WOW at Festival 2018

Outcast Arts: Red River
Lack of infrastructure and
digital connectivity, combined
with vast distances creates an
insurmountable barrier between
metropolitan and regional
Australia. The voices of regions
go unheard despite the wealth
of knowledge, passion, pain and
humour our remote communities
have to share. The Outcast
team has traveled to remote
communities and worked with
regional partners to capture
sounds and imagery from some
of the most isolated parts of our
country. The Red River installation
invites audiences to share the
stories of the resilient women
who live there.
Women Dreaming
Women Dreaming celebrates much-loved
women whose work doesn’t always get
recognition outside of their communities or
professions. These women are Aboriginal
and/or Torres Strait Islander sisters and
Elders from across South East Queensland,
chosen for their leadership by Dr Jackie
Huggins, Dr Sandra Phillips and Dr Chelsea
Bond, themselves Aboriginal women of high
achievement This large-scale projection
work by photomedia artist Jody Haines
(Trawlwoolway) is led by these women,
their faces, their emotions, their wisdom.
The images acknowledge our sisters’
strength and womanhood, their community
and knowledge, their songline and their
sovereignty. The looping projection will
be screened on the outer wall of Brisbane
Powerhouse every night from sunset.
The Future is Female
Leah Denbok: Nowhere to Call Home
Nowhere to Call Home is a powerful collection of
photographs and stories of people experiencing
homelessness by 17-year-old Canadian photographer
Leah Denbok. Across these images Leah hopes
to humanize people experiencing homelessness
and shine a spotlight on the problem. For the
past four years Leah has been mentored by
National Geographic photographer and Fellow
Joel Sartore. When Leah was just 14, Joel said of
her, “If she sticks with it, I think she’s well on her
way to becoming not just a good photographer,
but a great photographer. And I’m not kidding.”
The inspiration for this work has been Leah’s mother
Sarah who is travelling with her to WOW at Festival
2018 where they tell their story. Leah will also be one
of the photographers in residence for the event. Their
involvement has been made possible through support
from the Government of Canada.
Working with the WOW London
team we embarked on a project to
seek views, from young women in
particular, on what needs to happen
to bring about gender equality in
Commonwealth countries. The
images of the posters they created
will be projected throughout the
Powerhouse during the Festival
from communities in Australia, Fiji,
Solomon Islands, Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka, Ghana, and the UK. The views
expressed together with the ideas
that emerge in this Festival will
be gathered and presented to The
Secretary-General Commonwealth,
The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC
on Sunday 8th April.The images
can also be seen at the Sage Hotel
James St our partner hotel for WOW
at Festival 2018.
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Lucy, by Leah Denbok
Photographer Jordin Steele
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