Poetry Youth Workshops with Fale Tumanu

Artist Fale Tumanu will be leading two poetry youth workshops for people aged 18 and above. Both workshops are free, however registrations are essential. Please register for either or both of the workshops via this Humanitix page.

📝 Workshop #1: 4-6pm, 18th of June 2026 at PHIVE & Parramatta Park

This poetry workshop is all about reflection, cultural storytelling, and shared creative expression with each other. We will first come together at 4pm in the communal area of PHIVE located inside Parramatta Library.

We will then walk down to Parramatta Park where we will explore identity, land, and water through storytelling and basic poetry writing using metaphors and similes. Fale will also lead you through sensory, nature-based exercises and poetic devices to connect to yourselves and environment/Country. We will then take these discussions back to the warmth and light of PHIVE where we will write our poems.

📍PHIVE: 5 Parramatta Sq, Parramatta NSW 2150. Access link here.

📍Parramatta Park

📝 Workshop #2: 4-6pm, 25th of June 2026 at ACE (Arts & Cultural Exchange)

This workshop will extend on the previous one by refining poetry to more developed pieces, and introducing more poetic devices. From private writing to poetry performance based techniques; i.e. spoken word. Participants will prepare and present a final reading/performance to the group. Those who are confident or wish to present their final pieces will be encouraged to potentially perform at the HOLDING SPACE 2026 celebratory community EOY gathering as special acts.

📍ACE (Arts & Cultural Exchange). 8 Victoria Rd, Parramatta NSW 2150. Access link here.

This free workshop is part of CuriousWorks' HOLDING SPACE 2026 – Rituals of Reciprocity – Land and Water program. HOLDING SPACE is funded by the NSW Government through the Multicultural NSW COMPACT Program. Our project collaborators are SSI’s Community Refugee Welcome Centre located at Callan Park, Lilyfield, and Community Partners Sydney Opera House. 

For any questions, please email CuriousWorks' Community Arts Senior Creative Producer, Kumari Abeydeera, at kumari@curiousworks.com.au.

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ARTIST BIO:

Fale Tumanu is a proud Sāmoan word artist, an emerging writer, and theatre performer. She currently resides and creates on Dharawal land. Her work is deeply informed by Fāgogo (traditional storytelling), her cultural lens, as well as exploring the raw, real and mundane realities of the human experience. Fale’s been an active participant in the writing scene, having been shortlisted for her work in the RUSSH Magazine Literary Showcase, mentored by Sweatshop, and is a co-founder of Pacific-led writing collective Tagata Moana Writers.

Fale’s writing journey started out as an outlet for her emotions and yet has evolved into short stories, prose and many other poetry forms. When she is away from writing, she enjoys reading, meditating in her garden, and is always on the lookout for the next community event to attend and support.