BEMAC Discussions: Transnational Collaboration (Live and Streamed)

Join us on Monday 9 June for the next instalment in the BEMAC Discussions series; a free panel discussion on “Transnational Collaboration: An exploration of Artists working across cultures and counties”. In an increasingly interconnected world, artists are forging creative partnerships beyond borders. This panel brings together international artists to discuss the challenges and rewards of transnational collaboration—how it shapes artistic practice, fosters cultural exchange, and builds global communities.

Moderated by Hannah Attwood, the panel will feature

For those who are not able to physically attend the sessions, BEMAC Discussions will be live streamed on BEMAC’s Facebook page facebook.com/BEMACpresents 

Following the panel discussion, the evening will continue with a performance by creative residents ‘Run Free’, an evocative, improvised performance group comprising poetry, music and movement. Led by slam poet Huda The Goddess and multi-instrumentalist Cieavash Arean, and featuring vocals by Rina, music by Amir Reza Vahdati and movement by The Flood, the group will creatively respond to the theme of the panel with their signature raw, authentic expression of personal and collective stories, deeply rooted in their experiences of revolution, identity, and survival. Through their real-time, dynamic collaboration, ‘Run Free’ reminds us that artists are the historians of our communities, daring to share the uncomfortable truths of our world by a fearless pursuit of truth through creativity.

6:30pm, Monday 9 June
Queensland Multicultural Centre
102 Main Street, Kangaroo Point QLD
Free (RSVP below)

There is limited parking at the QMC. We encourage all guests to use public transport. QMC is only a 2-minute walk from the Holman Street Ferry Terminal and bus route 234. You can find more info about how to get to QMC at http://qmc.org.au/visit

Panel Bios

Caitlin Franzmann is a Brisbane based artist who works with installation, sound, performance, and community-based projects. In reaction to the fast pace and sensory overstimulation of contemporary urban life, she encourages people to slow down and pay closer attention to their surroundings and interactions with nature. By creating thoughtful and engaging experiences in galleries and public spaces, she fosters conversation and reflection on local histories, ecosystems, and environmental issues. She is a member of 'Ensayos', a transnational collective research practice centered on extinction, human geography, coastal health and peatland conservation, and 'Meander', an international platform for sustainable art and life practices.  Caitlin has exhibited nationally and internationally, including at National Gallery of Victoria, Kyoto Art Centre and Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia. She was included in Primavera 2014: Young Australian Artists at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Passages at New Museum, New York in 2020, TarraWarra Biennial 2021: Slow Moving Waters at TarraWarra Museum of Art, Victoria and Embodied Knowledge: Queensland Contemporary Art at QAGOMA, Brisbane in 2022. She was recipient of the 2014 Churchie National Emerging Art Prize and was awarded the Metro Arts Visual Arts Pathfinder Program residency (2022-2023).

Nadia Milford is a dancer, filmmaker, and performance artist whose work explores the connections between body, people, and place. With a rich background in movement-based performance, she seeks to shift perspectives and foster a culture of care, bringing people together through shared experiences. Passionate about cross-cultural exchange, Nadia investigates how shared histories manifest in everyday life and how perceptions can be transformed through meaningful, conscious dialogue. Her work intertwines dance, film, and text to explore personal and collective histories. The Last Princess of Lebanon which recently premiered at BEMAC delves into her Lebanese family history, while her short documentary, A Delicate Hope, which expands on this story, was a finalist for the Khallyrah Prize (North Carolina State University). In collaboration with 

Diya Naidu created The Ocean Between Us, a work that similarly blends text and dance, investigating the universal language of movement and its power to unite people across cultures and continents. Diya Naidu is an independent choreographer and dancer based in Bangalore, Kolkata and Pune. Her primary practices are rooted in movement with contemporary dance, yoga, kalaripayattu and partner work being some of her biggest influences. Her work often involves embodied research over several years both with performers and community members via workshops. Some of these themes have been intimacy and touch, patriarchal penetration and more recently longing.Currently she is developing a solo that works with the testimonials of elderly Indians as a gentle counter to the hegemonic nationalist narrative behind peddled in India. She is also in the process of creation of an ensemble work with her collective, that investigates the slow apocalypse we are heading towards and the body's holding of this grief along with the solidarity and intimacy of community and loved ones. This work is about the quest for home in a post apocalyptic time.

Born in the Philippines, Miguel Aquilizan is a sculptor whose inventive assemblages incorporate all manner of found and foraged materials. He is a member of the family artist collective Fruit Juice Factori, based in Meanjin/Brisbane and the Philippines. Aquilizan is intuitive in his inquiry, improvisational in his approach, and inventive in his use of diverse and novel materials. His assemblages have a mysterious, magical quality, with one foot in science fiction and the post-human, another in totemism and animism. Aquilizan relates his love of found materials back to the Philippines, where he was born. There, things are never thrown away, but endlessly repurposed and reanimated. In one work, he hybridises two reproduction human skeletons, mocking the idealism of Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man. He says, ‘I like obscuring and mutating what is familiar, making everything alien.’ Aquilizan works with found objects – natural, industrial and decorative – drawing out embedded histories of use, belief and decay. His assemblages re-inscribe narratives of consumption and disposability with anti-colonial resonances, reanimating detritus and challenging Western tenets of excess.

Hannah Attwood, Moderator. Combining a passion for the arts with expertise in business, management, education, programming, and communications, Hannah finds great satisfaction in working behind the scenes to support artists and creatives. She derives enjoyment from discerning how various projects can mutually enhance or impact each other and recognises the importance of quality administration in future-proofing the projects and institutions she oversees. Hannah is a skilled collaborator, boasting a proven track record of contributing to the strategic objectives aimed at creating exceptional cultural experiences and programs. Her focus lies on program development, operations, cultural competency, and community relations, reflecting her dedication to advancing the cultural landscape.