Studio Artists
The Outer Space Studio program is a key commitment by the organisation to support emerging and early and mid-career artist. Working with Economic Development Queensland we deliver two subsidised studio spaces at Northshore, Hamilton, one of Brisbane’s fastest-evolving cultural precincts. Each studio is secure and accessible, designed to support focused, long-term practice.
As part of this initiative, local First Nations art, design and architecture firm Blaklash has partnered with Outer Space to very generously sponsor a dedicated studio for a First Nations artist.
Jody Rallah
Jody Rallah is a yuggera-yugggerabul and biri artist from Magandjin/Brisbane. Whose multidisciplinary practice centres on working in harmony with the aliveness of materials and place, embracing a Country-echoed in infrastructure and an intergenerational knowledge systems approach. She creates both large-scale and intimate works, that encompass object- making, sculptural installation, painting, soundscape, and intergenerational collaboration; shaping ‘knowledge vessels’ that embody living histories and evoke a deep sense of connection and healing,
At the core of Rallah’s practice is an exploration of how place holds memory and how a hands-on, haptic approach to art and design can foster inclusive conversations. Her work invites curiosity about relationships with Country, the built environment, and our place within it. Through her creative process, she weaves narratives that echo across generations, interrogating identity and the contemporary forces that shape our relationships to place and to one another; and to create spaces and vessels that are alive with movement, memory, and storytelling.
In 2024, Rallah was the third Galang Residency recipient, based in Paris at the Cité Internationale des Arts, as part of the Powerhouse initiative supporting Australia-based First Nations creative practitioners. Her project researched the impact of tactile language systems in immersive art environments, engaged with Ancestral creations in museum collections, she highlighted the role of haptic practices in healing, connection, and cultural continuity. By integrating these systems into public artworks, she emphasized their potential to reshape collective experiences, facilitate cultural resurgence, foster healing, and support intergenerational knowledge sharing. Rallah’s recent work includes a series of large-scale clay paintings, culminating in a 22-meter-long performative piece at the MOB in 2023; A 15m recycled aluminium panel artwork at QUT Kelvin Grove. She graduated with a Bachelor in Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art from Queensland Collage of Art - Griffith University in 2019 and was selected for the prestigious Hatched program at Perth in 2020. In 2021, she held a solo exhibition at Milani Carpark Gallery, and in 2022, debuted her work Guides in Brisbane’s city centre as part of the Indigenous Art Program – Outstanding. Rallah has contributed to panel discussions, some including the QLD Museum’s World Science Festival, Apmere Mparntwe - Australian Ceramics Triennial, Sculptors Queensland, Women of the World, Food Sovereignty and bush medicine at University of Queensland Herston; and she sits on the advisory boards of Journal of Australian Ceramics Portrait of the Artist: photo by Rob Hookey
Dan McDonnell
Through an exploration of the figure, Dan McDonnell’s paintings dwell on ordinary moments, creating space to slow down and process the demands of contemporary life. His work often depicts himself engaged in familiar, everyday activities, watching TV, doom-scrolling, or drinking from a public water fountain.
Drawn from lived experience, the act of painting becomes a subjective form of remembrance, set against the amnesic quality these habits can produce. As the artist notes, “by making these moments the subject of my work, you start to notice the details usually overlooked as ‘part of the furniture’, both literally and psychologically.
As part of this initiative, local First Nations art, design and architecture firm Blaklash has partnered with Outer Space to very generously sponsor a dedicated studio for a First Nations artist.