Latest Entries
How talking about killing Kylie Jenner allowed Zindzi Okenyo to tackle appropriation and rascism
ABC / Actors / Musicians

How talking about killing Kylie Jenner allowed Zindzi Okenyo to tackle appropriation and rascism

Zindzi Okenyo was in her early 20s when she first heard about Saartjie Baartman. She came across the name in a play: Venus by Suzan-Lori Parks — and was immediately obsessed. Baartman was a Khoisan woman from South Africa. In 1810, when she was still in her early 20s, she was taken to the UK by … Continue reading

Vivienne Binns’ bold exploration of sexuality and gender raised the stakes for feminist art in Australia
ABC / Artists

Vivienne Binns’ bold exploration of sexuality and gender raised the stakes for feminist art in Australia

ABC Arts / By Smriti Daniel for The Art Show For days, Vivienne Binns resisted the idea of adding teeth to her painting of a vagina. “The image kept coming to my mind and I kept rejecting it … Finally, I got tired of trying to avoid them and I just put them in.” Something clicked. The painting, which Binns … Continue reading

Three RATs a day, and $25,000 weekly bills: Can Australian theatres survive Omicron?
ABC / Actors / Artists

Three RATs a day, and $25,000 weekly bills: Can Australian theatres survive Omicron?

ABC Arts / By Smriti Daniel for The Stage Show New Year’s Eve. It is nearly time for the curtain to rise after the intermission during Moulin Rouge! The Musical. The audience are all in their seats when Carmen Pavlovic’s phone rings. A performer who was just about to go on, in a role that required very physical and intimate … Continue reading

Climate change is coming for your hydrangeas and rhododendrons – what do you do now?
ABC / Gardeners

Climate change is coming for your hydrangeas and rhododendrons – what do you do now?

ABC Radio National / By Smriti Daniel for Blueprint for Living Paul Bangay knows climate change is real. Over 35 years as a celebrated gardener and landscape designer, Bangay has seen the shift happen before his very eyes. When he began working in the 1980s, climate change still wasn’t something that was widely discussed. “Climate change has really come to … Continue reading

100 years later, these racist postcards are being ‘returned to sender’ by a Wiradjuri artist
ABC / Activists / Artists

100 years later, these racist postcards are being ‘returned to sender’ by a Wiradjuri artist

When the tip shops closed during COVID-19, Karla Dickens turned to eBay. For decades, the artist of Wiradjuri heritage has incorporated discarded or recycled objects into her mixed-media installations and sculptural collages. She re-contextualises the objects by adding layers of drawing, painting or embroidery as a form of commentary and reframes the narrative for contemporary … Continue reading

‘I turned 11 vials of smallpox into 11 vampires’: Warwick Thornton on his ‘wacky’ anti-colonial series Firebite
Filmmakers / The Guardian

‘I turned 11 vials of smallpox into 11 vampires’: Warwick Thornton on his ‘wacky’ anti-colonial series Firebite

Sunrise across the Australian desert. Headlights blazing, a silver Mack truck accelerates towards its destination, kicking up a trail of dust in its wake. In the driver’s seat is Jalingbirri, a “blood hunter” – the only one of his kind left standing. For years, Jalingbirri has defended his people against the monsters the first fleet … Continue reading