Finding what’s Fading; 2024 in Pictures
16 February, 2024, Ho Chi Minh
In 2024, I got to do the work I love to do - community arts and cultural development. A bunch of process-based, shared activities that help us feel alive and in this together.
Through volunteering, collaborating with my arts collective Company Bad, and contracts with arts orgs, I pieced together an adventurous sequence of projects in Mongolia, Korea, and Australia, with side quests to Thailand and Vietnam.
I worked in offices, community centres, studios, schools, on beaches, and in my van - doing cultural planning, creative producing, and facilitation across performance, theatre in education, community arts, and socially engaged art.
I snorkelled at sea level and soaked in hot springs 2000 metres higher.
I crossed paths with old and new friends, and together we searched for things fading away. From coral to stillness to wilderness, risk, and hope.
Here’s my 2024 in pictures.
3 January
Mongolia
Warm escape to Thailand
4 January. Bangkok with the Arts Council of Mongolia crew.
14 January. Phuket with UB mates.
17 Jan
Back to Ulaanbaatar
Arts Council of Mongolia (ACM)
18 January. Yearly planning.
5 February. Super proud to have co-designed an evaluation framework with the ACM team.
Wouldn’t be an Australian Volunteer workshop without TimTams.
Tsagaan Sar
12 February. Lunar New Year. Latte at ROK cafe with Duke in his deel.
12 February. Tsagaan Sar at Ogie’s house.
Vietnam Holiday
For a second little getaway to warmer weather and banh mis with Brian.
February 18. Ho Chi Minh.
19 February. My Khe Beach.
19 February. Da Nang.
19 February. Thuy Son.
20 February. Hanoi.
21 February. Ha Long Bay.
24 February, Hanoi.
28 February. Sapa.
Tsenkher Hot Springs & Erdene Zuu
22 March. Somewhere West of Ulaanbaatar.
22 March. Mini Gobi with friendly Bankhar dog.
22 March. Somewhere close to Tsenkher Springs.
23 March. Tsenkher Hot Springs.
24 March. Erdene Zuu.
I’m stoked that Erdene Zuu has been added to the World Monuments Watch List - all the work on this application with the ACM team paid off! This sacred site is at risk due to climate change (desertification and increased extreme weather events including flooding can destroy this place bit by bit over time) but it now has a better chance of survival for future generations to enjoy - and see how ancestors practiced culture and spirituality.
Ulaangom & Uliastai
3 April. The road out of Ulaangom.
April 6. Car selfie.
5 April. Mountains near Uliastai. Magic.
6 April. East of Ulaangom. Kinda rare to see camels helping nomadic families move - these days it’s often done with trucks and motorbikes.
8 April. North of Ulaangom.
8 April. Bec and the baby goats.
Aryabal Meditation Temple
5 May. Purple Pasque Flower.
5 May. Matching the wildflowers.
The 19th International Conference on the Arts in Society, Seoul
Here I presented two papers:
We're Bad Company: Friendship and Creativity as Sustenance in Uncertain Times with Company Bad, and;
Trust as viability: How an online outcomes-focussed cultural activity planner helped to deepen trust between a city-based funder and a regional arts producer which I wrote with John Smithies and Surajen Uppal. Published March 2024 in City, Culture and Society, Volume 36
19 May. View towards Lotte Tower from Achasan.
20 May. Company Bad dinner with Madam Park.
1 June. Pre drinks with Duke at Gombo’s in Yongsan.
Road Trip - Melbourne to Brisbane
22 June. French Island Tiny Home.
26 June. Brian in Bermagui Blue Pool.
28 June. Sunrise at Seal Rocks.
Us and All of This
15 December. Liesel Zink’s Us and All of This with sound by Lawrence English at Brisbane Powerhouse as part of Brisbane Festival. I was engaged by Performing Lines as the Local Community Coordinator.
Photo by Billie Wilson-Coffey.
Let’s be slow together.
Photo by Billie Wilson-Coffey.
Creative Australia’s Creative Leadership Program Residential
Gimuy. Sukhjit and Guy - two of the actual best.
Performing Arts Market Seoul
10 October. Pitching.
10 October. Cosplaying as a Kiwi.
TRW
21 September. House Parents! Theatre Residency Week produced by Queensland Theatre.
Sunny Coast Queers
23 October. Co-designing VR experiences with LGBTIAQ+ Youth in Maroochydore with YouTurn, Headspace, and UNSW. The kids get it.
Curious Creatives
11 November. Verena and the Wonder Tree. Artist in residence program at Graceville State School. Produced by Queensland Theatre.
The Annual Paradise Psychic Expo
22 November. Creative Development at Mt. Mee Hall. Lead Artist: M’ck McKeague.
29 November. Dream Team. Creative Development at Metro Arts.
I You We
13 December. Inclusive Collaboration Skill Sharing Workshop Series at IEUM Centre, Seoul. Company Bad was engaged to facilitate by BluebirdC.
16 December. Dorky hat in Haewa.
17 December. Jeremy and I back at our fav restaurants in Seoul: Solnamugil Doenjang Yesul
22 December. Sunrise walk at Seonggwak Park.
Woodford
1 January 2025. New Years Day Sunrise.
Look for the fading. What is almost lost?
Acknowledgements
I was an Australian Volunteer at the Arts Council of Mongolia, as part of the Australian Volunteers Program
The Annual Paradise Psychic Expo, my attendance at PAMS, and my participation in the Creative Leadership Program were assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.
My participation in PAMS was supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.
The Annual Paradise Psychic Expo and the I You We Skill-share Workshop Series were produced by Company Bad.
The Annual Paradise Psychic Expo and the I You We Skill-share Workshop Series were auspiced by Auspicious Arts.
