Rhae (they/them) is a socially and environmentally engaged artist based on Latji Latji Country (Mildura) and working across regional Victoria and NSW. Their social enterprise Regenerative Communities offers creative and regenerative community development services to regional artists and organisations.
They have worked for grassroots community activists, not for profit organisations and local government on a wide variety of projects including community development, event & project management, curation and creative production. With 18 years experience in the community sector spanning the arts, local food systems and community planning, they bring systems thinking, creativity and collaborative networking to everything they do. Rach is passionate about building strong rural and regional communities through manifesting a strong sense of place.
Their work as a practicing artist and creative producer explores the intersections between body and place, serving as a process for understanding systems awareness. Their performance practice is grounded in a deep connection to landscape via the methodology of Bodyweather, a comprehensive training and performance practice that develops a conscious relation to the state of change inside and outside the body.
KEY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
2023 Collaborative Governance Facilitator – Hands Up Mallee
2022 Sunraysia Local Food Movement – Activator
2021- current Borders Project – Creative Producer
2021 Nested – Workshop facilitator
2020- current Regenerative Communities – Social Enterprise Founder & Director
2020 Atisha Buddhist Centre –Storytelling project
2021 Northern Territory Touring Film Festival- Tour coordinator
2019-20 Mildura Rural City Council – Community Planning & Drought Recovery
2018 Yarn Fest- Creative Director
2018 Mildura Fringe- Co-founder & Director
2018-19 ArtsMildura – Executive Director
2017-18 Out of the Box- Project Activator
2017 Mungo Man Repatriation Ceremony – Event assistant
2017 Sunraysia Burundian Garden – University of MelbourneProject Assistant
2016 Slow Food Australia National Conference – Event Manager
2012 Arts Mildura – Festival Manager
CURATORIAL EXPERIENCE
2022 Situate- The Ecology of our Creative Community, The Hub Mildura.
2019 Voice of a River – A collaborative community response to the Menindee fish kills
2018 The Best of BOLD – mentor for emerging youth curator, Arts Mildura
2018 Yarpaddi Nyngarna Kulpa– co-curator NAIDOC week exhibition, Arts Mildura
2013 Mildura Palimpsest Biennale #9 – Assistant Curator & Event Manager
PUBLICATIONS
2021 Planting the Seed- Developing a collaborative regenerative Indigenous plant use project in the Millewa Mallee region.
2021 I am Home– A wellbeing evaluation of Food Next Door Cooperative in Mildura
2020 Coming Home – Home2020 exhibition catalogue essay
2016 Fragmented Coalesce, Island Magazine
EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
2023 CASE Incubator participant – CAD Factory
2022 Resourcing Fundamentals – Regenesis Institute
2021 Holistic Decision Making – Dan Palmer
2020 Regenerative Practitioner – Regenesis Institute
2020 Regional Climate Change Leadership Program – ADAPT Loddon Mallee
2014 Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours First Class – Tasmanian College of the Arts
2013 Video Production – Sunraysia Institute of TAFE
2012 Bachelor of Visual Arts – La Trobe University Mildura
PERFORMANCE ART TRAINING
2022 Summer Fling Body Weather mentorship with Linda Luke
2019 Manipulations workshop with Frank van de Ven, Melbourne
2019 Body Weather Bellambi with Frank van de Ven- Bellambi Beach
2018 Under the Lithosphere Residency with Linda Luke & Kim Kerze, Mildura
2018 Body Landscape with Frank van de Ven- Wentworth NSW
2016 Butoh Residential with Frank van de Ven & Yumi Umiamare- Wimmera River
2016 Body Weather Bellambi with Linda Luke- Bellambi Beach
2015 Body/Landscape with Fran van de Ven – Myalla Tasmania
2015 Body Weather Bellambi with Linda Luke – Bellambi Beach
2015 The New Spatial Ecology Movement with Alex Danko and Jude Walton – Mildura
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS & PERFORMANCES
2022 Wall Drawing for Southern Western, Mildura Arts Centre
2018 Under the Lithosphere, performance, museum of innocence Mildura
2018 Super-Natural, museum of innocence Mildura
2016 Fragmented Coalesce, Penny Contemporary Hobart
2015 Fragmented Coalesce, Mildura Palimpsest Biennale #10
2015 Collective Bisoku, performance, Mildura Palimpsest Biennale #10
2015 Memory:Remediation, Melbourne Projection Space
2014 Drawing:Performance, Gallery 25, Mildura
2014 Memory:Remediation, Plimsol Gallery Hobart
2013 Untitled: Drawing for Mildura Palimpsest #9, site specific performance,
Mildura Homestead.
COLLECTIONS
Mildura Arts Centre
The Art Vault, Mildura
Work held in private collections