Upcoming events
Art Souk
Art Souk is a multi-arts celebration, curated by MzRizk and presented by Multicultural Arts Victoria (MAV) at Arts Centre Melbourne. Led by MzRizk’s sharp eye for artistry and no-nonsense curation, Art Souk brings together Naarm’s creative innovators in one place for one intimate afternoon and two electrifying evenings of performance.
Art Souk is a celebration and showcase of the rich cultural and creative practices of the country’s most unique talent, for open minds.
Adding to the dynamic programming, Being Biracial Podcast co-hosts Maria Birch-Morunga and Kate Robinson will record a live episode onsite. Tickets are free.
There will be two sessions:
5pm - 5:45pm
6pm - 6:45pm
The Art Souk is a destination for those who seek a deeper connection across artforms, cultures and languages… with a little room for gossip. Go on, dish the tea, feed your senses and nourish your soul.
Home Ground: MPavilion Live with Being Biracial Podcast
A pond-side podcast about biracial belonging in the arts, recorded live
Being Biracial is filled with heartfelt and funny interviews with guests discussing the dualities of living across multiple cultures. And now they’re bringing the pod to MPavilion for a special live recording.
Joining them for a chat is MPavilion Season 11 collaborator Joel Bray, a proud Wiradjuri dancer and performance-maker. As the Artistic Director of Joel Bray Dance, Joel makes his work in collaboration with Elders, Community and Country, often in unorthodox spaces that draw on his Wiradjuri heritage. Using humour, Joel engages audiences in rituals that touch on themes of sex, history, trauma, and healing.
This will be a celebration of shared stories and a peek behind the concrete walls into the work that makes up the Home Ground program.
Live Interview: Olana Janfa
Join us for a live event featuring exhibiting artist Olana Janfa, interviewed by Being Biracial podcast hosts Kate Robinson and Maria-Birch Morunga. The event will include Ethiopian pop-up restaurant by Afro Cafe, Dandenong.
Biracial identity is so often missing from conversations about race in Australia and Aotearoa. Being biracial fills that gap. It’s for anyone who has struggled to claim all of their ‘mix’, for the parents of multiracial kids who want to start to understand their experience, but most of all it’s for anyone who loves a good story and a giggle.
Hosted by Maria Birch-Morunga (Māori/Pakehā) and Kate Robinson (Iranian Australian), each episode is an interview about identity, juggling cultures, and family gossip. It’s a celebration of shared experiences across different cultures.
For more information about the exhibition please visit: HOME 24 – Olana Janfa: Too Much Drama
School Holidays Workshop: Superstars
An exciting offering for creative kids this summer! Our School Holiday Arts Program is back in April, featuring a lineup of artists and engaging activities designed for children aged 6 to 12 years.
Week 1 celebrates the young SUPERSTARS, focusing on the world of performing arts.
Join Kate and Maria, the talented hosts of the popular podcast Being Biracial, for an exciting four-day adventure into the world of sound, storytelling, and art from 2 July to 5 July. Running from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM with optional child care, Superstars will support your child in creating extraordinary sounds using everyday objects, visualising and painting sounds, and crafting unique storytelling dice. The adventure culminates in a fun showcase event on the final day where kids present their newly crafted worlds.
This is an inclusive opportunity for everyone. Discover your passion for storytelling, try something new, and be part of a collaborative sound experience!
Check out the week two program: Extreme Arts.
Suitable for kids 6-12 years.
Dates:
Tuesday 2 July 2024
Wednesday 3 July 2024
Thursday 4 July 2024
Friday 5 July 2024 (performance day)
Being Biracial: Live at the Round
The Wheeler Centre and The Round present a live recording of the hit podcast Being Biracial, with special guests Aurelia St Clair and Darcy Vescio.
Join co-hosts and co-creators Maria Birch-Morunga and Kate Robinson for a special live recording of their podcast Being Biracial, coinciding with International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Along with special guests, comedian Aurelia St Clair and AFLW champion Darcy Vescio, they’ll discuss navigating the world as a mixed-race person and the dualities of living across multiple cultures. St Clair will also share a very special stand-up set.
Presented in partnership with The Round and The Wheeler Centre
Culture Makers Lab Melbourne Museum
Storytelling in the 21st century takes many forms and the stories in the exhibitions are told in many ways. In Culture Makers Lab, students work creatively with artists and can begin to develop their own creative work.
On Tuesday 19 March and Wednesday 20 March, artists Kate Robinson and Maria Birch-Morunga will share their creative practice and artistic journey with students, and lead art-making workshops exploring personal stories of culture, heritage and race. Students will be inspired to create their own art to take away at the end of the workshop.
Dates and Times
Tuesday 19 March, 10am to 12 noon
Wednesday 20 March, 12 noon to 2pm
Culture Makers Lab series at Museums Victoria explores self-expression and fosters a deeper understanding of our changing identities in an interconnected world.
This program is aligned to the Victorian Curriculum, including the Arts, English and Intercultural Understanding and includes a visit to Melbourne Story and First Peoples galleries.
Nocturnal | Museum After Dark
Worlds Apart
Journey beyond the world you know to explore other realms and realities at Nocturnal, with a full program of talks and tours exploring Melbourne Museum’s collections.
Artist Talk: Journey through stories of culture, race and identity with artists Maria Birch-Morunga and Kate Robinson as they introduce and present their new immersive stop motion animation Threads.
Amplify Live Podcast Event
Join us for an evening of music, poetry, and family gossip with mixed-race artists.
Kate and Maria will host a live podcast event which tackles everything from racial imposter syndrome, finding belonging, and conversations with white parents. They will be joined by poet Monique Nair whose work explores diaspora experiences, language, and coming of age narratives.
The event will conclude with a collaborative performance by Marco Cher-Gibard and Raina Peterson.
Marco is an artist working with sound to explore contemporary culture, expression and experience. You can learn more about him our episode ‘East meets West‘.
Raina is a dancer-choreographer who creates moving experimental dance works that respect and challenge both traditional and contemporary dance.
Address: Bluestone Church Art Space, 8A Hyde St, Footscray, Victoria 3011
MPAVILION workshop
Where do you feel you most belong? What does belonging feel like or mean to you?
The Craft of Belonging is a collage workshop facilitated by Being Biracial podcast hosts Kate Robinson and Maria Birch-Morunga. Participants will have the opportunity to ‘think with their hands’ by creating collage postcards on the theme of ‘Belonging’.
Kate and Maria will share collage techniques and facilitate conversations on the groups we belong to and how to bridge the gaps between them. They will also record and gather audio stories that will be paired with the postcards and turned into a digital zine.
After the workshop, participants will be able to send their postcard collages to someone—continuing the experience beyond the workshop.
All materials are provided, just bring yourself and your curiosity!
Collarts workshop
Celebrate International Women's Day (Wednesday 8th March) with Collarts by getting creative with in our Zine/Collage Workshop or engaging with our on-campus surprises!
Learn how to create your own zine or make an aesthetic collage, while discussing topics like identity and belonging with Kate Robinson and Maria Birch-Morunga, hosts of the Being Biracial podcast. Zine-making materials will be provided, as well as free food and beverages to make sure you're well fed!
Footscray Community Arts Live Podcast Event
Being Biracial is a podcast by Maria Birch-Morunga and Kate Robinson about navigating the world as a mixed-race person.
Fascinated by race, identity and family gossip, Being Biracial is filled with stories about unclaimable heritages, linguistic insecurity, and being a chameleon. It’s a celebration of shared stories, even when we come from different mixes.
Join us for the podcasts season one celebration event where Kate and Maria will be joined by some of the podcast interviewees to share some stories of Being Biracial.
Guests:
Monique Nair [West Writers 2021/22 alumni] is performing her lyrical essay ‘To the langauges.’ Monique is a writer and editor of Indian/Italian and Polish heritage. Her story is featured in the Being Biracial episode Linguistic insecurity.
Meena Singh is joining our hosts on the panel to talk about how she navigates the world as a Yorta Yorta and Indian woman. Meena is the Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People here in Victoria. Learn more about Meena in her Being Biracial episode Identity front and centre.
Alisa Tanaka-King will be doing live graphic recording during the event. She is a Japanese/Australian artist, maker and illustrator. Alisa’s story is featured in the Being Biracial episode Living in grey areas.
