Tal Fitzpatrick
Tal Fitzpatrick (b. Israel1988) is an Australian textile artist best known for her creative and academic work in the field of craftivism. Her socially engaged practice focuses on fostering connection and making change using the soft and comforting nature of craft to facilitate hard conversations.
EDUCATION
2018 Doctor of Philosophy (Fine Arts), Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne
2009 Bachelor of Arts with first class Honours (Contemporary Art), Griffith University
2013 Certificate IV Training and Assessment (TAE4011) Gold Coast Institute of Tafe
2009 Certificate III Community Service Work, Navigation Arts Business Training Course, accredited by YWCA, NSW
2009 Certificate III Business Administration, Navigation Arts Business Training Course, accredited by YWCA, NSW
CURRENT EMPLOYMENT
2022-2026: Artist Educator, Home of the Art (HOTA) Gold Coast (QLD)
2021-2026: Research officer, School of Law, Society and Criminology, UNSW Law & Justice
ACADEMIC AWARDS
2017 Research Training Program Scholarship Fund, University of Melbourne, Melbourne
2014-2016 Australian Postgraduate Award, Doctor of Philosophy (Fine Arts)
2009 Dean of Arts Honours Scholarship, Griffith University, Gold Coast
2007-2008 Griffith Award for Academic Excellence, Gold Coast
PRIZES / AWARDS
2026 Finalist -The Alice Prize, Alice Springs Art Foundation
2024 Highly Commended - Wollumbin Art Award, Tweed Regional Gallery
2020 Winner, People’s Choice Award for @Covid19quilt project, Incinerator Gallery Art Award
RESIDENCIES / ARTIST DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
2024 HOTA ArtKeeper Residency program, Home of the Arts (HOTA) Gold Coast
2023/4 Generate GC artist development program, Gold Coast
2023 INCUBATE* residency program at Placemakers*, Gold Coast
SELECTED GRANTS
2025 EGC Arts Fund grant for presentation of work at BLEACH* Festival
2025 City of Gold Coast Arts Fund, Project funding for ‘The Golden Thread’ group exhibition
2023 RADF Small Grant for ‘Quietly Seething’ solo exhibition at Art-Work Studio
2020 City of Melbourne Arts Project Grant for ‘Signs For Our Times’ presented by Next Wave
2020 Creative Victoria Grant for ‘Signs For Our Times’ presented by Next Wave
2019 Creative Victoria Creative Suburbs Grant for ‘Six Moments in Kingston’ public art project
WORKS IN PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
2022 ‘Changemakers’ banner collection held by the Museum of Australian Democracy (MOAD), Old Parliament House, Canberra
2020 ‘#UDHR Quilt Project’ a global craftivism project created in collaboration with Stephanie Dunlap, held by the MoAD, Canberra
2017 ‘PM Please Quilt’ held by to the MoAD, Canberra
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2026 ‘Fate Fury and Transmutation’ solo exhibition, Canberra Contemporary (ACT)
2026 ‘Fate Fury and Transmutation’ solo exhibition, Geelong National Wool Museum (VIC)
2025 ‘Space Won’t Save Us’ solo exhibition at The Lennox Gallery, Melbourne (VIC)
2023 'Quietly Seething' solo exhibition art Art-Work Studios, Gold Coast (QLD)
2018 ‘Craftivism HQ’ solo exhibition, KINGS Artist Run Initiative, Melbourne (VIC)
2016 ‘Dawn & I’ solo exhibition featuring work by Tal’s grandmother textile artist Dawn Fitzpatrick (1922-2021), George Paton Gallery, Melbourne (VIC)
CURRENT TOURING EXHIBITION
‘Changemakers: Crafting a Difference’ solo exhibition presented by MoAD with two years of support from CommBank, touring national to regional and remote communities across Australia, venues:
- Armadale Library (WA) TBC 2027
- Yarra Plenty Regional Library (VIC) TBC 2027
- Cascade Female Factory, Port Arthur Historic Site (TAS) Sept – Dec 2026
- Warrnambool Library and Learning Centre (VIC) Jul – Aug 2026
- Wangaratta Library (VIC) Jun – Jul 2026
- Pine Rivers Heritage Museum (QLD) Feb – May 2026
- Townsville City Libraries, Townsville (QLD) Oct – Dec 2025
- Yarra Ranges Regional Museum (VIC) Aug – Oct 2025
- Western Plains Cultural Centre, Dubbo (NSW) May – Jun 2025
- Queen Victoria Women’s Centre, Melbourne (VIC) Mar – Apr 2025
- Max Webber Library, Blacktown (NSW) Jan – Feb 2025
- Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery (VIC) Oct – Dec 2024
- Blue Mountains Theatre and Community Hub (NSW) August – Sept 2024
- Museum of the Riverina Wagga Wagga (NSW) June – August 2024
- Wanneroo Library and Cultural Centre (WA) April – May 2024
CRAFTIVISM / PUBLIC ART PROJECTS
2025 ‘Crafting for Climate’ collaboration with Melissa Spratt, presented by The City of Gold Coast - Climate Resilience and Sustainability and Arts and Culture (QLD)
2025 ‘The City Speaks Softly’ collaboration with Melissa Spratt, presented by BLEACH* Festival, Gold Coast (QLD)
2025 ‘Threads of Belonging’ collaboration with Melissa Spratt, presented by Everybody NOW! Gold Coast (QLD)
2025 ‘The City Speaks Softly’ collaboration with Melissa Spratt, presented by Somerset Storyfest, Gold Coast (QLD)
2021 ‘@Covid19quilt Project’ collaboration with Kate Just, presented during ‘The National 2021: New Australian Art’ at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (NSW)
2020 'Signs For Our Times,' presented as part of Next Wave's 'Assemble!' digital program (VIC)
2019 #UDHR Quilt Project featured at Enlighten Festival (Feb-Mar 2019), MoAD, Canberra (ACT)
2019 ‘Six Moments in Kingston’ public art project held in Kingston, Melbourne (VIC)
2019 'PM Please Quilt Project' presented by MoAD, Canberra (ACT)
2018-20 ‘#UDHR Quilt Project’ collaboration with Stephanie Dunlap, presented by MoAD, Canberra (ACT)
2016 ‘IWDA (International Women’s Development Agency) Fifty-Fifty Project’ shown at Igniting Change, Melbourne (VIC)
2015 ‘Resilience: Stories in Cloth’ exhibition Emerald Community House, PAVE Art Festival, Emerald (VIC)
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 ‘The Golden Thread’ group exhibition, ALOW Gallery, Gold Coast (QLD)
2024 Surface festival, public art festival Miami, Gold Coast (QLD)
2021 ‘Handmade Revolution’ group exhibition, Kulturkvartert, Hjo (Sweden)
2020 'Pandemic: A Feminist Response' online exhibition (due to COVID-19) presented by Toronto Feminist Art Collective (online/USA)
2019 ‘Domestic Craft’ group exhibition, The Barn, Rosny Farm, Tasmania (TAS)
2019 ‘Crafting Resistance: Six Moments in Kingston’ group exhibition at G1 + G2 Gallery, Kingston Arts, Melbourne (VIC)
2019 ‘Beyond 50%’ group exhibition, Backspace Gallery, Ballarat (VIC)
2019 ‘#’ group exhibition, Cindy Rucker Gallery, New York (USA)
2018 ‘Troublemakers’ group exhibition, Vs. Gallery, Melbourne (VIC)
2018 ‘Handle With Care’ Soul Craft Festival at the Meat Market, Melbourne (VIC)
2017 ‘We Are A Sanctuary’ group exhibition, KINGS Artist Run Initiative, Melbourne (VIC)
2017 ‘Feminist Fiber Art’ group exhibition, Virago Gallery, Seattle (USA)
2016 ‘Songs of Freedom’ group exhibition, Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka (VIC)
2015 ‘hillsceneLIVE’ Pop-up live art festival, Monbulk (VIC)
2015 ‘f Generation: Feminism Art, Progression’ group exhibition, George Paton Gallery, Melbourne (VIC)
SELF PUBLISHED CATALOGUES
2023 ‘Quietly Seething’ exhibition catalogue, ISBN: 978-0-6450678-3-5
2020 ‘Signs For Our Times’ project catalogue, ISBN: 9780645067804
2019 ‘Crafting Resistance: Six Moments in Kingston’ project catalogue, ISBN: 9780464217176
2018 ‘Craftivism: A Manifesto/Methodology’ artist manifesto, ISBN: 9781388836900
2018 ‘IWDA Fifty-Fifty Project’ project catalogue, ISBN: 978-1388758318
SELECTED ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS
2025 ‘Chapter 3: Good in a Crisis: A conversation on Craftivism’s Values of Craft, Collectivity and Care’ by K. Just, A. McGovern & T. Fitzpatrick in H. Mandell (20206) Global Craftivism since the Pussyhats: Handcraft Responses to Violence, War, Illness, and Isolation. Bloomsbury Publishing Inc, New York.
2023 ‘Chapter 19: Craftivism and Crime: Craft as a vehicle for Criminal and Social Justice Activism’ by A. McGovern & T. Fitzpatrick, in V. Canning, G. Martin and S. Tombs (eds) The Emerald International Handbook of Activist Criminology, Emerald Publishing Ltd.
2022 ‘Chapter 10: Care Through Craft’ by T. Fitzpatrick and S. Dunlap in Care Ethics and Craft by J. Milner & G.Coombs, Routledge, London.
2021 ‘Home, Health and Power: Exploring Experiences of and Responses to the Pandemic through the Global @Covid19quilt Project’ by T. Fitzpatrick and A. McGovern in The Polish Journal of Aesthetics, 61 (2/2021), DOI 10.1925
2019 ‘Chapter 13: Craftivism as DIY Citizenship’ by T. Fitzpatrick in H. Mandell (2019) Crafting Dissent: Handicraft as Protest from the American Revolution to the Pussyhats, Rowman & Littlefield Publishing, Maryland.
2018 ‘Craftivism as DIY Citizenship: The Practice of Making Change,’ by T. Fitzpatrick, PhD thesis, University of Melbourne
2016 ‘Chapter3: Community Disaster Resilience’ in B. Clements, et al., 2016, Disasters and Public Health: Planning and Response (2nd Edition), Elsevier Inc., Oxford. ISBN: CLEMENTS-9780128019801
2015 ‘Crafting Change: Practicing Activism in Contemporary Australia,’ by K. Kontturi and T. Fitzpatrick, in Craft Rhetorics, Harlot of Hearts, ed.14.
2014 ‘Engaging Learners: A Community Partner’s Perspective’, by M. Creyton, T. Fitzpatrick and T. Monteiro, in Engaging Australia – University Community Engagement and Service Learning, Cambridge Scholars Publishing Ltd, Newcastle.
IN THE PRESS
2025 Peppermint Magazine (Issue 63 winter 2025) ‘Crafting dissent – fighting for freedoms via needle and thread’ by Donna Torr, pg.77-83.
2024 Frankie Magazine (Issue 121 Sept/Oct) ‘People Power’ by Samantha Allemann, pg. 94-99
2024 Arts Hub News (7 March 2024) ‘Craftivism led by Women’
2023 ABC Gold Coast Radio (May 2023) On air interview with Nicole Dyer about Quietly Seething exhibition
2023 Blank Street Press (May 2023) ‘Tal Fitzpatrick explores feminine rage with Quietly Seething’
2022 Nevertheless Journal (Launch Issue July 2022) ‘The Craftivist: Tal Fitzpatrick’ By Samantha Morris pg. 74-79
2022 Her Canberra (14 July 2022) ‘The Importance of Changemakers to Inspire Future Generations’ by Emma MacDonald
2022 ABC News (broadcast 22 June 2022) ‘Exhibition at Canberra Museum Honours Changemakers’
2022 Blank Street Press (March 2022) ‘Craftivism with Tal Fitzpatrick’
2021 Art Guide Australia (2 Nov 2021) ‘Doing Feminism: Women’s Art and Feminist Criticism in Australia’ by Anne Marsh. Pg. 307-308. https://artguide.com.au/art-plus/doing-feminism-womens-art-and-feminist-criticism-in-australia/
2021 Peppermint Magazine (Issue 52, summer 2021) ‘Crafting Change’ by Mireille Stahle pg.108-111
2020 ABC 'The Mix' (broadcast 16 May 2020) feature of the @covid19quilt project
2020 Art Guide Australia (12 May 2020) 'Quilting Together at a Distance' by Briony Downes
2020 The Guerrilla Craft podcast (Ep.2 released 18/02/2021) interviewed by Frida Engström in June 2020. Available
SELECTED CONFERENCE & SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATIONS
2018 T.Fitzpatrick, 'Craftivism: Feminist Change Making', presented at the Women*, Art and Feminism in Australia since 1970 Symposium (21-23 February 2018), VCA & MCM University of Melbourne, Southbank Campus.
2016 T.Fitzpatrick, M.Mayhew and T.Splawa-Neyman, ‘Making Change: Textiles, gender and power’ presented at the 11th Association for Cultural Studies ‘Crossroads in Cultural Studies’ conference (14-17 December 2016), Sydney University, Sydney.
2016 T.Fitzpatrick, ‘Craftivism: driving social change as a durational performance of dissensus’, presented at the Technicity, Temporality and Embodiment 10th International Somatechnics Conference (1-3 Dec 2016), hosted by the University of Queensland and Southern Cross University, Byron Bay.
2016 T.Fitzpatrick, C.Phillips, M.Mackay, M.Macfarlane and A. Speirs, ‘Creating with Communities: A panel conversation on the ethics of Socially Engaged Art’ presented at the iDare 2016: Creative Arts Research and the Ethics of Innovation Conference (27-28 September 2016), held at VCA, University of Melbourne.
2016 T.Fitzpatrick, ‘Craftivism’, presented at The Popular Culture Association POPCAANZ 7th Annual International Conference (29 June – 1 July 2016), Sydney University Village, Sydney.
2015 T.Fitzpatrick, ‘Diffraction and Dissensus: Diffraction methodologies for dissensual art making’, presented at the VI International New Materialisms Conference (27-19 September 2015), VCA &MCA Melbourne University.
2014 T.Fitzpatrick, ‘Building and Enhancing Community Resilience’, presented at the Texas Department of State Health Services Annual Preparedness Coalition Symposium (5-7 November 2014), Galveston, Texas USA