BIOGRAPHY:

Vienna Parreno is an interdisciplinary creative whose work spans installation, moving image, text, and participatory experiences. Trained in fine arts/time-based arts and later in early childhood education, her practice is shaped by the poetics of childhood, parenthood, and improvisation.

She is the self-proclaimed “eccentric aunt of the revolution” behind Playformance Aesthetics - a framework emerging from parenting, pedagogy, and participatory art. Here, art isn’t always a final object, but a living process: child-led, improvisational, process-oriented, and relational. It values concept and care as much as craft and composition.

Parenthood is not so much a theme as it is the atmosphere her practice now breathes. Her studio is wherever care happens - a dining table, a shared playroom-art room, the in-between moments snatched between lunchboxes, music lessons, school pickups, and drop-offs. These conditions have reshaped how, where, and why she makes work.

A former recipient of prestigious arts fellowships and awards in Australia, Vienna has exhibited in both obscure artist-run initiatives to major museums and contemporary art spaces in Australia and Asia. During this time her work explored themes of diaspora, memory, home and personal poetics in various media. After a long stretch away from public practice shaped by illness, parenthood and moments of creative exile - she returns to making, carving space outside the traditional art world.

This site is part archive, part fugue, part low-stakes shrine to fragments that couldn’t find a home. Maybe it’s a backroom of broken limbs, reworked as trophies.
She often said she dressed-up her wounds and called it art.

Under EARLY WORKS - PRE 2020, you’ll find:

  • Suspended paintbrushes

  • Umbrellas that don’t shelter

  • Horses cut from lowly inkjet prints of found class photos

  • Lightbulbs filled with cement

  • Photographs of cement lightbulbs reworked into a lightbox

  • Rainbow arrows cast from store-bought icebox moulds, hand-painted with house paints

  • Glitching videos of bodies dissolving into static and snow

  • Fabric stitched to spell HAPPY AS A KITE

  • and a host of others.

She’s made installations.
Written essays.
Asked body doubles to walk backwards through pop songs until the lyrics fell apart.

Maybe the work never stopped.
Maybe it just went off-script. Off-paper. Off-record.

What lives here might look like a blog. A document dump. Or the ghosts of a past life.

Hopefully, it’s fragments of the current - and future - one too.

CV                              

Born in 1978 in Manila, Philippines
Resides and works in Boorloo/Perth, on Whadjuk Noongar Country AUSTRALIA

EDUCATION:

2013: MTeach in Early Childhood Education, University of Sydney, NSW Australia
1997 - 2001: Bachelor of Fine Arts in Time Based Arts (First Class Honours), College of Fine Arts University of NSW, Sydney, Australia

SOLO EXHIBITIONS:

2009, War on Warhole, SLOT Projects, Alexandria Sydney, Australia 2008, Hard Rocks, ATVP Contemporary Art Space, Newtown, NSW, Australia
2008, Fears of a Jaded Descent, Gallery 4a - Asia Australia Art Centre, Haymarket, NSW, Australia

TWO PERSON EXHIBITION:

2013, Yiwon Park & Vienna Del Rosario Parreno: New Works, DNA Projects, Chippendale Sydney, Australia

GROUP EXHIBITIONS:

2012, Speed Show, Verge Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2012, Dystorpia Media Exhibition, Local Project Art Space, New York, USA
2012, Art Food & Music for Buddhism - Fundraiser for Mayu Kanamori, Yuga Floral Cafe & Gallery, Glebe, Sydney, Australia
2010, Visions of Vaucluse, Vaucluse House, Sydney, Australia
2010, Asia Now, MIFA Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2009, Member’s Annual, Gallery 4a Asia Australia Art Centre, Haymarket, Sydney, Australia
2009, Breathing Space, Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, Windsor, Australia
2009, Action Vs Action, Gallery 4a - Asia Australia Art Centre, Haymarket, Sydney, Australia
2008, Members Annual, Gallery 4a Asia Australia Art Centre, Haymarket, Sydney, Australia
2008, Against Reduction, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy Melbourne, Australia
2008,Without Boundaries: Australian Bookbinders Artist Exhibition, Pine Street Creative Centre, Sydney. Toured to Munduberra Regional Art Gallery 2008, Road: Rode Exhibition, ATVP Gallery, Newtown Sydney, Australia
2007, The Sound of Failure Exhibition, Dont Looke Media Art Gallery, Dulwich Hill, Sydney Australia
2006, We Are Australian Too, Casula Powerhouse, NSW Australia 2005, Member’s Annual, Gallery 4a Asia Australia Art Centre, Australia 2005 - 2006, Open Letter, Gallery 4a Asia-Australia Art Centre, Australia. Toured to National Gallery Thailand, Metropolitan Museum Manila, National Gallery Kuala Lumpur 2004, Out of Gallery Projects, Blacktown Art Centre, Australia 2004, Fundraising Show, Gallery 4a - Asia Australia Art Centre, Australia 2004, Fundraising Show, Kudos Gallery UNSW, Australia 2001, Mint Exhibition - Graduation Show, College of Fine Arts, Australia
2001, UNSW Union Art Competition, The Roundhouse UNSW, Australia

CELEBRATE-CREATE-COMMUNE/Happenings/Festivals/Film Screenings:

2025, She Sells Seashells by the Seashore, Terry Tyzack Aquatic Centre, Perth WA, Australia 2024, Frozen, Maylands Waterland, Perth WA, Australia 2024, Too Fast Two Furios, Play Lab Atelier, Perth WA, Australia 2022, Happy Birth-Dough, Play Lab Atelier, Perth WA, Australia

2013, There is a Light that Never Goes Out - Archival Video Montage of Roger Foley Fogg & Barry Kosky, installed at Tales from the Fogg, 107 Project Space, Redfern Australia 2010: Jethayu to the Rescue w/ Jumaadi & Man Made Dog group (Jumaadi, Cameron Ferguson, Vienna Parreno, Sisca Haskew), Australian National Maritime Museum 2008, The Sound of Failure Group Sound Festival, Chrissie Cotter Gallery + Multi Site Event organised by Dont Look New Media Gallery, Sydney, Australia 2007, Raw & Uncut: Excerpts from Against Reduction + Carmina Burana, Howard Permance & Art Space, San Francisco, USA 2006, Experimental Show Case, Perth Revelation International Film Festival, Australia 2006, International Theatre Festival, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines
2006, The 31st UNESCO International Theatre Institute World Congress and Art Olympics of the Nations, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila Philippines
2006, Peregrinasyon, Fig Tree Theatre UNSW, Sydney, Australia
2006, Tupada Media Action Art Event, Philippines 2006, Gang Street Festival, Chippendale, NSW Australia 2005, Tupada 33 Interaction, Philippines 2005, Look Right, Sydney Moving Image Coalition, Fig Tree Theatre, UNSW, Australia 2005, Train Ink, Sydney Moving Image Coalition, Fig Tree Theatre, UNSW, Australia 2005, Area Video Works #2, Sydney Moving Image Coalition, Fig Tree Theatre, UNSW, Australia 2004, Jonathon Brown, Glebe Coronoer’s Court Sydney, Australia 2004, Fundraising Show, Gallery 4a Asia Australia Art Centre, Australia 2004, Fundraising Show, Kudos Gallery UNSW, Australia 2002, Vallecas Pueta del Cine Touring Film Festival, Spain then to Krasnojarsk Short Film Festival, Russia and Moscow Short Film Festival, Russia 2001, Valles Puerta Del Cine, Spain 2001, National Student Film and Video Festival Australia
2001, Jaffas Down the Aisle Film Festival. Revolver Night Club, Melbourne
2001, Canberra International Film Festival
2001, Cronulla Film Festival (Salon Screening)
2000, Cut Piece: After Yoko, Philip Baxter Residential College, UNSW - accompanied by Artists: Eun Joo Lee and Krzysztof Osinski, Australia
1999, The Projectionist (Time Based Art Students Screenings), Valhalla Cinema, Glebe Sydney, Australia
1999, Head, Heart, Hand Exhibition, University of NSW 50th Anniversary Celebration, Australia

COLLECTIONS:

Jason Yeap Collection, Melbourne Australia Wayne Goss Collection, Sydney Australia (collaborative work as KYV - Krzysztof Osinski, Yan Tung, Vienna Parreno)

AWARDS & PRIZES:

2010: Redlands Westpac Art Prize for Emerging Artists (nominated -withdrew due to illness) 2002, National Film and Video Festival Australia, Winner 1st Prize Experimental Division, Australia
2000, Nescafe Student Film Competition, Semi Finalist, Australia 1999, UNSW Union Art Competition, Highly Commended, Australia

RESIDENCIES:

2012, Kandos Projects, Kandos NSW, Australia 2012, Fogg Hall, Hazelbrook, Blue Mountains, Australia 2007, Redgate Gallery Residency, Beijing, China

 

GRANTS & SCHOLARSHIPS:

2007, Accomodation Subsidy, Australia - China Council, Beijing, China
2006: Emerging Writers Write In Your Face Grant, LIterature Board, Australian Council for the Arts
2002 - 2006: The Australian Postgraduate Award. UNSW
2002: The Viktoria Marinov Scholarship for Female Artists. UNSW
2001: Apple Computer-UNSW Scholarship for Digital & Virtual Imaging.
2000: Digital Compositing. (Placement in SFX Class), Metro Screen TV, Paddington, Sydney.

 

SELECTED PRESS:

Liza Power, Brushing Up on Asian Art, The Age Newspaper (April 14, 2010) Nicole Cleary, Art to Poke Your Eyes Out, Mx Newspaper Melbourne (April 12, 2010)
Sue Ingham, Gallery 4a: An Asian - Australian Experience in Sydney, C Arts Magazine. October 2008. Pages 59-61.
Li Min, Lim. Border Crossings, Thai Day Thailand (2005) Phataranawik, Phatarawadee. Lessons in Australian Immigration, The Nation Newspaper Thailand (2005)

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Mikala Tai, Bryan Collie, Louise Joel, Santy Saptari, Anthony Gardner, Asia Now: April 15 - May 28, 2010, Catalogue Published by MIFA - Melbourne International Fine Art (2010) ISBN: 978-0-9807731-0-1

Binghui Huangfu, Sarah Tutton, Russell Storer, John Mateer. Open Letter. Catalogue jointly published by The Asialink Centre and the Asia-Australia Art Centre. (2005) Edition 2000. ISBN 0 7430 31017

 

PROFESSIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS:

2006, Philippine Australia Studies Centre Conference, La Trobe University
2005, Visual Arts Mentor, Smart-Arts Program UNSW, Kensington. Conducted lecture and workshop series for students from non-art disciplines.
2005, Unstructured Thoughts, Artist Talk for Open Letter Exhibition Symposium


Ocean in a Cup Offering, She Sells Seashells by the Seashore CELEBRATE-CREATE-COMMUNE Terry Tyziack Aquatic Centre, 2025