We are currently accepting expressions of interest for Sēmeíōsis, a collaborative workshops series with George Paton Gallery and Practice Lab, culminating in a public art installation and event at MPavillion, Parkville.

As an official program of Melbourne Design Week 2025, the program invites participants to engage in three workshops with artists, designers and creative leaders, with applications open to students of all disciplines. Workshops will take place in the Arts Lab.

The project will also be documented in a research publication, capturing the conversations, processes, and ideas that emerge throughout.

About Sēmeíōsis

Entertaining the ubiquity of signage and wayfinding in the modern city-scape, Sēmeíōsis brings together a diverse student cohort in thinking about the motifs, forms and infrastructures that instruct and inform the movement of bodies through space.

Rethinking sign-making through contemporary arts and design practice, Sēmeíōsis looks at signage and wayfinding as a generative space for material, spatial and performance based experimentation.

Developed by Practice Lab and the George Paton Gallery, Sēmeíōsis presents the outcomes of a series of practitioner-led workshops for students, which encourage creative/critical approaches to signage and its functions.

Apply Here

Key Dates

Applications Open
Wednesday 5 March

Applications Close
Friday 21 March

Applicants Notified
Monday 24 March

Workshop One with Practice Lab and George Paton Gallery
Thursday 3 April, 1-3pm

Workshop Two with Joy Zhou
Thursday 10 April 1-3pm

Workshop Three with Charlie Sofo
Thursday 17 April 4-6PM

Exhibition: 13-15 May, MPavillion Parkville

Publication Launch: TBC

Questions about your application? Email Arts Programs Officer Chantelle Mitchell.

Practice Lab is a student-led, research-based design studio at Victorian College of the Arts. The Lab offers opportunities to engage with students in their development as designers with a sense of partnership in creative research enquiry.

For more information about MPavillion Parkville and their upcoming programs, see here!