Kay Abude is a multidisciplinary artist based in Melbourne, Australia, whose expanded sculptural practice spans large-scale installation, photography, performance, video, and screen printing. Abude’s work is about work itself: the value of it, the effort, the inequality and insecurity of it, especially for artists.
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Recent commissions include BE CREATIVE REMAIN RESILIENT, Mural Commission, The Showroom, London, UK, 2023–24, and Smoko Room, Paul Selzer Prize, Fiona and Sidney Myer Gallery, Southbank, 2023.
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Abude has been the recipient of numerous grants, including Creative Australia Project Grants in 2025 and 2023, Hume Arts Activity Grants in 2025 and 2022, a City of Melbourne Creative Laneways Project Grant in 2021, and a Play King Foundation Grant at the Australian Tapestry Workshop in 2020. Abude was a studio artist at Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne, from 2019 to 2022.
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Work Clothes (Costumes)
Kay Abude
2012
Wool, cotton, calico and linen made into costumes and performed by staff at Craft Victoria, Melbourne
Dimensions variable
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This project was developed for New Babylon curated by Jessica O’Brien and Pip Wallis for the 2012 Next Wave Festival, Craft Victoria, Melbourne, 19 – 26 May, 2012.
A set of garments were designed and made by Kay Abude for Craft Victoria and worn by staff as a “uniform” for one working week during the 2012 Next Wave Festival.
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