What is the Wunder Gym?
Wunder Gym is a social-practice research platform, creative program and living laboratory for exploring how art, creativity and participation can generate new forms of knowledge.
Founded by Melbourne artist, researcher and creative director Annette Wagner, Wunder Gym brings artists, researchers, communities, cultural organisations and institutions together through experimental projects, creative programs, mentorship, exhibitions and public engagement.
Since launching in 2019, Wunder Gym has evolved from a creative development program into an ongoing platform for social-practice research using creative practice as a way to investigate how people, communities and organisations can collaborate, experiment and produce knowledge together.
The platform supports emerging and established creatives to extend their practice through unique project briefs, artist and researcher mentorship, collaborative experimentation and exhibition outcomes. At the same time, its programs create opportunities for communities and institutions to explore new approaches to participation, cultural engagement and creative knowledge production.
Wunder Gym's research and creative practice sits across social practice, participatory design, environmental and ecological thinking, cultural participation and interdisciplinary collaboration. Projects are developed with communities and partners and often move between artistic practice, public programming, research, education and civic engagement.
Through this approach, Wunder Gym operates as both a creative community and a site of research and experimentation where ideas can be tested through practice, relationships and real-world contexts.
Wunder Gym works with local government, cultural organisations, artists, researchers and communities to develop programs that respond to local contexts and create meaningful opportunities for participation, collaboration and creative exchange.
The platform continues to evolve as a space for investigating how creative practice can contribute to more collaborative, imaginative and regenerative futures.
how does it Support arts & Cultural Teams to build community engagement?
Wunder Gym has refined its delivery over the years and found the most impact is creating programs that support both Local Government Arts and Cultural Teams deliver unique creative and arts orientated programs to its community.
“The biggest benefit for us as an Arts Team has been connection with community. During COVID, Wunder Gym became a shared experience we could have with the creative community whilst still in lockdowns. The program has since evolved into one of greatest networking tools.”
Annette’s passion for emerging / developing creatives is infectious. She creates a safe and supportive space for playing and experimentation which gives participants permission to explore. The mentors are well briefed and therefore generous with their knowledge and advice.
Annette’s sense of adventure is one of her greatest assets. She always strives for the best possible experience and outcome for our community members and is supportive of their ongoing endeavours. She is thoughtful and considered in her programming briefs and I always appreciated and value her prompt and clear communication and we always know who is delivering what parts of the projects.
The programming expense is not insignificant, but in the case of Wyndham City, it has been invaluable in terms of its return on artist and community development. We’ve seen increased participation across the board, collaborations between community members and individual practice development and external opportunities for creatives. All of which would not have happened without Wunder Gym.”
Trish Carlon, Arts Development Officer, Arts, Cultural & Events Wyndham City Council.
“I wanted to say a huge thank you for all your help and guidance. Wunder Gym has allowed me to get out of my shell and create work that I want to make. The Wyndham Art Prize was announced on Wednesday and I was very surprised to have received the LEAP award. It just puts so much clarity to the work I make and that the judges appreciated it as well.”
Nandita Nadkarni
LEAP Prize (Local Emerging Art Prize) 2023 wining work Wyndham Art Prize 2023.
Nandita Nadkarni, Crafted Clay Odyssey, 2023. ceramic, wood and metal.
Where is the Wunder Gym?
Wunder Gym is where your community is. Working with local governments and institutions, each program is developed in conjunction with you and your community, giving both the participating artists and the creative community the best opportunity to network and celebrate the programs artistic and creative outcome.
Wunder Gym can coordinate exhibition locations outside of your community, extending community reach to broader audiences and experiences outcome of the community.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER - ANnette Wagner
Annette Wagner is an artist, researcher, educator and creative director working across social practice, participatory research and interdisciplinary creative practice. She is the founder and director of Wunder Gym, a social-practice research platform and living laboratory established in 2019.
Wagner's practice explores how creative and participatory methodologies can bring people, communities and institutions together to experiment, exchange knowledge and imagine alternative futures.
Through Wunder Gym, she has developed and delivered collaborative programs involving artists, researchers, local government, cultural organisations and communities, producing exhibitions, public programs, publications, workshops and other research and creative outcomes.
Her research now extends this practice through the development of the Co-Creative Immersive Knowledge Framework (CIKF), an interdisciplinary research programme investigating how creative practice, immersive technologies and participatory design can enable new forms of collaborative knowledge production.
Wunder Gym provides an important foundation for this research: an ongoing real-world environment in which participatory creative methodologies can be developed, tested and translated across different communities and institutional contexts.
“The Wunder Gym started by wanting to establish an artistic and creative community for myself. With established mentors and real opportunities to continue to develop and exhibit my work. I missed art school. I missed the support and encouragement to explore artistic and creative work. I missed the access to established artists who offered insight and direction. I wanted to exhibit the work I created, and exhibiting is sometimes competitive and costly. I wanted an art school environment that wouldn’t demand the same time and cost investment or compete with real-life commitments.”
Having completed art studies at Central St. Martins, London and Victoria College of the Arts with first class honours, she continues to develop her own arts practice and creative exploration. She has supported herself by worked in advertising, research and communications for over 20 years and is AWARD school trained with post graduate studies in business. Additionally, as a passionate teacher and facilitator she has developed and delivered curriculum for TAFE and lectured at La Trobe University.
“ I’m incredibly proud of the Wunder Gym, which I liken to a ‘cabinet of curiosity’, or ‘a place to build a library of creative experiments to coach the imagination’. Since launching in July 2019, the program has been proven to work, with established artists, scientists and creative leaders as mentors. Members in the public program and members who participated through the Wyndham City Council Local Government sponsored program have benefited by building creative confidence working on projects with exhibiting outcomes. With plans for further expansion offering a corporate professional development program to bring creativity and commerce together, facilitate integrating industry silos and enable companies to nurture innovative, engaged and empowered teams through its unique delivery.”
Wagner’s foundational philosophy is ‘the idea and its strategic implementation’, maintaining a vision to bring artistic and creative exploration, experimentation and cross disciplinary enlightenment to greater audiences. Inspiring engagement by encouraging ordinary to become extraordinary.
