History is how we got here | Maribyrnong Community Centre

Two friends, wearing face masks, in an industrial landscape with a river and bridge behind them.

Liz and I are running a short course at Maribyrnong Community Centre! Best of all, it’s free for participants.

Over four fortnightly workshops, develop research and storytelling skills with community historians Liz Crash and Jinghua Qian (co-creators of Underfoot, a multimedia project uncovering Footscray’s history). Participants will learn how to write, produce and share their own stories, and contribute to a visual presentation displayed at the centre. This hands-on workshop series is open to participants of all ages and skill levels. Please note: participants will need to attend all four sessions.

Thu 18 Mar, 1 Apr, 15 Apr, 29 Apr 2021
2 pm to 4 pm
Maribyrnong Community Centre
9 Randall St, Maribyrnong, Victoria 3032
free | booking required

Event: Silent Dialogue book launch

Silent Dialogue logo

There’s a book launch for Silent Dialogue 沉默的对话 tomorrow night in Collingwood if you’d like to join us in a celebration and meet some of the folks involved in the project. The book is an illustrated multilingual publication that accompanies the Silent Dialogue exhibition with images of original artworks and specially commissioned pieces of original writing by leading scholars and writers from across the country. I’ll be reading from my essay in the book, ‘We need new names’, which looks at the politics of changing your name.

Fri 5 Feb 2021
6:15 pm to 7:30 pm
Art Echo Gallery, Collingwood
free | booking required

You can also order the Silent Dialogue book here.

Performance: Amplify | Arts & Culture Maribyrnong

Apologies for the super late notice but I’m doing a gig tonight! It’s part of Amplify, a series of live music and literary performances by local artists from the Western suburbs. Tonight is Tariro Mavondo, Gabriela Georges, Ruby-Rose Pivet-Marsh and me.

Mon 1 Feb 2021
doors at 6 pm, performances 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm
live in-person at Bluestone Church Arts Space, Footscray, or livestream online
tickets from $5 + booking fee | book here | more info here

Panel: Beyond monogamy | Wollongong Writers Festival

The 2020 Wollongong Writers Festival is all about the body, and every session will be delivered online so you can attend wherever your body is. I’ll be on the ‘Beyond monogamy: love outside the mainstream‘ panel alongside Lee Kofman (Split, Imperfect) and Paul Dalgarno (Poly). Full festival program here – lots of great stuff on pleasure, pain, visibility and mortality so go check it out.

Sat 28 Nov 2020
11am to noon AEST
live online event
$10 + booking fee | book here

Workshop: Editing critical writing | Editing Micro-Festival

In November I’ll be presenting a workshop on editing criticism at the Editing Micro-Festival. The online festival runs 13 to 15 November with a fab line-up of presenters: Elena Gomez, Khalid Warsame, Hella Ibrahim, Cher Tan, Alison Evans, Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen, Mel Campbell, and Matilda Dixon-Smith (who’s also the festival organiser). Check out the full program here and please come along if you have even a passing interest in critical writing, it’s fine if you can’t pay anything.

Sat 14 Nov 2020
12 noon AEST
live online event
book here (pay what you feel – 50% of profits go to Pay the Rent)

The virtual co-presence of the internet

On Thursday, I’ll be chatting about online and offline communities with Pauline Vetuna and Huna Amweero in a live event hosted by Areej Nur. It’s part of BLEED, a new festival from Arts House and Campbelltown Arts Centre. The talk is via Zoom so you can attend from anywhere in the world but you need to register.

The Virtual Co-presence of the Internet
Thu 2 July 2020
12 noon – 1 pm
live online event – free – booking required

Gallery collage view photo of 4 speakers. Top Left: Huna Amweero wearing a denim jacket with her hair in braids. Top Right, Areej Nur wearing a beige and white jumper, looking away from the camera and smiling with plants behind her. Bottom Left, Pauline Vetuna wearing a light blue top with her curly hair out and a book shelf behind her. Bottom Right, Jinghua Qian wearing a black t-shirt and beanie, standing while talking into a mic and reading from a paper.

Take a look at the rest of the BLEED program too – there’s a lot of interesting stuff happening. I’m one of the artists in residence for Assembly of the Future there too which I’m pretty pumped for.

Event: Queer futures | Dancehouse

Sat 2 Feb 2019
5 pm to 6 pm
Dancehouse
free (booking required)

http://dancehouse.com.au/performance/performancedetails.php?id=311

As queer culture becomes more and more a global phenomena, for both queer and non-queer communities, what does being queer really mean? Is being queer simply what you are or what you do? This discussion will explore what might be lost or gained through such shifts in meaning and how queer histories inform queer futures holistically. 

Jinghua Qian, Isabella Whāwhai Waru and Nunzio Madden in conversation with Quinn Eades. Part of the public program attached to the performance season of Dancing Qweens.

image.png

Event: The future is gender-neutral design | MPavilion

Sat 2 Feb 2019
11 am to 1:30 pm
MPavilion
free

http://mpavilion.org/program/the-future-is-gender-neutral-design/

Dutch-American sociologist and urban thinker Saskia Sassen wrote: “Urban planning is not gender neutral.” The way we make our cities affects people differently, and a large factor in that difference is gender. Far too often we’re reminded that our cities aren’t safe for everyone, and even more frequently that our spaces could be more inclusive, useable, convenient and enjoyable for all. Given the underrepresentation of women in architecture and urban design, how has gender influenced our built landscapes? Is there a gender-neutral approach to urban planning—and if so, what is it?

Jinghua is one of ten speakers in this relay-style discussion hosted by JOY 94.9’s Miranda Sparks. Full bios for all speakers at the link above. The event is supported by VicHealth and 3RRR.