SHIFTING PERSPECTIVES
ANNUAL GRANTS REPORT 2018–19 ianpotterculturaltrust.org.au
Contents Welcome
1
Trustees & Staff
2
Executive Report
3
Facts & Figures
4
Arts Commission Program
5
Shifting Perspectives
6
Spotlight On…
10
Grantees 2018–19
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Above: Anna Madeleine, Magnetic Fields (2019), magnets and thread on steel, 100 x 100cm. Cover image: as yet (detail), work by Narelle White. Image credit: Francoise Schneiders. Right: Sir Ian Potter, Founder 1902–1994.
Welcome Established in 1993 with a remit to encourage the diversity and excellence of emerging Australian artists, the Cultural Trust has assisted the professional development of over 1,600 individuals through grants totalling more than $9 million. The Cultural Trust’s grants afford talented artists the opportunity to travel overseas, meeting with and learning from their peers, participating in competitions, showcasing their talent and undertaking research, study and training. The Cultural Trust funds nationally, from visual to performing arts, music to literature, multimedia to design; spanning traditional art forms through to experimental mediums.
FUNDING PRINCIPLES
— The Trust’s funding is governed by a commitment to excellence. We support individuals who are passionate about their work and have the potential to be outstanding in their field in an international context. — The Trust seeks to encourage diversity, distinction and opportunity for emerging artists in Australia. WHO DO WE SUPPORT?
— The Trust assists emerging or early-career artists. — We support applicants who can demonstrate both initiative and exceptional talent together with an ability to convert their ambitions to reality.
In addition to professional development grants for individual artists, the Trust runs a program of significant arts commissions which have included sculpture, music (composition) and currently, moving image art.
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The Ian Potter Cultural Trust Annual Grants Report 2018–19
Trustees
Staff
Mr Charles Goode AC (Chairman)
Chief Executive Officer Craig Connelly
Mr Anthony Burgess The Hon Alex Chernov AC, QC The Hon Susan Crennan AC, QC Mr Leon Davis AO The Hon Sir Daryl Dawson AC, KBE, CB, QC The Hon Sir James Gobbo AC, CVO, QC Professor Thomas Healy AO Professor Richard Larkins AC Mr Allan Myers AC, QC Lady Potter AC, CMRI Professor Graeme Ryan AC (resigned from Board November 2018) Professor Brian Schmidt AC Professor Fiona Stanley AC
Program Manager Louise Arkles Program Officer Subhadra Mistry Administration Manager Gail Lewry Administration Officer Sue Wilkinson Reception and Office Coordinator Nicole Hunter Communications Manager Sara Hearn Communications Officer Nina Beer Chief Finance Officer Anna McCallum Finance Officer Viktoria Kritharelis
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Left to right: Sara Hearn, Gail Lewry, Anna McCallum, Craig Connelly, Louise Arkles, Nina Beer, Subhadra Mistry, Nicole Hunter, Viktoria Kritharelis. Absent: Sue Wilkinson. Image taken in one of the new practice studios at The Ian Potter Southbank Centre, the new home of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, The University of Melbourne.
Executive Report The Ian Potter Cultural Trust has been awarding grants to individual artists since 1993. In considering the best way to support Australian artists and contribute to the growth and development of the Australian arts sector, we continue to support a diverse range of art forms. At the same time, our perspective has shifted to look at how we can encourage emerging artists to pursue professional development opportunities in all parts of the world.
CHARLES GOODE AC CHAIRMAN
CRAIG CONNELLY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
While many of our grantees travel to North America and Europe, the percentage of grants made for professional development opportunities outside of these continents has grown. Anecdotes from this shift have come directly from our grantees, with many artists expounding on the unique skills, knowledge and expertise accessible in regions such as the Asia-Pacific. We wish to encourage the diversity of the destinations in which our grantees seek new experiences and inspiration. Through this, we can ensure that our grantees connect with arts networks throughout the world and that on their return, the Australian arts sector will reflect the wide-ranging international arts scene. While we explore ways in which to do this, we wish to reflect on the journeys of grantees who have sought out professional development in these regions. In 2018–19 this includes an artist residency in Jinze, China, and the adaption of a participatory theatre show for Jinze audiences; a writing mentorship in Beijing, China; Bandoneon studies in Buenos Aires, Argentina; and a study tour for professional development in ceramics, Jingdezhen, China. In March 2019, Gabriella Hirst won the Ian Potter Moving Image Commission for 2020. This commission will make possible a new work, Darling Darling (working title), which will have its world premiere at ACMI in 2020. The proposed work parallels the precise and elaborate care taken to preserve colonial paintings of the Australian landscape with the real-world preservation of the Murray Darling Basin. Congratulations to our 51 new emerging artist grantees for 2018–19. We look forward to following your journeys and seeing how your professional development opportunities afford you new perspectives and enrich your artistic practice.
The Scheme was a Blueprint for Future Development Programs, (2015). Designed in collaboration between Simon Browne and Agatha Gothe-Snape. Image credit: Matthew Stanton.
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The Ian Potter Cultural Trust Annual Grants Report 2018–19
Facts & Figures 2018–19 GRANTS OVERVIEW
APPLICATIONS RECEIVED
GRANTS BY ART FORM 2018–19
230
NUMBER OF GRANTEES
52*
VALUE OF GRANTS APPROVED
$526,279*
CONSERVATION & MOVEABLE CULTURAL HERITAGE
1 grant COMMUNITY ARTS
2 grants
CRAFTS
2 grants
VISUAL ARTS
DANCE
6 grants
*Includes Ian Potter Moving Image Commission (IPMIC)
6 grants
PERFORMING ARTS
DESIGN
13 grants
3 grants
MUSIC CONTEMPORARY
LITERATURE
5 grants
2 grants
MULTIMEDIA
MUSIC CLASSICAL
3 grants
8 grants
COUNTRIES VISITED BY GRANTEES IN 2018–19
FINLAND 2 grantees
TOTAL COUNTRIES VISITED: 19
CHINA 3 grantees
BELARUS 1 grantee
CANADA 2 grantees
ISRAEL 1 grantee
NETHERLANDS 3 grantees
POLAND 1 grantee
IRELAND 1 grantee
USA 12 grantees
GERMANY 3 grantees
UK 13 grantees
BELGIUM 1 grantee
FRANCE 2 grantees
ITALY 2 grantees
SPAIN 2 grantees
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SWEDEN 1 grantee
SWITZERLAND 3 grantees
AUSTRALIA 2 grantees
ARGENTINA 1 grantee
Arts Commission Program Ian Potter Moving Image Commission
In March 2019 the $100,000 Ian Potter Moving Image Commission was awarded to Gabriella Hirst, a visual and performance artist based in Sydney and London. Gabriella Hirst was awarded the prize from a field of impressive candidates vying for this major Australian visual art commission which is an initiative of The Ian Potter Cultural Trust and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI). Hirst impressed judges with her timely proposal for Darling Darling (working title), which will have its world premiere at the newly reopened and revitalised ACMI in 2020. Darling Darling will parallel the precise and elaborate care taken to preserve colonial paintings of the Australian landscape with the real-world preservation of the Murray Darling Basin. Hirst’s work will follow on from the success of the previous Ian Potter Moving Image Commissions, The Calling, by Angelica Mesiti, who represented Australia at the 2019 Venice Biennale, and Phantom Ride by Daniel Crooks. Gabriella Hirst spoke about her excitement in receiving the commission, “Thank you to ACMI and The Ian Potter Cultural Trust for selecting my proposal for the IPMIC, I’m beyond thrilled. It’s a huge opportunity for me to develop a work at this scale and with such incredible support. I’m very grateful for the confidence in my practice as a young Australian moving image artist. I’m looking forward to developing the project and beginning production alongside the team at ACMI.” IPMIC Panel Chair and ACMI Director & CEO, Katrina Sedgwick commented on Hirst’s proposed work saying, “Her practice and her proposed work stood out amongst an incredibly competitive field of applicants. ACMI is proud, as the national museum of film, television, video games and digital art and culture, to be partnering with The Ian Potter Cultural Trust to present the world premiere of Hirst’s commission Darling Darling as one of the first exhibitions following our reopening in 2020.”
“The Ian Potter Cultural Trust is delighted to be supporting an exciting and dedicated young artist. Gabriella Hirst’s work promises to be a timely exploration of the connection between the romanticism of the Western art tradition, and the realities of the Australian landscape.” LADY POTTER AC TRUSTEE OF THE IAN POTTER CULTURAL TRUST
Gabriella Hirst. Image credit: Micha Otto.
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The Ian Potter Cultural Trust Annual Grants Report 2018–19
Shifting Perspectives Artistic practice is fluid; it develops and transforms continuously throughout a career. This year we asked our past visual arts grantees ‘How has a Cultural Trust grant experience changed your practice?’ From embracing new artistic mediums to shifts in perspective, we found out how the professional development their grant enabled has sparked change and shaped their current practice.
Kelly Doley NSW 2016
www.kellydoley.com feministsouth.com
Artist, curator, and arts manager, Kelly Doley wears many hats. Currently, the Deputy Director of UNSW Galleries at UNSW Art & Design, a founding member of artist collective Barbara Cleveland, and with a dynamic solo practice currently using the medium of signwriting, Kelly’s work explores and celebrates feminism. In 2017 Kelly was assisted by a Cultural Trust grant to undertake a research scholar program in socially engaged and feminist performance art practice within China, Hong Kong, and Singapore. “Having this experience to make lasting connections, networks, and relationships from my initial visit to China and Hong Kong in 2017 opened up my practice and positioned my work and curatorial thinking within a much broader conversation with other artists in the region.” With these lasting connections, Kelly began Feminist South a joint curatorial and research project. Kelly has since returned to Hong Kong and Beijing on several occasions to continue collaborating with the curatorial team behind Feminist South. In essence, this compelling project features case studies of feminist practices happening in and around Australia and Asia, two of which have been presented through two exhibitions, Chunyin Rainbow Chan’s Gloss at I: Project Space, 2018, and Amy Sou Wu’s Thunderclap in Sydney at Artspace, 2019.
Kelly Doley, studio in Darlinghurst (2019). Image credit: Katherine Griffiths, City of Sydney.
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Establishing Feminist South has meaningfully influenced the trajectory of Kelly’s career and understanding of how political practices manifest in different cultures and socioeconomic situations. Recently, Kelly received further support through a City of Sydney creative live/work subsidised studio. She is now working with Barbara Cleveland on a work that will premiere this year at Sullivan+Strumpf, Sydney, and a solo commission for Bus Projects, Melbourne, that will consist of a series of hand-painted signs.
Meagan Streader VIC 2016
www.meaganstreader.com
Immersive and hypnotising, Meagan Streader’s light works bring ordinary, everyday spaces to life. Meagan’s installations and sculptures have been seen at festivals and exhibitions throughout Australia, including Dark Mofo in Tasmania and Arts House, Melbourne, each one exploring the limits of spatial perception, colour, reflection, and optical art. In 2016 Meagan was supported by a Cultural Trust grant to undertake a three-month structured residency at the NARS Foundation, USA. At the early stages of her artistic career, this opportunity gave Meagan access to pioneering artists in the space and light movement and dedicated studio space in which to experiment with large-scale ideas. This time confirmed for Meagan the direction in which she wanted to take her practice and continues to shape her work. “During the residency, my concentration shifted from ideas connected to the ‘transformation of space’ to a more considered approach to light components and materials, and how these materials responded to surrounding architecture and viewers present. My research and artmaking were heavily influenced by a lot of work I saw in NYC during the residency period.” Perhaps one of the most interesting shifts in perspective for Meagan was the realisation and pride that the quality of contemporary Australian art met international art standards on equal terms.
Meagan Streader’s work Response VII – Partition III. Image credit: Sam Whiteside.
“In a lot of ways, it still feels like Australian artists are left behind – set afar from the bustling cultural capitals and countries of the world, [so] the recognition for some of the amazing artists and works coming out of Australia is not comparable to those, for example, from America.” Placing her work in an international context gave Meagan the confidence that her concepts and practice are at a standard acceptable to an international audience. Meagan is now preparing a range of new light sculptures, drawings and experiments to be exhibited in shows at Spring 1883, Nicholas Projects and MARS Gallery.
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The Ian Potter Cultural Trust Annual Grants Report 2018–19
Owen Leong NSW 2008 & 2015 owenleong.com
Since receiving Cultural Trust grants in 2008 and 2015, visual artist Owen Leong has established himself in both the Australian and international art scenes. In addition to solo and group shows in Australia, Belarus, China, and Hong Kong, Owen was also selected as a finalist in the prestigious Ramsay Art Prize in 2017. In 2015 Owen was supported to undertake a residency at Swatch Art Peace Hotel, Shanghai. While the time and space to immerse himself in Chinese culture, art, and history had immediate benefits as a catalyst for the creation of new work, for Owen the long-term benefits have been how the residency has fuelled his ambition. “The international experience supported by the Cultural Trust grant has been incredibly valuable and transformative for my work. Seeing and experiencing contemporary art in an international context has increased my understanding of how other artists think and create. This, in turn, has led to increased ambition and inspiration in my own artistic practice.” Initially working in photography and video, Owen has ventured into new mediums, his practice shifting towards sculptural work. Owen is currently working on a new series of sculptures for Sydney Contemporary at Carriageworks and has been announced as one of the recipients of the 4A Beijing Studio Program for 2019.
Owen Leong with Sankalpa (2016), archival pigment print on cotton paper, 120 x 120cm. Image credit: Saul Steed. Courtesy of Art Gallery of South Australia.
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Georgia Saxelby NSW 2017
www.georgiasaxelby.com
Georgia Saxelby is a Sydney-born, now US-based installation and social practice artist who explores the relationship between gender, ritual performance and architecture. Georgia was supported by a Cultural Trust grant in 2017 to undertake a design course in County Mayo, Ireland, a conference in Maine, USA, a mentorship in New York City, and a one-month artist residency at Wassaic Project in Wassaic, New York. “The Cultural Trust grant allowed me to pursue my first ever international residency, speak at my first international conference, undertake my first international and architectural mentorship and my first architectural design/build expedition in Europe. This list of ‘firsts’ was what I needed to build a professional and artistic community in the USA, where I am now based, as well as to prove myself and build my portfolio so that I could pursue larger-scale and higher-stake opportunities.” The shift to larger-scale works and the breadth of Georgia’s practice has advanced significantly in the years since her Cultural Trust grant. Georgia’s installations enable collective symbolic action and disrupt spatial hierarchies to question the way in which identities and values are performed today. Two such works are To Future Women, a 20 year time capsule of letters written to the next generation of women to memorialize the 2017 Women’s March and ongoing #MeToo movement. The other, Lullaby, is an immersive two-screen video installation that captures a series of choreographed performances at five of the monuments on Washington’s National Mall. Lullaby explores the relationship between Washington DC’s monumental architecture and womanhood and has been exhibited at the Embassy of Australia, Washington, DC.
Georgia Saxelby on opening night of Lullaby at the Embassy of Australia, Washington, DC. Image credit: Jenny Magee.
Recently, Georgia has been awarded the Australia Council of the Arts Career Development Grant as well as a Samstag Scholarship which will allow her to take the next step in her career, pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA.
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The Ian Potter Cultural Trust Annual Grants Report 2018–19
Spotlight On... In 2018–19, the Cultural Trust assisted 51 emerging artists to travel abroad and advance their creative practice. From residencies to mentorships, each artist pursued a professional development opportunity tailored to their practice. Here are just a few of their stories.
DESIGN
Yvette Turnbull VIC $3,435
Mentorship with Set Designer Adi Goodrich and a project internship with her company Sing-Sing Studio in Los Angeles, USA. 15 FEBRUARY – 17 MARCH 2019
Yvette Turnbull is a Melbourne-based set and production designer, whose practice encompasses the performing arts, designing for contemporary live performance, theatre, festivals and events, as well as film and advertising. Yvette received a Cultural Trust grant to undertake a mentorship with Spatial Designer and Art Director Adi Goodrich and complete a project internship with Goodrich’s company Sing-Sing Studio in Los Angeles. The internship gave Yvette hands-on industry experience and the opportunity to reconnect and deepen her mentee relationship with Adi Goodrich, who had previously only been available via Skype. “Above all, I have a newfound respect for my practice and myself as an individual. I recognise my worth as a creative. I see that my skills are valuable, valid and unique. I have gained hands-on industry experience in a large-scale commercial advertising campaign. This exposure has given me a whole new understanding of how my skills can translate into new mediums.” The experience has motivated Yvette to continue to invest in professional development, exploring her artistic style within new mediums, and to network and collaborate with other artists. With a new understanding of the nature of her work, industry practice and the value of working with new collaborators, Yvette is embarking on the next chapter of her career.
www.yvetteturnbull.com
Designer Yvette Turnbull with mentor Adi Goodrich of Sing-Sing Studio. Image credit: Sean Pecknold.
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VISUAL ARTS
Spence Messih NSW $7,333
A residency at Auto Italia South East, London, UK. 2 APRIL – 24 APRIL 2019
Visual artist Spence Messih’s practice spans a range of mediums including installation, photography, sculpture and text-based artworks. Their work has been exhibited at The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Firstdraft Gallery and Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, among others. Through their practice, Spence explores the potential of forms and materials historically associated with abstraction and minimalism to communicate transgender experiences and histories. Spence was supported by a Cultural Trust grant to undertake a residency at Auto Italia South East, London. During the residency, Spence visited leading curators and met with artists and researchers working across feminist, gender and political discourse to explore ideas that are integral to their artistic practice. Throughout this time Spence developed a new body of work, including a stained-glass diptych titled Wet things dry, dry things get wet. The residency allowed Spence to not only develop new work and gain critical recognition but to conceptualise their future practice and gain new understandings of the queer discourse and visual arts scene in the UK.
Wet things dry, dry things get wet by Spence Messih, made on residency at Auto Italia South East, London, (2019). Image credit: Rob Harris.
“This was a unique opportunity and I feel enlivened by the response to my work from the artists and curators I met through Auto Italia South East. The relationships formed during my stay in London will break ground in my practice I couldn’t have anticipated. I will bring this back to fellow artists in Sydney, centring our work within an international queer artistic community.”
spencemessih.com
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The Ian Potter Cultural Trust Annual Grants Report 2018–19
CRAFTS
Narelle White VIC $10,000
A ceramic artist’s residency at the European Ceramic Workcentre (EKWC) in Oisterwijk, Netherlands. 2 DECEMBER 2019 – 8 MARCH 2020
With a passion for the messiness and unpredictability of experimental ceramics, Narelle White’s practice challenges traditional notions of ceramic sculpture. “If art-making is world-making, my work reminds me that material transformation is reciprocal: as we transform matter, we transform ourselves. I embrace ceramic practice as a field of experimentation, and I engage with my materials as wilful co-conspirators.” With the support of the Cultural Trust, Narelle is undertaking a ceramic artist’s residency at the European Ceramic Workcentre (EKWC) in Oisterwijk, Netherlands. EKWC is a workspace dedicated to supporting artists, designers and architects explore the possibilities of the ceramic medium. Known for its ambitious technical innovations, the centre’s team of specialised employees guide the residents in their work. “My project, as approved by EKWC, is experimentally driven. My aim during my residency is to push forward in my development of experimental clay bodies using local sands and other organic aggregates. In particular, with the support of EKWC’s specialist team, I will be afforded the skills and space to apply these clay bodies to the production of viable, larger-scale works. It is this opportunity to balance experimental methodologies with applied technical knowledge that will generate fertile new ground.”
narellewhite.com Narelle White with her ceramic work. Image credit: Phi Nguyen.
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PERFORMING ARTS
Aaron Orzech VIC $6,000
A residency focusing on contemporary experimental performance at the Live Art Development Agency, London, UK. 2 JUNE – 7 JULY 2019
Performance maker Aaron Orzech’s practice hangs at the intersection of contemporary theatre and live art. With a background in performing, directing, and creating live works and performances, Aaron focuses on juxtaposing past and present theatrical traditions. The central question that guides his practice is ‘how do I find new ways to collaborate, create, and disrupt contemporary performance?’. Aaron was supported by a Cultural Trust grant to undertake a residency in contemporary experimental performance at the Live Art Development Agency (LADA), London, UK. While in the UK, Aaron also completed workshops with award-winning performance maker Dickie Beau. Through both research in LADA’s archives and creative conversation and collaboration with Beau, Aaron gained an international perspective on contemporary performance and additional confidence in his own practice. “Having the opportunity to spend dedicated time in LADA’s archive of contemporary performance gave me time and space to encounter new influences and clarify my own practice in relation to other forms of contemporary performance work.” “The residency allowed me to grow as a solo artist, giving me valuable confidence and trust in my own practice.” Aaron is now focused on producing and performing in the projects NEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVERNEVER and I Am Sitting in a Room, with the ambition to tour in Australia and the UK.
aaronorzech.wordpress.com Performance maker Aaron Orzech performing in Antigone. Image credit: Pia Johnson.
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The Ian Potter Cultural Trust Annual Grants Report 2018–19
VISUAL ARTS
Laura Skerlj VIC $7,420
A residency program in contemporary painting at the Leipzig International Artist Programme, Leipzig, Germany. 31 SEPTEMBER 2018 – 1 APRIL 2019
Poignant and dream-like, Melbourne-based visual artist Laura Skerlj’s work explores the abstract representation of landscapes. “My practice is interested in painting as a space where abstract connections between thoughts, experiences and forms can be visualised. Colour, gesture, language, drawing, repeated motifs and aggregational methods are central to my work. These processes encourage an ‘in-between’ quality in my images, where the subject shifts between representation and abstraction.” Laura’s paintings have been exhibited at Arterial Gallery, Sydney; Michael Reid, Berlin; and Daine Singer Gallery, Melbourne among others. She was awarded a Cultural Trust grant to undertake a residency program in contemporary painting at the Leipzig International Artist Programme, Leipzig, Germany. For Laura, the residency was a crucial opportunity to reflect on personal, formal and conceptual aspects of her practice. Through viewing the work of influential artists Jutta Koether, Albert Oehlen and Donna Huanca, Laura gained insight into their unique creative processes and the opportunity to reflect on her own. Travelling provided Laura with rich sensory and visual material. This material was quickly put to use in the Leipzig studio experimenting with a new direction for her work, altering and deepening her art practice.
lauraskerlj.com
Laura Skerlj, Listen to it all Bending, (2019), ink on paper, 42 x 30 cm.
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COMMUNITY ARTS
Raphaela Rosella QLD $10,000
A series of tailored creative and professional workshops, USA and Australia. 13 MAY – 27 JUNE 2019
With over a decade’s experience in community engagement, Community Arts practitioner Raphaela Rosella’s work seeks to magnify the voices and lived experiences of women in her community. A visual storyteller, Raphaela has worked primarily through photography. At a crossroads in her career, her practice is now expanding to moving image and sound. “I don’t want to be limited by one medium or the assumptions others have assigned to my art-making. I want to create art that is empowering, disruptive and truly owned by the powerful storytellers I work with. Expanding into moving image and sound provides an opportunity to re-conceptualise my practice by exploring its power and potential outside of photography.” Raphaela has been supported by the Cultural Trust to take several creative and professional workshops within the USA and Australia. Each workshop has been selected by Raphaela to aid her in developing a responsive and unique framework of storytelling for the community and people with which she works. While in the USA, Raphaela will have the opportunity to experiment with new approaches to visual storytelling and immersive video art. In Australia, Raphaela will meet with Emeritus Professor Jiman and Bundjalung woman Judy Atkinson to develop a framework for trauma-informed best practice for her community arts application.
Tricia and Ty-Leta, (2019). Experimental installation shot of Raphaela Rosella’s work HOMEtruths.
“This will allow me to research local ways of thinking and creating, to produce accessible and inventive platforms for co-creators and participants to be heard and understood on their own terms.”
www.raphaelarosella.com
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The Ian Potter Cultural Trust Annual Grants Report 2018–19
PERFORMING ARTS
Roshelle Fong VIC $9,079
An artist residency at Untitled Space in Jinze, Shanghai, China. 1 APRIL – 23 JUNE 2019
Roshelle Fong is a Chinese-Australian multidisciplinary artist and producer who uses multimedia, immersive and site-specific performance art to explore the themes of cultural confusion, intercultural identities and social isolation. Rochelle has been supported by the Cultural Trust to undertake an artist residency at Untitled Space in Jinze, China. While in residence she will adapt her site-specific and participatory theatre show nomnomnom for Jinze audiences. Since its premiere at the Melbourne Fringe Festival, where nomnomnom was awarded the Melbourne Fringe 2018 award for Innovation in Culturally Diverse Practice, the immersive show has also been adapted for audiences in Seyðisfjörður, Iceland. “Pre-production will include consulting with local researchers and theatre-makers and I am particularly interested in investigating statistical and anecdotal data around elderly people living on their own. It is my hope to connect the show with China’s broader responses to taboos around loneliness and social isolation and promote better ways to connect vulnerable people to services and support.” Through adapting nomnomnom for the Jinze audience, Roshelle will gain valuable experience in recruiting and leading a team of multidisciplinary artists and overseeing the production while further experimenting with the possibilities of site-specific and siteresponsive performance art. Furthermore, Roshelle will obtain international exposure, connecting with new networks and audiences.
www.roshellefong.com Actor Daniel Last and grantee Roshelle Fong performing nomnomnom. Image credit: Carol Cho.
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LITERATURE
Chi Tran VIC $10,000
A mentorship in poetry with Mei-mei Berssenbrugge in New York, USA. 7 MAY – 5 AUGUST 2019
Chi Tran is a Melbourne-based writer, editor and artist, who blends critical theory, poetry, nonfiction prose and autobiography to produce long-form poems. In recent years Chi’s practice has grown to involve an increasingly multidisciplinary approach to producing poems and a broader idea of what materials and writing forms may be used to constitute a text. Chi’s work has been published in Cordite Poetry Review, Australian Poetry, Firstdraft, and Liminal Magazine amongst other publications. Chi was supported by the Cultural Trust to undertake a mentorship in poetry with Mei-mei Berssenbrugge in New York, USA. Throughout the mentorship, Chi gained valuable insights and connections within the contemporary New York art and poetry communities, including Asian American Writers’ Workshop, The Poetry Project, and The Audre Lorde Project. While abroad, Chi also attended The Home School, a week-long course, which focused on experimental poetics, with academics and poets including Anne Boyer, Precious Okoyomon, CA Conrad, and Ariana Reines. Through the mentorship and course Chi expanded their networks and audience in the USA, while also gaining valuable personal insight into their practice and what success may look like. “Working with Mei-mei helped me realise that finding success and happiness in writing poetry really relies on one’s love of language and one’s commitment to working with language,” says Chi.
Chi Tran in New York. Image courtesy of Joshua Edward.
Chi is now taking the next step in their career, as a writer-in-residence at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art.
www.chi-tran.info
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The Ian Potter Cultural Trust Annual Grants Report 2018–19
MUSIC CLASSICAL
Matthew Laing VIC $3,600
A mentorship working intensively with Brett Dean in the preparation of two scores commissioned by well-established ensembles for their respective 2019 seasons; Berlin, Germany. 29 DECEMBER 2018 – 9 FEBRUARY 2019
Matthew Laing is a violist and composer of contemporary classical music. He plays regularly with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and Opera Australia, as well as smaller classical and contemporary ensembles. Matthew has been composing and improvising for over ten years alongside his viola practice. After participating in the Flinders Quartet 2017 Composer Development Program he was commissioned by Flinders Quartet to write a new work for the first concert in their 2019 subscription series. A Cultural Trust grant assisted Matt to travel to Berlin, where he worked on two commissions under the mentorship of musician and composer Brett Dean. “The opportunity to work with Brett Dean, in one-onone lessons and sitting in on rehearsals of his work was critical in my development as a composer. I feel I have a much better understanding of how to construct a work from the outset, develop ideas, present them coherently, and think critically about the work of others; identifying what works, what doesn’t and most importantly why. It gives me confidence to take on new commissions because I feel I have a set of guiding principles that will bring the best out of me and the work I produce.” The Flinders Quartet performed Matthew’s composition Out of Hibernation in February 2019. He is continuing to work with Ossicle Duo on his second commission, a work for trombone, percussion and electronics. Musician and composer Matthew Laing. Image credit: Sharon Gertner.
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DANCE
Ivey Wawn NSW $6,722
Self-directed practice exchange with networks in Europe and New York, a residency at Tanzhaus Zurich, Switzerland, and visiting shows and performing at programs in APAP|NYC, New York. 28 NOVEMBER 2018 – 13 JANUARY 2019
Ivey Wawn creates dance-based work that explores the ideas of power, control and consent in the context of capitalism and the organisation of labour. Ivey’s practice uses the medium of dance and choreography as a form of resistance to capitalism. Her body of work has focused on the issues of the wage relation, care, microbial reproductive labour, the commodity, and invisibility, among other things. Ivey was supported by a Cultural Trust grant to undertake a self-directed development tour in which she visited shows relevant to her practice and participated in peer-topeer knowledge exchanges, extending her networks within Europe and New York. Ivey also participated in a residency at Tanzhaus Zurich and performed in programs at the APAP|NYC 2019 conference, New York. During this time, Ivey connected with other artists who reinforced the importance of maintaining creative and artistic practice at the forefront of her life. Further, the space to create without a determined outcome allowed Ivey to create without the capitalist pressure that she critiques within her work. “Access to time and space in Zurich gave me the opportunity to work on my practice without the pressure of an outcome. In New York, and in the rest of my time in Europe I was able to have meaningful conversation and practice dialogue with colleagues overseas. It was particularly inspiring with regards to thinking about how to make artistic work sustainable and to think about the breadth of artistic practice.”
iveywawn.com Ivey Wawn performing Adventure Dances; summoning sensation in Dirty Feet’s Out of the Studio program. Image credit: Kate Disher-Quill.
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The Ian Potter Cultural Trust Annual Grants Report 2018–19
Grantees 2018–19 Congratulations to all recipients of grants from The Ian Potter Cultural Trust this year. Further details about their projects and destinations can be found in the grants database on our website. ianpotterculturaltrust.org.au COMMUNITY ARTS
DANCE
Raphaela Rosella
$10000
Beth Sometimes
$4955
CONSERVATION AND MOVEABLE CULTURAL HERITAGE Zora Sanders
$10000
CRAFTS
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Amelia Dent
$3480
Narelle White
$10000
DESIGN
Courtney Scheu
$10000
Laura Galati
$10000
Daisy Sanders
$10000
Yvette Turnbull
$3435
Felicity Boyd
$5921
Simon Browne
$7000
Nicola Sabatino
$6900
Rhys Ryan
$6000
Ivey Wawn
$6722
LITERATURE Emma Jensen
$10000
Bryce Wolfgang Joiner
$7000
Carol Que
$4611
Bobuq Sayed
$10000
Chi Tran
$10000
MULTIMEDIA
PERFORMING ARTS
VISUAL ARTS
Alena Lodkina
$8661
Briony Farrell
$10000
Anna Madeleine
$5420
Aaron Orzech
$6000
Jack Lanagan Dunbar
$10000
Benjamin Noble
$8791
Jimmy Nuttall
$10000
Darcy Kent
$10000
Jessie Bullivant
$10000
Harvey Zielinski
$10000
Laura Skerlj
$7420
Joseph Lai
$9500
Spence Messih
$7333
Laurence Rosier Staines
$8000
Ashleigh McArthur
$10000
MUSIC CLASSICAL Alyse Faith
$10000
Bridget O’Donnell
$10000
Shakira Tsindos
$10000
Evan Lawson
$5300
Joshua Ryan
$10000
Matthew Laing
$3600
Owen Salome
$10000
Chloe Higgins
$9171
MUSIC CONTEMPORARY Josten Myburgh Chloe Smith
$7000 $10000
Chloe Martin
$10000
Hannah Owsianka
$10000
Kerensa Diball
$9000
Rose Maher
$8980
Roshelle Fong
$9079
Alexandra Hines
Kym Maxwell
$7000
$10000 Left: Grantee Beth Sometimes installation, Heat Island, at Watch This Space Gallery. Image credit: Beth Sometimes. Above: Alyse Faith at The Royal Academy of Music. Image credit: Hope Lavelle.
THE IAN POTTER CULTURAL TRUST Level 3, 111 Collins Street Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia 03 9650 3188 culturaltrust@ianpotter.org.au ABN 65 807 851 867
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ianpotterculturaltrust.org.au