Happy New Year Friends,

I hope you’ve had a restful and restorative break and that you’re getting on with your new year’s resolutions. I don’t normally make resolutions, but this year I’ve resolved to start.

For my first resolution, I’ve set myself a target to publish a blog post per month. If you want to keep up to date with my monthly goings on you can find these posts in the newsfeed section of my website, you can sign up to my mailing list, or you can follow me on any of the various social media platforms: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, and Threads (maybe?).

I have a few projects that I’m looking forward to sharing with you in 2024, but for my first blog post of the year I’ve decided to do a quick(-ish) recap of 2023.

2023 RECAP

JANUARY

Beginning in 2022, I was one of five artists selected to participate in Year Two of the Cad Factory’s Contemporary Art Socially Engaged (CASE) Incubator, “a professional development, knowledge-sharing and mentorship program aimed at socially engaged artists”. As part of this program I participated in four residencies between 2022 and 2023. In January, we travelled to Narrandera, NSW for the second CASE Incubator residency. I had a great time working with Vic and Sarah McEwan at the CAD Factory along with my fellow Year 2 recipients Rhae Kendrigan, Karenza Ebejer, and Hannah Robinson and Melanie Muddle (co-founders of And Then).

For more information about Year 2 CASE Incubator, see the Year 2 CASE Report.

MARCH

In March, I was awarded a full fee subsidy (thanks to support from Creative Australia) to attend ‘Creative Approaches to Working with Trauma and Mental Health’ run by the Big Anxiety Research Centre at UNSW School of Art & Design in Paddington, NSW.

APRIL

My brother Ben died on April Fool’s Day after several years of treatment for cancer. This isn’t the appropriate space to talk about Ben or about my experience of grief, but I didn’t want to leave his passing unacknowledged. I miss you Ben.

Video documentation of my performance piece Night Soil was included in ‘Earth’ (15-30 April) curated by Beata Geyer at Articulate Project Space, Leichhardt, NSW.

MAY

I produced a new textile work, From the Deep Waters of Sleep, 2023, for ‘Spirit Wave’ (4-28 May) at Art Space on the Concourse, Chatswood, NSW. Video documentation of my performance piece Pietà was also included in the exhibition. On the opening night I gave a short speech on behalf of the artists, followed by a live performance of Pietà. For more information about ‘Spirit Wave’ you can see the exhibition catalogue (and my speech from the opening night) on the Willoughby Council Website.

On Saturday 27 May, I performed Emergency Blanket (Appliqué) live at Art Space on the Concourse and then I participated in a panel discussion on spirituality and creative practice led by Council’s Curator Cassandra Hard Lawrie and Researcher and Arts Director of Bankstown Arts Centre Rachael Kiang.

I exhibited my Shadow in ‘Together or otherwise a(part)’ (6-21 May), a MAPBM members exhibition co-ordinated by Diana Robson at Articulate Project Space.

The CASE Incubator recipients travelled to Pinaroo, South Australia, for CASE Incubator residency #3. As part of this residency, I got to do some sewing with the Thursday craft group in the museum!

JUNE

My solo exhibition ‘Ad/Dressing the Wound’ (21 June – 8 July) was exhibited at Ellipsis Gallery, Woolloomooloo, NSW. I was honoured to have the incomparable Victoria Spence open the exhibition and launch the exhibition catalogue which contains a wonderful essay by my good friend Dr Cinzia Cremona. I also had the very great pleasure of being interviewed on opening night by Angela Stretch for Arts Friday – 89.7 Eastside FM.

‘Ad/dressing the Wound’ was supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.

JULY

On Saturday 1 July, I gave an artist’s talk at Ellipsis Gallery, followed by a live performance of Shivah as part of ‘Ad/dressing the Wound’.

On Saturday 8 July, as part of the closing celebration for ‘Ad/dressing the Wound’, I debuted my new performance, Freud’s Ghost, at Ellipsis Gallery.

AUGUST

On Sunday 13 August, I had the honour of performing a new work Die Wunde at Scratch Art Space, Marrickville, NSW as part of Creative Trails Midjuburi.

SEPTEMBER

In September, I was the artist-in-residence at the Rex Cramphorn Studio at the University of Sydney, NSW. As part of this residency, I ran two free performance workshops with my collaborator Dr Cinzia Cremona.

OCTOBER

In October, I travelled to Canberra with Juundaal Strang-Yettica and June Golland for the first ‘CanKan Laboratory’ organised by the Canberra Art Biennal (CAB) and Cementa Festival. We were met in Canberra by Neil Hobbs and Tegan Garnett from CAB, as well as the three participating Canberra artists: Emma Hodges, Sophie Dumaresq, and Tom Buck.

For the fourth and final CASE Incubator residency, we joined Vic and Sarah McEwan at the new CAD Factory / CASE Incubator studios in Rosebery, NSW. For more information about Year 2 CASE Incubator, see the Year 2 CASE Report.

On Friday 27 October, I delivered a performative-lecture ‘Seminaire I: Acting Out’ at the Alana Bowden Memorial Symposium—a day of scholarship arranged by Studies in Religion and Performance Studies to honour former PhD student Alana Bowden who passed away in 2021. The final item of the day was an incredible performance by De Quincy Co.

NOVEMBER

On Monday 27 November, I capped off the year by delivering my paper ‘Virtuous Reverberations’ as part of the Performance, Health, and Creative Care (PHCC) working group at the 2023 ADSA Conference: Archives, Artists & Absences in Adelaide, South Australia.

Fin

That’s a wrap for the recap, but…

I have some exciting projects to announce in the near future, so make sure you sign up to my mailing list or follow me on any of the various social media platforms (LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, or Threads) to stay up to date.