Art Guide Australia: Field Notes. A Grassroots Approach to Public Art

Jo Higgins

December 17, 2025

Writings

These are my favourite kinds of stories to tell. Artists and creatives re-thinking ideas of community, public space, ways of doing. Artists who are equal parts curious, ambitious and gentle. Artists who believe that art and culture and creativity can be tools for wellbeing, community building and lasting change.

I loved the expansive conversations I had with Heidi and Hugo in the writing of this piece and I’m really grateful to Art Guide Australia for commissioning it. You can read it online here. In many ways it feels like a book-end to the piece I wrote for their Jan-Feb issue on the impact of the housing crisis on artists and creatives, so I appreciate that long lens take on an issue too.

And you can read more about MAPA and the Open Field Agency here, too.

Collecting: Living with Art book launch

Jo Higgins

April 2, 2025

Events

Last year I had a dream commission, working with Kym Elphinstone to help realise her new book, Collecting: Living with Art (Thames & Hudson Australia) that is out this week.

Over seven months I had the joy of interviewing 26 artists, collectors and creatives, talking to them and writing about their ideas of home, creativity, the role of art (and artists) in their lives and what it meant to live with art on their walls, in their wardrobes and even, occasionally, on their ceilings.

There’s profiles on Penelope Seidler AM, Gene Sherman AM, Tony Albert, Ramesh Mario Nithyendran, Lottie Consalvo & James Drinkwater and so many more.

I’m excited to be in conversation with Kym and Stephen Todd, Design Editor for the Australian Financial Review, tomorrow at Berkelouw Books in Paddington, sharing some of these really special stories and insights.

The book is on sale now everywhere but if you purchase it via the Thames & Hudson website here, you can get a 20% discount with the code LIVINGWITHART20

You can read more about the book here.

Art Party at The Condensery

Jo Higgins

July 4, 2023

Events

Last weekend saw the culminating public program for ‘Things I Want To Say’ at The Condensery - Somerset Regional Art Gallery.

This has been a 12-month long program that I’ve had the absolute joy of co-developing and helping to realise. You can read more about my involvement here.

Some photos from the weekend below: