Art & Crime: Introduction

This special focus on “Art + Crime” grew out of a discussion between the teams at Memo and the Australian Institute of Art History, based at the University of Melbourne. The AIAH mission is to foster research and public engagement across all areas of art history and the visual arts. For more than fifteen years, we’ve been working with artists, scholars, curators, and communities in Melbourne and nationally. So when Memo emerged as a new voice for thinking and writing, we wanted to support their work, and to collaborate.

In 2025–26, one AIAH research focus is Art + Crime. It’s intended as a question and a provocation, drawing attention to the many intersections of art, violence, creativity, and the law. As a theme, Art + Crime includes everything from murderous Renaissance artists to AI deepfakes and the darker undercurrents of the contemporary art market. We approached the team at Memo about sponsoring an issue focus, and they’ve taken up the idea and run with it, with essays exploring Australia’s convict artists, wage theft and carceral art, and art market fakes. It’s been a privilege to work together to make this happen.

We hope to see you at the issue launch and at more AIAH Art + Crime events in the future.

— Anne Dunlop, Director, AIAH.

For more about the AIAH and upcoming events, please visit their website or join their mailing list.