2023 Chamber Made Annual Report

Annual Report 2023

‘A sublime theatrical poem.’

—THE

SATURDAY PAPER (The Nervous Atmosphere)

Artistic Director’s Report page 4

Chair’s Report

page 6

Values and Strategic Priorities

page 7

Chamber Made 2023 page 8

The Year at a Glance page 10 Works 2023 page 11

Artform & Sector Development 2023 page 20 Relationships 2023 page 27

Artistic Director’s Report

Tamara Saulwick

Engagement with artists is at the heart of all Chamber Made activities and in 2023 we worked with a range of extraordinary people to premiere Zoë Barry’s The Nervous Atmosphere and across our suite of artist and artform development programs.

We were delighted that our 2022 work My Self in That Moment was recognised as a finalist in the APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards in the category of Excellence in Experimental Practice. Congratulations to the entire creative team.

Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep continues to find touring opportunities and it was a great pleasure to present the work at the Taiwan International Arts Festival in March. Margaret Leng Tan remains indomitable and taking this work, composed by Erik Griswold, to new audiences is always a privilege.

Our September world premiere of The Nervous Atmosphere at Arts House was received with great enthusiasm by audiences and critics. This exquisite work was performed by Zoë and created with a wonderful team of collaborating artists. Of particular note was Bosco’s Shaw’s evocative lighting and set design that so viscerally rendered on stage Zoë’s experiences of encountering lightning. It was illuminating to hear Zoë talk about her experience and the research underpinning The Nervous Atmosphere at our Salon, Invisible Forces. Zoë was in conversation with Associate Professor Jonathan W Marshall who authored a book that was one of Zoë’s key influences.

In new work development, we have commissioned a group of artists to each make a new work as part of Listening Acts. This is a curated season of live performance and installation works we are developing in partnership with Now or Never Festival, Science Gallery Melbourne and Ainslie & Gorman Arts Centres (Canberra). As one of the lead artists it has been a pleasure to be in the room sharing ideas with these thinkers and makers, delving into questions of listening, the body and technology and how these intersect.

A second new work in development is another Singapore-Australia collaboration, One Day We’ll Understand. I am joined by a team of Singapore and Australian artists in translating for the stage the work of visual artist Sim Chi Yin which explores family histories against the setting of the Malayan Emergency.

We finished the year with our Hi-Viz Satellites LAB, a one-week residency for 14 artists from Australia, Singapore and Taiwan as part of our partnership with Punctum Inc and SAtheCollective. Selected via open call-out, these artists met for three online sessions in the leadup to the in-person intensive in December. The LABs were facilitated by artists Madeleine Flynn and Han Xuemei. It was incredibly rewarding to see the group engage in such rigorous and meaningful practice exchange and the seeds of collaborative possibilities that began to emerge. The final day of the LAB intensive combined with our annual Hi-Viz event Gathering that took place in the beautiful Market Hall at the University of Melbourne. This day of conversation, workshops, exchange and ‘hive-minding’ was a wonderful way to finish off the year.

It was a pleasure to support our Little Operations artist Merinda Dias-Jayasinha as she developed her exploration of identity, race and memory, working with mentor Roslyn Oades. And I spent time with our 2023 Orange House resident, Gail Priest, who was engaged in some fascinating experiments and research around and into voice.

Thank you to these artists who bring so much to the company, enriching the way we work and how we continue to extend artistic practice. Thanks also to our development, presentation and funding partners, and to our donors who make the work possible. To our audiences who engage so generously and fully with our work. Thanks to Genevieve Lacey, Freya Waterson and Madeleine Flynn who form the company’s Artisic Advisory group and whose collective wisdom, support and wise counsel have been invaluable to me in my role. And finally to the Chamber Made team and Board whose energy and enthusiasm keep the company buoyant, thank you!

Chair’s Report

Jo Porter

I am just so proud to Chair Chamber Made!

The company’s work on stage and its sector support are a credit to the efforts of Tamara Saulwick, Kylie McRae, Emilie Collyer and Zoe Nicholson. Chamber Made’s enormous amount of activity and impact is owed to this team’s ability to collaborate with individuals and organisations whose cultures and creative practices are diverse but whose interests align with ours. The threads of connection extend from Chamber Made’s base in North Melbourne to regional Victoria, around Australia and internationally in Singapore, Korea and Taiwan.

As is evident throughout this report, Chamber Made’s outstanding creative achievement is widely recognised by our creative peers and beyond. What may be less obvious are the sophisticated relationships that enable creative exploration in an increasingly tight funding environment. We think of our funders (Creative Australia, Creative Victoria, the philanthropic sector and a number of individual donors) as collaborators, and these key supporters are joined by a number of presenting organisations, in-kind and low-bono partners and an informal network of Chamber Made’s peer companies and individual artists.

As an organisation, our appetite for creative risk is very high. This results in ground-breaking projects alongside purposeful development of relationships with people and organisations that we find interesting even though we might not have a project directly in mind in the near term. Our appetite for financial risk is correspondingly low, so that we can appropriately resource projects when they are eventually in the planning stage. This delicate balance is

monitored carefully by the Board and we are happy to report a small surplus for 2023.

As a Board we discussed the implications for the company if our application for four-year funding from Creative Australia were unsuccessful. Our sector is financially tenuous, and the people who work in it are overworked and underpaid. Such is the life we choose, but the result is limited (and diminishing) experiences available for audiences. I am delighted to report that our application was successful, ensuring a sustainable future for Chamber Made. However, I urge general awareness of, and support for, the small-but-vital creative initiatives across Australia, because they contribute to life opportunities for all of us.

All of what Chamber Made does is informed by the wisdom of our Board members, whose diverse expertise and life experience is staggering. The result is a great balance between reflection, pithy conversations about the big picture and appropriate attention to compliance. Michael Roper, retired from the Board during 2023. Michael’s 11 years on the Board were characterised by iconoclastic and creative energy that was enormously valuable to our Board culture. Aaron, Debra, Jen, Jennika, Lydia, Mel and Rod: your generosity and energy in and out of meetings is so important to the success of Chamber Made - thank you.

Values and Strategic Priorities

Values

Collaboration

We nurture a culture of inquiry, dialogue and exchange, prioritising artists’ agency and the contestation of ideas.

Complexity

We ask the most prescient questions, with the courage to look at the world with an unflinching gaze and reimagine structures, relationships and possibilities.

Curiosity

We create spaces to engage with the exploratory, the unfamiliar and the unknown.

Equity

We champion fairness and activate opportunities that reflect, respect and celebrate difference.

Strategic Priorities

Creativity

We create new works and innovative ways of working that grapple with the complexity of our world.

Connection

We foster an inclusive, values-based culture where a diverse range of people can access and engage with Chamber Made, and with one another.

Leadership

We build leadership capacity within our organisation and for artists and the sector more broadly, to support meaningful and responsible growth.

Chamber Made 2023

STAFF

Tamara Saulwick

Artistic Director & CEO

Kylie McRae

Executive Producer

Emilie Collyer

Communications Manager

Helena Jones

Operations Coordinator (January – April)

Lauren Abineri

Operations Coordinator (April – June)

Zoe Nicholson

Operations Coordinator (June onwards)

Caroline Brosnan Finance Officer

BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

Jo Porter Chair

Jennifer Vi Treasurer

Jennika Anthony-Shaw

Secretary

Lydia Dobbin

Melanie Huang

Debra Jefferies

Rod Macneil

Michael Roper (until April)

Aaron Wyatt

ARTISTIC ADVISORY GROUP

Madeleine Flynn

Genevieve Lacey

Freya Waterson

INTERNS

Phillipa Chapman

HQ Mentorship producing and marketing

ARTISTIC COLLABORATORS & GUESTS

Lauren Abineri

Associate producer

Sarah Aiken

Hi-Viz Satellites LAB artist

Jude Anderson | Punctum Inc

Curatorial collaborator

Pippa Bainbridge | Punctum Inc

Producer

Zoë Barry Composer & performer, Orange House assessor

Rylan Beckinsale

Production manager

Steve Berrick

Creative coder & programmer

Theo Boltman

Associate artist

Rebecca Bracewell

Composer & sound artist, Little Operations assessor

Kirri Büchler

Hi-Viz Satellites LAB artist

Chew Wei Shan

Hi-Viz Satellites LAB artist

Andy Chia | SAtheCollective, Curatorial collaborator

Biddy Connor Composer & musician

Fayen d’Evie Artist & writer

Hannah de Feyter

Musician & filmmaker

Rea Dennis

Hi-Viz Satellites writer-inresidence

Vahideh Eisaei

Hi-Viz Satellites LAB artist

Aviva Endean

Sound artist, Hi-Viz Satellites

LAB artist, Hi-Viz Satellites workshop leader

Madeleine Flynn

Hi-Viz Satellites LAB facilitator

Erik Griswold

Musician & composer

Han Xuemei

Hi-Viz Satellites LAB facilitator

Renate Henschke

Costume designer

Samara Hersch

Hi-Viz Satellites workshop leader

Jean Hinchliffe

Associate artist

Cat Hope

Composer

Hsueh Yung-chih

Hi-Viz Satellites LAB artist

Adena Jacobs

Director

Merinda Dias-Jayasinha

Little Operations artist

Pia Johnson

Photographer

Peter Knight

Composer & sound artist

Klare Lanson

Hi-Viz Satellites writer-inresidence

Ching Lee | CultureLink Singapore, Co-producer

Anna Leibzeit

Composer

Kok Heng Leun

Dramaturg

Andy Lim I ARTFACTORY

Lighting designer

Monica Lim

sound & installation artist

Kueiju Lin

Hi-Viz Satellites LAB artist

Jonathan W Marshall

Writer

Josephine Mead

Hi-Viz Satellites LAB artist

Tom Middleditch

Access Consultant

Neo Jialing

Hi-Viz Satellites LAB artist

Noora Niasari

Hi-Viz Satellites LAB artist

Roslyn Oades

Audiosketch creator, Hi-Viz

Satellites LAB artist & Little

Operations assessor

Cobie Orger

Videographer

Cheryl Ong

Sound artist & performer

Jed Palmer

Sound designer

Jay Patel

Associate Artist

Gelareh Pour

Hi-Viz Satellites workshop leader

Gail Priest

Orange House by the Sea resident

Lynette Quek

Hi-Viz Satellites LAB artist

Marlene Radice

Composer

Jen Rae

Hi-Viz Satellites workshop leader

Nick Roux

Video artist

Bosco Shaw

Set & lighting designer

Sim Chi Yin

Artist & performer

Ella Simons

Associate artist

Thembi Soddell

Sound artist

Alexandra Spence

Sound artist & musician

Kate Sulan

Hi-Viz Satellites LAB artist & Orange House assessor

Jason Tamiru

Cultural interpreter

Margaret Leng Tan

Musician

Natalie Tse | SAtheCollective

Curatorial collaborator

Ingrid Voorendt

Director & dramaturg

Alex Walker

Hi-Viz Satellites workshop leader

Sarah Walker

Photographer & Hi-Viz Satellites LAB artist

Hildegard Westerkamp, Composer & radio artist

Yap Seok Hui | ARTFACTORY

Production

Yuan Zhiying

Costume designer

‘It shows trust and faith that assumes a respect for an individual artist’s process and needs that can so often be lacking in residency situations.’

GAIL PRIEST (Orange House by the Sea Resident)

The Year at a Glance

One Day We’ll Understand development, Singapore

Kylie participates in Creative Australia SEC

Newgate Mentoring (January-June)

Listening Acts Development, Melbourne

One Day We’ll Understand development, Singapore

Tamara attends Perth Festival

Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep presentation, Taiwan

Hi-Viz Satellites LAB call-out A Slow Emergency concept review

Art and Activism Panel, Melbourne Conversations

Audiosketch podcast with Hildegard Westerkamp (Parts 1 & 2) released

Right to Erasure, development

Donor event

Orange House by the Sea residency call-out

Kylie attends Showcase Victoria

The Nervous Atmosphere, development

Tamara attends launch of A Climate for Art

Tamara and Kylie attend the Australian Performing Arts Market

Hi-Viz Satellites Virtual LAB 1

One Day We’ll Understand development, Melbourne

The Nervous Atmosphere, development

Hi-Viz Satellites Virtual LAB 2

Kylie attends Association of Asia Pacific Performing Arts Centres Conference

Invisible Forces Salon, Arts House

The Nervous Atmosphere world premiere, Arts House

Hi-Viz Satellites Virtual LAB 3

Little Operations 2024 call-out

Orange House by the Sea Artist Residency

Kylie attends Performing Arts Market Seoul, South Korea

Tamara presents at Asian Sound Network and Forum

Listening Acts development, Melbourne

Orange House by the Sea Artist Residency

Little Operations creative development

Hi-Viz Satellites LAB in person gathering

Hi-Viz Satellites Gathering

Kylie attends YPAM, Japan

Listening Acts development

Works 2023

The Nervous Atmosphere

A haunting sound performance charged by extreme encounters with nature

PRESENTATION

‘I was struck by lightning. Three times. This is what happened.’ – Zoë Barry

The Nervous Atmosphere is a solo performance by cellist, composer and theatre-maker Zoë Barry. A haunting and poetic reflection on her real-life experience of being struck by lightning three times, The Nervous Atmosphere explores the myriad strange symptoms, chaos and confusion provoked by this bizarre and terrifying experience.

Told through text, live cello and striking design, this powerfully evocative work offers glimpses into the immense emotional and psychological schisms experienced throughout an overwhelming encounter with nature.

A hypnotic meditation on the relationship between fear, consciousness, nature and vibration, The Nervous Atmosphere combines Zoë’s real-life experience and her fascination with late nineteenth century parascientific investigations; a time in history when science, medicine, spiritualism, and psychoanalysis were crossing over in curious ways.

The Nervous Atmosphere conjures the awe, rupture and isolation we experience when faced with a situation so much larger than ourselves, then navigates a return pathway to a place of connection and grounding.

World Premiere

13-17 September

Arts House

Conceived in 2019 during residencies at the Lucid Art Foundation, Northern California, and Historical Damsite, New Mexico, the work was further developed to design concept in May 2022 through Arts House CultureLab. This work was supported by Creative Australia and the Besen Family Foundation.

Artistic Credits

Zoë Barry Concept, composition & performance

Ingrid Voorendt Co-direction & dramaturgy

Bosco Shaw Set & lighting design

Jed Palmer Sound design

Renate Henschke Costume design

Tamara Saulwick Sound dramaturgy

Jason Tamiru Cultural interpreter

Goldie Palmer Young voice

‘Bosco Shaw’s remarkable set and lighting design is hallucinatory.’

— THE SATURDAY PAPER

‘Surprising modulations and breath-taking melody lines.'

— LIMELIGHT

Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep

We were delighted to start the year with an international presentation of Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep which was programmed at the Taiwan International Arts Festival.

It is wonderful to have Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep feature in this festival, bringing the work of our artistic team including performer and musician Margaret Leng Tan, composer Erik Griswold, video and sound artist Nick Roux, director Tamara Saulwick and dramaturg Kok Heng Leun to a new audience.

The festival has been held annually since 2009 and this year ran from February to May with an exciting international program of works.

‘I think the important thing to recognise, about Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep is that it was an idea that needed to be nurtured, explored, interrogated, contested long before it was committed to as an actual production. And the capacity that Chamber Made had to evolve the idea, to discover what the narrative actually was that Margaret needed to tell and what form was required to tell it.’

— STEPHEN ARMSTRONG CREATIVE DIRECTOR, ASIA TOPA

Yap Seok Hui | ARTFACTORY PRESENTATION

Presentation season 10-12 March

Taiwan International Arts Festival

National Two Halls Experimental Theatre, Taiwan

Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep is a Chamber Made and CultureLink Singapore co-production that was co-commissioned by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay and Asia TOPA. This activity received grant funding from the Australian Cultural Diplomacy Grants Program of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and is supported by Creative Victoria, Australia Council for the Arts, National Arts Council (Singapore), The Substation, Playking Foundation, Sidney Myer Fund and the Robert Salzer Foundation. Asia TOPA is a joint initiative of the Sidney Myer Fund and Arts Centre Melbourne and is supported by the Australian and Victorian Governments.

Artistic Credits

Margaret Leng Tan Musician & performer

Tamara Saulwick Director

Erik Griswold Composer

Kok Heng Leun | Drama Box Dramaturg

Nick Roux

Video artist

Andy Lim | ARTFACTORY

Lighting designer

Yuan Zhiying

Costume designer

Production manager

'Mesmerising stage craft, sublime lighting and stunning orchestrations.'

— LIMELIGHT (The Nervous Atmosphere)

One Day We’ll Understand

Part documentary. Part speculative fiction.

One Day We’ll Understand is a multi-media performance work that explores the family history of visual artist Sim Chi Yin against the setting of the Malayan Emergency.

Part documentary and part speculative fiction, One Day We’ll Understand explores hidden histories, legacies of empire and their impact on those left behind. Through the lens of visual artist Sim Chi Yin’s life and camera, we time travel into her own family’s archive, recovering traces left in the wake of the anti-colonial war in British Malaya, also known as the Malayan Emergency (1948—1960), and beyond.

The work draws on Sim’s large body of evocative photographic and videofilmic work, as well as her multiple persona as an image-maker, archivist/historian, writer and granddaughter.

This work brings collaborating artists Tamara Saulwick, Kok Heng Leun, Nick Roux and Andy Lim (Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep) back together to work with new collaborators Sim Chi Yin and Cheryl Ong.

Creative Development

January/February (Singapore)

August (Melbourne)

One Day We’ll Understand is commissioned by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay and produced in partnership with CultureLink Singapore.

Artistic Credits

Sim Chi Yin

Concept & performance

Tamara Saulwick

Direction

Kok Heng Leun

Dramaturgy

Cheryl Ong

Sound design & performance

Nick Roux

Video

Andy Lim

Lighting design

Listening Acts Bodies. Technology. Listening

For our new work in development, Listening Acts, Chamber Made has drawn together an exciting and diverse cohort of lead artists working across multiple artforms to create new live performance and installation works.

Listening Acts examines, deconstructs, contextualises, challenges and frames notions of listening, offering new insights into the intersections between bodies, technology and listening. It poses the questions: What is it to listen? What is it to listen imperfectly? Or indeed, to listen perfectly? And how can technology facilitate, interrupt, complicate or confound these acts of listening to draw attention to what may remain in its wake?

Listening Acts embeds a deep and broad philosophy of access within its development and presentation model. A key component of the Listening Acts suite of works is the aim of making sonic art available to deaf and hard of hearing audience members. The Listening Acts works also explore and render the lived experience of disabled artists and of First Nations artists.

Creative Development

January

November

Listening Acts is supported by presenting, producing and funding partners Science Gallery Melbourne (University of Melbourne), Now or Never Festival (City of Melbourne), Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centres (Canberra)

Primary creative credits

Aviva Endean, Biddy Connor, Fayen d'Evie, Hannah de Feyter, Rebecca Bracewell, Anna Liebzeit, Monica Lim, Marlene Radice, Alexandra Spence, Thembi Soddell, Tamara Saulwick

Collaborating artists

Benjamin Hancock, Madeleine Flynn, Peter Knight, SJ Norman, Steve Berrick

Artform & Sector Development 2023

Chamber Made Salon

The Salon program is an opportunity for audiences to delve deeper into the content and context of our works. We are joined by artists, academics and experts who are in conversation about current works and various aspects of practice.

Salon: Invisible Forces

Held in conjunction with the world premiere of The Nervous Atmosphere at Arts House, this Salon was a panel conversation about the research and themes that underpinned the work.

Zoë Barry spoke about the many threads of enquiry that wove through the work’s development, including her fascination with the work of 19th century French neurologist Dr Jean-Martin Charcot and his studies in science, parascience, magnetism and mesmerism. Professor Marshall is the author of Performing Neurology: The Dramaturgy of Dr Jean-Martin Charcot, and the conversation explored the ideas that fed Charcot’s work, and how these themes intersect with theatre making, and particularly how Zoë translated her profound experiences with lightning to create The Nervous Atmosphere.

7 September

Arts House

This Salon event was hosted by Arts House

Panel convenor

Emilie Collyer

Panellists

Zoë Barry, Associate Professor Jonathan W Marshall

‘It was a very enjoyable session. Insightful, thought provoking and made me even keener to see the show.’

AUDIENCE MEMBER

Hi-Viz Satellites Gathering

Hi-Viz Satellites Gathering is our annual practice exchange event for women, gender-diverse and non-binary working at the intersections of performance, sound and music. This one day event, hosted by the University of Melbourne, was curated by the Hi-Viz Satellites partnership artistic directors Tamara Saulwick (Chamber Made), Jude Anderson (Punctum Inc) and Natalie Tse (SAtheCollective).

The Gathering day coincided with the final day of the Hi-Viz Satellites LAB intensive, allowing visiting artists from Singapore and Taiwan to connect with a wider cohort of local artists.

Underpinned by the theme Modes of Making With… the gathering consisted of a Welcome to Country from Boon Wurrung Elder Janet Galpin, facilitated interactive activities, workshops led by Samara Hersch, Aviva Endean, Jen Rae and Alex Walker, and a special solo performance by Persian Kamancheh and Qeychak player, Gelareh Pour.

‘It's a great way to meet like minded people, break down the sense of isolation I experience as a freelance artist, get inspired.’

— HI-VIZ SATELLITES

GATHERING PARTICIPANT

‘Hi-Viz provides a unique opportunity for cross-disciplinary exchange for women and non-binary artists. It's an important platform to learn, share and grow as an artist.’

— HI-VIZ SATELLITES

GATHERING PARTICIPANT

8 December

University of Melbourne

Hi-Viz Satellites is a partnership between Chamber Made, Punctum and SAtheCollective.

Hi-Viz Satellites 2022-24 is supported by Creative Australia’s International Engagement Fund and the University of Melbourne.

Curatorial team

Tamara Saulwick, Jude Anderson, Natalie Tse

Presenting and workshop artists

Aviva Endean, Samara Hersch, Emilie Collyer, Alex Walker, Jen Rae, Gelareh Pour

Writers-in-residence

Rea Dennis, Klare Lanson

Hi-Viz Satellites LAB

HI-Viz Satellites is a three-year partnership with Punctum Inc (Central Victoria) and SAtheCollective (Singapore) taking place from 2022 to 2024. It is an extension of Chamber Made’s Hi-Viz Practice Exchange and is designed to connect artists and foster exchange across cultures, geographies and artforms.

In 2023 we launched a LAB program as part of Hi-Viz Satellites. An open call-out elicited an extraordinary response and fourteen artists from Australia (metro Melbourne and regional Victoria), Singapore and Taiwan were selected to participate.

The artists met three times for online workshops throughout the year and for a week-long, in-person intensive in December hosted by the University of Melbourne. The focus of the LABs was to explore the many facets of cross-cultural and cross-artform exchange and collaboration. It was a rich site of conversation, listening and sharing. The LAB program was co-facilitated by artists Madeleine Flynn (Australia) and Han Xuemei (Singapore).

This program remains an opportunity for women, non-binary and gender-diverse artists to come together, meet, exchange ideas, and form new networks.

‘I loved the exchange. I found it asked me to think more deeply about my practice and reflect on it as it changes and is transforming. I found it so inspiring to hear what enlivens and drives the practice of the other participants and it awoke a new sense of curiosity in me.’

— LAB ARTIST

‘Time together without the pressure of an outcome is so rare and so needed.’

— LAB ARTIST

3 June, 5 August, 30 September Online workshops

4-8 December

In-person intensive University of Melbourne

Hi-Viz Satellites 2023 LAB is supported by the Australian Government via the Office of the Arts and Creative Australia, National Arts Council Singapore and Taiwan’s National Culture and Arts Foundation and Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs and by the University of Melbourne.

Curatorial team

Tamara Saulwick, Jude Anderson, Natalie Tse, Andy Chia

LAB facilitators

Madeleine Flynn, Han Xuemei

LAB artists

Wei Shan Chew, Lynette Quek, Jialing Neo, Hsueh Yung-chih, Kueiju Lin, Aviva Endean, Sarah Walker, Vahideh Eisaei, Roslyn Oades, Sarah Aiken, Kirri Büchler, Josephine Mead, Noora Niasari, Kate Sulan

Little Operations

Little Operations is a twelve-month program which supports emerging artists to develop their artistic ideas while providing mentorship around the many other associated skills required to sustain a long-term career in the arts. With a focus on artistic exploration it provides a testing ground for new concepts, projects and collaborations. Each Little Operations project is supported through a small amount of seed funding and culminates in a free public showing.

Creative Development

November

The Stables, Meat Market

Little Operations is supported by Chamber Made donors

Artistic Credits

Merinda Dias-Jayasinha

Merinda Dias-Jayasinha is a creative artist and vocalist whose practice explores heartfelt and lyrical storytelling, genre-blurring compositions and the melodic and textural potential of the voice. Born and raised in Meanjin with Sri Lankan/Australian heritage, Dias-Jayasinha works with a number of ensembles and projects and delights in collaboration, connection, and community.

Through her Little Operations, Merinda has been exploring themes of identity, race and memory. Building upon previous works The grey area and The blue area, Merinda’s goals for her residency are to extend her artistic practice through sound and visual elements towards articulating and unravelling her sense of cultural identity and connection to familial heritage. Merinda worked with mentor Roslyn Oades as part of her Little Operations. A showing is scheduled for early 2024.

Orange House by the Sea Artist Residency

The Orange House by the Sea Artist Residency is for mid-career women, non-binary and gender diverse artists who are working at the intersections of performance, sound and music.

In 2023 our Resident was sound artist and writer Gail Priest.

During her three-week residency Gail researched conceptual constructs and developed performative strategies around live text generation and how it can be integrated into an audio-visual performance mode. She worked with an ongoing interest in the compulsion and the struggle to communicate using words—what words can and can’t do—and explored both aural and visual text, as well as live and AI cloned voice.

'The time for reflection that the residency offered was amazing. It was wonderful to be reminded how ideas and processes can develop complexity and richness if allowed to grow in their own time.'

GAIL PRIEST

25 October - 14 November

In 2023 the residency took place in Point Leo

This residency is supported by Chamber Made donors and the family of Margaret Cameron.

2023 Recipient

Gail Priest

Audiosketch

In 2023 Roslyn Oades continued her Audiosketch series (commenced in 2021). Hildegard Westerkamp was the 2023 artist interviewed by Roslyn.

Hildegard Westerkamp travelled from Germany to Vancouver in 1968 and has lived on the ancestral lands of the Coast Salish peoples ever since, gratefully acknowledging that her career as composer, radio artist, educator and sound ecologist blossomed on these lands. Westerkamp’s pioneering musical works and writing at the intersections of environmentalism, acoustic communication, radio arts, listening practices and soundwalking activate an awareness, that sound is a decisive dimension of the world, an idea that underpins contemporary thinking across social, political, artistic and scientific practices of environmental respect and concern.

Online

Audiosketch was first commissioned as part of Chamber Made’s Hi-Viz Practice Exchange. It is supported by Creative Australia

Artistic Credits

Roslyn Oades

Audiosketch is a Chamber Made podcast created and produced by Roslyn Oades. Roslyn has engaged in a fascinating series of art dates with national and international artists working in sound, music and performance, exploring what fuels their interests and drives their creative output.

Relationships 2023

Artists and arts workers

A foundational tenet of Chamber Made's work is supporting artists at various points, and in various ways, throughout their careers.

Our artist development programs are designed to provide both artistic and professional skills support. We focus Little Operations on emerging artists and Orange House by the Sea Artist Residency on mid-career artists in recognition of the different challenges and pressures that face artists in these periods of career development.

We were enormously pleased to be able to support sixteen Hi-Viz LAB artists (fourteen participants and two facilitators) from three different countries (Australia, Singapore and Taiwan) to meet regularly and share practice knowledge. It is rare for artists to be given time and space to simply be together without the demands of outcomes, and even more rare to be paid for such an opportunity. The LAB artists reported how nourishing it was for their practice to engage deeply with questions around collaboration and modes of making, and to do so within the context of cross-cultural exchange. Appreciation for the opportunity to connect and share practice was also expressed by the artists who attended the Hi-Viz Satellites Gathering.

Fostering multiple artistic visions was a focus of 2023 as we developed Listening Acts. This project

provides ten artists with the opportunity to develop a short work or installation within a group context. By gathering the artist cohort together to discuss overarching curatorial themes, rich areas of creative inquiry have opened up that will inform the individual works and how they will sit in conversation with one another.

In other new work development, we nurtured new relationships with artists such as Sim Chi Yin and Cheryl Ong (One Day We’ll Understand) and consolidated existing relationships as we brought The Nervous Atmosphere to its premiere production and realised another presentation of Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep. This balance, between new artistic relationships and collaborations, and building on established ones, is key to our artistic ecology at Chamber Made.

‘Our rich conversation through the week was nourishing, educational, invigorating, affirming, inspiring. I feel like I made some real friends and connected very deeply with many in the group.’

HI-VIZ SATELLITES LAB ARTIST

In 2023 the company engaged...

artists and arts workers in a professional capacity.

Audiences

Chamber Made audiences are curious, engaged and generous. We endeavour to collect feedback at each event so we can get a real sense of who is coming to see our work, why they come and what they get out of the experience.

‘It was informative in the deepest and most meaningful way. It was significant, important.’

AUDIENCE MEMBER THE NERVOUS ATMOSPHERE

In 2023 we provided two opportunities for audiences to engage with the company via free in-conversation events.

The first was a panel discussion presented in partnership with Melbourne Conversations at the Wheeler Centre. Art & Activism – how to image in an unreal world was a fascinating conversation between four young artist activists who had been engaged with Chamber Made on the development of a work about climate change. Jean Hinchliffe, Jay Patel, Ella Simons and Theo Boltman spoke with passion and intelligence about their various approaches to activism. Moderated by artist Alex Kelly, the conversation reached audiences live at the Wheeler Centre and continues to be accessible online via the Melbourne Conversations YouTube channel.

Our second free public event was our Salon Invisible Forces, attended by people familiar with Chamber Made and several people new to the company attracted by the subject matter and Zoë’s work.

We were thrilled by the sell-out season of Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep at the Taiwan International Arts Festival, and the enthusiastic engagement by Taiwanese audiences in our post-performance talks and foyer lingering. Our long-term strategy for deeper international engagement also ties in with Hi-Viz Satellites as we nurture relationships with artists, companies and presenters in Singapore and Taiwan.

‘It was inspiring and extremely interesting.’

SALON AUDIENCE MEMBER

In 2023 we had 1411 audience members at ticketed (paid) events, and 59 at unticketed (free) events.

1411

audience members at ticketed (paid) events

59

audience members at unticketed (free) events

Partners

Performance making is a collaborative act and one of the key collaborations that makes it possible is partnerships.

At Chamber Made we are very fortunate to work with numerous organisations which share our vision for creating new work of the highest calibre and providing ways to support artists and nourish the sector.

In 2023 we deepened our cross-geographic and cross-cultural Hi-Viz Satellites partnership with Punctum Inc (regional Victoria) and SAtheCollective (Singapore). This relationship affords us so many ways to keep learning and refining our approach to long-term creative producing partnerships. We were grateful to the University of Melbourne for generously hosting the week-long LAB intensive and our Hi-Viz Satellites Gathering in the beautiful Market Hall.

We enjoyed being in a familiar partnership as we presented The Nervous Atmosphere at Arts House, a presenting partner that has supported our work across many years and multiple projects and once again provided brilliant venue and technical support to help realise this production. In 2023 we have embarked on new partnerships with

Science Gallery Melbourne and City of Melbourne's Now or Never Festival to develop Listening Acts.

Kylie and Tamara attended a number of sector events in Australia and overseas, including the Association of Asia Pacific Performing Arts Centres (AAPPAC) conference, the Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM), Showcase Victoria, Performing Arts Market in Seoul (PAMS) and the Yokohama International Performing Arts Meeting (YPAM). It is an important opportunity to meet artists, presenters, producers, and other industry folk, carving out time to talk and share, see works and form relationships in person. Much of this travel was made possible by an Austrade Export Market Development Grant (EMDG).

Just as important as international relationship development is connecting with new initiatives at a local level. We were pleased to become a founding member of A Climate for Art, a union of arts organisations and workers committed to responding to the climate crisis through tangible action.

Donors

Every year we dedicate a page to acknowledging our donors and the essential role they play in underpinning everything we do.

The financial commitment of so many donors year after year is extraordinary, and we don’t take this for granted. Their belief in artists and that art is vital for the cultural health of our society is our rock when things get difficult..

Beyond this, we treasure the relationships we have with our donors. Their perspective on the company and our ethos adds much to our purpose, and it is a joy to share the adventure of extending artform possibilities and supporting artists with them.

‘Chamber Made allows me to be updated in what's happening out there and what people are thinking and addressing as issues. Chamber Made is very much in the forefront, both in form and in content, absorbing, responding and reflecting change, whether it's cultural, whether it's technological, whether it's social.’

EUGENE SCHLUSSER

‘It's a great way to meet like-minded people, break down the sense of isolation I experience as a freelance artist and get inspired.’

Hi-Viz Satellites Participant

‘Australian artists and creatives help us to see ourselves, but they’re also a window that lets the rest of the world see us. Ensuring that more Australian art, stories and creativity are available to global audiences is critical. That’s exactly what this support will do.’

MINISTER FOR THE ARTS, TONY BURKE ON INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL DIPLOMACY ARTS FUND (ICDAF), INCLUDING CHAMBER MADE HI-VIZ SATELLITES

‘A bolt of lightning in movies, TV and literature is often portrayed as a message from the heavens, a catalyst for great destruction or transformation. In real life being struck by lightning usually leads to any number of physical and cognitive symptoms leaving the person irrevocably changed in some way. Cellist Zoë Barry had not 1, not 2, but 3 close encounters with lightning within 6 months. Her work The Nervous Atmosphere explores the after-effects.’

ANDY PARK, RADIO NATIONAL, THE DRAWING ROOM

28

Features 6

Radio Interviews

5

Reviews

@Thinkers Studio (on discussion event about Hi-Viz Satellites LAB held in Taipei) 25 December

‘For the first time this year, the workshop invites two Taiwanese artistscomposer Lin Guiru and percussionist Xue Yongzhi to participate. This time, Lin Kueiju and Hsueh Yung-Chih will gain new knowledge from the invited projects and share them with domestic art and cultural work partners in related fields. And enhance the exchange of cross-disciplinary artistic creation.’

@LinKueiJu 12 December

‘The post is a pre-announcement of a sharing that Yoshi and I are hosting at Yi-Kai Kao's venue about our experience at this year's LAB for local Taiwanese artists and producers of interests. Briefs in English at the bottom of the post. Thanks again for having us. You guys absolutely rock!’

@MarkBoldiston 16 September

‘Loved the show last night!’ (The Nervous Atmosphere)

@amytinderbox 9 December

‘Loved yesterday!’ (Hi-Viz Satellites Gathering)

@Denise DanChing 13 March

‘Loved it so much!’ (Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep)

Facebook (translation)

‘It’s unbelievable how the creative process turned such a strong life experience into such a pure show.’ (Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep)

2,000 Facebook Followers

1,827 Twitter Followers

1,483 Instagram Followers

1,211 E-news Subscribers

A total of twelve eNews communications sent out to 1,211 subscribers with an average open rate of 58.08%.

12,178

Website Users

35,063 Page Views

17,234 Sessions

86.5% New Visitors

13.5% Returning Visitors

Supporters & Partners

DONORS

Jennika Anthony-Shaw & Matthew Hoy

Tamara & Mark Boldiston

Claire Dobbin

Lydia Dobbin

Rosemary Forbes & Ian Hocking

Debra Jefferies

Mike Josephson

Petra Kalive & Tim Stitz

Sue Kirkham

GOVERNMENT PARTNERS

TRUSTS & FOUNDATIONS

BUSINESS PARTNERS

PROJECT PARTNERS

Margaret Leggatt & Eugene Schlusser

Rod Macneil

Ian McRae

Helen & Peter Murdoch

Jo Porter & Michael Nossal

Anna Schwartz Gallery

Daniel Sheehan

Helen Symon & Ian Lulham

Anonymous (3)

Chamber Made is a proud member of the Australian Music Centre, Live Performance Australia and Theatre Network Australia. Chamber Made has multi-year, recurrent funding from Creative Victoria and is based in a studio managed by the City of Melbourne’s Meat Market Tenancy Program.

Photographs by: Kate Disher-Quill, Pia Johnson, Sarah Walker, Heidi Wentworth-Ping, Tajette O’Halloran, Heidrun Löhr

Linnell/Hughes Trust

Angus Kemp Cinematographer

Heidi Wentworth-Ping Kate Disher-Quill

Said & Done Media Sarah Walker Photography

Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs