Please join us for the inaugural CERC (Creative Ecologies Research Cluster) forum at the UniSC Art Gallery. This event will feature previews of creative works, a floor talk in the Between Waves exhibition with Megan Williams, and presentations from Associate Professor Alessandro Pelizzon, emerging Wakka Wakka, Ngāti Tūwharetoa researcher Jerome Wano, and Djaa Narawi (Indigenous Land and Sea) Ranger Cion Paiwan-Singho.

Between Waves amplifies concepts related to light, time, and vision — and the idea of shining a light on our times — expressed by the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung word ‘Yalingwa’. The exhibition explores the visible and invisible energy fields set in motion by these ideas, illuminating interconnected, shapeshifting ecologies within, beyond, and between what can be seen. The exhibition highlights the significance of First Nations contemporary art practice of the Southeast within a national context through a range of contemporary art forms, including video, installation, poetry, projection, photography, painting, sculpture, sound, printmaking, and a digital commission.

Indigenous Youth of the Pacific

In 2025, Jerome Wano and Cion Paiwan-Singho are travelling to California for the International Youth Conference (IYC) at UCLA to present the Indigenous Youth of the Pacific panel, featuring five young leaders from Aotearoa, Australia, Fiji, and Hawai‘i. This panel will provide a platform to share Pacific Indigenous stories, elevating Indigenous wisdom, advocacy, culture, and work to a global audience. IYC is hosted annually at UCLA and is partnered with UN agencies, including UNITAR, UN-Habitat, and UNEP. Jerome had the privilege of attending IYC last year (2024), where he spoke on the Voice, Treaty, Truth framework and its role in reconciliation to a room full of people and over 15,000 online viewers as the only Indigenous speaker. For the CERC Forum, Jerome and Cion will showcase the research they are leading in Australia and preview their upcoming panel at IYC.

Cion Paiwan-Singho is a Panai woman of Mabuiag Island and a Jarowair woman, recently earning a Bachelor of Environmental Science (Animal Ecology) from UniSC. She works as a Djaa Narawi (Land and Sea) Ranger with the Butchulla Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, dedicated to protecting Butchulla Country and its more-than-human kin. Passionate about blending ancestral sciences with western conservation, her work includes projects like safeguarding sea turtle hatchlings at Mon Repos amid climate change. Cion is committed to preserving cultural heritage, traditional ecological knowledge, and the natural environment for future generations.

Jerome Wano is a Wakka Wakka, Ngāti Tūwharetoa man born in Alice Springs, NT, completing a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Ecological Jurisprudence at UniSC. A dedicated advocate for Indigenous human rights, particularly Indigenous children, he has advocated his people at the UN and other national and international fora. Jerome co-founded the First Peoples of Australia Caucus (FPAC) to support young leaders in global advocacy. Jerome aspires to connect Indigenous Peoples globally through cultural immersions, to simply be Indigenous with one another. Jerome’s research is developing a Rights of Country Framework, thus, introducing a new concept within Ecological Jurisprudence. A concept which through a rights-based approach, will protect the cultural, ancestral, physical, and metaphysical dimensions of Country. The thesis focuses on understanding Country through Indigenous ontologies and epistemologies.

Associate Professor Alessandro Pelizzon: Ecological Jurisprudence

Alessandro has been exploring the emerging discourse on the rights of nature, Wild Law, and Earth Jurisprudence since its inception, with a particular focus on the intersection between this emerging discourse and different legal ontologies. He will speak about his most recent book, Ecological Jurisprudence: The Law of Nature and the Nature of Law, published in 2025.

The inaugural CERC Forum will also include the launch of the new Creative Ecologies Research Cluster web page, along with creative work from emerging researchers in CERC.

CERC Forum with UniSC Art Gallery

The CERC Forum, held quarterly in collaboration with the UniSC Art Gallery and Creative Ecologies Research Cluster, creates an engaging platform for connection, knowledge exchange, and inspiration. These dynamic evening events feature short research presentations from UniSC established and emerging researchers along with guest speakers exploring a diversity of current research themes.

The Forum provides a platform to connect and showcase innovative works-in-progress that demonstrate creative research methodologies in action, inspiring new possibilities for collaboration. The events are open to researchers, students, community members, and industry partners, expanding research networks and cross-pollinating ideas across the diverse communities of practice forming around CERC (Creative Ecologies Research Cluster).

2025 CERC Forums at the UniSC Art Gallery:

Wednesday, 26 March 2025, 4pm – 6pm (Between Waves)

Wednesday, 4 June 2025, 4pm – 6pm (Transfer)

Wednesday, 27 August 2025, 4pm – 6pm (Reciprocity)

Wednesday, 5 November 2025, 4pm – 6pm (Regenerative Design)

Cover image: Installation view of Between Waves at UniSC Art Gallery. Photo: Carl Warner.
Image above: Guests at UniSC Art Gallery. Photo: Cooper Brady.