Pia van Gelder

Pia van Gelder is a Lecturer and Convener of the Bachelor of Design program at The Australian National University's School of Art & Design. Their interdisciplinary practice bridges electronic art, sound studies, and media history, with a focus on energies' role in shaping human-technology-environment relationships. Key research areas include esoteric influences on 20th-century electronic instruments and contemporary energy humanities.

• Education:
  • PhD in Art History (University of New South Wales)
  • MFA in Visual Arts (University of Sydney)
  • Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) in Media Arts (University of New South Wales)
• Practice: Combines instrument-building, live performance, and interactive installations, with works exhibited globally at venues like the Black Mountain College Museum and Kyoto Art Centre.
• Curation: Founded Dorkbot Sydney (2006), co-directed experimental art spaces Serial Space (2010–2013) and Lanfranchis (2004–2007).

Research interests span transdisciplinary art, speculative design, and critical studies of technology's intersections with gender, ecology, and colonialism. Current projects include a book on energies in artistic practice and collaborative work exploring food as design material in extreme environments.

Recent creative outputs include Uterichoreogenesis (2024), a performance addressing biopolitical energy dynamics, and co-edited volumes on hacking the Anthropocene and Australian electronic instrument culture.

Grants & Collaboration: Lead investigator on the 2024 ANU project Food as Design Material in Off-centre Extreme Environments. Active in supervising research students and fostering transdisciplinary collaborations.

Labs/Teams: Engaged with artist-run initiatives like Moduluxxx (modular synthesis festival) and maintains ties with experimental art networks globally.