Together with resident artists Aarti Jadu, Inbal Nissim and Javad Kashani, we warmly invite you to the closing celebration for سخن دل Sokhaneh del –language/speech of the heart featuring Acts of Devotion, a live durational performance by dance artist Janette Hoe commissioned in connection with part three of the residency project.

Acts of Devotion extends سخن دل Sokhaneh del’s examination of 'devotion' or, more rightly, samimiyat صمیمیت, into the realm of dance.

To find out more, please read the précis provided below. 

View the exhibition and join us for a drink in the rear courtyard from 5:30 p.m. The performance will commence promptly at 6:00 p.m. and will run for 2 hours. Twenty guests will be admitted to and invited to depart from the exhibition space every 30 minutes—please select a timed ticket of your choice. After the performance, please join us in exploring the exhibition until 8:30 p.m. 

Press 'Join the guest list to join'.

—Date/Time: Sunday, 2 June 2024, 5:30-8:30 pm, performance 6:00-8:00 pm. Doors close at 8:30 pm.
—Access: Access from 5:30-8:00 pm is ticketed. Event entry via the rear right-of-way, via Black Street (which runs parallel to Sydney Road). Our ushers will direct you. After the performance, we welcome you to view the exhibition until 8:30 pm.
Please select a timed ticket of your choice. If you wish to return for the final 30 minutes, please choose the relevant ticket. If you have not booked to return for the final 30 minutes but wish to do so in the evening, please inform our ushers, and we will do our very best to accommodate, space permitting.
—Location: correspondences 39 Sydney Road Brunswick VIC.

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Please note:
—15 seats are provided. The rest of the space in the gallery is standing. If you require a seat, please advise our ushers on arrival. 
—You can pre-order a refreshment. All proceeds go towards helping our space to continue doing what we do.
—If you’re displaying covid-like or flu symptoms, please rest and stay home.
—All of our events are photographed as we need to document all that we do to evidence our work and secure grant funding. If you'd prefer not to be featured in our event photographs, please let us know in advance, and we will ensure you're not captured. Your comfort is important to us.

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Précis — Acts of Devotion: Featuring Janette Hoe 

Acts of Devotion is a live durational performance featuring dance artist Janette Hoe, commissioned in connection with the residency project
سخن دل Sokhaneh del—language/speech.

The project examines the idea of ‘devotion’ or, more rightly, samimiyat صمیمیت, its widened meaning in the Persian-speaking world and, as inspired by the poetry of beloved thirteenth-century master poet Maulana Jalal al-Din (Maulana) /Rumi.

It’s an idea that encompasses a deep commitment to authentic friendship, conversation, love, community and the search for the authentic self and the divine - qualities that lie at the heart of much classical Persian poetry.

The project features multi-channel sound work, community singing and performance by Aarti Jadu, painting, drawing and community making by Inbal Nissim, and mixed-media works on paper by Javad Kashani.

Presented in three parts over three months, سخن دل Sokhaneh del has been conceptualised to invite fervent engagement of the ear (Part 1 گوش بده ‘listen’), eyes (Part 2 خاموش Khamoush / ‘Turn off the mind, turn off the tongue. Silence’. ), and body (Part 3 The path to samimiyat صمیمیت).

In each part, the project has showcased different installations that allow audiences to inhabit and experience correspondences as a devotional space – and the artworks within it as devotional objects.

In keeping with the core principles of samimiyat, the idea of a devotional space and its objects is expansive—encompassing one of rest, connection, and care for the community through deep listening, looking, meditation, conversation and group-based singing and making on-site.

Acts of Devotion is presented in connection with the third and final part of the project, The path to samimiyat صمیمیت.

Extending the project's examination of devotion into the realm of dance, it's an invitation that acknowledges Maulana/Rumi's passionate commitment to dance, specifically the practice of sama, or whirling, which, together with music and silence, he saw as the path to samimiyat.

In her response, Janette will move to the sounds of Aarti's multi-channel sound work, Embodiments, which has featured in the exhibition space for the project's duration, providing a conceptual thread between the three parts of سخن دل Sokhaneh del.

Her movements will examine the idea of devotion and the sense of place on-site at correspondences, drawing inspiration from the sound and visual art practices in the room and the presence of audiences, their bodies and shared sensations.

The starting point for Janette's work is what she describes as her 'strong interest in the psychophysical and archival body', an inquiry that reaches beyond words and is grounded in her longstanding practice in the dance-theatre artform of Butoh and somatic movement-based improvisation modalities of both Eastern and Western origin.

As Janette elaborates:

Drawing from embodied history, lived experiences and memories, my intention is to find connecting points to the world through the senses and sensations. The struggle to connect solely with words has enabled me to develop, over time, a practice that extends into visual, gestural, and material components, that add to my artistic expression and connection to place.

—Choreography, Costume & Performance: Janette Hoe
—Sound: Embodiments, 2024, multi-channel sound work, site-specific, 1 hour, looped. Aarti Jadu
—Visual artworks featured: Inbal Nissim and Javad Kashani
—Concept, Set, Lighting & Production: correspondences
—Photography: Weiying Lu

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Artist Bio

Janette Hoe (Naarm/Melbourne) is a dance artist who is curious about whether dance can open dialogue across cultures, drawing from her own specific experiences to invoke response from others. Her aim is to celebrate stories and share knowledge through collaborative exchanges with artists and audiences.

Janette’s practice is grounded in the dance-theatre artform of Butoh and somatic movement-based improvisation modalities of both Eastern and Western origin. She has a strong interest in the psychophysical and ‘archival’ body. Drawing from embodied history, lived experiences and memories, her intention is to find connecting points to the world through the senses and sensations. The struggle to connect solely with words has seen Janette develop, over time, a practice that extends into visual, gestural, and material components, that add to her artistic expression.

Identifying strongly with her hybrid Malaysian-born, Chinese-Indonesian heritage her work explores the liminal space of shifting identities and multiple belongings. Her recent endeavours focus on the psycho-physical/psycho-emotional effects of the female ageing body at significant thresholds of transformation.

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Credits: The image of Janette pictured is by Damian Vincenzi. The second image is an installation view from Part 1 of سخن دل Sokhaneh del, picturing the painting of Inbal Nissim, which remains on display for the performance. It was photographed by Emily Weaving. 

Using voice for the breath and community - with resident artist Aarti Jadu

Together with Aarti, we invite you to join us at CORRESPONDENCES for deep listening and community singing.

Over the course of the residency, Aarti will lead three Thursday evening sessions:
— Thursday, 21 March (Complete)
— Thursday, 11 April (Complete)
— Thursday, 23 May.

Each session will run for one hour from 6:30 to 7:30 PM, and then participants are invited to loiter for a drink in reflection until 8:00 PM. 

We encourage participants to attend all three sessions to deepen engagement. But if you can only attend one or two sessions, we still encourage you to join us.

No singing experience is necessary.

Full Course: $30 / for 3 sessions
Single Pre-Book: $10 / limited reduced price ($5) and free tickets available. First-in-best-dressed.

Press 'Join the guest list' to reserve your attendance. Tickets are $10 per session, but reduced-price and free tickets are also available. 

Location: correspondences 39 Sydney Road Brunswick, VIC, 3056 Australia.

Additional notes are provided below.

Credits:  Image of Aarti by Chloe Sobejko

Additional notes:

—Participation is $10 per session to help support the labour involved in facilitating the session. Reduced-price and free tickets are also offered.
—Refreshments can be purchased on the evening. Or please select a ticket that includes a refreshment.
—Entry is officially from 6:15 PM for a 6:30 PM sharp start. 
—All of our events are photographed as we need to document all that we do to evidence the work that we do and secure grant funding. If you'd prefer not to be featured in our event photographs, please let us know in advance, and we will ensure you're not captured. Your comfort is important to us.
—Please note: Disability access: Unfortunately, we could not install an entry ramp into our facility due to building limitations. There is a 200mm step up into the front entrance of the gallery space. Please drop us an email in advance at info@correspondences.work to discuss this further and arrange assistance. There is no step-up if you enter via the rear laneway (parallel to Sydney Road). However, there are three steps down into the gallery from the rear courtyard (rise measurements of the steps are 110 mm, 155 mm and 170 mm). We have an ambulant toilet which is wheelchair friendly but can only be accessed via the rear courtyard. The Sarah Sands pub next door has a wheelchair-accessible bathroom.

“My journey into sound began with devotional music from India. As a first-generation Australian artist, I navigate diverse ideologies to uphold my artistic integrity while seeking ways to honour and represent my cultural heritage and beginnings as part of a family of devotional singers. My work as a trained trauma-informed yoga facilitator, rāga* music student, performer and disability worker also informs my practice. Always curious about the interplay between digital processing and organic voice, I use these mediums and my
experience to explore self, place and connection to community.”

—Aarti Jadu 

*Rāga is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music, unique to India with no equivalent concept in Western classical music. 

Presented as part of سخن دل Sokhaneh del – language/speech of the heart

Together with Inbal, we invite you to join her as she makes a new painting on-site, inviting the audience to join her in a collective act of mark-making using a single piece of fabric and a selection of inks sourced by the artist. 

The session will run for 1.5 hours from 2:00-3:30 PM, and then participants are invited to loiter for a cup of tea until 4:00 PM when the event will finish.

An email with details from the artist on the intentions for this collective act will be sent to participants prior to the session.

No painting or drawing experience is necessary. Inbal will guide us on the day while also supporting a spirit of experimentation. 

Press 'Join the guest list' to reserve your attendance. Attendance is free. Bookings are essential for planning purposes.

Location: correspondences 39 Sydney Road Brunswick, VIC, 3056 Australia (map).

Additional notes are provided below. 

Credits:  Image of Inbal by Madz Rehorek

Additional notes:

—Entry is from 1:45 PM for a 2:00 PM sharp start. 
—All of our events are photographed as we need to document all that we do to evidence the work that we do and secure grant funding. If you'd prefer not to be featured in our event photographs, please let us know in advance, and we will ensure you're not captured. Your comfort is important to us.
—Please note: Disability access: Unfortunately, we could not install an entry ramp into our facility due to building limitations. There is a 200mm step up into the front entrance of the gallery space. Please drop us an email in advance at info@correspondences.work to discuss this further and arrange assistance. There is no step-up if you enter via the rear laneway (parallel to Sydney Road). However, there are three steps down into the gallery from the rear courtyard (rise measurements of the steps are 110 mm, 155 mm and 170 mm). We have an ambulant toilet which is wheelchair friendly but can only be accessed via the rear courtyard. The Sarah Sands pub next door has a wheelchair-accessible bathroom.

Together with Aarti, Inbal and Javad, we invite you to join us for the opening of سخن دل Sokhaneh del – language/speech of the heart.

Javad will read a poem by Maulana/Rumi to mark the occasion.

Attendance is free. Bookings are essential for planning purposes. We thank you for your support.

Press 'Join the guest list‘ to join. 

Location: correspondences Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country  39 Sydney Road Bulleke-bek (Brunswick) VIC 3056

Image credits:
Inbal Nissim, Ode 3 2023 ink on paper 53.0 x 43.0 cm © Inbal Nissim Photograph of Aarti Jadu by Chloe Sobejko. Photograph of Inbal Nissim by Madz Rehorekj. Photograph of Javad Kashani by Dion Van de Kamp.

Presented in partnership with Brunswick Music Festival

Join us to celebrate the launch of Brunswick Music Festival 2024 with Emma Ovenden / Octet Loves Nine Again.

Emma Ovenden / Octet Loves Nine Again showcases new electronic music by Ovenden from her residency project at CORRESPONDENCES with visual artist Elyss McCleary. The project, Harmonious Eccentricity, was inspired by Ovenden's albums, Parameter I and II, and works of visual art – the profoundly harmonious eccentricity in the sound and the innate sense of musicality in the abstract visual artworks of this self-described 'Unconventional beat maker. Integrity purist'. It's a sensibility also felt in McCleary's paintings like Octet Loves Nine Again 2022, which inspired the show's title.

Hermit to song. Master of melancholy. Harsh poet. Conductor of lo-fi orchestras. Unconventional beat maker. Integrity purist. Emma Ovenden pushes the creative envelope of composition using a computer-less setup to make electronic music. Please join us to experience the work of this singular artist for yourself.

Press 'Join the guest list to join'. 
Location: correspondences 39 Sydney Road Brunswick, VIC, 3056 Australia (map).

Proceedings:
—3:00-3:50 pm Sound check/set up. 
—3:50-4:00 pm Entry via the laneway at the rear of the gallery. As our attendants to direct you. 
—4:15-5:00 pm Performance
—5:00-5:30 pm Drinks, conversations with the performer and opportunity to explore the artists' exhibit. 

Additional notes regarding access and ticketing are provided below.  Access the broader BMF program --> here. 

Credits: The banner image is a detail of Elyss McCleary's painting, Octet Loves Nine Again 2022. The photograph of Emma below is by Will Hamilton Coates.

As part of Sydney Road Street Party 2024, join us for a conversation with Naarm/Melbourne-based writer, artist and photographer Sarah Walker to talk about her award-winning book, The First Time I Thought I Was Dying. 

We live in a world that expects us to be constantly in control of ourselves. Our bodies and minds, though, have other ideas. In this striking debut, artist and writer Sarah Walker wrestles with the awkward spaces where anatomy meets society: body image and Photoshop, phobias and religion, sex scenes and onstage violence, death and grief. Her luminous writing is at once specific and universal as she mines the limits of anxiety, intimacy and control. Sharp-witted and poignant, this collection of essays explores our unruly bodies and asks how we might learn to embrace our own chaos.

—Overview, The First Time I Thought I Was Dying UQP 

Bio
Sarah Walker is a Naarm/Melbourne-based writer, artist and photographer who makes work about anxiety, control and intimacy. Her first book, The First Time I Thought I Was Dying, a collection of non-fiction essays about the unruly body in late capitalism, won the 2021 Quentin Bryce Award. Her writing has been published widely and recognised in awards in Australia and internationally. Her art practice encompasses immersive binaural sound works, video and text-based installation, and collaborations across live art, participatory performance and theatre. She is a current PhD candidate at RMIT University.

Publisher: UQP 2021 © Sarah Walker

Note:—
—1) We stock limited copies of the book in-store. Head to our online shop to pre-purchase your copy and collect it on the day.
—2) Please select a ticket with a drink if you would like a refreshment. 
—3) Our Writers In Conversation events are $10. These funds help us to subsidise our next writer-in-conversation event. We thank you for your support. We offer limited free tickets for those in need. 

Acknowledgements & Credits
We respectfully acknowledge the Sovereign Custodians of the land and waters upon which we live and work, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging. We extend this respect to all First Peoples.

Join us on Saturday, 17 February, for a facilitated workshop with correspondences’ Emma Thomson. Throughout the session, we will also chat with resident artists Emma Ovenden and Elyss McCleary about collaging, their practice and their experiences working together on the project.

Your ticket includes all materials and equipment. All materials will be provided as part of the ticket price. If you'd like to bring a few of your own special materials, please do. Please also feel free to bring your own collage works in for a little show-and-tell! Resident artists Elyss and Emma will bring some examples of recent works.

Please refer below for Proceedings, Pre-work and Additional information. 

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Press 'Join the guest list to join'. 

Location: correspondences 39 Sydney Road Bulleke-bek (Brunswick), VIC, 3056.

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Proceedings: 

1:00–1:05 pm / 5 minutes
Acknowledgement of Country
Welcome & Plan for today
Housekeeping & Questions? 

1:05 – 1:25 pm / 15-20 minutes
Introduction
What is collage?
Walkthrough of five elements with reference to images of other artists’ works 

1:25 – 1:55 pm / 30 minutes approx.
Activity 1 (Warm-up) – Abstract stripes
Idea: Sound and colour waves – draws inspiration from the concept of the Harmonious Eccentricity concept, which explores the intuitive connections between colour and sound.

2:00 – 2:15 pm / 15 minutes
Coffee/tea break/snacks & collage show and tell

2:15 – 3:15 or 3:30 pm / 60 minutes approx.
Activity 2 Collage inspired by one of the poems
Idea: Inspired by the imagery and sounds that emerge from the poems. Working more loosely without an under-drawing/sketch, focusing more on playing with arranging various cut-out elements. Participants will be sent a link to the following poems by Rebecca Elson and Lisel Mueller: 

Rebecca Elson: Antidotes to fear of death, Girl with a balloon & Let there always be light.
OR 
Lisel Mueller: Cicadas, Why I need the birds & The laughter of women

3:15-3:30 pm Wrapping up. The event concludes at 3:30 pm. 

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Pre-work:

—Think about the images, sounds, and related ideas that emerge from your reading of the poems. Choose one that might be the focus of Activity 2 for you.  A list will provided to guests who have registered. 
—Materials will be provided as part of the ticket price. However, if you'd like to bring a few of your own special materials, please do.
—Please also feel free to bring your own collage works in for a little show-and-tell! Resident artists Elyss and Emma will bring some examples of recent works. 

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Additional notes:

—Audiences are invited to contribute a collage for the guest book displayed in the space.
—If you prefer to join a freestyle, self-guided session, join us on Saturday, 2 March. Details —>here. 
—All of our events are photographed as we need to document all that we do to evidence our work and secure grant funding. If you'd prefer not to be featured in our event photographs, please let us know in advance, and we will ensure you're not captured. Your comfort is important to us.
—All contributions received go towards funding the work we do - like paying for materials and paying our creatives. 

Credit: Pictured are our guests enjoying community drawing as part of last year's Resonate project. Emma is also pictured. 

Together with Emma and Elyss, we invite you to join us for the opening of their residency project, Harmonious Eccentricity, and to celebrate the start of the new year.

Access is free. Bookings are essential for planning purposes. We thank you for your support.

Press 'Join the guest list to join'. 

Location: correspondences Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country  39 Sydney Road Bulleke-bek (Brunswick) VIC 3056

Image credits:
Elyss McCleary, Golden sherbet waves pash, I want to be on a beach with you with a pine lime splice (detail), oil on linen canvas, 140 x 125.5 cm © Elyss McCleary

Presented as part of our annual Resonate program, Harmonious Eccentricity, featuring Emma and her collaborator Elyss McCleary. 

Join us for an intimate set of new live music by Emma. Elyss will also come along to listen and sketch a little.

For a taste of what to expect musically, listen to Emma's beautiful album Parameter (Part 1 and Part 2) via Bandcamp. you can also purchase a digital album there to support her practice. 

Press 'Join the guest list to join'. 

Location: correspondences 39 Sydney Road Brunswick, VIC, 3056 Australia (map).

Proceedings:
—6:00-6:30 pm Sound check/set up. 
—6:30-6:50 pm Guest entry. Set to commence at 7:00 pm. 
—7:00-7:45 pm Performance
—7:45-8:30 pm Drinks, conversations with the performer and opportunity to explore the artists' exhibit. 

This event is ticketed to help us subsidise the work we do. If you’d like a ticket with a drink, please choose the relevant ticket - pre-orders greatly assist our little Events team. 

Additional notes regarding access and ticketing are provided below. 

Credits: The banner images are stills from Emma Ovenden, I feel heavy, 2021, single-channel video/film clip, colour, sound (un-mastered), 3 mins © Emma Ovenden.  

Together with multi-instrumentalist/composer/visual artist Emma Ovenden and visual artist Elyss McCleary, we invite you to join us after dark to explore the first exhibit for their project and join our Multilingual Poetry Reading Circle - a monthly gathering inaugurated in 2023.

Press 'Join the guest list' to RSVP for planning purposes.

Note:—Admission is free, but drink purchases and donations are gratefully received as this income is used to continue doing our work.

Image credit: Stills from Emma Ovenden, Shadows, 2023, single-channel video/film clip featuring music by Emma Ovenden colour, sound, 3 mins © Emma Ovenden

Join us for our monthly Open House, where the objective is to create a space for informal encounters where new connections between our in-house team, the artist, our patrons, and the local community can develop.

For this final month, we invite you to join us for our second multilingual poetry reading circle. Ouyang and Jessye will share a couple of poems, and then we want to hand the floor over to you to share a poem or two in English or any other language. All levels and languages are welcome!

We'll also chat with the artists about their final exhibit.

Press 'Join the guest list' to RSVP for planning purposes.

Note:—Admission is free, but drink purchases and donations are gratefully received as this income is used to continue doing our work - like more of these events!

Image credit: Still of Jessye's film in progress as part of the residency. 

We warmly invite you to a special one-night-only improvised performance by esteemed composer and world-leading performing artist Mindy Meng Wang 王萌 in connection with the final weeks of Ouyang Yu & Jessye Wdowin-McGregor residency project ‘Ekphrasis’.

Guest entry via the front gallery entrance from 3:00 pm. to explore the latest exhibition by the resident artists. The improvisation will commence promptly at 3:30 p.m. and will run for approx. 30 minutes.

Bookings are essential for access to the performance space from 3:00-4:00 p.m. General access will re-open via the front gallery when the performance has ended, and we’d love you to join us then if preferred. Formal proceedings will conclude at 5 p.m. Guests are welcome to explore the exhibit and enjoy a drink together until 6 p.m. 

Places limited. Press 'Join the guest list to join'.

A limited number of free tickets for the performance are offered. General access after the performance is free and does not require registration.

Ticket sales, hospitality purchases and donations help us to cover the production costs of events such as this. We can do what we do, thanks to your generosity.

Location: correspondences Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country, 39 Sydney Road Brunswick, VIC, 3056 Australia.
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Additional information:
—Late arrivals may not be permitted after 3:15pm.
—Refreshments will be available - our house sake, shochu, umeshu or yuzu soda. Drinks (alcohol) will end at 6 pm.
—If you’re interested in acquiring one of the artist's artworks, please email info@correspondences.work or pop in and see us in person. 
—All of our events are photographed as we need to document all that we do to evidence the work that we do and secure grant funding. If you'd prefer not to be featured in our event photographs, please let us know in advance, and we will ensure you're not captured. Your comfort is important to us.
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Précis
Ekphrasis is a collaborative residency project exploring the time-honoured correlations between text and image. It features the words of poet, writer and editor Ouyang Yu and the images of visual artist Jessye Wdowin-McGregor.

Since July, Ouyang has been working with Jessye to capture a short film exploring his ‘tree-writing project’ - a filmic representation of the poet’s daily practice of writing poems on the trunks and leaves of trees in Bundoora Park, Kingsbury, a site of great inspiration he has returned to again and again for almost thirty years.

The film is a reflection upon ecology and time, the artists’ mutual love of nature and belief in the spontaneity of the creative act and vitality of the poetic image in the search for a sense of spirit and place.

At the heart of the project is the idea of 'found poetry', a search that drives both artists – Ouyang through his bilingual words of poetry and Jessye through her search with the camera and body.

For this one-night-only special event, we celebrate the launch of the artists’ film. We have invited internationally-acclaimed composer/performing artist Mindy Meng Wang 王萌 to feature as a guest artist making a live improvised music response to this idea of found poetry.

It is envisaged as an extension of the visual and written field into the sonic realm, drawing inspiration from the text, sounds and images of the film, which will be playing on repeat in the exhibition space.

On Saturday, 18 November, we are honoured to have acclaimed poet, writer, editor and translator Ouyang Yu facilitating a master poetry workshop for us.

Ouyang Yu is a Naarm (Melbourne)-based poet, novelist, literary scholar and translator. Over his decades-long writing career, he has published prolifically in both English and Chinese—including the award-winning novel The English Class (2010). His more recent works include the novel Billy Sing (2017) and the poetry collection Flag of Permanent Defeat (2019). He is the recipient of the 2022 Australia Council Fellowship for Literature, the awarding of which has allowed him to focus on his new documentary novel.

This workshop is suitable for writers at all levels.
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Saturday, 18 November, 2:00- 4:00 PM
correspondences Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country
39 Sydney Road Bulleke-bek (Brunswick) VIC
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Press the 'Join the guest list’ button to book your ticket. Places limited. 

Note:—
—All of our events are photographed as we need to document all that we do to evidence the work that we do and secure grant funding. If you'd prefer not to be featured in our event photographs, please let us know in advance, and we will ensure you're not captured. Your comfort is important to us.

Acknowledgements & Credits
We respectfully acknowledge the Sovereign Custodians of the land and waters upon which we live and work, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging. We extend this respect to all First Peoples. Leaf poems pictured are copyright Ouyang Yu.

Every month, we run an 'Art Walk' and invite our audiences to join us for a visit to see another creative space, art exhibition, or display - inside or outside. Join us at the CCP in November to see James Tylor: Turrangka…in the shadows.

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Multi-disciplinary artist James Tylor combines historical and contemporary photographic processes to explore his Nunga (Kaurna Miyurna), Māori (Te Arawa) and European (English, Scottish, Irish, Dutch and Norwegian) ancestry.

‘Turrangka…in the shadows’ surveys a decade of Tylor’s practice and, for the first time, brings together the most comprehensive selection of his unique daguerreotypes, expansive digital photographic series, hand-made Kaurna cultural objects, and furniture. The exhibition title is drawn from a Kaurna word, highlighting a significant ongoing aspect of Tylor’s practice: the learning and sharing of his Indigenous language. As well as shadow, turra also translates to reflection, image, and mirror.

Learn more —> here. 

Credit: Photograph of one of our monthly Art Walk attendees admiring the exhibition, ngaratya (together, us group, all in it together), last month. Find out more here.
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Plan/meeting location:
—Start at CCP, 404 George St Fitzroy VIC 3065 @1:55pm for 2:00 pm entry
—End CCP, at approx. 3:00 pm 

Press the ‘JOIN THE GUEST LIST’ button below to register for free.
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Note:—

—Joining our group is free, but we ask you to please RSVP below so that we know that you’d like to join us. Registrations close the day prior. Communication on the day is via email. If you’re lost, email or DM us via Instagram.
—All of our events are photographed as we need to document all that we do to evidence the work that we do and secure grant funding. If you'd prefer not to be featured in our event photographs, please let us know in advance, and we will ensure you're not captured. Your comfort is important to us.

Join us for a conversation with acclaimed Filipina Australian novelist, poet, short story writer, dramatist and performer Merlinda Bobis, who will be chatting with us (and singing for us) from Ngunnawal Country in Canberra via Zoom about her book, The Kindness of Birds.

An oriole sings to a dying father. A bleeding-heart dove saves the day. A crow wakes a woman’s resolve. Owls help a boy endure isolation. Cockatoos attend the laying of the dead. Always there are birds in these linked stories that pay homage to kindness and the kinship among women and the planet. From Australia to the Philippines, across cultures and species, kindness inspires resilience amidst loss and grief. Being together ignites resistance against violence. We pull through in the company of others.

Kindness cannot self-isolate. It moves both ways and all ways, like breath.

WINNER, CANBERRA CRITICS’ CIRCLE
SHORTLISTED, CHRISTINA STEAD PRIZE FOR FICTION, NSW PREMIER’S LITERARY AWARDS 2022

Publisher: Spinifex Press 2021 © Merlinda Bobis 2021
Cover design: Deb Snibson, MAPG

Note:—
—1) We stock limited copies of the book in-store. Head to our online shop to pre-purchase your copy and collect it on the day.
—2) Please select a ticket with a drink if you would like a refreshment 
—3) Our Writers In Conversation events are normally $10. But, as our writer will be joining us via Zoom on this occasion, admission tickets are free with the request for a $5 donation. These funds help us to subsidise our next writer-in-conversation event. We thank you for your support.

Bio
Award-winning writer Merlinda Bobis grew up in Albay, Philippines at the foot of an active volcano and now lives in Ngunnawal Country (Canberra), Australia. Novelist, poet, short story writer, dramatist and performer, she dreams up stories across different geographies and languages: English, Filipino and Bikol. She defies borders by transforming them into flourishing spaces of interconnection.

Merlinda has published novels, short story and poetry collections in Australia, Philippines, and the US, and critical-creative essays internationally. Her plays for stage and radio were performed in various countries, some by herself with dance and music, and she has also been composing songs. She has designed and facilitated community arts projects on the environment, women’s business, intercultural engagements and migration. She continues to work across genres as writer, performer, community arts facilitator and scholar.

Merlinda has a Bachelor of Arts (Summa cum Laude) from Aquinas University of Legazpi and a Master of Arts in Literature (Meritissimus) from University of Santo Tomas, Manila. For ten years, she taught Literature and English at Philippine universities before coming to Australia on a study grant. She completed her Doctorate of Creative Arts at University of Wollongong where she taught Creative Writing for more than 20 years. She is currently Honorary Senior Lecturer at Australian National University.

Acknowledgements & Credits
We respectfully acknowledge the Sovereign Custodians of the land and waters upon which we live and work, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging. We extend this respect to all First Peoples. 

Join resident artist Jessye Wdowin-McGregor in conversation with correspondences' Emma Thomson.

Jessye will reflect on her duo residency project in progress at correspondences, Ekphrasis, which she has been undertaking with acclaimed poet, writer, translator and editor Ouyang Yu.  Jessye has extended practice into sculpture as part of her project, creating a series of small bronze works. Inspired by nature encountered during her daily walks, especially shells, she has been exploring the idea of these small sculptures as tiny monuments or talismans.

A second project has involved casting her hand and then part-transforming it into delicate leaf matter - a cross-disciplinary connection back to her photographic and collage practice and site-based collaboration with Ouyang, which has reflected on Dirabeen (Darebin) Creek and Bundoora Park, the waterways, trees and places where Jessye walks, and Ouyang writes much of his poetry.

This event is part of Craft Contemporary 2023, an annual festival delivered by Craft Victoria. The focus of the conversation will be the making process, intersections between her sculpting/casting projects and her hand-made photography and collage practice and the experience of working with Ouyang and his poetry alongside her visual art practice.

About
The artist
Jessye is a Naarm (Melbourne)-based artist whose practice spans video, performance, photography, drawing, and collage. A relationship to place underpins much of her work, and she is inspired by environments that are sometimes at the periphery of attention, particularly within the urban realm. She is interested in our entanglements with other species, the thresholds between body and landscape, the human impact on the natural world, spontaneous forms of urban nature, and the elemental infrastructures that shape our surroundings. Artist website https://www.jessyewdowinmcgregor.com/

Craft Contemporary
Craft Contemporary (1–31 October) is an annual festival delivered by Craft Victoria – the largest celebration of craft and design in Victoria. The festival brings together practitioners, educators, industry, and craft lovers to explore material practice as it is today. See, touch, experience and be inspired by 150+ art experiences, including exhibitions, talks, demonstrations, workshops and open studios. You can view the rest of the program —> here.

Note:—
—1) Conversation 2-3 pm, question time 3-3:30 pm. We’d love your questions in advance! Email us at info@correspondences.work.
—2) Admission is free, but drink purchases and donations are gratefully received as this income is used to continue doing our work.

Image credits:
1) Event page - A soft spiral unfurling and an eyeful of aster, 2022, inkjet fine art archival print on Canson Rag Photographique, 46.5 x 36.9cm
2) Header image - Making in-progress / Ekphrasis, 2023 
3) Artist headshot  

All images are copyright Jessye Wdowin-McGregor. 

Bio
Jessye Wdowin-McGregor is a visual artist whose practice spans video, performance, photography, drawing and collage. A relationship to place underpins much of her work, and she is inspired by environments that are sometimes at the periphery of attention, particularly within the urban realm. She is interested in our entanglements with other species, the thresholds between body and landscape, the human impact on the natural world, spontaneous forms of urban nature, and the elemental infrastructures that shape our surroundings. Her practice incorporates both her own imaging of place and the use of found imagery, allowing for a combination of archival, personal and material memory, and the means to reflect inner as well as outer landscapes.

Artist website https://www.jessyewdowinmcgregor.com/

Acknowledgements & Credits
We respectfully acknowledge the Sovereign Custodians of the land and waters upon which we live and work, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging. We extend this respect to all First Peoples. 

Join us for our monthly Open House, where the objective is to create a space for informal encounters where new connections between our in-house team, the artist, our patrons, and the local community can develop.

This month, together with Ouyang and Jessye, we invite you to join us for a multilingual poetry reading circle. Ouyang will share a couple of poems from his book, Flag of Permanent Defeat, and then we want to hand the floor over to you to share a poem or two in English or any other language.

We'll also chat with Ouyang about his bilingual practice, writing in English and his Chinese mother tongue. We'd love to hear your perspectives about this, too. All levels and languages are welcome!

Press 'Join the guest list' to RSVP for planning purposes.

Note:—Admission is free, but drink purchases and donations are gratefully received as this income is used to continue doing our work - like more of these events!

Image credit: Still of Jessye's film in progress as part of the residency. 

Every month, we run an 'Art Walk' and invite our audiences to join us for a visit to see another creative space, art exhibition, or display - inside or outside. Join us at the ACCA in October to see James Nguyen/Open Glossary.

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James Nguyen: Open Glossary is presented as part of the Copyright Agency Partnerships series of new commissions supporting mid-career and established visual artists to develop and present a major new body of work. With an ongoing commitment to collaborative models of making, James Nguyen has expanded the solo commissioning focus, working with Tamsen Hopkinson (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Pāhauwera), Budi Sudarto, Kate ten Buuren (Taungurung) and Chris Xu on a series of new polyphonic installations presented throughout ACCA’s galleries, as well as an evolving multilingual queer glossary for ACCA’s Digital Wing.

Open Glossary explores the capacity of language to both bind and divide us. Alert to the liveness of lexicons, the exhibition emphasises the ways that words and syntax constantly evolve and transform, marking our connections to others across the specifics of time and place. Conversation is key to Nguyen’s approach, positioning his personal experience and perspective in dialogue with others – family, friends, Vietnamese diasporic and LGBTIQA+ communities, the art world and its institutions.

Learn more —> here. 

Credit: Photograph of one of our monthly Art Walk attendees admiring the exhibition, WILAM BIIK, at Walker Street Gallery and Arts Centre, Dandenong, curated by Wurundjeri, Dja Dja Wurrung and Ngurai Illum-Wurrung woman Stacie Piper, last month. Explore a 3-D tour of the show at TarraWarra Museum of Art where it was first staged (here), and an extensive playlist of information —> here.
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Plan/meeting location:
—Start at ACCA, 111 Sturt Street Southbank VIC 3006 @10:55am for 11:00 am entry
—End ACCA at approx. 1:00 pm 

Press the ‘JOIN THE GUEST LIST’ button below to register for free.
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Note:—

—Joining our group is free, but we ask you to please RSVP below so that we know that you’d like to join us. Registrations close the day prior. Communication on the day is via email. If you’re lost, email or DM us via Instagram.
—All of our events are photographed as we need to document all that we do to evidence the work that we do and secure grant funding. If you'd prefer not to be featured in our event photographs, please let us know in advance, and we will ensure you're not captured. Your comfort is important to us.

To look at these marvellous pieces of pottery is to imagine a concert in which an imaginary drummer fills the jars with rainwater, and gently beats the edges of a few to hear the sound generated, or to see a poet weaving through them thinking to himself what he could write on the surfaces of the pots or plates or pans or bottles before putting the poetic lines down on them.

—Ouyang Yu, ‘Fragile Sculpture of Instrumental Music: A View of 'Matter Form Figure Ground’
A text commissioned in connection with the exhibition Shane Kent / Matter Form Figure Ground

Come listen, draw, drink tea & reflect with us.

Together with exhibiting artist Shane Kent and collaborating writer Ouyang Yu, correspondences invite you to join us for a special gathering at SoCA to reflect on the moon, making and the spirit of unknowing at the heart of much creative practice.

Inspired by Shane's exhibition, the painting of collaborator and curator Kevin Lincoln and Ouyang's text commissioned for the project, we invite you to explore the artworks with us – to listen to one of our favourite albums by a local artist, draw, drink tea and share your perspectives on the works in the room.

To kick things off, Ouyang will read his poem from the text commissioned for the project.

Booking via the button below is essential. Numbers limited. Press ‘Join the guest list’.

Note:—
—1) Admission includes a cup of tea of your choice. 
—2) If you'd like to draw, please make a donation. All donations are gratefully received. Collections go towards recovering our costs and placing towards future correspondences' events. 

Credit: The painting, The Moon Reflected, by artist Kevin Lincoln, is pictured alongside ceramic works by artist Shane Kent. Also featured is the text by Ouyang Yu, commissioned for the project entitled Fragile Sculpture of Instrumental Music: A View of 'Matter Form Figure Ground.

Acknowledgements & Credits
We respectfully acknowledge the Sovereign Custodians of the land and waters upon which we live and work, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging. We extend this respect to all First Peoples. 

Together with Ouyang and Jessye, we invite you to join us for the opening of their residency project, Ouyang Yu & Jessye Wdowin-McGregor—Ekphrasis, and to celebrate the full moon and Mid-Autumn Festival celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese communities here in Naarm (Melbourne).

Booking (free) is essential. Places limited. Press 'Join the guest list to join'.
Location: Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country 39 Sydney Road Bulleke-bek (Brunswick) VIC 3056

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Artist Bios

Ouyang Yu is a Naarm (Melbourne)-based poet, novelist, literary scholar and translator. Over his decades-long writing career, he has published prolifically in both English and Chinese—including the award-winning novel The English Class (2010). His more recent works include the novel Billy Sing (2017) and the poetry collection Flag of Permanent Defeat (2019). He is the recipient of the 2022 Australia Council Fellowship for Literature, the awarding of which has allowed him to focus on his new documentary novel. Ouyang will be collaborating with artist Jessye Wdowin-McGregor as part of our inaugural duo residency.

Jessye Wdowin-McGregor is a Naarm (Melbourne)-based artist whose practice spans video, performance, photography, drawing, and collage. A relationship to place underpins much of her work, and she is inspired by environments that are sometimes at the periphery of attention, particularly within the urban realm. She is interested in our entanglements with other species, the thresholds between body and landscape, the human impact on the natural world, spontaneous forms of urban nature, and the elemental infrastructures that shape our surroundings. Jessye will be collaborating with artist /poet Ouyang Yu as part of our inaugural duo residency.

For more information on their residency project, please visit her Residency page (here) or our News/Stories page. 

Image credits:
1) A soft spiral unfurling and an eyeful of aster, 2022, inkjet fine art archival print on Canson Rag Photographique, 46.5 x 39.5 $400 (image/sheet) / 49.0 x 42.0 cm $600 (framed). © Jessye Wdowin-McGregor Photograph: Andrew Curtis 
2) Work-in-progress, Ekphrasis residency

Join us for a glass of wine or a cup of tea and conversation with Barkandji woman Zena Cumpston, accomplished writer, researcher, curator and storyteller who will be chatting with us about her book, Plants: Past, Present and Future – co-authored with Wiradjuri geographer and scientist Michael-Shawn Fletcher and geographer Lesley Head.

We’ll also leaf through Zena’s beautiful publication, ‘Indigenous plant use: A booklet on the medicinal, nutritional and technological use of indigenous plants’ - and spend a little time looking at, smelling and eating some recommended plants together.

In the meantime, please visit the stunning website for the exhibition ngaratya (together, us group, all in it together, co-curated by Zena and her sister, the artist, curator, writer and educator Nici Cumpston.

In the exhibition, Zena presented her stunning artworks that further engage with her deep passion for plant knowledge and the foodways of her people.

Note:—
—1) We stock limited copies of the book in-store. To pre-purchase your copy and collect on the day, head to our online shop.
—2) Your ticket sales help us to subsidise our next writer in conversation event. We thank you for your support.

Bio
Zena Cumpston is a Barkandji woman who works as a writer, artist, researcher, curator and storyteller. Her work centres around her interest in plant knowledge. Through her multi-disciplinary storytelling, she illuminates the innovation of her people, shining a light on the ways Aboriginal peoples have used plants for nutrition, technologies, and medicines over many thousands of generations.

Acknowledgements & Credits
We respectfully acknowledge the Sovereign Custodians of the land and waters upon which we live and work, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging. We extend this respect to all First Peoples. 

Join us for our monthly Open House, where the objective is to create a space for informal encounters where new connections between our in-house team, the artist, our patrons, and the local community can develop. 

This month, Ouyang and Jessye will meet for tea and conversation on-site, and we’d love you to join us. They’ll be catching up to reflect on Ouyang’s series of poems written in response to Jessye’s works before attending our evening conversation with Barkandji woman Zena Cumpston - more details here.

Note:—
—1) Individual visitors and small groups don’t need to reserve their visit on these days. 
—2) We ask schools, businesses and community groups with 4+ people to please contact us 1-2 weeks prior. Press the button to book your group visit.

Every month, we run an 'Art Walk' and invite our audiences to join us for a visit to see another creative space, art exhibition, or display - inside or outside. Join us at the Walker Street Gallery and Arts Centre in September to see WILAM BIIK. 

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WILAM BIIK is curated by Wurundjeri, Dja Dja Wurrung and Ngurai Illum-Wurrung woman Stacie Piper who says the exhibition is about exploring the true spirit of ourselves, which is found within the spirit of Country.

It features new work from contemporary artists Paola Balla (Wemba Wemba, Gundjitmara), Deanne Gilson (Wadawurrung), Kent Morris (Barkindji), Glenda Nicholls (Ngarrindjeri and Yorta Yorta), Steven Rhall (Taungurung), Nannette Shaw (Tyereelore, Trawoolway, Bunurong), Kim Wandin (Wurundjeri), Lewis Wandin-Bursill (Wurundjeri/Woi-wurrung), Arika Waulu (Gunditjmara, Djapwurrung, Gunnai), and the Djirri Djirri Wurundjeri Women’s Dance Group (Wurundjeri, Dja Dja Wurrung, Ngurai Illum-Wurrung).

Learn more --> here. 

Credit: Photograph of one of our monthly Art Walk attendees admiring the exhibition, ngaratya (together, us group, all in it together), last month. Find out more here.
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Plan/meeting location:
—Start Walker Street Gallery and Arts Centre Cnr Walker and Robinson Streets Dandenong VIC 3175 @12:55pm for 1:00 pm entry
—End Walker Street Gallery and Arts Centre at approx. 3:00 pm 

If you'd like to carpool and meet us at correspondences instead, please select the relevant ticket. We have three places available - first in best dressed!

Press the ‘JOIN THE GUEST LIST’ button below to register for free.
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Note:—

—Joining our group is free, but we ask you to please RSVP below so that we know that you’d like to join us. Registrations close the day prior. Communication on the day is via email. If you’re lost, email or DM us via Instagram.
—All of our events are photographed as we need to document all that we do to evidence the work that we do and secure grant funding. If you'd prefer not to be featured in our event photographs, please let us know in advance, and we will ensure you're not captured. Your comfort is important to us.

Every month, we run an 'Art Walk' and invite our audiences to join us for a visit to see another creative space, art exhibition, or display - inside or outside. Join us at Bunjil Place in August to see the exhibition, ngaratya (together, us group, all in it together), curated by Nici Cumpston and Zena Cumpston.
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ngaratya (together, us group, all in it together) brings together six Barkandji/Barkindji artists; Nici Cumpston, Zena Cumpston, David Doyle, Kent Morris, Adrianne Semmens, and Raymond Zada.

Several trips together on Country provided a rich foundation for the collective to create newly commissioned works that explore and illuminate their Ancestral connection and homelands. The artists spent time travelling together, engaging with cultural landscapes, their Elders, community, and each other, resulting in an immersive installation that comes collectively from their hearts. Featuring soundscape, moving image, screendance, carving, weaving, printmaking, and photography, ngaratya offers a warm invitation into Barkandji/Barkindji Country and belonging.

ngaratya (together, us group, all in it together) is a Bunjil Place Gallery exhibition toured by NETS Victoria. Curated by Nici Cumpston and Zena Cumpston.
Learn more --> here.
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Plan/meeting location:
—Start Bunjil Place Boon Wurrung, Bunurong and Wurundjeri Country, 2 Patrick Northeast Drive Narre Warren VIC 3805 @10:55am for 11:00am entry
—End Bunjil Place at approx. 1:00pm 

Press the ‘JOIN THE GUEST LIST’ button below to register for free.
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Note:—
—Joining our group is free, but we ask you to please RSVP below so that we know that you’d like to join us. Registrations close the day prior. Communication on the day is via email. If you’re lost, email or DM us via Instagram.
—If you'd like to carpool, please select the relevant ticket. We have three places available - first in best dressed! 
—All of our events are photographed as we need to document all that we do to evidence the work that we do and secure grant funding. If you'd prefer not to be featured in our event photographs, please let us know in advance, and we will ensure you're not captured. Your comfort is important to us.

Credit: Photograph of one of our monthly Art Walk attendees admiring Daphne Alexis Ho's Absence, Permeates, Presence, 2022 from the exhibition Closer Together at RMIT Gallery. 

On Saturday, 26 August, we are honoured to have Wurundjeri-willam (Wurundjeri-baluk patriline) artist and founder of Djirri Djirri Dance Group Mandy Nicholson, facilitating a Woiwurrung language workshop for us.

Mandy is a Traditional Custodian of Melbourne and surrounds and also has connections to the Dja Dja wurrung and Ngurai illam wurrung language groups of the Central/Eastern Kulin Nation on her father's side and German on her mother's.

She is a recognised artist, qualified Archaeologist and leader of the Djirri Djirri Dance Group. She worked at the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages for six years, supporting language projects, school programs and communities in the revival of their languages.

She holds a PhD in how Aboriginal people connect to Country, off Country.

This presentation focuses on the revival practices to keep Woiwurrung alive. Suitable for all ages.
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Saturday, 26 August, 2:00- 3:00 PM
correspondences Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country
39 Sydney Road Bulleke-bek (Brunswick) VIC
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Press the 'Join the guest list’ button to book your ticket and find out more.

Note:
—Joining our group is free, but we ask you to please RSVP below so that we know that you’d like to join us. This allows us to arrange seating and refreshments. Registrations close the day prior.
—All of our events are photographed as we need to document all that we do to evidence the work that we do and secure grant funding. If you'd prefer not to be featured in our event photographs, please let us know in advance, and we will ensure you're not captured. Your comfort is important to us.

Acknowledgements & Credits
We respectfully acknowledge the Sovereign Custodians of the land and waters upon which we live and work, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging. We extend this respect to all First Peoples. Image credits: Photograph of Mandy courtesy and copyright of Djirri Djirri Dance Group.

We warmly invite you to Ruby’s closing celebration for He Whakaari Ātārangi / Shadow Play featuring I(dent)ITY, featuring an improvised dance performance by esteemed Indonesian actor, dancer and researcher Sekar Sari - with prop and set design by Ruby and sound by multi-instrumentalist/composer Genevieve Fry and vocalist/composer Aarti Jadu. 

Guest entry via the front gallery entrance from 7:30 pm to explore the latest exhibition by resident Ruby Brown. The performance will commence promptly at 8:00 pm and will run for approx. 20 minutes. 

Bookings are essential for access to the performance space from 7:30-8:30 pm.  General access will re-open via the front gallery when the performance has ended, and we’d love you to join us then if preferred.

Places limited. Press 'Join the guest list to join'.

A limited number of free tickets (with or without a drink) for the performance are offered. General access after the performance is free and does not require registration. 

Ticket sales, hospo purchases and donations help us to cover production costs of events such as this. We can do what we do thanks to  your generosity. 

Location: correspondences Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country, 39 Sydney Road Brunswick, VIC, 3056 Australia (map). 
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Additional information:
—Ticketed admission via the rear entrance only after 7:50 pm. Late arrivals may not be permitted after 7:55 pm.
—Refreshments will be available - our house sake, shochu, umeshu or yuzu soda. Drinks (alcohol) will end at 9 pm per our liquor licence. 
—If you’re interested in acquiring one of Ruby’s artworks, please pop in, email info@correspondences.work or visit her catalogue page, which will continue to be updated as her residency progresses.
—All of our events are photographed as we need to document all that we do to evidence the work that we do and secure grant funding. If you'd prefer not to be featured in our event photographs, please let us know in advance, and we will ensure you're not captured. Your comfort is important to us.
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Précis

I(dent)ITY is a live performance for one night only commissioned in connection with the project of resident artist Ruby Brown, He Whakaari Ātārangi / Shadow Play —A study of movement, shadows & play.

Featuring esteemed actor, dancer, and academic Sekar Sari, it is an improvisational response that re-imagines an earlier work of the same name, picking up on its spirit and scale alongside shared perspectives with Ruby and the sense of place on-site at correspondences.

The starting point for Sekar's work is her 'belief in the power of collecting insightful knowledge through body movement, writing, and character', a contention shared by Ruby, explored through her visual art, cultural heritage and weekly dance practice.

In this re-imagining, the two artists' delve more deeply into their mutual search for spiritual connection and self-understanding through the transformative power of sound/voice, repetition, meditation, movement, and play in art-making.

These themes are at the heart of the performance - Sekar's choreography and Ruby's set and prop design. So too, is an examination of the spiritual essence of sound, materials and objects, the revelatory power of story-telling that exists beyond language and the idea of 'mana wāhine' - the power that all women hold.

A statement from Sekar Sari on the work:

Identity is a never-ending process. Identity is a constant fight, and you can't never figure out which side is going to win. There is always a dent in identity. ‘I’ is always leaving a dent in ‘I’, changing it in such a way that it is no longer recognizable. The new I has completely shifted, yet came from the same individual, leaving possibilities of transformation infinite. There is no such straight identity. That constant fight within the body creates a dent to embody the identity as something beyond the material world, escaping concepts and words. Black and white colors symbolize the contrasts that we encounter in our lives. Sometimes, someway, somehow, we have to choose a particular side. Other times, we just need to let it flow, let it be. However, we also forget that there is also grey between those black and white, that it is not always a dilemma, that we have more than two choices, that we don’t have choices as well. How do we show ourselves to the world? That's when the mask emerges and reveals the way we present ourselves to others. Do we wear a mask in our daily life to hide who we really are or the mask we wear is just one? Can the mask be so vivid that it makes us forget the identity underneath? Are we willing to add to us a part that was never there, a mask that transform our perception of ourselves? In the fight for an identity, the internal scars might suffice the pleasure of discovering who we really are.

— Sekar Sari
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Artist Bios
Ruby Brown was born in Ōtepoti, Aotearoa and is of Scottish and Ngā Puhi descent. She lives on Wurundjeri country in Naarm (Melbourne), where she attended the Victorian College of the Arts in 2014. Using found objects and re-purposed materials, her practice considers sensory experience, connection and disconnection, creation traditions, painting, sculpture and meditative action. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Sekar Sari is an actor, dancer, and researcher from Indonesia and is currently based in Melbourne, Australia. Through her acting performances, she received a number of international accolades, including the Best Actor Prize in The Singapore International Film Festival (2014) and Indonesia's Young Iconic Actress Award by Top10 Asia (2018). Currently, she is a PhD student carrying a research project entitled "Indigenous Intercultural Bodies" at the University of Melbourne. Her artistic research focuses on dance film, transnational cinema, diasporic cinema, multicultural realism, and body language in film. She believes in the power of collecting insightful knowledge through body movement, writing, and character.

Genevieve Fry is a multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Naarm/ Birrarungga. Genevieve is interested in exploratory music, drawing inspiration from the natural world, and encouraging an inward journey touching on deep time, memory and sense of place/ self. In both solo and collaborative contexts across the experimental, contemporary, pop and improvisation scenes, Genevieve cocoons the listener within hypnotic combinations of harp, recorder, synthesizer and voice. As well as being the principal director of new-wave new-age project Cold Hands Warm Heart, Genevieve has performed and collaborated with acclaimed acts, including King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (Hear My Eyes; Suspiria), Grand Salvo, Manisha Anjali, Outer Urban Projects, Geoffrey O’Connor, Taylor Mac (US) and Four Larks Theatre (US). Genevieve is the co-founder of Eastmint artist-run studios, label and performance space which focuses on presenting and supporting music that promotes deep listening from a diverse range of artists across all genres.

Known for creating a hybrid of cinematic compositions and bass music laced with disparate vocal arrangements, Aarti Jadu threads together a journey with sounds of minimal classical, distorted folk beats and processed wordless melodies. Their work is formed from a culmination of existentialism, experimentation and research. Her life's work revolves around the power of embodying sound, an interest originating from her lifelong relationship with devotional music.  In 2021 and 2022, they landed nominations for the 18th Australian music prize for her 2022 release, L’ecole De La Caz, as well as a finalist in the category of Avant Garde/ Experimental Artist of the Year for Music Victoria 2021. In 2022 she also released her first public artwork EMBODIMENTS. Photograph by Chloe Sobejko.

Every month, we run an 'Art Walk' and invite our audiences to join us for a visit to see another creative space, art exhibition, or display - inside or outside. Join us at RMIT Gallery in July to see the exhibition, Closing Together.

‘Closer Together’ reflects on the 25-year cross-cultural relationship between the Hong Kong Art School and RMIT’s School of Art. It is proudly one of the university’s longest-running transnational educational partnerships.

The Chinese classic text the ‘Tao Te Ching’ suggests that the world is made up of what we know and what we don’t know, which are ultimately the same. ‘Closer Together’ proposes that togetherness, creative dialogue and art-making can help us understand this – that through these processes we can come to better know the mysteries of the unknown. This exhibition shines a light on 15 artists from the Hong Kong Art School and RMIT community whose works celebrate connectivity and kinship and uncover new knowledge through exchange.

Artists include Kay Mei Ling Beadman, Movana Chen, Ryan Christopher Cheng, Kris Coad, Carolyn Eskdale, Daphne Alexis Ho, Jaffa Lam, Ivy MA King Chu, Sally Mannall, Drew Pettifer, Kate Siu Man Kit, Scotty So, Kwong San Tang, Fiona Wong Lai Ching and June Wong

Curated by Shirky Chan, Rachel Cheung and Tammy Wong Hulbert.

This project has been supported by the Hong Kong Art School (HKAS) and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney (HKETO, Sydney).
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Plan/meeting location:
—Start RMIT Gallery Wurundjeri Country, 344 Swanston Street Melbourne, Victoria, 3000 @ 12:25 pm for 12:30 pm entry.
—End RMIT Gallery at approx. 1:30 pm.

Press the ‘JOIN THE GUEST LIST’ button below to register for free.
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Note:—
—Joining our group is free, but we ask you to please RSVP below so that we know that you’d like to join us. Registrations close the day prior. Communication on the day is via email. If you’re lost, email or DM us via Instagram.

Credit: Photograph of one of our monthly Art Walk attendees admiring Unbound Collective’s PERMEATE | mapping skin and tides of saturated resistance 2023 from the exhibition ua usiusi faʻavaʻasavili,

Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars that rises in the morning sky during midwinter (from late May to early July) in Aotearoa, New Zealand and for many Māori, marks the start of the Mātahi o te Tau, the Māori new year.

One of the brightest clusters, containing hundreds of stars, it is well-known worldwide and can be seen at different times of the year. In English, the cluster is often called by its ancient Greek name, Pleiades or the Seven Sisters. In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia, the cluster is also associated with stories of the Seven Sisters, which vary across Countries. In Hawaiian, it is Makali’i, ‘eyes of royalty’; in Japan, it is Subaru, meaning ‘gathered together’; in China, it is Mao; in India, it is Krittika.

For many cultures, these stars' appearances are an occasion to come together to celebrate life and its seasons - to plant, harvest and notice the weather and life around us. In Aotearoa, for Māori, Matariki is a time to come together with whānau (family) and friends to reflect on the past, honour those who are no longer with us, celebrate the present, and plan for the future.

This year the cluster returns on Friday, July 14. Early morning, just before dawn, is the optimum time to view the Matariki cluster. We’re working with Melbourne Planterium to get all the right details on when best to view the cluster from here in Naarm. Watch this space!
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Together with resident artist Ruby Brown, we invite you to join us at correspondences to celebrate the rising of Matariki and the te Mātahi o te Tau, the Māori new year.

We'll be gathering together to reflect on the Mātauranga Māori (ancestral knowledge and wisdom) at the heart of the celebration of Matariki. While we share some kai (food) and listen to some good music, we'll make together to create a space to reflect on the past, honour loved ones no longer with us, celebrate the present, and plan for the future. Read on for our making plans, the day's proceedings and the preparation recommended. 
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Location & Bookings:
correspondences 39 Sydney Road, Bulle-beke (Brunswick) VIC 3056. Please press the 'Join the guest list' button to book.
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Proceedings:
—10:30 am // Welcome, set up, and explore Ruby's exhibit and the materials we have brought today. You can also watch the short film on the TV in the exhibition space that tells the story of Matariki.
—10:45 am-11:00 am// Matirki and the new year // We'll talk a little about Matariki and the new year while enjoying a cuppa and colouring some tin foil we will also use to make. It's also a time to reflect on being present and thinking about what the new year means to each of us.
—11:00-11:30 am// The first activity, Remember a loved one //Matariki Mahi Toi: Make a Frame, centres on the idea/experience of remembrance. It's a time for us to make a special frame while remembering the loved ones who are no longer with us. As we make, some of us may share stories of our loved ones, while others may prefer to keep their thoughts private while focusing on making and remembering. What you choose to frame is up to you. It might be a photograph, or it might be a text, drawing or anything else that reminds you of that person. In preparation, we have provided some notes below.
—11:30 am// The second activity, Celebrate the present/ Kai time // Tipuānuku: food from the earth, centres on being present. It's a time to share some yummy kūmara / sweet potato and kāreti | carrot soup with freshly baked bread, followed by cake. As we eat, some of us may choose to keep making or chatting with the person next to us about our loved ones or plans for the future.
—12:00 pm-12:30 pm// The final activity, Plans for the future: Whetū Mobile / Star mobiles, centres on the future. It's a time to think about our dreams, hopes and plans for the year ahead while making a mobile to hang in a special place at home to remind us about our aspirations and hopes.
—1:00 pm - Event concludes.
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Notes:——
—1) Each child must be accompanied by an adult guardian – Mum, Dad, Granny, Grandpa, Uncle or Aunty. The making activities are suited for children aged 5-10. Guardians, concerning the suitability of our activities, you know your child best. Please reach out if you have any inquiries.

—2) There are two ticket options:
Option 1 Single Admission Adult Ticket 1 $20 includes participation in all activities, kūmara / sweet potato and kāreti | carrot soup with fresh baked Khorasan bread, cake, coffee/tea & all writing/drawing/making materials.
Option 2 Adult with 1 child $25 includes participation in all activities, kūmara / sweet potato and kāreti | carrot soup with fresh baked Khorasan bread, cake, coffee/tea/drinks for 2 & all writing/drawing/making materials.
Option 3 In a gesture of manaakitanga (hospitality, kindness, generosity, support - the process of showing respect, generosity and care for others), we would like to offer the local community access to a limited number of free tickets to join us. If you would like to apply for one, please reach out info@correspondences.work.

—3) Preparation:  Remember a loved one // Matariki Mahi Toi: Make a Frame.
At home, take a moment to think about someone special in your life that you'd like to remember. Recall the special moments you shared and the wisdom they passed on to you. Perhaps, there is a special recipe they cooked for you, a song they loved/sang, an important story or a particular skill you learned from them. Or, maybe there is a special object they gifted to you, a photograph, a special written note or something else that reminds you of the special influence on your life. Think about these things, and if you like, bring materials, pictures or written words that express your love for them. Or, if you're not quite ready to share, just do your thinking at home and come along to make your frame.
—3) Preparation:  Plans for the future: Whetū Mobile / Star mobiles
At home, take a moment to think about your hopes, dreams, and aspirations, not only for yourself but for your whānau (family) and hapori (kin/community). Meet with friends, family, or others to think of a goal that you’re all working towards.

—4) To listen to a karakia (incantation) associated with Matariki and learn more about how Matarki gets its name, watch this > video from 1:00-13:13:00 mins by Dr Rangi Matamua.

—6) To read an interesting article by Duane W. Hamacher entitled 'Kindred skies: ancient Greeks and Aboriginal Australians saw constellations in common', press this link > here. Another article also can be accessed by Karlie Noon and Krystal De Napoli entitled ‘Indigenous Songlines tell the story of the night sky’, access here > here.

Credits & acknowledgements: Image credits: Still from the video, How to find Matariki star cluster, by Te Papa Tongarewa/ Museum of New Zealand. Our making activities were inspired by similar activities designed by the Museum. We thank Te Papa for sharing their resources so that our communities can learn.

On the evening of Friday, 14 July, we invite you to join our first Listening Party edition - which celebrates an album we stock and love. 

For our first edition, we will be listening to L’ÉCOLE DE LA CAZ by the incomparable Aarti Jadu, who will also join us as our special guest. 

Aarti will perform live vocalisations of songs from the album. Aarti’s singing practice is heavily influenced by group community singing, reflected in this album itself. This will be an opportunity to invite guests to join in to sing simple repetitive elements from the pieces heard in a choral capacity. Don't worry if you’re feeling shy; just come along and listen.

Aarti will sing from 8 pm. Guest entry from 7:30 pm to buy a record, enjoy a drink and explore He Whakaari Ātārangi / Shadow Play—A study of movement, shadows & play, our latest exhibition instalment by resident artist Ruby Brown.
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Bookings are essential. Places limited.  Press 'Join the guest list to join'.

Location: correspondences Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country, 39 Sydney Road Brunswick, VIC, 3056 Australia (map).

To pre-purchase a copy of Aarti’s album and collect in person on the evening, head to our shop item Aarti Jadu / L’ÉCOLE DE LA CAZ.
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Additional information:
—Our doors will close at 9:30 pm.
—Refreshments will be available on the evening (our house sake, shochu, umeshu or yuzu soda and complimentary dessert). Drinks (alcohol) will end at 9 pm.
—All of our events are photographed as we need to document all that we do to evidence the work that we do and secure grant funding. If you'd prefer not to be featured in our event photographs, please let us know in advance, and we will ensure you're not captured. Your comfort is important to us.
—For some interviews with the artist, check out: 5 Questions - Liminal Mag / Aarti Jadu & Interview with Aarti Jadu / Musician & radio producer Kieran Ruffles  Follow Aarti at —@lllllllllllalllllllllll 
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Artist Bio
Aarti Jadu
Known for creating a hybrid of cinematic compositions and bass music laced with disparate vocal arrangements, Aarti threads together a journey with sounds of minimal classical, distorted folk beats and processed wordless melodies. Their work is formed from a culmination of existentialism, experimentation and research. Her life's work revolves around the power of embodying sound, an interest originating from her lifelong relationship with devotional music.

Credits
Photograph of Aarti by Chloe Sobejko. The detail of the album cover for L'ECOLE DE LA CAZlbum is the copyright of the artist Aarti Jadu and collaborating designers, as listed here. 

Join us for our monthly Open House, where the objective is to create a space for informal encounters where new connections between our in-house team, the artist, our patrons, and the local community can develop.

For the first time this month, we'll gather after dark when our little sake bar opens. So you're very welcome to join us after work.
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This month we'll be talking with resident Ruby Brown about her first exhibit and making activities underway as part of this first instalment of her residency project, Repetition, Meditation & Movement: Thinking & Filling Gaps. Refer to our interview in progress > here for background. Artist Sav Hopkins will also join the conversation. Like Ruby, Sav works extensively with found objects and materials.

We'll also be leafing through several amazing books from our community library by First Peoples writers, including recent publications by Māori scholar and psychiatrist Dr Hinemoa Elder, Māori master storyteller Witi Ihimaera and Aboriginal scholar Tyson Yunkaporta, to name a few. 

We'll have our usual nighttime menu available for drinks and snacks. Find out more at our Eat + Drink page > here.
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Note:—
—1) Individual visitors and small groups don’t need to reserve their visit on these days. 
—2) We ask schools, businesses and community groups with 4-6+ people to please contact us 1-2 weeks prior to your intended visit date at info@correspondences.work. If another date suits you better, just let us know, and this can also be arranged. 

Pictured: 
—1) Installation shot of Untitled 1-4 2023 (series of four) acrylic polymer gap filler on aluminium composite panels 40.0 x 30.0 cm © Ruby Brown. 
—2) Longing 2019-2020, acrylic and silicone on canvas 101.0 x 77.0 cm (variable) Photograph: Matthew Stanton