After a handful of years working with a project called Animatism, we were invited in 2014 to contribute to East Timor's first ever public art festival named Arte Publiku. The festival was a combination of music, art, dance and performance with a goal of encouraging nation building and creative exchange through a week of workshops and live performances. I participated by filming the event, and creating a projection piece from recordings of East Timorese poetry. After returning I combined one of the poems with the footage of the event to create the video beneath titled "Ita Nudar Ema," which translates to "We as people."
Massive thanks to Chris Parkinson for introducing me to the project and his incredible work along side East Timorese artists Tony Amaral, Alfe Perreira, Etson Caminha, Osme Gonsalves. And a massive hats off to the amazing Lizzie Adams and Alex Ben Mayor whose tireless work made this project possible.
See more information at: www.animatismart.com and www.facebook.com/ArtePublikuFestival
East Timor has been a place of immense creative inspiration over the years, starting during my first trip with the Oaktree Foundation in 2010. I've worked on a variety of creative development projects with Dili's free art school Arte Moris, using small grants to facilitate exchanges and workshops between Dili and Melbourne. The project has introduced me to some unforgettable characters, and will likely be a part of my life for many decades to come with many new projects currently in the pipeline.
I've been lucky enough to work in East Timor on a handful of jobs over the last few years, but the stand out has been working with the inspired crew from the free school Arte Moris. I returned there in late 2013 to record a greatly expanded project covering dance, music, performance and visual art with workshops leading to a large scale exhibition at the Arte Moris facility.