Voices of the Inner West
Description
Three westside artists - Maxine Beneba Clarke, Sam Elkin and Konker Malual – reflect on what it means to live and create in Melbourne’s inner western suburbs. How does this place, its people and its history shape their creative work? In conversation with Thuy On.
Lineup
Maxine Beneba Clarke
Maxine Beneba Clarke is one of Australia’s most celebrated poets. She is the author of over fourteen books, including the bestselling memoir The Hate Race, the ABIA and Indie award-winning short fiction collectionForeign Soil, the Victorian Premier’s Award-winning poetry collection Carrying the World, the ABIA award-winning poetry collection It’s the Sound of the Thing, the Kate Greenaway Medal longlisted illustrated poemWhen We Say Black Lives Matter and the CBCA honour book The Patchwork Bike, which also won theBoston Globe Horn Prize for Best Picture Book. She was the inaugural Peter Steele Poet in Residence at The University of Melbourne. Headshot: Leah Jing McIntosh
Konker Malual
Konker Malual is a creative director, DJ and artist based in Melbourne's west. He's the founder of TROU (The Rest of Us), a community-powered art space in Footscray that backs emerging artists through exhibitions, poetry nights, music and free youth workshops. Of South Sudanese background, Konker never quite fit into traditional art spaces—so he built his own. He curates, mentors, DJs and sweeps the floors in the same day. For Konker, the work is simple: make space so other people can create, grow and be seen.
Sam Elkin
Sam Elkin is a Footscray based writer, community lawyer and co-host of Triple R's Queer View Mirror. In 2025, Sam's debut memoir Detachable Penis: A Queer Legal Saga was shortlisted for the inaugural John Clarke Award for Humour Writing at the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards and for the National Biography Prize. Sam's second book, Pit Pony, will be released by Upswell in early 2027.
Thuy On
Thuy On is an arts journalist, critic, editor and poet. She has three collections of poetry published by UWAP: Turbulence (2020), Decadence (2022) and Essence (2025). Her fourth collection, Insolence, will be published in early 2027.
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