The Queer Art of Feeling

The therapeutic potential of art has long been known. A tool to express, to soothe, to find connection, to make the personal universal and the universal personal. My project seeks to use this holistic power as a means for collective healing - bringing together image, memory and trauma processing tools, to act as a salve to shared pain.

This is the central idea of the research I have embarked upon for a Doctorate of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland. Recently I have been extended an incredible opportunity to present an aspect of my work at Cambridge University, UK in May 2019. The symposium is called The Queer Art of Feeling: Sensation, Emotion and the Body in Queer Cultures. This is an amazing opportunity for many reasons: to connect with like-minded artists, curators, writers and academics; to represent New Zealand on an New Zealand stage; and to expand the dialogue on queer creative practice.

My Cambridge presentation is entitled The Archive Keeps the Score: Healing Community Trauma through Creative Practice. It explores the Archive as a memory bank of experience and emotion - presenting possibilities as to the use of contemporary art-making, centred around this archival material, as a tool to process trauma for the queer community. It is my hope that this work can have a positive impact on my community, broaden the language of self-exploration, and promote the use of art as a connective tool of care.

I am grateful that the University of Auckland is funding a portion of my travel to Cambridge, however, I am left responsible for finding the remainder of my fare, accommodation, symposium registration and incidental travel costs. I am doing my utmost to raise this money independently, however, time is short, and I am seeking your support. Any contribution from you would be very gratefully received. Thanks so much for your time. Donate via the link above.