ABOUT ROMULUS FOLIO GALLERY

Founded online in 2024, ROMULUS is an independent artist-led contemporary studio gallery, advisory and curatorial platform exploring the intersection of contemporary art, design and architecture.

Established by artist, curator and creative director Dr Angelina Mirabito, ROMULUS operates through a practice-led model that integrates live studio production, exhibitions, major commissions, workshops, artist development and interdisciplinary collaboration. Working with artists, collectors, architects, interior designers, developers and cultural organisations, the platform creates environments where making, exhibiting and conversation occur side by side.

Originally conceived as a digital initiative, ROMULUS rapidly evolved into a physical cultural platform through an independent open studio model that reimagined how contemporary art could be experienced. Rather than separating artistic production from exhibition, the gallery invited visitors directly into the creative process, creating an environment where artworks remained in a continual state of becoming.

Within its first two years, ROMULUS presented more than 85 events including exhibitions, workshops, artist talks, salons, meditation sessions, children’s programs, networking events, and public conversations, establishing itself as one of Melbourne’s most active independent artist-led initiatives.

Alongside its public program, ROMULUS has:

• Delivered large-scale private commissions and site-responsive installations.

• Hosted University of Melbourne internship placements supporting the next generation of arts professionals.

• Collaborated with architects, interior designers, developers and creative organisations across Melbourne.

• Supported both emerging and established contemporary artists through curated exhibitions and professional development.

• Operated an integrated gallery and working artist studio, allowing visitors direct access to contemporary practice.

• Been recognised through shortlisting in the City of Port Phillip Design and Development Awards.

• Participation in Design Shows and Art Fairs.

ROMULUS continues to evolve beyond a traditional gallery model. OUR NEW LOCATION & PROGRAM ANNOUNCED SOON! Here we’ll expand upon operating as a studio gallery and advisory practice, where we combine exhibition making with commissioned practice, workshops, cultural consultancy, artist development and public programming. This evolution reflects an ongoing commitment to creating meaningful relationships between contemporary art, architecture, design and the communities in which they intersect.

ROMULUS exists as an evolving cultural ecosystem that responds to the environments and locations it inhabits. Each exhibition, collaboration and commission contributes to a growing body of work exploring transformation, spatial psychology, material experimentation and mythic thinking.

OUR VISION

ROMULUS is guided by a vision that positions the gallery as a fluid site where art, interior design, and mythic thinking intersect. We aim to create immersive experiences that invite emotional resonance, imaginative engagement, and intellectual depth. Through narrative-driven curation, the platform investigates themes of transformation, threshold, memory, and the enduring symbolic power of myth within contemporary everyday life.

As an independent gallery, ROMULUS is committed to fostering artistic growth, supporting sustainable career development, and cultivating a high-frequency dialogue between artists, corporate stakeholders, architects, and the broader creative community.

Our long-term trajectory is to establish ROMULUS as a culturally vital and institutionally recognised platform that permanently expands the boundaries of how fine art is encountered, understood, and lived.

OUR APPROACH

ROMULUS operates through a practice-led methodology grounded in experimentation, interdisciplinary collaboration and installation. The open studio structure grants the public direct insight into the raw mechanics of the creative process. This fosters an active, ongoing dialogue between our lead artists, the audience, and the architecture, reinforcing the gallery’s role as a living, evolving environment.

Exhibitions are approached as experiences shaped by materiality, emotional atmosphere, and contemporary narrative. The gallery champions artists whose practices draw from abstraction, design influence, architectural scale, poetic thinking, and experimental form. By working collaboratively across creative sectors, ROMULUS cultivates a powerful creative network that is highly responsive, structurally autonomous, and deeply engaged with place.