Collaborating, creating and learning by curating inclusive cities

Tammy Wong Hulbert

RMIT University

Naarm/Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

During a recent interview with a local Chinese-Australian community participant, the ways in which Chinese philosophical practices can support our community to endure social isolation, especially relevant during the pandemic, became apparent. In the interview, the participant drew upon themes promoted by Guanyin, the Buddhist goddess of compassion, mercy, wisdom and kindness. Commonly found in the homes of many Chinese and South East Asian people, she is the deity who teaches us resilience and supports us in times of crisis. Guanyin is a perfect companion during these challenging global conditions. Listening carefully to this participant’s immigration journey, I was reminded of the enriched cultural practices embodied in our local urban communities, and how we can value and draw from these narratives to gain a deeper understanding and representation of our diverse and enriched urban communities.

I am an artist, curator and arts management academic often working on socially engaged art projects, in particular with urban marginalised immigrant communities under the research framework of ‘Curating Inclusive Cities’. As an Australian with a Chinese (Cantonese) cultural background and an outlook embedded in feminist theory and perspective, I often focus on gaining a deeper understanding of the voices of immigrants and how visual arts can represent them more equitably and counter the generally negative, or at least problematic, stereotypical media coverage of immigrants. In the context of Australia as a post-colonial and multicultural society, my research practice takes into consideration the richness of our pluralism and attempts to centre community cultural narratives at its heart.

I offer these thoughts as I write this chapter from the lands of the Woi Wurrung and Boon Wurrung language groups of the unceded lands of the eastern Kulin nations and firstly would like to acknowledge their elders, past, present and emerging. In doing so I intend to recognise how these lands sustain and have sustained communities for many generations prior to and during colonisation and emphasise how meaningful connections to place are for all peoples, particularly First Nations. During our sixth lockdown of the pandemic, I am taking this opportunity to reflect upon my action-based, collaborative and creative artistic research practice, which involves participation and engagement from community members in Naarm^[1], otherwise known as Melbourne, Australia, a south-eastern coastal city home to over five million people.