Public talk with Dr Dawn-Joy Leong and Prof Grace McQuilten. Organised as part of Care and Repair: Rethinking Contemporary Curation for Conditions of Crisis (ARC DP240102206) with the support of CAST.

“A long, long time ago, in a far, far, far away land (somewhere near you), lived little Princess bunnyblu. She was ordinary looking — maybe even more ordinary than ordinary. In fact, her mother, the Empress, said bunnyblu was an ugly, unloveable child. Actually, bunnyblu didn’t even know she was a Princess, because nobody told her. All they ever said was that she was useless, lazy and difficult.”

In this talk/lecture, Dawn-joy Leong, Autistic transdisciplinary artist-researcher, will share her closely intertwined professional and personal journey towards ‘Becoming.’

A sickly child, constantly in pain from a mystifying medical condition and hypersensitivity, growing up in the 60s and 70s in Singapore, Dawn-joy struggled with mainstream education, societal stigma and expectations of ‘conformity.’ Relationships with family, friends, teachers and later in romantic settings were confusing.

After many years of floundering in a milieu she instinctively knew was not meant for her, she escaped the trappings of privilege and persecution to pursue her MPhil in Music Composition at the University of Hong Kong. It was then, drowning in a mental quagmire of depression and physical breakdown, on the brink of self-destruction that she discovered her autistic identity, at the late age of 42. This watershed moment led Dawn-joy into autism research and advocacy, and eventually PhD scholarship at the School of Art & Design, University of New South Wales, Warrane/Sydney, Australia.

Dawn-joy will end this session with preview glimpses into her current work, in honour of Lucy, a rescued former racing Greyhound and the love of her life. This multimedia, multi-access memoir-fantasy, Lucy Like-a-Charm, has been awarded a start-up grant by the John and Lorna Wing Foundation (UK).

Please come prepared for a presentation of stories, multicoloured images, captioned videos, music, songs and soundscapes! Bring your ear-defenders and dark glasses if you need to, some images may be very colourful but there will be no loud music, strobe or flashing lights.

RMIT is committed to providing inclusive and accessible facilities and experiences for our community. Please indicate by emailing cast@rmit.edu.au if you have any accessibility requirements or would benefit from any adjustments at the event. Learn more about our commitments and achievements to support diversity and inclusion at https://www.rmit.edu.au/about/our-values/diversity-and-inclusion 

About Dr. Dawn-Joy Leong

Dawn-joy Leong is an Autistic, transdisciplinary, artist-researcher whose work has been presented in the UK, Austria, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, China, Australia, and Singapore. Her research and practice features immersive mind-body experiences, sensory idiosyncrasies, empathic resonance, and alternative sentience.

For over a decade, Dawn-joy traversed terrains of sparkling wonderment with her creative muse, autism assistance dog, and the love of her life, Lucy Like-a-Charm, a rescued former racing Greyhound from Australia. Dawn-joy attributes her oeuvre to Lucy, who departed this mortal dimension in March 2023. Her new mission, in honour of Lucy’s legacy, is to complete their magnum opus, Lucy Like-a-Charm, a multimedia, multi-access memoir-fantasy about an Autistic woman and a Greyhound dog on a magical journey towards Becoming, and to travel the world sharing her story.

Dawn-joy’s official website, www.dawnjoyleong.com, contains her professional material.

Find out more about the memoir project on the dedicated website: www.scheherazadessea.com.

About Grace McQuilten

Grace McQuilten is a published art historian, curator and artist with expertise in contemporary art and design, public art, social practice, social enterprise and community development.

Grace is Associate Dean of Research and Innovation in the School of Art at RMIT University. Her research champions inclusive models of curatorship and art history. Her work explores new approaches to the visual arts economy, including arts-based social enterprise, and explores questions of social justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in contemporary art, craft and design. Neuro-affirming curatorship is a research interest that has developed from both lived experience and through the development of The Children’s Sensorium exhibitions and sensory spaces.

Grace is the recipient of multiple prizes and awards, including Australian Research Council funding. She is a Chief Investigator on the ARC Discovery Project 'Care and Repair: Rethinking Contemporary Curation for Conditions of Crisis' with Tara McDowell, Michelle Antoinette and Rimi Khan. Previous ARC grants include 'Ambitious & Fair: Sustainable Strategies for the Australian Visual Arts Sector' (2021-2025); 'Recentring Australian Art' (DP180103920, 2019-2023) and 'Art Based Social Enterprises and Marginalised Young People's Transitions' (DP170100547, 2017-2022).

About Care and Repair

Care and Repair: Rethinking Contemporary Curation for Conditions of Crisis (DP240102206) is a joint research project between Monash University and RMIT University funded by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council.

Website: https://curatingcarerepair.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/curatingcarerepair

Further Acknowledgements

Lucy-Like-a-Charm is supported by the John and Lorna Wing Foundation (UK) and recognizes ART:DIS and Giorgio Biancorosso as creative collaborators.

Dr. Leong’s visit to Narrm/Melbourne is supported by RMIT Culture and Art+Australia magazine, Victorian College of the Arts, The University of Melbourne.