AI Symposium 2025 – Beyond the Lens

Venue: Photography Studies College (PSC)
Location: 37-47 Thistlethwaite St, South Melbourne
25 May, 2025
Web: https://explore.psc.edu.au/ai-symposium-2025

Photography Studies College (PSC) is calling artists, photographers, designers and technologists to be part of AI Symposium 2025 - Beyond the Lens, a one-day event unpacking the creative and cultural impacts of artificial intelligence.

Taking place on Sunday 25 May, this future-focused event brings together artists, educators, and industry leaders for a program of talks, panels, demos, and exhibitions-all centred on the rapidly evolving world of AI-generated imagery.

Key features include:
• Keynotes and panel discussions with leading voices in art, technology and education
• A curated exhibition of AI-generated artworks
• Networking opportunities with the creative tech community
• A practical workshop on AI in creative workflows.

The AI Symposium presents a curated program of guest speakers, including Karen Ann Donnachie & Andy Simionato, Jacqueline Felstead, Tim Kitchen, Morganna Magee and Peter Miller. It also features a panel discussion on AI and Curatorial Practice, hosted by Kristian Häggblom and featuring Daniel Boetker-Smith (CCP), Brendan McCleary (Photo2026), Anouska Phizacklea (MAPh), and Brie Trenerry (MARS), and concludes with a practical workshop by Tim Kitchen (Adobe).

Upcoming Events Submit an Event

February

Women Photographers 1900–1975: A Legacy of Light

Melbourne: 28 Nov 2025 – 26 May 2026. The exhibition celebrates the wide-ranging photographic practices of more than eighty women artists working between 1900 and 1975.

180 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne VIC 3006 NGV | 1 Feb - 26 May, 2026

Unfinished Business: a 3D photography exhibition

Sydney: Until 11 April. Unfinished Business brings together the voices of 30 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with disabilities from remote, regional, and urban communities across Australia.

1 William St, Sydney NSW 2010 Australian Musem | 1 Feb - 19 Apr, 2026

Trent Parke: The Christmas tree bucket

Canberra: Until 6 Sept 2026. Trent Parke’s photographic series The Christmas tree bucket 2006–09 is a tender and darkly humorous portrayal of his extended family coming together to celebrate Christmas.

National Gallery of Australia (NGA) Parkes Place East, Parkes ACT 2600 | 2 Feb - 6 Sep, 2026

Familial – presented by CCP

Melbourne: 11 Feb – 25 April 2026. Familial brings together six international artists whose work navigates the emotional and psychological terrain of family.

360 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn, Victoria Town Hall Gallery – Hawthorn Arts Centre | 11 Feb - 25 Apr, 2026

March

Mervyn Bishop: Close Up

Sydney: Until 7 Feb 2027. From his archive of more than 200,000 images, Close Up celebrates the historic moments and pivotal people he famously captured.

1 Shakespeare Place Sydney NSW 2000 State Library of NSW | 1 Mar, 2026 - 7 Feb, 2027

On the street where I live: Viva Gibb's portrait of North and West Melbourne

Melbourne: 5 March – 7 August 2026. Between the mid-1970s and early 1990s, artist and social documentary photographer Viva Gibb (1945-2017) documented the suburbs of North and West Melbourne, where she lived.

110 Swanston St Melbourne 3000 City Gallery – Melbourne Town Hall | 5 Mar - 7 Aug, 2026

Coded Blooms | flowers have never been innocent

Melbourne: 7 March – 24 May 2026. Photos of flowers from the NGA collection by prominent photographers drawn such as Robert Mapplethorpe and four groundbreaking Australian photographers.

860 Ferntree Gully Road Wheelers Hill Victoria 3150 Australia Museum of Australian Photography | 7 Mar - 24 May, 2026

TOPshots 2026

Melbourne: 10 March – 5 May 2026. TOPshots is an annual celebration of emerging photo-media artists selected from a large pool of entries.

860 Ferntree Gully Road Wheelers Hill Victoria 3150 Museum of Australian Photography | 10 Mar - 5 May, 2026

April

Unfinished projections April 2026

Sydney: 9 April event 6-9pm. Unfinished is a free event to show/see photo-based work in progress or recently completed personal projects run by photographers for photographers.

77 Brighton St, Petersham NSW 2049 Petersham Bowling Club | 9 Apr, 2026

Ships and Figureheads

Sydney: 15 April – 9 May 2026. An exhibition of fine art photography celebrating the intersection of maritime history and the human form.

Level 1 – 41 Crown Street, Woolloomooloo NSW Ellipsis Gallery | 15 Apr - 9 May, 2026