Apr 12, 2016 | Belonging, Your Stories
Laurette didn’t like this photo of herself. But her brother, the other half of their musical group Laurette N James, did. So she let me use it. Laurette came to Bemac’s music networking evening and mesmerized me by singing, a cappella, with her eyes closed. Time...
Apr 1, 2016 | Belonging, Your Stories
Natalie de Jager, who is a singer and songwriter, talks about the practicalities of belonging and how contributing and feeling useful is part of belonging at any age. “I’m part of a church that I’ve been with for maybe 15 years. And I definitely feel like I belong...
Mar 30, 2016 | Belonging, Your Stories
I met Trent at the Close the Gap event in Brisbane’s West End. There was a dynamic vibrant painting hanging on one of the walls of the enclosed park and I’d asked around about the artist. I found Trent stacking chairs in a store room. Trent does a lot of painting now,...
Mar 26, 2016 | Belonging, Your Stories
Anje, who performs Brazilian music with her group The View From Madeleine’s Couch, talks about how a space, an unknown country, can grab us and envelope us in a moment that we may have eluded us in our own countries of birth. This moment for Anje was in central...
Mar 23, 2016 | Belonging, Your Stories
I met Trisha at Bemac’s networking night for female musicians. She didn’t know anyone when she arrived and looked a little uncertain walking into a crowd. But once she started talking, her whole personality opened up and she smiled and laughed readily particularly at...
Mar 18, 2016 | Belonging, Your Stories
I was introduced to Uncle Adam at a Close the Gap event in West End, Brisbane. Close the Gap events are held regularly to improve the health of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders, to close the gap between them and the rest of the population. What’s...
Mar 17, 2016 | Belonging, Your Stories
We started talking about writing first. In a Brisbane cafe. Then about the belonging project I’m working on, architecture, urban planning and how the three are linked often through art. James politely said he didn’t want me to record him and we digressed into social...
Mar 17, 2016 | Belonging, Your Stories
“I did this course, an Alpha course, about ten years ago. We just all talk and you learn and you grow within this course. And then we went into the chapel and we just had silent prayer between us and God and at this time all of this came out of my mouth — I was...
Mar 17, 2016 | Belonging, Your Stories
“I grew up in this Asian bubble in Sunnybank (Brisbane). You know you have people who have been here twenty, thirty years and they still don’t speak a lot of English….” “I never felt a big part of wider Australia because of racism and stuff. But then I...
Jan 24, 2016 | Belonging, Your Stories
On working on an oil rig, Formula One racing, and how having no place to call home drives change It’s Ramadan and Yassmin was up late last night. After several emails, we make contact the day before she flies out to the oil rig where she works as a well-site drilling...
Nov 10, 2015 | Belonging, Your Stories
GARETH One evening instant Just a breath Through the front door, Children. Lover. Calm. It never lasts. * * * The times I walked out the door The times he came looking for me Through the city Through millions of people To find each other. Identical brothers now...
Nov 10, 2015 | Belonging, Your Stories
MORGAN-ROSE Out in the world and inside my young body there was no room for myself. After the fights and before they split swaying on a wooden swing the cocoon of music delivered myself to me. I ran to the circus and disappeared. Liberated. ...
