The Fremantle Biennale is a biennial festival of site-responsive contemporary art.

Our largely free program presents artworks from Australia and the world, in a festival that reveals and celebrates the cultural, social and historical distinctiveness of the Fremantle (Walyalup) region.

The Fremantle Biennale was founded in 2017 with the intention of creating a festival that expanded contemporary artistic and cultural programming within greater Fremantle.

The Fremantle Biennale takes place on the unceded lands and waters of the Whadjuk people of the Nyoongar nation. We acknowledge the Whadjuk people as the traditional owners of the Walyalup area. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging, and respect the living culture and heritage of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The Fremantle Biennale is held every two years in the Nyoongar season of Kambarang (November). Previous iterations have included HIGH TIDE 17, UNDERCURRENT 19 and CROSSING 21. The next Fremantle Biennale, titled SIGNALS 23, will take place from 3–19 November 2023.

SIGNALS 23 invites a conversation of new works by artists from across Australia and beyond in forms of action, gesture and sound. This new program for the Fremantle Biennale’s fourth festival, invites encounters and experiences that look to the far edges and the far away, to shifting landscapes and sea voyages, to arrivals and departures at the ocean edge. In the same way that signals change, swayed by language, sight and sound, so too will our festival embrace transformation, renewal and new ways of seeing toward the future.

SIGNALS 23 will take place throughout Fremantle, tracing the manjaree (Fremantle foreshore), and the historic West End precinct. Looking across the wardan (ocean) the Biennale will also engage with Wadjemup (Rottnest Island) and travel upstream to Dyoondalup (Attadale).

Midnight

Raoul Marks

Sapphire

Crispin Butteriss & Amy Hubbard
The Mack Family

Azure

Patrick Kosky
Helene & Bob Hewitt

Cobalt

Franklin Gaffney
Darryl Mack

Lazuline

Ariane Palassis
Artcom Fabrication

The Fremantle Biennale is committed to ongoing learning and adaptability with respect to access, cultural diversity and inclusion to ensure that everyone feels welcome and can participate in our festival.

The Fremantle Biennale offers access programs and services to support people participating in our program and events, and a variety of ways to access them. Look on each event page for the following icons to see what is on offer, or visit our Access Programs page to see all events on offer.

Auslan interpreting
Auslan interpreting is provided at a number of our talks, performances and events. Look for the Auslan symbol on the event page.

Audio described performances
A number of audio described performances will be held during the Fremantle Biennale. At these performances live verbal descriptions of actions, performances, objects, scenery and other visual elements.

Assistive Listening
A number of assistive listening performances will be held during the Fremantle Biennale. Assis

Open captioning
Open captioning will be available across a number of Fremantle Biennale digital events. Open captioning allows people who are hard of hearing or deaf to read accurate text displays of a performance or event on a screen. Check the event pages for more information.

Tactile tours
A number of tactile tours will be held across Fremantle Biennale events. These tours allow people who are blind or have low vision to experience an event through touch, sound and conversation.

100 eye
This symbol means that event has no music or dialogue, or that all dialogue is open captioned

75 eye
Events with this symbol have no music or sounds. Access to spoken words is provided through open captioning and/or access to the script.

50 eye
These events may have music or sounds in the background. Open caption, scripts and descriptions are provided.

VENUE ACCESSIBILITY

Wheelchair accessible
This indicates that the venue/location is accessible for people with limited mobility, including those who use a wheelchair. If this symbol is not listed on an event, access may be limited, so please contact us for more information.

Assistive access
This symbol indicates that assistance from a companion is likely to be necessary for wheelchair users to navigate a space.

Please see the access information on each event page for more information on each location.

We also recommend visiting www.transperth.wa.gov.au for up-to-date information on accessible transport to and from all our events.

BOOKINGS & CONTACT

Bookings will be open from 18 August 2023. For more information, to make a booking, or if you have any access requirements you would like to speak to us about, please email bookings@fremantlebiennale.com.au

Companion cards
We welcome companion card holders at all our events. Please select the companion card ticket option via our online booking system, or contact bookings@fremantlebiennale.com.au to make a companion card ticket bookings

The Fremantle Biennale occurs every two years, each time in different locations that invite audiences to re-discover the greater Walyalup (Fremantle) region. Our artists have been invited to make work that responds to the built, natural and historic environment of Fremantle, and we invite you – as our audience – to discover these places too.

In 2023 the majority of our events are located in central Fremantle, in the historic West End, Victoria Quay and Fremantle Port precincts, Bather’s Beach and the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour and down to South Beach.

GETTING THERE

Detailed information on getting to our locations and venues can be found on each event page, including options for parking, public transport and details on accessibility.

Most of our events are located in walking distance from the Fremantle Train Station. Visit the Transperth website for up-to-date information on transport to and from Fremantle.

PARKING

If you know where to go, there are plenty of parking spots around central Fremantle. If you live in Fremantle, it’s also a beautiful walk or bike ride into town.

Undercover parking in the centre of Fremantle can be found at the FOMO Car Park. Marine Terrace and the Esplanade are filled with street parking bays, and Victoria Quay Car Parks are the best locations our events within the Fremanle Port precinct.

If you don’t mind a 10-minute walk, there is a huge carpark at 1 Beach Street, from which you can walk to our sites. This is also the best spot for access to the Elder Woolstores.

EATING AND DRINKING

Fremantle is absolutely chock-full of brilliant hospitality venues for you to try when you visit the Fremantle Biennale in November. Here are our favourites!

If you’re in central Fremantle, stop in for coffee and breakfast at Best Wishes or Good Things. Later in the afternoon head to Republic of Fremantle to sample their distilled-on-site spirits, or catch the best view of the sun setting over the port at Gage Roads Brewery. Follow with dinner at the award-winning Bread in Common, Lions and Tigers or Vin Populi.

Fremantle’s small bar scene is (we think!) tops. Swing by Patio Bar, Strange Company, Ronnie Nights, Darling Darling or Honky Tonk for a cosy drink.

OTHER PLACES TO VISIT

Fremantle has been recognised nationally as a creative hotspot and home of live music for Western Australia – which means there are plenty of interesting places to visit and gigs happening while you’re in town.

Aside from the two museums – the Shipwreck Galleries and the Maritime Museum – there are a plethora of art galleries to visit, including Fremantle Arts Centre. Live music echoes throughout the Port town every weekend – check-in here to find out what’s on.

More information on places to stay, explore and eat is available at www.visitfremantle.com.au.

BOOKINGS

The Fremantle Biennale presents a largely free program of events, with some ticketed events. Tickets can be booked through our website, via the links on each event page.

General public tickets are on sale from 12pm Friday 18 August 2023.

A second release of tickets will go on sale at 10am on Friday 6 October 2023.

BOOKING TERMS & CONDITIONS
Please read the ticketing terms and conditions below regarding ticket purchases for Fremantle Biennale events. By purchasing a ticket, you are agreeing to these terms and conditions.

Refunds & exchanges
All ticket purchases are final and shall not be refunded, except as required by law or in accordance with the Live Performance Australia (LPA) Ticketing Code of Practice or as otherwise specified by Fremantle Biennale. Requests for ticket exchanges will be considered on a case-by-case basis and will only be considered for date changes to the same event.

COVID-19 ticketing information
Please do not attend any Fremantle Biennale event if you are feeling unwell. No exchanges or refunds will be issued if you are unable to attend an event due to COVID-19.

Admission
Please note that the Fremantle Biennale reserves the right to exclude latecomers or to admit them only at an appropriate point in the event.
The right of admission is reserved. It is a condition of entry to events that a search of person and/or possessions may be required at the time of entry to the venue.
Cameras and other recording devices are not permitted, unless otherwise specified.

Program information
The right is reserved to vary advertised programs, pricing, venue and seating arrangements, and to add, withdraw or substitute artists where necessary.

Concessions & companion card holders
For majority of our ticketed events, the Fremantle Biennale ensures discounted tickets are available for concession card holders, unwaged folks and First Nations people (BLAKTIX). These are available online when purchasing tickets to any of our ticketed events. They are provided until the allocation is exhausted on a first come, first served basis. Data is only used to provide a discount, and no data is used or stored.

For companion card tickets, a valid companion card or valid companion card number must be produced at the time of booking to gain access to a companion card ticket.

Conditions of purchase

Fremantle Biennale collects your individual information in case of an event cancellation or change. If you fail to supply sufficient and appropriate contact information, Fremantle Biennale is not responsible for any failure to contact you.

Ticket holders attending events do so at their own risk. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Fremantle Biennale is not responsible for any loss, damage, harm or injury arising from a ticket holder’s entry to a venue or performance within a venue.

Unless otherwise stated, ticket prices include booking fees and GST, where applicable.

Program details are correct at the time of printing but are subject to change where necessary and without notice.

The Fremantle Biennale reserves the right to film, video, record, photograph, broadcast or telecast the event.

Tickets are only valid when purchased through authorised agents. Tickets may not be resold or offered for unauthorised resale for an amount that exceeds the original ticket price by more than 10%, or as specified by law. Fremantle Biennale reserves the right to cancel any ticket sold or offered for unauthorised resale in breach of this condition without notice and without a refund, and the ticket holder may be refused entry into the event.

The Fremantle Biennale may vary these terms and conditions at any time and will post variations to our website.

CONTACT

For all booking enquiries please email bookings@fremantlebiennale.com.au.

The Fremantle Biennale is created by a team of artists, producers and curators who are committed to creating a working environment and festival that foregrounds diversity and community.

If you are interested in volunteering for the Fremantle Biennale, please email us at info@fremantlebiennale.com.au

The Fremantle Biennale is a not-for-profit charity, and our programming is largely free to enjoy, which means our bi-annual festival and ongoing touring projects are entirely reliant on grants, government funding, and the generosity of our partners and donors.

Any contribution goes a long way in helping us create extraordinary arts and cultural experiences, and a donation of any size is greatly appreciated. We’ve developed a range of (tax-deductible) ways you can contribute, with options for increased recognition and benefits.

Each of our donation tiers, named after our favourite shades of blue, comes with its own exclusive offers and benefits.

Donate today for that warm feeling inside + a tax write-off!

Lazuline: up to $500
Cobalt: $500 – $2,000
DONATE HERE

For donations over $2,000 please contact us directly at info@fremantlebiennale.com.au to learn more about what your donations could do.

Azure: $2,000 – $10,000
Ultramarine: $10,000 –  $50,000

If you’d like to reach out on behalf of a business, or to discuss a potential partnership, please email tom@fremantlebiennale.com.au.

The Fremantle Biennale recognises that a festival is and should be created with contributions from many voices. Our organisation centres on-going learning and adaptability across access, cultural diversity, and inclusivity to ensure our communities are represented in, invited to, and can participate in our program.

We consider ourselves a collective and a community made up of artists, writers, curators, partners, board members, advisors, and guides. Since its inception the Biennale has convened an Advisory Panel, a panel of experts from across Australia, including artists, creatives, architects, community members and stakeholders who support our staff and contribute to embedding diverse artists, perspectives, and experiences within our program.

The Biennale acknowledges and engages with Whadjuk Nyoongar Traditional Owners, their story-sharing, and ways of knowing in an effort to contribute to the cultural and environmental wellbeing and sustainability of Walyalup (Fremantle), its lands and waters. We believe the voices, wisdom, cultural knowledge, and leadership of First Nation people should be embedded in our festival. Listening to place, and acknowledging the past to enable truthful futures, are guiding principles for our festival.

The Fremantle Biennale is engaged in an on-going process of creative conciliation sessions – yarns between artists, Walyalup Elders and Cultural Knowledge holders, which have and will continue to guide our festival. Read about our current Cultural Advisory and Advisory Panels under People.

STAFF

Tom Mùller – Artistic Director, Co-Founder & CEO
Tom is an established multi-disciplinary artist with an active international practice spanning the realms of site-responsive and temporal projects. His work has been included in major exhibitions and institutions including The National at Carriageworks, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Adelaide Biennial, Biennale de la Chaux-de-Fonds, and the upcoming Northern Alps Triennale in Japan. He has been the recipient of multiple Australia Council grants, the inaugural winner of the Qantas Contemporary Art prize, and a mid-career fellowship from the Department of Culture and the Arts. In 2009, he was awarded the Basel international residency program through the Christoph Merian Stiftung. Tom was mentored by the Russian-American conceptual artist Ilya Kabakov in New York, and studied Anthroposophy at Emerson College in London. Tom co-founded the Fremantle Biennale in 2017.

Katherine Wilkinson – Program Director
Katherine is a creative producer and curator working across socially engaged, site-responsive, live and visual contemporary art practices. Alongside her role as the Program Director for the Fremantle Biennale, she was the former Curator at DADAA, a Creative Producer with Perth Festival (Witness Stand, 2021; Five Short Blasts, 2019) and the Special Projects and Revealed Coordinator at Fremantle Arts Centre. Her most recent projects centre place, water and care. Previously Katherine has worked on independent and collaborative projects, and held positions with institutions including; Artsource, International Art Space, the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, the Perth Public Art Foundation, the City of Melville, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and the Venice Biennale. Katherine works, lives and swims on the lands and waters of the Whadjuk people of the Nyoongar nation.

Corine van Hall – Senior Producer
Corine is an independent public art curator and a founding director of the Fremantle Biennale. As a consultant for the WA Government Percent for Art Scheme, Corine works all over the state and directly with many of WA’s contemporary visual artists. She is passionate about fostering the development of the arts in WA and has broad experience across the arts sector, including Public Art Coordinator at the City of Fremantle, the Art Gallery of WA, Mark Howlett Foundation and the Tresillian Arts Centre.

Eli Smith – Production Manager

Ilona McGuire – Assistant Creative Producer
Ilona McGuire is a proud young Noongar/Kungarakan woman whose ancestry extends from Whadjuk Country to the Fitzmaurice region of the Northern Territory. Currently studying a Bachelor of Arts (Fine Arts) at Curtin University, Ilona’s artistic direction was inborn with creative family members inspiring her to develop her talents. As a wide reader and humanitarian, Ilona’s artistic process is informed, consultative and accessible. Recurring themes such as cultural identity, spirituality and traditional versus contemporary Indigenous values reflects her own learning journey as a grounded young Indigenous woman in an increasingly ephemeral world. Ilona was the inaugural artist for First Lights and presented Moombaki as part of the 2021 Fremantle Biennale.

Catherine Peattie – Creative Learning Producer

George Wesley – Front of House Manager

Katrina Sparkes – Communications Coordinator

Thea Verall – Bookkeeper

Delwyn Everard – Legal Adviser
Delwyn is passionate about the arts and social justice. She provides practical strategic advice to creatives, arts organisations and businesses. Her expertise lies in business governance, business contracts and all forms of intellectual property including Indigenous cultural intellectual property.

BOARD

Pete Stone – Chair
Pete is a Fremantle local with 20 years of arts management, programming and production experience. Pete has a unique understanding and love of Fremantle and how it connects with its local and global community. The role that cross-organisational collaboration can play in unlocking the potential to realise ambitious programming is one of Pete’s driving passions. He is strongly committed to connecting more people to the arts through inviting and challenging programming. Pete’s previous positions include General Manager at Fremantle Arts Centre, Manager of Arts and Culture at the City of Fremantle and Producer at Perth Festival. His current role is Creative Producer, Arts and Culture at the City of Melville. Previous board experience includes terms as board member and President of West Australian Music (WAM). Pete has also worked on contemporary music grant assessment panels for state government funding.

Ariane Palassis – Deputy Chair
Receiving her Masters in Architecture from The University of Western Australia gave Ariane a broad skill base coupled with an appreciation for materiality and the details of construction. While practising, Palassis worked on a wide range of projects, from new residential and commercial developments to conservation works on some of WA’s most important heritage sites. These include Fremantle Prison, Sunset Hospital and the Midland Railway Workshops. In developing her own art practice, Ariane has continued to follow her architectural interest in the analysis of place as a repository of human memory and experience. Being Australian with Greek heritage, the displaced old-world rituals and the value of family mythologies and cultural traditions have played a large role in her work.

Craig Yaxley – Treasurer
Craig is a tax partner with KPMG, with over 30 years’ experience in finance, tax and accounting. He is a Fellow Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, a Chartered Tax Advisor, and a member of the Board of Taxation. Craig was previously a board member and treasurer of Black Swan State Theatre Company, and is a member of the KPMG Perth Art Committee.

Marcus Holmes – Secretary
Marcus is Principal of law firm Land Equity Legal. Marcus’ key role on the board is assisting with governance, compliance, risk management and developing and reviewing artists’ and sponsors’ contracts. He works with Aboriginal boards on similar work in the Native Title arena, including in development of corporate policies and procedures. Marcus is also involved in working with local government engaging with the Nyoongar native title settlement and Victoria’s proposed treaty.

Craig Peterson
Craig is the founder and managing director of Western Australian building firm, ICS Australia. With 30 years of experience in construction management, Craig brings extensive knowledge of design delivery, risk mitigation, heritage management and solutions-focused build-processes to the Fremantle Biennale board. A Fremantle stalwart, Craig is a strong advocate of contemporary arts, architecture and design – and has been a supporter of numerous community organisations including the Fly By Night Club, The Fremantle Men’s Community Shed, Melanoma WA and Kidney Health Australia.

Harsha Quartermaine
Harsha is the Director of Strategic Seed Marketing and holds a Communications Media Honours Degree from KIAD, Kent University, and a Masters of Marketing from University of Western Australia. She began her career as a semi-abstract fine artist and has extensive marketing experience working with art and design organisations, including the Tate Gallery, the Royal Institute of British Architects, and the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects. Living and working in Fremantle, Harsha is passionate about supporting and promoting inclusive, contemporary artistic experiences within the community.

Peter Woodward
Peter Woodward is the Project Director of landscape architecture practice UDLA based in Fremantle. Throughout his career Peter has been involved in the incorporation of art and public art into built projects. He completed his Bachelor of Arts at Lancaster University and his Master of Arts at Sheffield University Faculty of Architectural Studies. Peter sits on the Heritage Council WA Register Committee and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects.

ADVISORY PANEL

The Advisory group is a panel of experts from across Australia who advise the Fremantle Biennale on matters of artistic, ethical and cultural programming. Our 2022-23 Advisors include:

Hanna Cormick
Hanna Cormick is a Finnish-Australian artist creating across fields of performance art, theatre, dance, curation and crip activism, with a creative ethos that prioritises anti-extractivism, climate justice and access rights. Cormick’s current practice is a reclamation of body through radical visibility. Recent works have featured at Sydney Festival (The Mermaid, 2020), Climate Change Theatre Action (Dream/Remember, 2021; Canary, 2019), as well as online, co-curating virtual festivals (Platform LIVE, 2020; I-Dance 2020/22). Cormick is an Artist Facilitator for Arts House Melbourne’s Makeshift Publics throughout 2021/22. Spanning twenty years, Cormick’s varied practice has also included co-founding interdisciplinary art-science group Last Man To Die, as one half of Parisian cirque-cabaret duo Les Douleurs Exquises, and as a mask artist in France and Indonesia. Cormick is a graduate of Charles Sturt University (Wiradjuri country, Australia) and École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq (Paris, France). Cormick currently lives and works on unceded Ngunnawal country.

Bayoush Demissie
Bayoush Demissie is the founder and director of Aster + Asha Gallery, a Brisbane based online contemporary art platform dedicated to exhibiting emerging artists from across Australia. The gallery has a strong focus on presenting artists that reflect the multiplicity of voices and backgrounds in the Australian community. In addition to its online program, the gallery presents a series of pop-up exhibitions and events. Bayoush has worked in the visual arts sector for well over a decade, with experience in senior roles in Australian commercial galleries, most recently at Jan Murphy Gallery in Brisbane, and prior to that at Venn Gallery in Perth. She has considerable experience working in the public sphere through previous positions held at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) across areas including exhibitions, public programs, project and event management, fundraising and marketing. She currently sits on the Institute of Modern Art (IMA) Gala Committee in Brisbane.

Xenia Hanusiak
Dr Xenia Hanusiak is an artistic polymath, diplomat, and scholar whose work as a festival director, performer and writer is appreciated by audiences across four continents in festivals and venues ranging from the Beijing Music Festival, Next Wave Festival & National Sawdust (New York), Aarhus Festival (Denmark) to every Australian festival and institution. Her writing for stage includes the play Ward B, the choral work, Un_labelled for the Young Peoples’ Chorus of New York City (co-writer Elena Kats-Chernin), the dramatic monologue, The MsTaken Identity (Boosey & Hawkes), A thousand doors, a thousand windows (Melbourne & Singapore Arts Festival, Venice Biennale), and Earth Songs (Homart Korean Theatre). In her commitment to contemporary exposition, she has contributed to over fifty world or country premieres. As a distinguished critic and cultural writer, she is published by the London Financial Times, the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, AEON Psyche, Classical Voice North America, and Musical America. She is Artistic Director of The Cultural Exchange, a collective that connects cultures through arts and exchange. As a career diplomat Xenia hold positions and advisories for the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs (Australia). She is a Salzburg Global Fellow, a Churchill Fellow, a University of Edinburgh Global Fellow, a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University (New York) and Peking University. She is currently President, European Union National Institutes for Culture (Australian cluster), and a Board member, Churchill Foundation. She holds a PhD in literature together with several degrees in music and arts.

Glenn Iseger-Pilkington
Glenn Iseger-Pilkington (Nhanda & Nyoongar Peoples/ Dutch / Scottish) is Curator of the Visual Arts Program at Fremantle Arts Centre. Glenn undertook his formal art training at the School of Contemporary Art, Edith Cowan University, majoring in Printmaking and has worked within the visual arts sector over the last fifteen years as a curator, advisor and advocate for Indigenous Australian artists, and writes frequently for arts publications in Australia and around the world. Prior to taking on his current role, Glenn ran his own arts consulting firm GEE CONSULTANCY, as well as holding curatorial roles at the South Australian Museum, New Museum Project (WA Museum Boola Bardip) and the Art Gallery of Western Australia. Glenn’s most recent exhibitions include Undertow (Fremantle Arts Centre, 2022) and nyinalanginy | the gathering (Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, 2021), both of which were presented in association with the Perth Festival. Glenn is a current member of the National Cultural Heritage Committee as well as the preselection committee for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin).

Jazz Money
Jazz Money is a poet and artist of Wiradjuri heritage, currently based on sovereign Gadigal land. Her poetry has been published widely and reimagined as murals, installations, digital interventions and film. Jazz’s poetry has been recognised with the David Unaipon Award, the Aunty Kerry Reed-Gilbert Poetry Prize, the University of Canberra Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Poetry Prize, a Copyright Agency First Nations Fellowship and a First Nations Emerging Career Award from the Australia Council for the Arts.

Daniel Mudie Cunningham
Dr Daniel Mudie Cunningham is an independent curator and critic renowned for his work with contemporary Australian artists and collections. Most recently, he was the Director of Programs at Carriageworks on Gadigal land, Sydney (2017-2022). Previously, he has held leadership and curatorial roles at Artbank and Hazelhurst Arts Centre, and teaching and research positions at Western Sydney University, where he completed a BA Honours (First Class) in Art History and Criticism in 1997 and a PhD in Cultural Studies in 2004. Specialising primarily as a curator of contemporary Australian art, he has extensive experience working in exhibitions, collections and public art contexts. Notable recent work includes solo exhibitions with Dean Cross, Cherine Fahd, Tina Havelock Stevens and Kuba Dorabialski at Carriageworks; Space YZ at Campbelltown Arts Centre; The National 2019: New Australian Art at Carriageworks; initiating The Katthy Cavaliere Fellowship which partnered Carriageworks with ACCA and Mona; and leading the curatorial delivery of a major public art strategy tied to Mirvac’s redevelopment of Sydney’s South Eveleigh with artists Chris Fox, Jonathan Jones and Nell. Since the mid 1990s, his prolific writing has taken the form of artist monographs, catalogue essays, academic papers, articles and reviews. His editing work includes the publications Artlink (2021), Sturgeon (2013-16), and Runway (2009).

Emma Porteus
Emma holds a Bachelor of Contemporary Arts (Honours). She believes deeply in the positive power of art to transform individuals and communities positively. Emma has over 15 years experience working as a performance-maker and producer of dance, community, and festival projects throughout Australia and internationally, including with Vrystaat Festival (South Africa), ANTI Festival (Finland), Sydney Festival (NSW), Dancehouse, FOLA, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Next Wave (Vic), Tracks (NT), Dark Mofo, Mona Foma, Tasdance, Ten Days on the Island, Festival of Voices, Junction Arts Festival, and Tasmania Performs (Tas). In her current role as Co-CEO and Creative Director of Assembly 197 and Executive Producer of Situate Art in Festivals, she is really interested in performance and art-making models that connect people and places. She helps artists create and produce tourable live, visual art, and festival events that can be delivered in any community, in any country, to produce rich experiences that speak directly to the place, the people, and the communities who help create it.

Sarah Rowbottam
Sarah Rowbottam is a Creative Producer born in Boorloo/Perth, based in Naarm/Melbourne. Their practice spans 15 years of curating Festivals, facilitating creative Labs, and producing site-specific and participatory artworks. Much of Sarah’s practice focuses on ways to centralise accessible and inclusive approaches within art making and programming structures. She has a deep appreciation for collaboration and works with artists, community, Elders and people outside of the creative sector to bring life to their visions with respect, curiosity and care. In 2012 Sarah co-founded an independent Festival in WA called Proximity, and curated an annual program which took over different venues in their entirety with intimate performances for an audience of one. This led to international partnerships, mentorship opportunities and supporting over 50 artists nationally to make new participatory works for several years. Sarah is currently Creative Producer at Arts House City of Melbourne where she leads several initiatives including Refuge, a program exploring the collaborative role artists, community and emergency services play in addressing climate emergency, and The Warehouse Residency commissioning program for Deaf and Disabled artists.

Jeremy Smith
Jeremy is the Senior Producer at Performing Lines WA where he works closely with independent artists working across performance disciplines. In April 2020, he returned to Boorloo/Perth after four years at the Australia Council for the Arts as Director – Community Arts and Experimental Arts. He worked closely with artists, organisations and communities across the country promoting artistic bravery, self-determination and brokering opportunities. In addition to his extensive portfolio, Jeremy championed Regional and Remote Australia under the Australia Council’s Cultural Engagement Framework and helped develop and deliver key arts and disability initiatives. As the General Manager of the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA), Jeremy loved working within a contemporary arts organisation supporting the development, presentation and commissioning of work by leading interdisciplinary artists. He is a board member of both the Chamber of Arts and Culture WA and pvi collective. He has held a range of senior positions in the corporate, not for profit and government sectors in Western Australia, including with DADAA, the AWESOME Festival and ArtsWA / Department of Culture and the Arts. He is a graduate of WAAPA, and worked as a freelance lighting designer, production manager and creative producer in the early stages of his career. As a disabled man, Jeremy is a fierce advocate of celebrating difference and transforming attitudes which ‘other’ people in our community. He also promotes actions to ensure these values are central to our arts, cultural and creative industries.

CULTURAL ADVISORY PANEL

Len Collard
Len Collard is a Whadjuk Nyungar and is a Traditional Owner of the Perth Metropolitan area and surrounding lands, rivers, swamps, mountains ocean and its intangible and tangible cultures. Len has a background in literature and communications and his research interests are in the area of Aboriginal Studies, including Nyungar interpretive histories and Nyungar theoretical and practical research models. Len has conducted research funded by the Australian Research Council, the National Trust of Western Australia, the Western Australian Catholic Schools and the Swan River Trust and many other organisations. Len’s research has allowed the broadening of the understanding of the many unique characteristics of Australia’s Aboriginal people and has contributed enormously to improving the appreciation of Aboriginal culture and heritage of the Southwest of Australia. Lenʼs ground-breaking theoretical work has put Nyungar cultural research on the local, national and international stages. More recently Len has been recognised by being nominated in the local hero category for Western Australia’s, Australian of the year, 2022.

Aurora Abraham
As a Whadjuk Noongar woman, Aurora maintains deep connections throughout the Noongar nation and wider Aboriginal communities. Her expertise and experience across the arts and Aboriginal health sectors reflects her sense of pride and care in both her professional and personal endeavours. Currently at Western Australian General Practice Education and Training (WAGPET), Aurora works in Aboriginal Health Training Coordination and Cultural Mentorship. Through supporting health professionals and bridging gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, Aurora is committed to culturally appropriate outcomes. Furthermore, Aurora’s artistic practice is grounded in expression of cultural knowledge, pride, and her love for storytelling. Often exploring themes of culture, family and boodja (land) her artworks have featured throughout Perth. Along with Noongar artist group Deadly Dozen, her public artwork exhibited at Elizabeth Quay in response to her relationship to the Derbal Yerrigan (Swan River).

Ezra Jacobs-Smith
Ezra is a Noongar man with connections to Whadjuk, Ballardong, Wilman, Menang, Goreng and Wudjari Noongar boodja. Ezra is an Environmental Engineer and is currently working for the State Government on the State Aboriginal Cultural Centre project. Prior to this role, Ezra was part of the Danjoo Koorliny Walking Together Towards 2029 and Beyond project, and he continues to be involved with the process to acknowledge Wadjemup Rottnest Islands history as an Aboriginal prison. By joining the Fremantle Biennale’s Cultural Advisory Committee, Ezra hopes to support the ongoing celebration and sharing of Aboriginal culture in future programming for the festival.

Walter McGuire Jnr.
Walter McGuire is a descendent of several tribal groups in the Southwest of WA, Walter is a Traditional Owner of Nyoongar Boodjar which includes the Whadjuk lands on which Perth City stands. Walter is a strong advocate and example of self-determination. In 1998, he graduated university with a Bachelor of Applied Science (ACM DP) (Curtin University). He also holds a Cert IV in Training and Assessment (2015) and was a lecturer and mentor until he decided to work for himself as hard as he’d worked for others. Walter is now owner/operator of the multi award winning tourism business – Go Cultural Aboriginal Tours and Experiences – offering authentic experiences to visitors to Perth at a range of locations: Elizabeth Quay, Kings Park, Yagan Square and Rottnest Island. As principal guide and traditional owner of Perth region, Walter is focussed on providing world-class authentic cultural walking tours and experiences to local, interstate, and international visitors alike. With his tourism venture, Walter has literally made it his business to promote and help sustain Aboriginal culture through his city tours, cultural presentations, and advisory service.

Glenys Yarran
Glenys Yarran is a proud Ballardong, Whadjuk, Yued Traditional Owner and Elder. Glenys’ lifelong aspiration is to bring our communities together through culture and the Arts with love, unity, and respect. She has nine children, fifteen grandchildren and six great grandchildren who are her pride and joy in life. Living in Gosnells for over 25 years, her work as an active member of the Perth community has greatly impacted the conservation of Noongar culture. From 2003-2009, Glenys sat on the board of Directors for South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council (SWALSC). Following this role, from 2009-2020 she worked as the Director of the Ballardong Working Party then as a cultural advisor for the Fremantle Biennale in 2021. Currently, Glenys is Director of the Yunga Foundation which offers cultural awareness and safety training, employment for heritage monitoring and surveillance on country. Her current work in cultural advisory extends throughout the Perth community including Rottnest Island Authority Elders Group, Advisory Cultural and Heritage Committee at SWALSC, Telethon Committee (Nominated Honorary Elder).

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OFFICE

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Fremantle WA 6160
Australia

2021