Meet the Artists: Kirk Page and Michael Simms

Meet visiting artists Kirk Page and Michael Simms who are working in the region on a collaborative project Till Death Do Us Part. Hosted by SECCA and South East Arts, this is an opportunity to meet the artists and gain insight into their creative practice in development of a new work.

Till Death Do Us Part is a cross-art form and cross-cultural collaboration between Mununjali actor, dancer, writer, director Kirk Page, with visual artist and pianist Michael Simms. It has been developed through an exchange between each artist’s process to examine and deconstruct the colonial gaze with a contemporary queer lens. The series is made up of photography, video, drawing and live performance to open conversations about the interconnectedness of art making and queer First Nations and colonial settler narratives in Australian art.

Kirk Page has over three decades of experience working as an interdisciplinary performer. He trained at the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association and has performed on the main stages across the country and toured internationally. Michael Simms is known for his portraiture work that explores themes around queer identity. He holds a degree in psychology, trained at the Julian Ashton Art School, and has exhibited his work across Australia.

Till Death Do Us Part evolved from portrait sittings between the two artists. Michael was inspired to paint Kirk’s portrait after seeing him perform with Bangarra Dance Theatre and this process invited discussions on how to deepen the connection between performance and painting – the ephemeral and the permanent. As queer artists with an interest in the positioning of the body in the Australian landscape, we recognised a synergy in both our practices that could be expanded through collaboration. The project is developed on Yuin Country at Bundanon’s Artist in Residence Program and Gang Gang Residency in Cuttagee with the support of Create NSW and Regional Arts NSW.