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WOW - Women of the World Festival Melbourne

Festival Summary

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WOW - Women of the World Melbourne was an opportunity to gather around issues and conversations that are critical to our time in Australia and in Melbourne’s west. Through celebrations, music, performances, talks and workshops, we reflected the questions, thoughts and desires expressed in the Think Ins, consultations and programming, we shared with our communities and artists, in the lead up to WOW Melbourne 2017.

Whilst there were many learnings throughout the festival, and important reflections throughout our debrief process, we are proud of the outcomes delivered and hope to be able to build on the issues that were raised in the festival as critical to our journey as cis, trans and non-binary women, our communities, and our allies alike.

Thank you for joining us for Women of the World Festival Melbourne.

Jade Lillie

Director and CEO

Members of the Footscray Community Arts Centre Indigenous Advisory Group acknowledge country as part of First Nations First. Image by Rachel Main.

WOW - Women of the World Melbourne honoured the women and communities of the Kulin, Footscray, Melbourne, Victoria and Australia. Recognising that we are a country of diasporas, come in myriad bodies, life experiences, economic opportunity, visibility and aspiration. Inviting women from across the globe to contribute to shaping our agenda.

Central to the program was a recognition of culture, respect for sovereignty and an appreciation of the struggles of our many communities with an explicit emphasis on intersectionality, an emphasis that evoked passionate discussion, calls for accountability and the collective formulation of practical solutions to address prevailing inequalities.

FCAC is proud to have made this space for dialogue and creative expression through WOW Melbourne. We look forward to seeing these conversations continue to resonate socially, politically, and through the work of Footscray Community Arts Centre.

Lyn Morgain

Chair

INTRODUCTIONWOW was a space for nurturing not only women but community!

I loved the feel of connection, collaboration and compassion towards each other! – Audience member

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2PREMIERE PERFORMANCES PRESENTED TO FULL HOUSES

228ARTISTS AND SPEAKERS

27PERFORMANCES

14WORKSHOPS

18PANEL DISCUSSIONS

3,800 TOTAL FESTIVAL ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION OVER THE 3 DAY PROGRAM (TICKETED AND FREE)

2,000 AT WOMEN OF THE WORLD MAKE NOISE

840 AT THE TICKETED FESTIVAL PROGRAM

220 AT ONE NIGHT STANZA

87 AT THODA DYHAN SE (BE CAREFUL)

310 AT PASSENGER

300 AT THE WOW CAFE

15 AT PUSHY WOMEN BIKE TOURS

17KEYNOTE ADDRESSES

21OTHER ACTIVITIES INCLUDING WOW BITES, SPEED MENTORING, AND THE FREE WOW CAFE PUBLIC PROGRAM

14ARTISTS ENGAGED IN TWO LONG-TERM RESIDENCY PROJECTS TO DEVELOP THEIR PRACTICE, COLLABORATE INTERNATIONALLY AND PRESENT THEIR WORK TO NEW AUDIENCES

WOW SNAPSHOTAttendance Program

Women of the World MAKE NOISE closing concert. Image by Rachel Main.

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The best thing about WOW was the people and the energy dedicated towards innovation and out of the box thinking and practice.

– Audience Member

Thank you FCAC for including me in WOW 2017! It was spectacular to be among the discussions and buzz of Women’s movements around the globe! Audiences were warm and

responsive and I would like to congratulate you all on putting together a memorable event! – WOW Artist

WOW Melbourne expanded existing networks and conversations further in a fun and accessible festival environment– while providing targeted opportunities for personal growth, learning and professional development. Informed by the global WOW movement - founded by Southbank Centre London - the WOW Melbourne program was shaped and informed by local communities and outlooks.

For all the serious conversations that were had, WOW Melbourne created momentum and a feeling of celebration, in order to foster action and make positive, energised change that includes all women.

The WOW program focused on:

• Prioritising First Nations’ voices: knowledge systems and historical contexts informing and framing all WOW conversations and activities.

• Intersectionality: representation of diversity across the entire program and through this a collective acknowledgement of multi-faceted identities and levels of privileges.

• Safe spaces: opportunities were provided at all times for conversations that are specific, candid and secure.

• Gender and sexuality diversity: the range of speakers reflected the inclusive definition of womanhood and included trans women, non-binary individuals and feminine brothers.

• Access: this included financial access through our Pay-It-Forward scheme supported by Creative Victoria, Maribyrnong City Council, Arnold Bloch Leibler, and individual donors.

• Accessibility: through a partnership with Arts Access Victoria.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Sarah Ellis and Esther Tuddenham lead a morning dance session in Dance Captains at the WOW Café Image by Rachel Main.

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First Nations FirstAs part of a global movement, WOW Melbourne prioritised and amplified the voices of the First People’s across a wide variety of activities. With an emphasis on sharing stories of connection, place and power, WOW Melbourne was a celebration of First Nations women as the original agents of change. From a daily acknowledgement of country and smoking ceremony, to a powerful residency for artists who are also mums, dynamic and ground breaking keynotes by Margaret Harvey, Paola Balla and Arweet Carolyn Briggs, the MC skills of Tammy Anderson and representation across panels such as The Dependency Myth, Birth Justice and Radical Self Care, WOW Melbourne was an exercise in asserting sovereignty, and what it really feels like to place First Nations perspectives at the centre of a three day long discovery of gender equity.

Mum is the Medicine

Over a period of three months, four First Nations artists /mothers undertook a residency at FCAC, culminating in a panel discussion and performance outcome at WOW Melbourne. The participating artists were:• Carly Sheppard (Choreographer)• Arika Waulu (Visual Artist)• Elaine Crombie (Actor/Singer/Songwriter)• Yaraan Bundle (Weaver/Dancer/Cloak maker)Each participant was able to showcase the work they created during the residency during a powerful and impacting panel session.

Program Highlights

Yaraan Bundle speaking at First Nations First. Image by Rachel Main.

Mum is the Medicine panel and showcase. Image by Rachel Main.

I love that they made sure that the welcome was done by an Aunty … It is a respect for Indigenous ways of doing things.

- Festival Participant

I think it made it more accessible for Indigenous women knowing that some of us had key roles … so the Indigenous women there made us feel even more able to engage with

WOW… that made it very accessible for us in that sense.- Festival Participant

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Women, Art and Politics

Presented in partnership with AsiaTOPA.

WOW - Women of the World Melbourne and the inaugural AsiaTOPA program both strengthened FCAC’s current relationships with Indonesia and Footscray surrounds, whilst creating new creative industry networks into India, Bangladesh and East Timor. An intensive two-week residency between powerful and loving figures, expressing poetry, humour, grief, anger and freedom culminated in a co-created performance and paste up with accompanying soundscape, presented in the WOW Café outdoor space.Visually, the Women of the World paste up has created an impacting point of conversation and pride in the ephemeral work by members of the general public, our regular arts community, core staff and key artists. Most importantly, the opportunity provided a platform for women artists from invited regions to have their voice heard through an engaging, thoughtful and provoking experience.Women, Art and Politics Artists: Lena Caminha (Timor Leste), Sadaf Saaz (Bangladesh), Fitriani Dwi Kurniasih (Indonesia), Heather Horrocks (AUS) Lisa Greenaway (AUS), Mallika Taneja (India), Ahmarnya Price (AUS), Rosie Kilvert (AUS), Nicha Shabrina (Indonesia) and Bigoa Chuol (AUS) – International Creative Producer: Stufani

WOW Bites

Presented in partnership with Gandel Philanthropy.

A program component presented at all WOW events globally, the WOW Bites program provided an intimate space that particularly enabled the speakers – participants from our community networks – to share their experiences on curated topics and connect with each other as well as the audience.LOVE: Bigoa Chuol, Santilla Chingaipe, Liz Dunn, Jacinta Percy, Sister Zai Zanda and Gabriela Georges

FAITH: Marita Davies, Nikki Lam, Aseel Tayah, Mallika Taneja and Caroline Higgins

MANHOOD: Peter Seidel, Fotis Kapetopoulos, Elyjah McLeod, Jeremy Wiggins, Tina Montgomery and Jack Sheppard

POLITENESS: Heather Horrocks, Hanifa Deen,Christine Sykes, Ayan Shirwa and Amy McMurtrie

BODY: Carisma Martorejo, Bryce Ives, Candy Bowers, Kate Hood and Devon Taylor

SAFETY: Pip Carroll, Mischa Merz, Sanaz Fotouhi, Marian Cronin (VU) and Simona Castricum

It felt powerful, intimate, safe.- WOW Bites Participant

Women, Art and Politics showcase at the WOW Café

Image by Rachel Main

WOW Bite ‘Body’

Image by Rachel Main

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Thoda Dhyan Se (Be Careful)

The performance is subtle, gentle, truthful and generous … a cleverly crafted, well

designed piece of work that drives home the desired result in unexpected ways.

I didn’t expect to come out feeling so affected that I could barely talk

for a while. – 9/10 Suhasini Seelin, In Review

WOW opening night performance by Indian theatre-maker Mallika Taneja, offered an international perspective on the experience of womanhood. The Q&A session following the performance included audience provocations by Taneja’s Women, Art and Politics collaborators and was a deeply moving and engaged discussion that drew out personal narratives and diverse perspectives on the subject matter from WOW participants.

Passenger

Nicola Gunn’s subtle weaving of the story’s moral subplot is outstanding. Its

subtle touches elevate the everyday into something remarkable and with simple intelligent storytelling it pulls you into

a gripping theatrical experience that is difficult to leave.

Passenger’s only real flaw is its four-day run because a production of this quality

deserves much more. - 5 stars, Gerard Assi, ArtsHub

The world premiere of Passenger, presented in partnership with Arts Centre Melbourne and written and directed by two prominent female theatre-makers Nicola Gunn and Jessica Wilson, played to full houses during its run as part of WOW Melbourne and garnered four and five star reviews.

Thoda Dhyan Se (Be Careful) Image courtesy of the artist.

Passenger Image by Gerard Assi

WOW Café and Marketplace

Presented in partnership with Maribyrnong City Council and supported by Happy River Café.

The concept was great and it was terrific to see it take place in Footscray and for

so much of it to be free. – WOW Café Audience Member

WOW Café was a standout element of WOW Melbourne, a diverse and engaging program that was inclusive, fun and free to the public. It included performances by local musicians and artists, intimate conversations, a marketplace with local designer offerings, bar and food service, kid-friendly installations and audience favourite, the Dance Captains – a daily dose of interactive dancing by participants of FCAC’s Artlife program.

With several events programmed in partnership with our major partner and program partners, and encircled by stallholders from local businesses, creatives and service organisations, the WOW Café was truly a community effort.

Events at WOW Café included:• Dance Captains (two sessions per day)• WOW Live (one session per day)• Dance & Connection• Life Hacks• (Dis)Placed: A Woman’s Experience of

Gentrification*• A Marathon, Not A Sprint*• WOW Shorts: Women in Film• Women, Art and Politics Showcase• Mum is the Medicine: Elaine Crombie• Mixtape Memoirs• Postcard to My Future Self

*Presented in partnership with Victoria University

WOW Live speakers Dan Parsons, Rasha Tayeh and Melanie V. Eusebe. Image by Rachel Main.

Noelani Le Nevez performs as part of Dance and Connection at the WOW Café Image by Rachel Main.

Presenters in Postcards to My Future Self Image by Rachel Main.

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Having my daughter working with me and soaking up this environment was blissful.

- WOW Marketplace Stallholder

Stallholders at the WOW Marketplace loved connecting with the community, and the many artists in the event – and enjoyed rich conversations at their stalls. They told us they would like to see even more events in the WOW café, as well as outdoor lighting, so that the stalls could have continued into the night.

Dance and Connection performance at the WOW Café Image by Rachel Main.

Weaving Country residency in the WOW Café. Image by Rachel Main.

Keynotes and Conversations

The feminist discourse is enriched and complicated considerably by the contemporary movement for feminism to be a representative site of resistance, knowledge sharing and constructive dialogue, open to all generations. WOW Melbourne brought together this diverse and increasingly mobilised community of women to drive these conversations further along by clarifying emerging ideas; identifying synergies and potential for collaboration and support.

I loved the deep discussions and thought provoking ideas that were shared and the

diversity of women who spoke. – Audience Member

Absolutely brilliant line-up of speakers and thoughtful and

challenging program of topics.– Audience Member

Top row, left to right: Arweet Carolyn Briggs (Rachel Main); Zenith Virago (Rachel Main); Paola Balla (Rachel Main)

Middle row, left to right: Jude Kelly OAM (Rachel Main); Tania Cañas (Sue Cash) ; Jax Jackie Brown (Rachel Main)

Bottom row, left to right: Margaret Harvey (Sue Cash); Maria Katsonis (Rachel Main); Elaine Brown in conversation with Alia Gabres (Rachel Main)

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Women of the World MAKE NOISE

Women of the World MAKE NOISE was an amazing event with great

community spirit. – Audience Member

I think the programming was outstanding, such amazing speakers and excellent

representation of women from diverse backgrounds.

And the final event was just amazing. – Audience Member

With FCAC’s Riverside Lawn at capacity, the Women of the World MAKE NOISE closing concert was an incredible community coming together that celebrated the many diverse expressions of womanhood and creativity, in particular focusing on artists who drive social change through their music and embodying through their practice and their music the key themes of WOW Melbourne.

The Women of the World MAKE NOISE line up was:

The Black Sistaz, Sugar Fed Leopards, Electric Fields, Thando, DJ MzRizk, Mojo Juju and Sampa the Great.

Clockwise from top: Mojo JuJu, Electric Fields and Sampa The Great

Next page: Yelmo Garang installation by this mob. Images by Rachel Main.

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FCAC Indigenous Advisory Group Arweet Carolyn BriggsUncle Larry WalshGenevieve GrievesPaola BallaAunty Annette XiberrasKaren JacksonVicki Couzens

FCAC BoardAndi JonesAnna SkreinerBarbara HornGenevieve GrievesJoe TooheyJoyce WattsLyn MorgainNeil GardinerPaul GalballyJason Rostant

FCAC Staff and WOW CrewAdrienne BaldwinAlia GabresAlicia PeetAngela PamicArthur TanziBen BeareBen BennettBernadette FitzgeraldBo SvoronosBrett Lee Bumpy FavellCatherine LewCheralyn LimDarren GeeGeorgie SedgwickGianna RizzoGreg FryerIguot MaborJade LillieJenna WilliamsKaryn RossLuke IsonLydia FairhallMelissa White

Morgan BradyNathan Gee-LandmanNikki LamNeil CabatinganSimon de Lacy-LeaceySudeep LingamneniSusan DoelTija LodinsTina Montgomery

Extra thanks and acknowledgementsAlexandra WhiteAlex ChiversAlex HornbyAlice McCormackAlice Sami PackettAnnemarie PollardAnna ReeceArechea HounsellAram HosieAseel TayahBack Alley Sally’sBen GillBrett QuinlanBridgid CowlingBrigitte BradyCaitlin EdwardsCali PrinceCam NguyenCash HarveyCatherine FrenchCatherine Meynell-JamesCathy HuntCharlotte HilderChari SaldanaChristine OwenClaire SpencerClaudia MerhejClem GillingsCollette BrennanCraig RogersDaniel ClarkeDaniel BesenDaniel PangDanny RogersDeb ForceDevon TaylorDimitrios Goulas

Domino PatemanEdwina LunnEmma DoEnza GandolfoErin MilneFipe PreussFotis KapetopoulosGuido MeloHana AssafiriHeather HorrocksHeather WatsonHelen SimondsonJacinta PercyJaclyn BootonJacqui SchultzJane CrawleyJanelle CribbJenny MoonJerome BorazioJerril RechterJess TranJessica TumbriJinghua Qian Jo HarrisonJo HarveyJude GunJude KellyKarrina NolanKaryn RossKate Ben-TovimKatrina SedgwickLachlann CarterLara WeekLaura YaffeLee CaseyLeigh TabrettLenine BourkeLeticia CaceresLibby HargreavesLucy BuzacottLinh NguyenMagda PetkoffMelanie EusebeMelanie StewartMelissa WhiteMichael BrennanMija GwynNamila BensonNatalie Zaibak

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Nigel HigginsNicholas ThomPeter SeidelRachelle WatsonRani PramestiRas Dashen RestaurantRegine AbosRos CaseySam CooneySarah Jean RowleySera and Rosa CavallaroSharman WilliamsonSherry-Rose WattsSonya Fleming and James BerrellStephen ArmstrongStufvaniSue McDonaldSusie WickesTammy AndersonThien An RestaurantTimoci O’ConnorVanessa PidwellVedran DrakulicVictoria JonesVishaka KumarVivia HickmanVivian Clark

WOW VolunteersTegan NashJoanna PidcockMichelle CoreraTaylor BrodieMay SabetSarah RowleyGillian JonesSnehargho GhoshHope MathumbuEmmy WatsonAnne HuaJennifer FergusonNicola PickworthSarah BerryBeth MuldoonGeraldine Louison Noriko NakamuraJoel CasemoreSteffany Young

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Nigel HigginsNicholas ThomPeter SeidelRachelle WatsonRani PramestiRas Dashen RestaurantRegine AbosRos CaseySam CooneySarah Jean RowleySera and Rosa CavallaroSharman WilliamsonSherry-Rose WattsSonya Fleming and James BerrellStephen ArmstrongStufvaniSue McDonaldSusie WickesTammy AndersonThien An RestaurantTimoci O’ConnorVanessa PidwellVedran DrakulicVictoria JonesVishaka KumarVivia HickmanVivian Clark

WOW VolunteersTegan NashJoanna PidcockMichelle CoreraTaylor BrodieMay SabetSarah RowleyGillian JonesSnehargho GhoshHope MathumbuEmmy WatsonAnne HuaJennifer FergusonNicola PickworthSarah BerryBeth MuldoonGeraldine Louison Noriko NakamuraJoel CasemoreSteffany Young

FESTIVAL PARTNERSMAJOR PARTNER

FESTIVAL PARTNER

PROGRAM PARTNER

FESTIVAL SUPPORTERS

The Moroccan Soup Kitchen

The Happy River Café

Fipe Preuss perfoms Dance and Connection at the WOW Café. Image by Rachel Main.