Socially Engaged Practice

Justin holds a Masters in Creative Industries from Western Sydney University and an Advance Diploma in Screen Media, Multiplatform Producing. He has experience in producing documentary content for television. In 2020, Justin was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to explore the artist-led makerspaces. In his background of film production, programming and production, he has worked for the Brisbane International Film Festival, Asia Pacific Screen Awards, the Sydney Film Festival and the Antenna International Documentary Film Festival. He produced the award winning 30min documentary ‘Not a Willing Participant’ screened on ABC and the 1hour documentary, ‘A War of Hope’ with SBS/NITV. Most recently Justin has been the Exhibition Manager at Sculpture at Scenic World and formerly worked in the technical team for Sculpture by the Sea.

I am a visual artist, cultural worker and researcher focussed on working in public space and building creative communities and places. I have founded, built and run MAPA Art + Architecture together Hugo Moline since 2015. Prior to that I was part of The Lot collective. I have managed public art and cultural projects both temporary and permanent, for clients including: City of Sydney, Westmead Hospital, Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, Parramatta City Council, Powerhouse MAAS, Urban Art Projects, Defence Housing Australia, amongst others. Working on complex collaborative public art projects I have developed effective project & time management skills and successfully led teams of contractors, fabricators, engineers and installers. In our collaborative practice, Hugo and I have undertaken residencies and produce research outcomes in Japan at Australia House for the Echigo Tsumari Art Triennial, at NIDA Art Colony in Lithuania, the Canadian Centre for Architecture, The Museum of Loss and Renewal in Italy and others. Alongside my creative practice I have twelve years of professional experience working in the visual arts and local government sector. In 2005 I graduated from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of Creative Art majoring in Arts Management and in 2008 I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the National Art School majoring in Sculpture. In my various roles as Creative Industries Project Officer at Blue Mountains City Council, Curator of Bankstown Biennale, Bankstown City Council, Cultural Development Officer at Fairfield City Council I have been responsible for producing and managing creative programmes, exhibitions and grant programs. I have also taught as sessional academic at in interdisciplinary design at the University of Technology Sydney, in architecture at the Sydney University and worked as a research co-ordinator at the University of Newcastle in the School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences.

UnitePlayPerform is an Australian arts health organisation enhancing wellbeing through creativity in a globally connected world. Founded by Australian contemporary artist and experience designer ØFFËRÎNGŠ, UnitePlayPerform is a transformational therapeutic methodology incorporating play, making, co-creation and community. The master method is delivered via educational Playshops, retreats, digital experiences, performance works, exhibitions and therapeutic products that invite self exploration and leadership. “UnitePlayPerform was developed by Artist ØFFËRÎNGŠ as a new system to nurture and enhance the everyday lives of humans in such potent and challenging times. The concept was born unexpectedly within the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 as a response to the isolation and segregation of our communities. UnitePlayPerform started to realize the positive impact that a practice like this could have on individuals and the lives they may affect around them. The ripple effect could be global, and the potential could be life enhancing as a legacy for generations to come. Post incubation phase, now in 2022, UPP has expanded to become a multi-disciplinary arts health organisation supporting the ongoing delivery of all that we do. A crucial element of the journey has been the assembly of a small team of world-class thought leaders, innovators, neuro-psychology theorists, cultural strategists and iconic play design experts who have collaborated to bring this vision to life. UPP aims to facilitate new pathways born at the intersection of art, health, science and wellbeing.

Seed is a new generation of communications and PR consultancy. Ethical, socially sensitive and aware, we develop strategic communication and PR programs that support conscious leadership and help drive positive social and environmental impact. We are passionate about what we do which ensures our campaigns are creative and compelling, connect with audiences and create discussion. At Seed, we believe purposeful organisations deserve to get their message out there and be heard, to help this we work with realistic budgets, giving you the opportunity to gain exposure.

I work within the Arts & Cultural services of Regional NSW, providing skills in graphic design, art program administration, project management, data collection for research, facilitation and mentoring. Recent programs include: Culture Dose for Kids art program from AGNSW and The Black Dog Institute with funding from the Jibb Foundation, Intergenerational Playgroup with BANC with funding from NBMPHN and Wentworth Healthcare. As a highly skilled brand communication designer with over 25 years experience, most recently running my own business specialising in design for the Arts and Cultural sector, I manage all design projects from initiation to completion and excel in customer service forming long-lasting working relationships with clients and suppliers. Recent clients include: Blue Mountains City Art Gallery, Blue Mountains City Council Cultural Development and Place Management teams, and Regional Futures for Regional Arts NSW.

Working across multiple disciplines, I explore materialities and aesthetics of memory, experience and place, distilling these ephemeral qualities into a range of physical, visual forms. I explore expanded notions of drawing and painting, compositional abstraction, colour, collage, printmaking, casting (beeswax), assemblage, sound, digital and analogue photography and film. I engage with the languages and processes of collecting, grouping, making, reframing and composing to translate visceral experiences into tactile works. I manipulate materials, light and space, to tell personal stories contained within planar and architectural contexts. Compositions are restrained, with sympathetic relationships formed between materials, surface, space, and the viewer. Extraneous matter is eliminated via material opacity and colour fields, transforming feelings and experiences into veiled, sensual, quiet planar surfaces. The space is gently framed and delineated by the works' edges, providing an entry point for the viewer to focus on the field and find a sense of stillness. My practice also incorporates curation and production of collaborative, site-specific projects held within unique architectural spaces, that explore and expand ways of creating and presenting art forms, and enable deep audience engagement with art and place. Please contact me if you would like to commission a work or discuss a project.

Born in Sydney, I have lived in the Blue Mountains for 16 years. As a performance creator and visual artist I work at the intersection of dance, installation, theatre and architecture. My recent works fall into the categories of performance art and installation. I work in solo, duet or group formation depending on the project. I also collaborate with my partner WeiZen Ho. In Sydney I was the founding member of seminal performance ensemble Gravity Feed (1992-2004) and of Gravity Research Institute (2000-2019). I conceive, devise, design, and choreograph and direct performance projects. I especially work with materials and objects and with site responsive concepts. My projects and performance address the essence of site, employing materials that perform in relation to and with body and place. I’m driven to seek underlying historical residues and my work reflects my personal post-Holocaust legacy in which I’m particularly focussed on the diasporic condition. I’m influenced by both contemporary and traditional cultural and artistic practices of Japan, China and SE Asia, with practice, participation and research in those regions. Recently I’ve presented work for smaller festivals in Newcastle and Maitland as well at Cementa15 and Cementa22 in Kandos. WeiZen Ho and I were commissioned artists for the 2022 Keir Choreographic Awards.