among others.
Her awards include:
- Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, The Australian Research Council (2010-12 DP 1093380)
- Visiting Research Fellowship at The Centre for Fashion at the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney (2015-2016)
- Visiting Scholar in Cultural History at UNSW Art & Design, Sydney (2013-2015)
- Postgraduate Research Scholarship, School of Art History and Theory, UNSW Art & Design (2003-2005)
- Churchill Fellowship to conduct international research on how meaning is created through exhibition curating and design (1993)
Sally’s committee memberships include:
- Australia Post Stamp Advisory Committee (1993-98) – selecting Australian stamp designs
- Visions of Australia Committee (1993-95) – selecting projects to be funded under a grant program for touring exhibitions of Australian cultural material
- Design Working Group, Small Business Corporation, NSW Department of State Development (1993) – policy development and government promotion of creativity and innovation
- Australian Design Awards Panel (1996) – selection of Australian Design Awards recipients.
- NSW Women’s Reconciliation Network – co-chair (1996 –1997) Sydney.
- City of Sydney Public Art selection panel 2007/8
Image Credits
Homepage Image: Sally Gray Photo: Grant Turner, Mediakoo
Top: Sally Gray Photo: Andrew Lehman