Tal Fitzpatrick is an Australian artist, craftivist and researcher based on the unceded lands of the Kombumerri families of the Yugambeh language region. She holds a PhD in Visual Art from the Victorian College of the Arts (2018) and a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours from Griffith University (2010).
Tal is best known for her work in the field of craftivism and along with collaborators such as Kate Just and Stephanie Dunlap, she has led several global craftivism projects that tackle significant social, political and environmental issues. These include the Incinerator Gallery's People's Choice Award winning project the @Covid19quilt (2020), as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Quilt Project (2016-2018) and the PM Please Quilt Project (2017), both of which are now in the permanent collection of the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, Canberra.
In 2024 Tal undertook a six month residency at HOTA, Home of The Arts, as part of HOTA's ArtKeeper residency program and participated in the Generate GC program supported by the City of Gold Coast. Her work was seated as 'Highly Commended' in the 2024 Wollumbin Art Award at the Tweed Regional Gallery, and her solo exhibition Changemakers: Crafting a Difference is touring nationally, presented by the Museum of Australian Democracy with support from the Commonwealth Bank.
Tal has received grants from Creative Victoria, City of Melbourne, the Creative Suburbs Grant and the Regional Arts Development Fund through the City of Gold Coast and Arts Queensland. Her work has been exhibited in museums, galleries and art spaces in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Hobart, Perth, Wagga Wagga, the Blue Mountains, Swan Hill, the Gold Coast and abroad in Sweden, Canada and America.
Tal's textile based practice is strongly influenced by the work of her paternal grandmother, Australian artist Dawn Fitzpatrick (1922-2021). It combines the physical techniques of appliqué quilting and embroidery with the practice of socially-engaged art making and digital tools including social media.
Tal’s academic work has been included in various publications including Care Ethics and Craft (J. Milner & G. Coombs, 2022) and Crafting Dissent: Handicraft as Protest from the American Revolution to the Pussycats (H. Mandell, 2020). Her self-published works include a craftivism handbook titled Craftivism: A Manifesto/Methodology (2018) and a series of catalogues that document her craftivism projects. Her art is also featured in the book retrospective of Australian feminist artists 'Doing Feminism' by Anne Marsh (2021).
In addition to her work as an artist and researcher Tal has accumulated a diverse range of experiences working in the arts, non-profit and disability sectors, including as a project manager at Volunteering Queensland, a peer assessor for Arts Queensland and as a disability support worker.
Bio photos by Lachlan Woods, images above courtesy of MoAD
