Danny Butt is a Senior Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Practice at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne, and a member of the art collective Local Time. His work spans artistic research, creative practice, and community engagement, positioning the art school as a vital site for experimental knowledge production. He is author of Artistic Research in the Future Academy (2017) and co-editor of Rebordering the Archipelago (2022).
Danny holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne, where his doctoral research examined the tensions between art schools and universities in the generation of knowledge and creativity. His earlier work, including a Master's from Macquarie University, explored class dynamics in the digital information society.
Since 2013, he has held various leadership roles at the University of Melbourne, including Coordinator of the BFA (Honours) program and Graduate Research Convenor in Design & Social Practice. From 2017 to 2021, he served as Associate Director (Research) at VCA. His scholarly output covers topics such as digital infrastructure, library equity, colonial hospitality, and the politics of artistic platforms, with publications in New Media & Society, Journal for Artistic Research, Continuum, and others.
Complementing his academic roles, Danny has contributed to numerous research grants, residencies, and advisory positions—most recently through a 2022 residency at TarraWarra Museum’s SOILS program—and plays an active role in the Society for Artistic Research and the Asia Pacific Artistic Research Network.
Image Credit: Local Time: Paihamu. Tikapa, New Zealand, 2020. https://local-time.net/paihamu/
