IN FOCUS: ARCHIVE

1. Who is Morgan Graham?
Morgan Graham is a young woman from Western Sydney with a love for her community and the artists and stories within it.

2. What has she been doing?
Morgan is currently working as associate producer for a short film called The Parisian that has been written by Randa Sayed, directed by Adam Allsop and produced by Gary Paramanathan.

3. How do you approach a crowdfunding campaign?
The Parisian is being crowdfunded and as such, we've had to really make sure our campaign is highly visible and accessible.

We've tried to convey the community aspect and get as many people as possible involved in the process. We are hoping that this film will represent the possibilities that communal support enables. Our whole goal is to be able to pay the actors and crew members working on this project for their hard work. For Randa, Adam, Gary and I this film is a labour of love.   MORE

Artfiles catches up with Annalouise Paul, a Western Sydney artist, dancer, choreographer and current Arts Administrator for Cultural Performing Arts Network (CPAN) based in Parramatta.

Who is Annalouise Paul?

I’m an independent artist, working as an actor, dancer and choreographer and I create my own dance theatre shows. I grew up in Airds in Campbelltown area in the 80s, we were one of the original Airds families and back then there were no opportunities for creating dance or theatre it wasn’t even in the school curriculum, showing my age now!.. and you pretty much had to go to the city to do anything or see any shows. Now it's changed massively and it's wonderful to be part of that.

After I left school I started dancing (at 19) there was no tertiary dance course in NSW either (except for the Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre) so I took open classes at Sydney Dance Company and then headed to London to finish training at the Laban Centre. Later I travelled to LA and trained and worked as an actor there.

I was away for about 12 years in all and was very fortunate to work commercially in many major films, TV and with artists like Michael Jackson and LA Opera, but I was always building my dance-theatre shows and teaching in schools and working with community because everything feeds into everything.   MORE

This week Artfiles catches up with the wonderful Thelma Thomas aka MC Trey. Trey currently coordinates the Pacific Youth Reconnection Project at the Australian Museum, facilitating creative projects that reconnect marginalised young people to their Pacific Culture ..but she is better known to many as an active urban artist and an agent of change.

Who is MC Trey?

I consider myself an artist, a writer, a mother, a family member, a community member, a muso. Someone who has a responsibility to speak up about issues and events that matter. Why you might ask? Well - I've seen a lot, survived a lot, and feel the need to speak up about things so that the next generation can have a bit easier. 
Music is my outlet and I've been blessed with so many opportunities to share my music and my works with others. Plus I get to have a lot of fun along the way.



What has she been doing?


I've been working on some new music. I just finished my new single called Light that is getting launched next week and a few other tracks for an EP due mid year. 
I have also been working on creative community projects working with marginalised young people across Western Sydney.

 How do you approach working on a project like 'Light' ? 
A tragic incident happened where a young girl was stabbed to death by her partner. I wanted to write about. I approached two other rappers, 26th Letter and Jae Tee. We picked a beat, I wrote the chorus, we wrote verses and recorded.

We also worked on a video with filmmaker, Tania Safi. It all took 4 weeks as there were four schedules to work around plus it was Christmas break, but it all got done.

What have you learned along the journey of getting this project up?


There are people out there who are passionate about social issues as well and that most people do want to give back, they just need an opportunity to do it.

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This week Artfiles catches up with Katherine Knight who is preparing to launch her book Passion Purpose Meaning - Arts Activism in Western Sydney in March.

Who is Katherine Knight?
 I came to live in the Parramatta area in 1967 and worked at Parramatta Psychiatric Centre as an occupational therapist. With the birth of my three children in the 1970s, I became deeply involved in my local community – setting up volunteer programs for children and lobbying for better facilities. Nationally, it was a time of great change and there was an exciting atmosphere that with collaboration and hard work, you could make a real difference. My focus moved quite quickly from the local, to the wider Parramatta area and then the whole of western Sydney, though it was never a planned evolution.
 
What was it like?

Parramatta in those years was very resistant to change and it became clear that without pressure from a wider region, nothing would happen.  The Australia Council’s field officer in 1974 made links across art forms and organisations and I became involved. People were often isolated from their families and each other in the rapidly expanding new suburbs and boredom was a major issue. From publishing little local newsletters and press releases for local newspapers about our activities, by 1984 I found myself publishing a monthly “newspaper” Artswest.  It caught the attention of Cumberland Newspapers (now NewsLocal) and for four years Artswest was a monthly supplement to nine local newspapers, giving us a monthly circulation of 482,000. Yes, that was the real total. By now, Artswest Foundation was operating as a regional network supporting and promoting the arts through publication, consultancy and advocacy – frequently on the smell of an oily rag.

How do you approach working on a project like writing and publishing your book, Passion Purpose Meaning - Arts Activism in Western Sydney?

I think from the earliest years I realised that I was witnessing wonderful stories of creativity and determination that were going unrecognised. Somehow I should try to record or retain as much information as possible. I did a masters degree in history in the 1990s and shortly before I retired in 2003, a conversation with leading arts worker Jenny Bisset crystalised my thinking. With hindsight, I’m glad the whole project took 10 years. There were many interruptions, but I needed time to reflect, seek advice, and review the management of such a vast subject. I wanted to write in conversational style that was easy for anyone to read.   MORE

This week we catch up with the wonderful Gerard O’Dwyer who supports Beyond The Square’s equally wonderful coordinator, Alison Richardson. Together they have been working hard with their Ruckus Ensemble in preparation of their new multimedia performance work, See In Me.

Some of Gerard’s achievements include a Best Male Actor – Tropfest 2009, for his work in Be My Brother, that also took out Best Film. Gerard was recently awarded an Emerging Leader’s Award at the National Disability Awards. Here’s Gerard in his own words.

Who does Gerard O’Dwyer do at Riverside Theatre?
Well my role is theatre making with Alison. I also collect the mail and papers. Sometimes I go to the Heritage Centre for more mail. I help with mail-outs for our friends at Riverside Theatre, batch prints, tickets, envelopes. I clean behind the bar, I do filing and extra work.

Sometimes it gets busy and crowded – there’s shows to go and see. I enjoy helping out with Alison. I do something for Alison and I do it.

What have you been doing for See In Me?
At the moment we are trying to create a message in our movement – creating a story and message to show the world what we can do with people in the disability arts sector of New South Wales. We also need funding for our show.

In the show …
We move our small screens and our tall screens. We go four steps back. We drag them across. I blow up the inflatable mic and I learn my lines without the script about when I used to work at McDonalds at North Parramatta and something that happened there with two customers. I also breathe in each breath, in and out each time I blow into the mic.   MORE

Artfiles is honoured to catch up with the amazing Bonney Djuric ahead of the launch of The Memory Project, a unique contemporary art and social history project at the Parramatta Female Factory Precinct.

Who is Bonney Djuric?
I am a visual artist, author and community activist who is passionate about human rights issues.

Born in Melbourne I spent my early childhood years in rural Gippsland, with my family moving to Sydney in 1965. At 15 I aspired to becoming an artist, but this was not to be and I was sent to Parramatta Girls Home – an experience which had a profound affect on my life.

In later years I’ve worked as a national training manager, art gallery director, agent and consultant  and together with my own two children have raised my sister’s three since her death in 2000. I hold degrees in education and in fine arts and have completed post graduate studies in time based art.

What has she been doing?
In the last few years I’ve worked with people, who, like myself, experienced institutional care when young. In 2006 I established the Parragirls support group and contact register for former inmates of the Parramatta Girls Home and the Parramatta Female Factory Precinct (PFFP) Association.

I’ve also been campaigning for the institutional sites of the PFFP to be preserved and memorialized in an effort to get recognition for the tragic human story that they have borne witness to since 1821.   MORE