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INTANGIBLE GOODS – Art Vending Machine
Snack-sized psychology to nourish and normalise our mental health needs
Intangible Goods is a project by writer and artist Mark Starmach, that imagines what our psychological and emotional needs would look like if they were packaged up as hyper-convenient consumer goods.
From bags of 'Bravery' to candybars of 'Purpose', ten snack-sized products were developed from the ground-up to feed your psyche, not your sweet tooth - made with mental health professionals. The products contain everything from carefully developed written prompts, unusual interventions and exercises, to origami stars, maps and pencils, and are dispensed via a vending machine – all proceeds from sales at Western Sydney University were donated to Beyond Blue.
The art vending machine was presented at Bankstown (Milperra), Campbelltown, Hawkesbury, Kingswood, The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development (Westmead), Maldhan Ngurr Ngurra Lithgow Transformation Hub, Parramatta City – 1PSQ/Peter Shergold Building and Hassal Street, and Parramatta South.
Sally Tsoutas: Slow Shutter
Margaret Whitlam Galleries, Whitlam Institute, Western Sydney University Parramatta South Campus
10 June to 30 September 2022
"There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment."
— Robert Frank
Even within the smallest increments of time, the slowing of a shutter speed, the click of the camera, we can create a one-off moment, an opportunity for a story, a memory. For over 17 years Sally Tsoutas has been capturing the collective memory of Western Sydney University. As the on-staff photographer Tsoutas, documents pivotal moments in campus life, from the celebrations of graduations to events for social justice, reconciliation, community building and engagement as well as the grand openings of new campus buildings. Through the eye of her lens Tsoutas trains us to see the human intimacies of these gatherings. It is in the facial expressions, the hand gestures, and stance, from which we draw the personal significance of these occasions.
Over the last two years, we have all experienced the challenges of a world impacted by a global pandemic. We have all needed to shift and adjust our daily routines, and ways of being part of the world. Much has been written about these extraordinary times. This exhibition provides us with an opportunity to see what happens to creativity when an image maker, a photojournalist, records our transformed lives.
Exhibiting Artist: Sally Tsoutas
Curator: Margaret Hancock
Lunchtime talk with Holly Schulte hosted by Dr Enrico Scotece, Lecturer Photomedia and Photojournalism
Building EG.G.19, Western Sydney University Parramatta South Campus
27 September 2022
Holly Schulte is a photographer, artist, curator and museum collections professional. As Curator Digital Assets with Sydney Living Museums, she specialises in digitisation and digital asset management for a range of collection object formats. Her research interests are in photography and has recently focused on the NSW Police Forensic Photography Archive, Ikon Studio Street Photography Archive and John Terry’s ‘Rouse Hill Psychedelia’ performances. Her personal practice explores a fascination for creating informed by the materials, analogue processes and history of photography as well as the natural world and the diverse collections and archives she encounters.
Presented by Western Sydney Creative in partnership with the School of Humanities and Communication Arts.
Power of Photography Panel Discussion
Margaret Whitlam Galleries, Whitlam Institute, Western Sydney University Parramatta South Campus
27 August 2022
Western Sydney Creative hosted a panel discussion on the role photography and photojournalism plays in shaping our understanding and experiences of our contemporary world. Panel moderated by Margot Dunphy, lecturer and journalism area convenor, WSU.
Sally Tsoutas is a professional photographer with a career spanning more than 25 years. A photojournalism and portraiture specialist, Tsoutas has held the role of university photographer at Western Sydney University for 17 years. Her photos have been published widely including Vogue, ABC online The Australian, and The Sydney Morning Herald.
Dr David Cubby is an educator, artist, photographer, and Adjunct Fellow at Western Sydney University. His research focuses on visuality and its impact on language and thinking. Cubby’s photographic and film works have been exhibited at many international venues, including the Sydney Biennale of Art, and his photographic works are in the collection of the Art Gallery of NSW.
Zorica Purlija is a graduate of Western Sydney University, Zorica has spent the last twenty years practicing as a fine art photographer while raising her family. In July 2020, she completed her Masters of Art in photo media, at the UNSW School of Art and Design. Her current practice has been focused around attachments, the psychology and space around our primary relationships and how it impacts our future self. Her art is informed by feminist values and hopes to tap into our universal longings for equality. She continues to exhibit widely, including exhibiting internationally in Manhattan, Zurich, and Venice.
Bahram Mia is a freelance visual storyteller focusing on documentary photography/film and photojournalism. He works across and with a broad range of fields from mainstream news media, government departments, community organisations and corporates. Bahram also work as a Casework and Community Development worker responding to the settlement needs and building the capacity of refugee and CALD communities, with a particular focus on young people. Using his networks Bahram amplifies their voices, tell their stories and advocate for their needs.
Presented by Western Sydney Creative in partnership with the School of Humanities and Communication Arts.
Lunchtime talk with Matt Dunn hosted by Dr Enrico Scotece, Lecturer Photomedia and Photojournalism
Building EG.G.19, Western Sydney University Parramatta South Campus
23 August 2022
Matt Dunne is a writer, photographer and publisher. He is a regular contributor to publications such as C4 Journal, Photo Collective and The Heavy Collective. In 2021 he founded Tall Poppy, a photobook publishing company committed to the publishing of quality photobooks by emerging artists. Dunne is an environment and conservation advocate. The Killing Sink is his first monograph. Published by VOID, The Killing Sink is part public grief and part true crime, investigating the killing of Wedge-Tailed Eagles in Victoria.
Presented by Western Sydney Creative in partnership with the School of Humanities and Communication Arts.
Free Professional Photoshoot with Sally Tsoutas and Kyisoe Han
Margaret Whitlam Galleries, Whitlam Institute, Western Sydney University Parramatta South Campus
15 August and 27 September 2022
Ever needed a professional head shot/ portrait for work or your LinkedIn profile?
Western Sydney Creative provided the opportunity for Western Sydney University Students to have a free professional photograph taken by Sally Tsoutas and her assistant photographer Kyisoe Han.
Lunchtime talk with Elise Derwin hosted by Dr Enrico Scotece, Lecturer Photomedia and Photojournalism
Building EG.G.19, Western Sydney University Parramatta South Campus
9 August 2022
Elise Derwin is an award-winning photographer based in Lismore, on Bundjalung country in northern NSW, specialising in documentary and editorial photography. She holds a Bachelor of Design (Photomedia) from Western Sydney University and has extensive experience as a press photographer. Her images have featured in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Guardian, The Australian, The Telegraph, Herald Sun and The NT News.
Presented by Western Sydney Creative in partnership with the School of Humanities and Communication Arts.
2022 Successful Recipients List
The Western Sydney Creative Collaborate Fund supports innovative new research partnerships between the University and the cultural and creative sector.
Dr Katrina Sandbach: Reframing out Creative Histories
Project: Garage Graphix and the untold stories of Western Sydney
The premise of this project is that Western Sydney has a long and vibrant history of creative practice and cultural production that hasn’t been captured in historical accounts of our region. Additionally, conversations about what makes Australian art and culture distinct has tended to focus on cities, with the suburbs and other areas surrounding urban centres typically left to languish in the margins. The aim of the project was capture and share the story of Garage Graphix, a community art, design, and screen-printing organisation that was based in Mt Druitt between 1981 and 1998.
Michelle Catanzaro
Project: Climate Custodianship for Change Workshop
The Indigenous led Climate Custodianship for Change Workshop was an exciting opportunity that brought together Western Sydney based arts organization UTP, the Wollotuka Institute (University of Newcastle) and Western Sydney University. The workshop facilitators (from diverse fields such as Indigenous studies, Design, Education and Communications) worked with a group of first nation students and cultural allies to think about the ways the protest poster can be used as to share stories and a shared call to climate action that’s informed by an understanding of Custodianship of Country.
Nicholas Ng
Project: Storytelling through music, comedy and movement
With the assistance of the Western Sydney Creative Collaborative Program Fund, Dr Nicholas Ng (IAC Research Fellow, composer, performer), Jennifer Wong (ABC's 'Chopsticks or Fork?') and Raghav Handa (Sydney Dance Company choreographer, dancer) shared their craft with members and friends of the WSU student community in a series of workshops on music, comedy and movement.
Dr Kate Fagan, Director, Writing and Society Research Centre, School of Humanities and Communication Arts
Project: Writers in Parramatta
In partnership with a range of Greater Western Sydney cultural organisations, Writers in Parramatta presented a vibrant series of public events showcasing the literary communities that constellate around the Writing & Society Research Centre and the Sydney Review of Books, while mentoring an emerging arts worker from our region (WSU student alumnus) in Project Management.
Dr Karin Louise, Senior Lecturer, School of Education
Project: The Fibonacci Forum Cultural Wellbeing Series
The Fibonacci Forum Cultural Wellbeing Series aimed to reinvigorate a strong network of artists, cultural practitioners, and academics in the small to medium arts sector in NSW with a focus on Western Sydney. The aim of the project was to engage the creative community in conversations about why and how creative practices and art making influence community cultural wellbeing and how this relates to bigger picture global issues of planetary wellbeing. The project was funded to facilitate 6 forums 3 of which have been delivered successfully via zoom platform. There was excellent engagement and forum participants were keen for the Fibonacci Forum to continue into next year.
Professor Hart Cohen, School of Humanities and Communication Arts
Project: Research Creation Showcase, 3 November 2022
Our headline presenter supported by Collaborate Fund 2022 was Blak Douglas who featured in three parts of the program: He was the keynote speaker in conversation with Dr Alison Gill and moderated by Professor Susan Page, DVC Office of Indigenous Leadership; Blak lead a workshop in art making titled, Art and Sole for our pathway to dreaming students; joined a panel titled, Art and Voice with Dr Wendy Chandler and Lurdes Pires.
The other components of the program include 4 other workshops, lightning talks, a visual showcase, a launch of website and exhibition by Dr Wendy Chandler titled Mobile Stories, a film festival, music sessions and a fashion show by Fijian designer and WSU postrgrad, Hupfeld Hoerde
