Information

The Fremantle Biennale is a biennial festival of site-responsive contemporary art.

Our largely free program presents artworks from Australia and the world, in a festival that reveals and celebrates the cultural, social and historical distinctiveness of the Fremantle (Walyalup) region.

The Fremantle Biennale was founded in 2017 by West Australian artist Tom Mùller with the City of Fremantle’s former arts & culture manager, Pete Stone, and public art coordinator, Corine Van Hall, with the intention of creating a festival that expanded contemporary artistic and cultural programming within greater Fremantle (Walyalup).

The Fremantle Biennale takes place on the unceded lands and waters of the Whadjuk people of the Nyoongar nation. We acknowledge the Whadjuk people as the traditional owners of the greater Fremantle (Walyalup) area. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging, and respect the living culture and heritage of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The Fremantle Biennale is held every two years in the Nyoongar season of Kambarang (November). The last Fremantle Biennale, titled CROSSING 21, took place from 5–21 November 2021.

The sites for CROSSING 21 traced the shores of the Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River) from Walyalup (Fremantle) to Dyoondalup (Point Walter) and through to the Derbarl Nara (Coogee Beach), with a focus of activity between the two iconic Fremantle bridges. This is a place of alchemy where histories intersect and collide, where the bilya (river) meets the wardan (sea) in a place of confluence.

Over one hundred years ago, a seminal event took place at this meeting place that was to change the course of history and alter the harmonious geography that had existed for millennia. At the mouth of the river a sandstone tidal land bridge once existed, which served as a natural crossing used by the Whadjuk people for safe passage, ritual and ceremonial practices. This rocky bar was blasted away by Chief Engineer C Y O’Connor to make way for the ever-growing Swan River colony in 1892. The disruption of this harmonious balance and tidal rhythm between ocean, river and people has inspired the theme of CROSSING for the 2021 Fremantle Biennale.

‘Colonial-settlers arrived and disrupted an ancient and carefully managed equilibrium that began when time itself was dreamed up – a time when keepers of Katitjin (knowledge) cared for Country in such a way that everything was one. As we strive towards greater truth telling and an awakening of our collective consciousness towards this history and its on-going impacts, we believe festivals and artists hold a vital role in facilitating new conversations and sharing collective stories. Through site-responsive artworks informed by co-design and collaboration, we hope to create tangible opportunities for new ideas and meetings and for change to start to emerge.’

Tom Mùller, Artistic Director, CROSSING 21

 

Mary Hill
Michela & Adrian Fini
Susan & Ian Trahar
Libby & Rohan Williams
Tonia Ryan & Craig Peterson
Sue McDonald & Mark Westbrook
Helene Taylor & Darryl Mack
Mili & Franklin Gaffney
Jenny & David Martin

The Fremantle Biennale is committed to on-going learning and adaptability around access, cultural diversity and inclusion to ensure that everyone feels invited to and can participate in our festival.

The Fremantle Biennale offered different access and assistive services across our 2021 program and events. See our Access Program page and event pages for the below icons to learn more of what was on offer.

Auslan Interpreting

Auslan interpreting is provided at a number of our talks, performances and events. Look for the Auslan symbol displayed on the event page.

Audio Described Tours

A number of Audio Described tours and events will be held during the Fremantle Biennale. These tours will provide live verbal descriptions of actions, performances, objects, scenery and other visual elements.

Open Captioning

Open captioning will be available across a number of Fremantle Biennale digital events. Open captioning allows people who are hard of hearing or Deaf to read accurate text displays of a performance or event on a screen. Check the event pages for more information.

Tactile Tours

A number of Tactile tours will be held across Fremante Biennale events. These tours allow people who are blind or have low vision to experience a event through touch, sound and conversation.

100 eye

No music or dialogue, or all dialogue is open captioned

75 eye

No music or sounds. Access to spoken word provided by open caption and/or script.

50 eye

May have music or sounds in the background. Open caption, scripts and descriptions are provided.

VENUE ACCESSIBILITY

Wheelchair accessible

This indicates that the venue/location is accessible for people with limited mobility, including wheelchairs. If this symbol is not listed on an event, access may be limited, so please contact us for more information.

Assistive access

This symbol indicates that assistance from a Companion is likely necessary for wheelchair users to navigate a space.

Please see the Access information on each event page for more information.

We also recommend visiting transperth.wa.gov.au for up-to-date information on accessible transport to and from all our events.

The Fremantle Biennale is created by a team of artists, producers and curators who are committed to creating a working environment and festival that foregrounds diversity and community.

If you are interested in volunteering for the Fremantle Biennale, please email us at info@fremantlebiennale.com.au

The Fremantle Biennale is a not-for-profit charity, delivered every two years through the generosity of our funders, partners and donors. We’re incredibly grateful for all contributions, which help us create extraordinary arts and cultural experiences across Walyalup (Fremantle).

All donations to ‘Fremantle Biennale Inc (FBI) Donation Fund’ are tax deductible. The FBI (Donation Fund) is a tax-deductible fund listed on the Australian Government’s Register of Cultural Organisations maintained under Subdivision 30-B of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.

LOVE BIEN

In 2020, the Fremantle Biennale developed a community giving program called LOVE BIEN which was created especially for individuals and small businesses who were keen to contribute to the 2021 Fremantle Biennale. Through LOVE BIEN, every dollar raised until May 31st was matched by the Creative Partnerships Australia Plus1 campaign (our target was $5,000 and we passed $7,000!). Visit the LOVE BIEN website (and you can still donate if you wish) here.

BENEFACTORS

For individuals able to give more, the Fremantle Biennale benefactor program offers special benefits to those donating $2,000 and over. Benefactors will receive exclusive invitations to the program launch and opening event and will have early access to ticketed performances programmed during the Fremantle Biennale in November – plus – all benefactors will be recognised on our website. If you would like to become a benefactor of the Fremantle Biennale, please click here.

Alternatively, if you are a business or organisation keen to partner with the Fremantle Biennale, please email tom@fremantlebiennale.com.au to discuss opportunities.

STAFF

Tom Mùller – Artistic Director, CEO & Co-Founder

Tom is an established multi-disciplinary artist with an active international practice spanning the realms of site-responsive and temporal projects. His work has been included in major exhibitions and institutions including The National at Carriageworks, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Adelaide Biennial, Biennale de la Chaux-de-Fonds, and the upcoming Northern Alps Triennale in Japan. He has been the recipient of multiple Australia Council grants, the inaugural winner of the Qantas Contemporary Art prize, and a mid-career fellowship from the Department of Culture and the Arts. In 2009, he was awarded the Basel international residency program through the Christoph Merian Stiftung. Tom was mentored by the Russian-American conceptual artist Ilya Kabakov in New York, and studied Anthroposophy at Emerson College in London. Tom sits on the board of the National Association for the Visual Arts as an elected artist representative.

Katherine Wilkinson – Program Director

Katherine is a creative producer and curator working across socially engaged, site-responsive, live and visual contemporary art practices. Alongside her role as the Program Director for the Fremantle Biennale, she is a curator with DADAA and a Creative Producer with Perth Festival (Witness Stand, 2021; Five Short Blasts, 2019). Previously she was the Special Projects and Revealed Coordinator at Fremantle Arts Centre and the founding curator of Know Thy Neighbour, a series of Perth-based context-responsive art projects presented by International Art Space. Katherine works, lives and swims on the lands and waters of the Whadjuk people of the Nyoongar nation.

Corine van Hall – Program Associate & Co-Founder

Corine is a creative producer, curator and director. As Public Art Coordinator for the City of Fremantle, Corine leads the City’s commitment to commissioning innovative public art and is a founding director of the Fremantle Biennale. As a consultant for the WA Government Percent for Art Scheme, Corine works all over the state and directly with many of WA’s contemporary visual artists. She is passionate about fostering the development of the arts in WA and has broad experience across the arts sector, including the Art Gallery of WA, Mark Howlett Foundation and the Tresillian Arts Centre.

Eli Smith – Production Manager

Eli Smith is a veteran of artist services. A practising visual artist, Eli combines a creative and collaborative approach with over 20 years of technical expertise. Eli has brought large-scale arts and infrastructure projects to fruition. Highlights of these include managing an installation team on the WA Museum – Boola Bardip renovation project, managing three institutional collection relocations, coordinating a significant renovation project at Latrobe Regional Gallery, Victoria, and working as the touring exhibition manager for René Magritte: the Revealing Image in Australia and Hong Kong. As an artist, he won the inaugural Perrine Contemporary Art Award, was a finalist in the Lester Prize, and is collected nationally.

Emma Hewitt – Creative Learning Program Manager

Emma Hewitt is a multidisciplinary artist who specialises in working with children and young people. Her practice is concerned with social engagement, celebrating the stories, identities and experiences of young people as citizens, creators and artists.  Emma has delivered innovative projects with arts and cultures organisations across Australia and overseas. She was previously Learning and Engagement Manager at WA Museum Boola Bardip, Education Manager at Perth Festival, and had roles with State Library Victoria and State Library Queensland. As a consultant, she has worked with City of Fremantle, 100 Story Building and Department of Education and Training (Victoria). Her work is informed by tertiary qualifications in Primary Teaching and a Masters of Development Studies (University of Melbourne), including a thesis focused on conceptions of Aboriginal children’s rights in Australia.

Katrina Sparkes – Community Liaison Coordinator

Katrina is based in Walyalup, Noongar Whadjuk Country. With a background in communications and event management, she works with numerous leading not-for-profit arts organisations including Marrugeku and Tura New Music. Katrina has a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Public Relations and strives to use her skills to support organisations with strong ethical values. She is passionate about the social impact of the arts, and diversification and representation within the industry. Katrina also works with young and emerging artists, providing marketing support and event facilitation.

Claire Krouzecky – INCOMING Curator

Claire Krouzecky is a multidisciplinary artist and writer. Her practice ranges from highly introspective works to public facing collaborative projects. Driven by a deep engagement with site, Claire’s work has manifested in recent years via a number of international residencies, projects and exhibitions in Japan, Iceland, Italy, Germany and the USA. Claire has a sustaining interest in the ethics and aesthetics of caretaking on individual, collective and organisational levels. In 2018 Claire interned as assistant to the directors at LungA school, Iceland, prior to which she was Collections Manager and Bibliographer at Picture Room, New York for three years. Claire received a Masters of Fine Art from the Tasmanian College of the Arts in 2013, and currently lives on Walyalup Country.

Delwyn Everard – Legal Advisor

Delwyn is passionate about the arts and social justice. She provides practical strategic advice to creatives, arts organisations and businesses. Her expertise lies in business governance, business contracts and all forms of intellectual property including Indigenous cultural intellectual property.

Thea Verall – Bookkeeper

CULTURAL ADVISORS

Sandra Harben

Sandra is a Whadjuk and Balardong Nyoongar woman. Sandra is the principal of Richmond Consultancy, which facilitates cross-cultural awareness training workshops (CCWTW) throughout the South West and metropolitan areas. Sandra has undertaken extensive community and stakeholder engagement as a member of the Whadjuk Working Party for the WA Museum.

Rohin Kickett

Rohin is a Nyoongar artist from the Balardong region and was born in 1986 in Northam, Western Australia. Rohin comes from a family with many artists and was inspired by his uncles to start creating art. His arts practice revolves around paint and photography, with an emphasis on mark-making. The inspiration behind his work comes from experiencing and seeing first-hand the effects that colonisation has had on his family and also explores his connection to Country, the purpose being to help people better understand the issues Aboriginal people are facing, and to help build stronger relationships.

BOARD

Pete Stone – Chair

Pete is a Fremantle local with 20 years of arts management, programming and production experience. Pete has a unique understanding and love of Fremantle and how it connects with its local and global community. The role that cross-organisational collaboration can play in unlocking the potential to realise ambitious programming is one of Pete’s driving passions. He is strongly committed to connecting more people to the arts through inviting and challenging programming. Pete’s previous positions include General Manager at Fremantle Arts Centre, Manager of Arts and Culture at the City of Fremantle and Producer at Perth Festival. His current role is Creative Producer, Arts and Culture at the City of Melville. Previous board experience includes terms as board member and President of West Australian Music (WAM). Pete has also worked on contemporary music grant assessment panels for state government funding.

Ariane Palassis – Deputy Chair

Receiving her Masters in Architecture from The University of Western Australia gave Ariane a broad skill base coupled with an appreciation for materiality and the details of construction. While practising, Palassis worked on a wide range of projects, from new residential and commercial developments to conservation works on some of WA’s most important heritage sites. These include Fremantle Prison, Sunset Hospital and the Midland Railway Workshops. In developing her own art practice, Ariane has continued to follow her architectural interest in the analysis of place as a repository of human memory and experience. Being Australian with Greek heritage, the displaced old-world rituals and the value of family mythologies and cultural traditions have played a large role in her work.

Craig Yaxley – Treasurer

Craig is a tax partner with KPMG, with over 30 years’ experience in finance, tax and accounting. He is a Fellow Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, a Chartered Tax Advisor, and a member of the Board of Taxation. Craig was previously a board member and treasurer of Black Swan State Theatre Company, and is a member of the KPMG Perth Art Committee.

Marcus Holmes – Secretary

Marcus is Principal of law firm Land Equity Legal. Marcus’ key role on the board is assisting with governance, compliance, risk management and developing and reviewing artists’ and sponsors’ contracts. He works with Aboriginal boards on similar work in the Native Title arena, including in development of corporate policies and procedures. Marcus is also involved in working with local government engaging with the Nyoongar native title settlement and Victoria’s proposed treaty.

Craig Peterson

Craig is the founder and managing director of Western Australian building firm, ICS Australia. With 30 years of experience in construction management, Craig brings extensive knowledge of design delivery, risk mitigation, heritage management and solutions-focused build-processes to the Fremantle Biennale board. A Fremantle stalwart, Craig is a strong advocate of contemporary arts, architecture and design – and has been a supporter of numerous community organisations including the Fly By Night Club, The Fremantle Men’s Community Shed, Melanoma WA and Kidney Health Australia.

Harsha Quartermaine

Harsha is the Director of Strategic Seed Marketing and holds a Communications Media Honours Degree from KIAD, Kent University, and a Masters of Marketing from University of Western Australia. She began her career as a semi-abstract fine artist and has extensive marketing experience working with art and design organisations, including the Tate Gallery, the Royal Institute of British Architects, and the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects. Living and working in Fremantle, Harsha is passionate about supporting and promoting inclusive, contemporary artistic experiences within the community.

Ted Snell

Professor Ted Snell, AM CitWA, is Honorary Professor in the School of Arts & Humanities at Edith Cowan University. Over the past three decades he has contributed to the national arts agenda as Chair of the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council, Artbank, the Asialink Visual Arts Advisory Committee, University Art Museums Australia and as a board member of the National Association for the Visual Arts. He is currently Chair of Regional Arts WA and on the boards of ANAT and the Fremantle Biennale. He is a commentator on the arts for ABC radio and television, Perth art reviewer for The Australian and is a regular contributor to local and national journals. He has published books and has curated numerous exhibitions, many of which document the visual culture of Western Australia.

Peter Woodward

Peter Woodward is the Project Director of landscape architecture practice UDLA  based in Fremantle. Throughout his career Peter has been involved in the incorporation of art and public art into built projects. He completed his Bachelor of Arts at Lancaster University and his Master of Arts at Sheffield University Faculty of Architectural Studies. Peter sits on the Heritage Council WA Register Committee and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects.

ADVISORY BOARD

The Advisory Board is a panel of experts from across Australia who advise the Fremantle Biennale on matters of artistic, ethical and cultural programming. The group is committed to including a diversity of experiences and perspectives.

Margaret Moore – Chair

Margaret Moore Margaret is founder and Director of MOORE CONTEMPORARY, a gallery platform committed to the presentation and promotion of international and local contemporary art practice. Its establishment follows significant public roles that have included Curator and Program Manager: Visual Arts at the Perth International Arts Festival, and curatorial, management and educational positions at the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales and National Gallery of Australia. She has contributed to cultural developments and advocacy through numerous board positions, major projects, and published writing. She is current Chair of the Murdoch University Art Collection Board, a member of University of Western Australia Collections Advisory Board, and a former Chair of the Board of the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art. Margaret Moore is a curatorial and collection advisory consultant to select corporate and private collections that include those of Woodside Energy and KPMG.

Patrick Beale

Patrick is the Director of ATC Studio, a practice specialising in engineering timber design, prefabrication, construction and research and the appropriate use of native Australian and plantation timber. Patrick was formerly Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at UWA and Director of the ATC Research program and has served on the RAIA Chapter Council and Education Committee. Patrick is a passionate supporter of the appropriate and properly informed use of timber in design and construction at all scales.

Karen Jacobs

Karen is a bloodline descendant and a traditional owner of Whadjuk Country. Her primary focus is on developing and encouraging Aboriginal people’s involvement in enterprise and business opportunities. She has an extensive background in cultural heritage, environmental management, tourism and education with qualifications in horticulture and corporate governance. Karen has recently taken up a lecturing position at UWA in Foundation to Heritage Management. Her career has led her into the analysis of probity and procurement, financial management, the marketing and promotion of Aboriginal education and training programs and Aboriginal engagement and participation strategies across all industries.

Hannah Mathews

Hannah is an experienced curator who has worked with contemporary art organisations such as the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne (ACCA), Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) and the Sydney Biennale, as well as working prolifically as an independent project initiator and director. She has an impressive track record of ambitious projects including Framed Movements, ACCA (2014), Action/Response, Dance Massive Festival (2013), Power to the People: Contemporary Conceptualism and the Object in Art, ACCA (2011), as well as NEW 11, ACCA and Primavera 2008 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. She is currently a senior curator at Monash University Museum of Art in Melbourne.

Grant Revell

Grant grew up in the mighty Kaurna foothills of Adelaide. He now lives on the beach in North Fremantle, Western Australia. Revell is a young practising landscape architect and urban planner with over forty years of experience working internationally, nationally and locally in urban and regional Western Australia. His significant inter-cultural design work has been widely published and recognised with awards from both the academy and the planning and landscape architectural professions in Australia and overseas. Grant was awarded a National Fellow of The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects in 2014 for his services to Indigenous design education and practice; and was recognised in Australia’s Black Book of Green People in 2016. Grant is currently a ‘recovering academic’ working slowly on the mentoring of young design professionals, and a design critic, fiction writer, Leighton body-surfer and community-activator with some pet community design projects here in Nyungar Perth, and (back home) in Ngarrindjeri country, South Australia.

Leigh Robb

Leigh is the Curator of Contemporary Art at the Art Gallery of South Australia. Previously she was the Senior Curator at PICA, the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts. With over 15 years of experience, Robb’s previous roles include Associate Director at Thomas Dane Gallery, London, and she led the Internship and Education programs at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Psychology at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, and her Masters in Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London. Leigh Robb is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Adelaide and is a board member of Art Monthly and Adelaide Central School of Art.

Soula Veyradier

Soula is a cultural producer, curator and arts manager having worked across the visual arts and museum areas in Australia and overseas. She is the Programs Director for International Art Space (formerly IASKA). Previous roles include Manager and Curator of the Heathcote Museum and Gallery, Wireless Hill Museum and Melville Discovery Centre; Project Coordinator National Geographic, Greece; Coordinator Pulsart Artists Collective, France; Manager Western Australian Museum Perth and Interpretation Consultant for the Subiaco East Redevelopment Project and Royal Perth Hospital/Historic Heart of Perth. Soula was founder of the City of Melville TILT Artist in Residence Program; Judge Australian Museums & Galleries Awards (MAGNAS); National Councillor AMaGA, Chair Community Arts Network Board; Chair Museums & Galleries National Conference Perth 2011 and Co-Convenor for the Day of Ideas Symposium with the UWA Institute of Advanced Studies. Soula currently sits on the Regional Arts WA, Australian Museums & Galleries Association.

Stay up to date with the latest Fremantle Biennale news!

For general enquiries, contact info@fremantlebiennale.com.au

To make a donation or to discuss sponsorship, contact tom@fremantlebiennale.com.au

OFFICE

Level 1
1A Pakenham Street
Fremantle WA 6160
Australia

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