Creative Exchanges: 1998

George Gittoes (NSW) The Beijing Art Academy

Supported by the Visual Arts Craft Board of the Australia Council for the Arts & the Australia China Council

George Gittoes is a prominent Australian artist, photographer and filmmaker. He has worked in Central America, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, in several cases with Australian Army Peacekeeping Missions, and after working in Somalia was nominated Australia’s official Peacekeeping Artist. In China Gittoes was based at the Bejing Art Academy and he also travelled to outlying areas including the Yangtzee River and Tibet to paint farmers and other rural workers. A documentary team from Australia followed Gittoes in October making a program for the ABC and the BBC which screened in Australia in 1999.

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts, the Australia China Council & the NSW Ministry for the Arts

Painter Liz Coats spent four months at The Beijing Art Academy.

Supported by the Australia China Council

Sang Ye is a Queensland based non-fiction writer, editor and interviewer whose publications include: Chinese in China, Chinese Lives and in Australia, The Year the Dragon Came, as well as The Finish Line. He has also written a number of articles and short stories. During his residency in China Sang Ye researched his forthcoming book, a social history of Wangfujin Road, Beijing, a centrepoint of Chinese cultural, historical and economic activity this century.  In Beijing, Sang Ye completed a draft of his book and gave lectures at various universities on Australian literature and culture.

Loren Felicetti (VIC) Urban Council of Hong Kong

Supported by the the Australia Council for the Arts, City of Melbourne and Arts Victoria

At the time of her residency, Lorena Felicetti was the Cultural Development & Marketing Program Manager, Acting Youth Planning Officer, City of Melbourne. Felicetti has extensive administrative and management experience in the field of arts and culture. Specialising in heritage, community arts and public art with an emphasis on visual and performing arts, Felicetti has worked predominantly at local government level. During her residency she worked with the Urban Council of Hong Kong in the Festivals Office.

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts and Arts Victoria

Simone Lourey is an arts manager with a background in publicity, public relations and marketing. Following a cadetship as a journalist with Leader newspapers in 1990, she worked as an Administrative Assistant with the Melbourne Writers Festival and a Programming Assistant with the Victorian Arts Centre. Between 1993 and 1995, Simone was editor of StopPress, the Arts Industry Council Journal, and Artspeak, the National Campaign for Arts Australia journal. During her residency she worked with the Hong Kong Fringe Festival in a number of marketing capacities and ran the Spotlight on Melbourne program with great success.

Adrian Sherriff

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts

Adrian Sherriff is a composer and musician who specialises in South Indian drumming. He plays with a number of ensembles including the Australian Art Orchestra, Musiiki Oy, Artisans Workshop, Night Music, Wuruwuru and Sruthi Layam Percussion Ensemble. Sherriff is also composer and musical director with Natya Sudha Dance Company and Tara Rajkumar. During his residency in Madras Sherriff composed and performed with Karaikudi R. Mani, and the Madras String Quartet exploring compositional methodology and consolidating his understanding of Indian music.

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts and Arts New South Wales

Anne Whitehead has had a long career in film and television as a scriptwriter and producer and is now a prize-winning non-fiction writer. Her book Paradise Mislaid: In Search of the Australian Tribe of Paraguay about a group of Australian colonialists seeking utopia in Paraguay won the NSW Premier’s Award for Non-fiction in 1998. During her residency Whitehead researched material for her next book on the intriguing true story of the marriage of the Indian Rajah of Pudukkotta and Molly Fink from Melbourne.

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts and the NSW Ministry for the Arts

Bernadette Walong is one of Australia’s most highly sought-after dancer/choreographers. She has danced and choreographed for the Meryl Tankard Australian Dance Theatre, the Australian Ballet, Dance North and Bangarra Dance Theatre where she was Assistant Artistic Director / Co-choreographer / Principle Dancer in 1994-1995. She is a graduate of he National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development scheme and has been on choreographic residencies with Hanoi, Taipei and Havana.  In India Walong spent three months at AARTI (Academy for Arts Research, Training and Innovation) where she instigated a training program.

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts

John Meade studied sculpture at the Victorian College of the Arts and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology where he taught while he finished his Masters of Fine Art. He has exhibited in group and solo exhibitions in Melbourne and Sydney since 1993 and has received strong critical comment in local and national publications. Meade’s sculptures are surrealistic and his sleek, dreamlike objects invoke ideas of a kitsch ‘sixties homeware design or futuristic models of bizarre furnishings. During his residency, Meade spent two months at Sanskriti Kendra in New Delhi.

Supported by the Australia India Council and the Australia Council for the Arts

Jon Burtt is co-director of skadada, a Perth based multi-artform performance company that has performed throughout Australia and Asia. In 1999 Burtt co-directed and choreographed Electronic Big Top which combined aerial dance, acrobatics, live music, puppetry, computer animation and projections, receiving public and critical acclaim at the Sydney and Perth Festivals. Plainsong, a collaboration with Black Swan Theatre Company for the 2000 Perth International Arts Festival, received standing ovations and widespread critical acclaim. During his residency in India he worked with the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai to further explore the potential of Indian movement forms and cross cultural collaboration.

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts and Arts South Australia

Lee Cataldi is an award-winning poet, academic and linguist. Her collection of poetry, Race Against Time won the NSW Premier’s Literary Award for poetry. She has also published Walpiri Dreamings & Histories: Yimikirli which she co-edited and translated.  During her residency Cataldi travelled and spoke extensively across India and utilizing her knowledge of translation, Aboriginal languages, poetry and literature.

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts

Robyn Backen is an interdisciplinary artist who makes sculptures and installation works which explore the metaphorical potential of selected materials. Whilst in India, Robyn research heavily, studying a range of subjects from sari cloth to architecture which contributed to projects in Bombay, Baroda, Ahmedabad and at Sanskriti Kendra.

Amanda Johnson (VIC) Institut Teknologi Bandung

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Indonesia Institute

Amanda Johnson is a Melbourne based teacher, curator, writer, arts administrator and costume designer and artist.  Her artwork is concerned with the impact of Western imagery and landscape legacies on traditional art forms in Java and Bali.  During her residency in Indonesia Johnson continued this research in the Bandung region as well as taking an active role at Institut Teknologi Bandung, teaching and learning from the students and staff.

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Queensland & the Australia Indonesia Institute

Christine Clark is a graduate of the master of Business Administration course at Griffith University and at the time of her residency was National Manager, Musica Viva In Schools, Musica Viva Australia and Project Officer, Asia-Pacific Triennial. Based in Bandung and Yogyakarta, Clark coordinated and presented a four day practical Art Project Management Workshop. She also presented lectures, assisted in the international promotion for the newly opened Cemeti Art House and undertook follow-up with artists and writers for the Indonesian component of the Asia-Pacific Triennial.

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Indonesia Institute

Damon Moon’s arts background began in ceramics but has extended further into digital design technology and theoretical research into exploration and mapping. His residency in Yogyakarta began with an interest in Abel Tasman’s famous map of parts of the coast of Australia and Indonesia, but was soon disrupted by the ‘reformasi’ movement. As a curator as well as an artist, Moon then developed an exhibition, Awas!, with partners, Mella Jaarsma, Cemeti Gallery and Dwi Marianto from the Institute Seni Indonesia to explore the role of political reform in contemporary art. The exhibiton then toured in Australia, Japan and Europe from 1999 until 2001.

Supported by Arts Victoria and the Australia Indonesia Institute

Javant Biarujia is a poet, playwright and essayist. His play Comfort won the Irene Mitchell Short Play Competition and his poetry has been widely published in journals across Australia. During his residency, Javant gave lectures and talks in Jakarta, Medan and Surabaya. Despite being somewhat overwhelmed by the political and social upheaval in Indonesia, he was able to complete his Java Suite of poems, included in his collection Low/Life, which was shortlisted for The Age Book of the Year award in 2003.

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts, the Australia Indonesia Institute and NSW Ministry for the Arts

Monica Wulff is a freelance dancer and contemporary performer with a strong interest in traditional Indonesian mask dance. A founding member of Balai South East Asian Dance Ensemble, she has also performed with Sidetrack Performance Group as well as in numerous independent performances. During her residency in Indonesia, Wulff worked with Ibu Sawitri in an intensive study of Losari mask dancing, focussing on the Rumiyang and Patih mask dances. She also undertook to document the work of Ibu Sawitri and to make an audio recording of the gamelan music which accompanies the dance.

Anne Farren (WA)

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts

At the time of her residency, Anne Farren was Project Manager, Textile Exchange Project; Community Arts Officer, City of Melville. Farren helped establish the Textile Exchange Project with the aim of encouraging the development of opportunities for Western Australian fibre and textile artists with a focus on creating links with the Japanese textile industry. In 1995, she was appointed to the position of Community Arts Officer for the City of Melville, as well as being elected as the inaugural chairperson of the Western Australian Fibre & Textile Association. Along with these responsibilities, Anne continued her work as Project Officer for the Textile Exchange Project.

Supported by Arts Tasmania and the Japan Cultural Program, Department of Foreign and Trade

Anthony Lawrence is an award-winning poet whose publications include The Viewfinder Cold Wires of Rain, The Darkwood Aquarium and most recently Skinned by Light: New & Selected Poems. During his residency Lawrence worked on his new novel, completing 50,000 words and gaving a number of talks and lectures to the local community and in Tokyo.

Supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade and the Australia Council for the Arts

The Australia Japan Arts Network was a program for Senior Arts Managers to develop ongoing networks between key organisations in Australia and Japan. At the time of her residency Cate Fowler was the Artistic Director of Windmill Performing Arts Company in Adelaide. Her residency that was based with Gekidan Urinko Theatre Troupe, has resulted in numerous cultural exchange initiatives. She has brought out Theatre Kazenoko to tour Melbourne and Regional Queensland and facilitated the visit by 27 members of Kyushu Kodomo Gekijo groups (audience development for children's works) to the Out of the Box Festival in Brisbane.

Adam Aitken (NSW)

Supported by the Hijjas Foundation, Malaysia

Adam Aitken is a NSW based poet and fiction writer who has had two books of poetry published, Letter to Marco Polo and In One House. Adam spent his residency in Malaysia working on his poetry and researching Malaysian cabaret. The resulting collection, Romeo and Juliet in Subtitles, was published to critical acclaim by Brandl and Schlesinger.

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts & Arts SA

Gail Fairlamb has worked as a magazine and book designer, reporter and as editorial assistant for Reuters International News. At the time of her residency, Fairlamb held the position of Executive Director of the Crafts Council of South Australia with a specific interest in marketing, exhibition development, art in architecture and new media. In Malaysia, Fairlamb worked with the Panggung Negara (the National Theatre), Malaysia and developed a marketing plan for them for their new premises.

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Tasmania & the Australian High Commission, Kuala Lumpur

Matthew Calvert is an installation artist and sculptor, currently working with lighting, petrol etched polystyrene and digital photographic images. He has travelled through Asia previously and has won the prestigious Samstag Award to study at Goldsmiths College at the University of London as well as being awarded a residency at the McCulloch Studio at Cite International des Arts in Paris. In Malaysia Calvert made sculptures from glass shards found buried on a site at Rimbun Dahan where he stayed. He also collaborated with the other artists living at Rimbun Dahan for a group exhibition there. In 1999 Calvert participated in the critically acclaimed exhibition and residency project, Sekali Lagi: Australian Artists Revisit Malaysia.

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australian High Commission, Kuala Lumpur

Sandra Appleby-Lake is a jeweller and designer from Brisbane who was the first of Asialink’s residents to go to Kuching. Based at the University of Malaysia’s Sarawak campus, Appleby-Lake spent four months making jewellery from local spices such as pepper and cloves, working with students on industrial design projects and researching the local crafts of Sarawak.

Nicole Tse (VIC)

Supported by Arts Victoria

At the time of her residency Nicole Tse was the Projects Conservator at the Ian Potter Art Conservation Centre specialising in the development of conservation programs in South East Asia. During her residency, Nicole undertook an archival and analytical research project on tablas paintings from the island of Bohol in the Philippines. She presented papers at the Cultural Heritage of the Church Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and submitted another paper Developing Networks and Ongoing Conservation programs in the Philippines for publication in Historic Environ, Australia ICOMOS, 2001.

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts and Arts Victoria

Bambuco, led by Artistic Director Simon Barley, creates singular, visually dramatic structures made from bamboo, appearing over some days yet gone the next week, leaving a lasting memory of place and moment. During his residency in the Philippines Barley presented an installation of Bambuco's ARCH in Manila for the DFAT festival All The Best From Australia as well as an installation at the Baguio Arts Festival. Bambuco's works now feature in international festival from Moscow to Manila, with crew members from Australia, Europe and the Philippines.

Bernadette McNamara (NSW) National Institute of Education

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts and the NSW Ministry for the Arts

Bernadette McNamara is a graduate of the Diploma in Music Education, NSW Conservatorium of Music, Graduate Diploma in Arts management, University of Technology, Sydney and at the time of her residency was National Manager, Musica Viva In Schools, Musica Viva.  Her residency with the National Institute of Education in Singapore facilitated the implementation of the Musica Viva in Schools education program in schools throughout Singapore.  She was able to observe teacher professional training and learn more about the needs of Singaporean schools so that the Musica Viva In Schools program could be refined to complement some of these requirements.

Noelle Janaczewska (NSW)

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts

Noëlle Janaczewska is a multi-award winning Sydney-based writer whose plays, radio scripts and libretti have been performed and broadcast throughout Australia and overseas. During her residency in Korea Janaczewska created two new theatre works Connie And Kevin and The Secret Life Of Groceries, and Pyongyang Affair which was produced by ABC Radio National in 2002 and short-listed for the 2003 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards and nominated for a 2003 AWGIE Award. The residency also helped the development of a large-scale music-theatre script: The River Skaters.

Supported by the Visual Arts & Craft Board of the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Korea Foundation

Glass/installation artist, Yenda Carson spent four months In 1998 at The Kookmin University, Korea.

Virginia Hilyard (NSW) Chulalongkorn University

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australian Embassy, Bangkok

Virginia Hilyard is an artist whose art practice explores urban change, place and memory using experimental filmmaking, installation and drawing. In Thailand she worked extensively on digital, drawing and xray projects at Chulalongkorn University where her residency was based and she exhibited her work at the NumTong Gallery. She also organized an outdoor rooftop screening of her film and video work at About Café, an independent gallery/café space in a corner of the Chinese section of Bangkok. Towards the end of her residency Hilyard began working with Indian artist Varsha Nair, projecting their collaborative piece onto the surface of a lake in Sarnrom Park in Bangkok as part of Womanifesto2.

Michael Pearce (VIC) Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema

Supported by Arts Victoria and the Australia Council for the Arts

Michael Pearce is a set and costume designer, visual artist and occasional performer. His designs for dance, theatre and opera include Australian Dance Theatre, Sydney Dance Co, the Australian Ballet, Netherlands Dance Theatre, Douglas Wright Co, NZ and many more. During Pearce’ four month performing arts residency he taught design at the Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema assisting students to design a production of David Williamson’s Travelling North. Upon his return, Pearce designed a cross cultural collaboration Through the Eyes of The Phoenix with the Dance theatre of Vietnam and again in 2000 of 7 new works by Vietnamese choreographers.

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts

Pat Hoffie is a painter and installation artist who has exhibited prolifically in Australia and internationally  since the early 1970s. In addition to her own art practice, Pat is recognised as regular commentator in the arts media as well as a curator, teacher and high profile advocate for the arts and Asia related issues in Australia. In 1993 Pat undertook an Asialink residency in the Philippines where she has maintained strong links ever since and has extended her network to involve many other Brisbane artists. In 1998 Pat was the first artist to take up a second residency with Asialink, this time in Vietnam where she occupied a studio at the Hanoi Fine Arts College.

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts and Arts ACT

Steve Kelen is a published poet whose titles include Trans-Sumatran Highway & Other Poems, West of Krakatoa,  Dingo Sky and Atomic Bullet. His poems have also been published across a wide range of Australian and International journals. During his residency Steve wrote prolifically, producing a chapbook of poems set in Vietnam which was published by The Gioi Publishers and sold in Hanoi. He also worked on a proposal for a bilingual anthology of contemporary Australian and Vietnamese poetry. In 2000 Five Islands Press published a new collection of Kelen’s poetry, Shimmerings, which includes a large number of works based on his Vietnam experience.

Supported by the Australia Council for the Arts and Arts Victoria

Ton-That Quynh-Du is a Victorian literary translator whose translation, The Crystal Messenger by dissident Vietnamese writer Pham Thi Hoai, was received with great acclaim. During his residency in Vietnam he worked on an anthology of contemporary Vietnamese short stories based on the theme of rivers and worked on a translation of the novel Mua Bien Dong.

Margie Medlin (NSW) Seoul Arts Centre, South Korea & Kuali Works, Malaysia

Supported by the Australia Korea Foundation and the Australia Council for the Arts

Margie Medlin is a freelance lighting designer, projection designer and film maker. She has created lighting and projection work for Chambermade Opera, Arena Theatre, desoxy theatre, The Contemporary Music Events Company and the National Gallery of Victoria. During her time in Korea, Margie split her residency between the Seoul Arts Centre and Kuali Works, Malaysia.