Dr Betty Sargeant is a multi-award-winning, internationally recognised media artist from Naarm, Melbourne, Australia. Betty uses art and technology to address the leading questions and concerns of our times. Her video art, immersive art and public art are illuminated as she works with the medium of light.
ABOUT BETTY
Betty has made commissioned artworks for institutions such as the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (Taiwan), the Karachi Biennale (Pakistan), the Asia Culture Centre (South Korea), Questacon (Australia’s National Science and Technology Centre) and Experimenta (Australian media art triennial). She’s exhibited in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. Betty has academic publications and regularly speaks at public events because she loves discussing art and ideas. Her creative practice PhD was ranked top three at the CHASS Prize (2016), she’s won Good Design Awards (2020 and 2018) and a Victorian Premier’s Design Award (2017) in recognition of her progressive arts practice.
Betty Sargeant was awarded the Rupert Bunny Foundation Visual Art Fellowship, the Melbourne Knowledge Fellowship and was creator-in-residence at the Asia Culture Centre (South Korea). In 2019 she represented Australia in an international cultural delegation because she has expertise in forming new creative collaborations and partnerships. Betty works alongside teams at the Victorian Pride Centre helping establish and deliver the centre’s visual art program. She’s also a mentor for artists at the Centre for Projection Art because she believes in knowledge sharing.
Betty has a solo arts practice yet she also collaborates with a range of artists, scientists and designers. Betty has collaborated with Justin Dwyer under the art duo name PluginHUMAN. She’s also worked with Yorta Yorta artist Lorraine Brigdale. Here’s what people say about her solo and collaborative practice:
“Impressive, perfectly prepared artwork.
JungSoo Park, CEO, Culture&U, South Korea
“A highly experienced creative team who delivered an outstanding project … a high level of professionalism”.
Georgia Rouette, Public Arts Officer, City of Port Phillip, Australia
“crossing the borders between science, art and nature.
John Lewis, Shepparton News, Australia
“an amalgam of traditional art, science, computational mathematics and graphic design.
Buraq Shabbir, Arab News, Pakistan
BETTY’S ART
Betty Sargeant creates video art at the intersection of art and technology. Her unique hyper-pop style shines through the flash editing, oversaturated colouring and layered aesthetic. Each video artwork is underpinned by a new creative and cultural concept. Some works focus on environmental issues because Betty actively advocates for positive change to addresses our climate realities. Other works highlight our relationship with the digital world since many of us operate in a hybrid digital-analogue reality.
Betty also creates immersive installations, she places people in the centre of multi-sensory experiences. These artworks surround you with a surprising, uniquely designed environment. Sometimes these works are interactive because they allow you to enact change upon the exhibition space. Sometimes the art is reacting to environmental changes and as a result you can experience hidden aspects of our natural world. And sometimes these works simply envelop you in the new, and consequently they are arresting and make you stop and be present. The audience experience is a central aspect within Betty’s immersive art installations.
Betty also makes site specific public art for community and civic spaces. Each piece is custom designed, forming a relationship with the surrounding natural or built environment. These works are in the public domain, they reach new audiences and place art in a central position within people’s live.
GET IN TOUCH
Find out more by connecting on Linkedin or drop us a line on socials and don’t forget to get in touch. We’d love to hear about your new festival or chat about commissions for your gallery, museum, event, or public space.
Betty Sargeant lives and works on Boon Wurrung land. She respects First Nations culture and heritage. Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.