MISC. Artist Program By TRANSMEDIUM
23 March – 18 May 2024
In the Centre for Creativity
Workshops
A monthly multidisciplinary queer artist development workshop program for LGBTQIA+ teenagers and their friends! We know that queer youth are full of inspiration and ideas but don’t have enough safe spaces to express themselves freely! So we’ve created MISC., a carefully curated multidisciplinary workshop program by Claud Bailey where emerging and established queer artists plucked deep from within community will be mentoring a group of teens on their art practice. Every single workshop will be entirely different from the next - the only constant is the intention for this space to be for queer youth to express themselves and connect. Prepare to make some new friends and learn from some older kids on the block. Don’t worry if you have no experience in the art form! Entry is open to LGBTQIA+ teenagers (and their allies) between the ages of 15 to 19, all skill levels and experience are welcome.
| Date | Time |
Saturday 23 March 2024 BECOME AN ASTRONAUT: Write Your Song with Alex the Astronaut | 10am - 4pm (lunch break included) |
Saturday 20 April 2024 JOURNEY OF MOVEMENT: Our Queer Bodies Together with Fetu Taku | 10am - 4pm (lunch break included) |
Saturday 18 May 2024 FUTURE ZINES: Queer Collage and World Building with imbi | 10am - 4pm (lunch break included) |
| Ticket | Price |
| Ages 15 - 19 | Free |
17 February 2024, 23 March 2024, 23 April 2024 and 18 May 2024: Tickets are FREE and limited for LGBTQIA+SB teens and their friends. First come, first serve basis.
Maximum one (1) ticket per person, per workshop. Tickets registered in excess of the ticket limit will be cancelled without notice. If you are no longer able to attend, please notify misc@sydneyoperahouse.com
The only authorised agency for this event is Sydney Opera House. For more information about authorised agencies, see the frequently asked questions below.
MISC. is all about creating spaces where LGTBQIA+SB youth feels empowered to express themselves and we acknowledge that this can only happen if you feel comfortable and safe. Each person's idea of safety looks a little different so whilst we can try to make it as inclusive and accommodating as possible - we might not get it perfect.
What we can promise is that we will listen to you and your needs - no questions asked. We warmly welcome you to get in contact with us to let us know about any access or inclusivity requirements that will make your experience better at misc@sydneyoperahouse.com
Whilst the Centre for Creativity is located in a very popular area, the space itself is quiet. We will sometimes play some music in some of the workshops softly.
We don’t really use the lighting available as the space has large windows that offers great natural light. If we do use the lighting, there is dimmable overhead lighting.
There is a breakout sensory room available away from the main area which you may use at any point in the workshop. The room is filled with comfortable pillows and the blinds drawn so it offers a quiet and dark space for you. There are also sensory toys available.
In English
Wheelchair accessible
There are a number of wheelchair and companion seating locations available.
To book accessible seating contact Box Office via email or telephone on:
+61 2 9250 7777 (Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm AEST)
Find out more about accessibility at Sydney Opera House
Run time
Saturday 17 February 2024: Runs for approximately 3 hours.
Saturday 23 March, 20 April & 18 May 2024: Runs for approximately 6 hours - with a 1 hour lunch break.
Participants should bring their own lunch.
Event duration is a guide only and may be subject to change.
Age
Ages 15 - 19 years.
Participants aged 15 years and under must have consent from a parent or guardian to participate.
For more information please email misc@sydneyoperahouse.com
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
BECOME AN ASTRONAUT: Write Your Song with Alex the Astronaut
Saturday 23 March 2024, 10am - 4pm
Have you ever felt like you've got a song inside of you bursting to come out but need a little help? Well you're in luck, prepare to elevate your songwriting skills to new galaxies as singer/songwriter ARIA-nominee, Alex the Astronaut, shares their insights into finding the words to fit the seemingly mundane to the utterly life-changing experiences. In this intergalactic workshop, you'll learn about the secrets to translating your innermost thoughts and emotions into powerful, authentic songs.
JOURNEY OF MOVEMENT: Our Queer Bodies Together with Fetu Taku
Saturday 20 April 2024, 10am - 4pm
Join Fetu Taku, international dancer, movement coach, choreographer and teacher. This full day workshop will focus on training the physical body as well as exploring individuality and texture of movement and how it can affect your intention behind the movement. This will include, tasking through concepts, choreography, grooves, journaling and improvisation at a beginners level. Be ready to learn a lot about how your body moves - alone and together in community.
FUTURE ZINES: Queer Collage and World Building with imbi
Saturday 18 May 2024, 10am - 4pm
imbi will facilitate a zine making workshop around queer visioning and world building. The focus will be encouraging the brilliance of young queer imaginations to help collage our present world into the future of our queer dreams. Using existing imagery and text from popular magazines, you’ll create new meaning in your zines and inspire each other to dream big about your personal futures and the collective future of the world.
PAST WORKSHOPS
QUEER STILL LIFE: DRAWING OUR STORIES with Kim Leutwyler
Saturday 17 February, 2pm - 5pm
Welcome to your very own Draw’n’Sip (alcohol free) with established queer artist Kim Leutwyler where we will be exploring queer identity through life drawing. We ask that each participant bring a cherished object that holds personal significance—a talisman of empowerment within their queer identity or a source of sheer euphoria. We will cover the fundamental techniques of life drawing, as well as collectively crafting a still life tableau to explore our queer stories through drawing, all the while sipping on some delicious mocktails.
All levels of experience are welcome!
PRIDE AND POETRY: Call Us By Our Names with Mohammad Awad
Saturday 16 December, 10am - 4pm
Join award winning queer artist Mohammad Awad for a masterclass in writing honest poetry and authentic storytelling, where you will learn to unearth the poems living inside you, hold them gently and release them into the world. Prepare to enter this space with your queer and trans ancestors, finding the power in your fruity poetry and leaving with the love of your community.
Have you written hundreds of poems in your journals or never picked up the pen? Doesn’t matter!!! As long as you have something to say (which you do), we welcome you.
Sydney Opera House Presents in association with TRANSMEDIUM
Meet the artists
Claud Bailey is an award-winning filmmaker, program producer for LGTBQIA+ teens and co-founder of Transmedium, they make work and spaces that celebrates queerness and creates deep inter-generational connections. Claud’s films have screened at film festivals all over the world (Sydney Film Fest, MIFF, Newfest) and they were recently awarded the Emerging Filmmaker Award at Mardi Gras FIlm Festival. They’re the 2023 recipient of the inaugural Wear It Purple Art and Culture Fellowship where they’ve developed Queer Futures Fund, the new grant for up to $20k for young and emerging LGBTQIA+ folks’ projects. For Sydney World Pride, Claud created and produced Stories from the Heart, an annual queer storytelling development program for LGTBQIA+ teens which has since received funding from City of Sydney and Wear it Purple for 2024. Claud recently founded Transmedium with Aud Mason-Hyde, a trans-led and youth-centered organization that elevates trans youth and their voices through opportunities for creative expression and connection.
Transmedium is a trans-led and youth-centered community arts organization founded by Claud Bailey and Aud Mason-Hyde. We elevate trans youth and our stories through fostering deep community connections and creating opportunities for us to express ourselves, proliferating authentic trans narratives and adding to the larger landscape of the arts community.
Kim Leutwyler creates paintings that explore notions of beauty, gender and queer identity. A seven-time Archibald finalist, Leutwyler’s artwork has been exhibited in multiple galleries and museums throughout Australia and worldwide.
An unforgettably original lyricist, the music of Australian singer/songwriter Alex the Astronaut cycles through a series of radiantly detailed slices of life. Alex documents moments of both the seemingly mundane - from a haircut, a therapy session, a trip to the beach and to the supermarket - to the utterly life-changing - experiences as a caregiver along with the PTSD that followed and their diagnosis with autism.
Alex’s 2022 sophomore album,’ How to Grow A Sunflower Underwater’, explored Alex’s revelation about how trauma can help connect people. Along with magnifying their sense of empathy, Alex was inspired to embrace a new level of emotional transparency on the album understanding that they needed to continue being vulnerable if they wanted to make something that contributed to the world. These efforts have paid off, with Alex undertaking a 13-date Australia tour in celebration of the release. HTGASU peaked at #47 on the ARIA charts, was nominated for 2 ARIA awards, and placed in NME’s 25 Best Australian Albums of 2022.
Fetu Taku is a movement coach/choreographer, teacher and womxn residing in Sydney, Australia. Originally from Christchurch, New Zealand, she has taught both nationally and internationally in countries including China, Japan, London, Spain, Austria, Estonia and the Philippines. Fetu has trained with some of the world’s best choreographers: Paris Goebel, Caetlyn Watson, Kiel Tutin, Pania Taku, Stacy Peke.. She earned her Certificate IV in Performing Arts (2013) at the esteemed dance institution, the Urban Dance Centre, Sydney, Australia.
Fetu is a multidisciplinary artist and developed her own creative training program in 2020 which showcases this breadth of talent and skill. Through this program, The Dark Angel Project, she has created a space combining her dance experience, choreography and teaching in a holistic program. Participants receive physical and mental training, strengthening of movement and an opportunity to build resilience through breaking and pushing through barriers over the course of the program. Fetu is committed to cultivating dance / movement spaces through her artistry in community and commercial platforms.
imbi is a multidisciplinary artist and mystic currently residing on Gadigal Land. Their practice spans across mediums, from voice-work to performance art to poetry and beyond. Regardless of what form their art takes, imbi always creates with intention and emphasis on collective connection.
Mohammad Awad (AKA 3awadi) is a Queer/Arab/Muslim and Writer/Director/Poet/Playwright and Musician who’s running out of ways to express himself. He has written and directed short films such as The Flower, The Messenger and Beauty Marks. Raised in Western Sydney, Mohammad has also been honoured as Australia's National Youth Poetry Champion. Published in an anthology series ‘Arab, Australian, Other’ as well as The University of Sydney Anthology 'Diversity’, he is also one of the proud editors of the mental health anthology collection- Admissions. He has featured in every iconic West Ball, as well as in the Sydney Writers Festival, Sydney Mardi Gras, Sydney Living Museums - After Dark, The ICC, Sydney Festival, Weave Youths’ Mad Pride Concert, Word in Hand, Red Room Poetry, The Vanguard and Giant Dwarf Theatre.
Other information
Venue information
Our foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars.
All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres in the Western Foyer.
Getting here
The Sydney Opera House Car Park, operated by Wilson Parking, is open and available to use. Wilson Parking offer discounted parking if you book ahead. Please see their website for details.
Please check the Transport NSW website for the latest advice and information on travel. You can catch public transport (bus, train, ferry) to Circular Quay and enjoy a six min walk to the Opera House.
Covid-safe information
The health and wellbeing of everyone attending the Opera House is our top priority. We’re committed to making your experience safe, comfortable and enjoyable, with a number of measures in place including regular cleaning of high-touch areas, air conditioning systems that maximise ventilation, and hand sanitiser stations positioned in all paths of travel. We remind our audiences and visitors to please stay home if you feel unwell. If you need to discuss your ticketing or booking options, contact our Box Office team on 02 9250 7777.
The health and wellbeing of everyone attending the Opera House is our top priority. We have a number of safety measures in place including regular cleaning of high-touch areas, air conditioning systems that maximise ventilation, and hand sanitiser stations positioned in all paths of travel. While face masks are no longer required, we ask all our patrons and visitors to practise good hygiene. Please stay home if you feel unwell and read more about our flexible ticket options.
The Sydney Opera House no longer requires patrons to show that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Frequently asked questions
We advise that you arrive 15 minutes prior to the event. Ticket purchases and collection at our Box Office is discouraged and eTicket or postal delivery methods should be used, wherever possible. However, if you are collecting your tickets from the Box Office, we recommend doing this at least 60 minutes before the event starts.
Prior to the workshop, please notify us if you will need a chair for the session, so we can have those available. Please email accessibility@sydneyoperahouse.com to request a chair or notify our team of any additional needs you may have.
The authorised agency for this event is the Sydney Opera House.
Only tickets purchased by authorised agencies should be considered reliable. If you purchase tickets from a non-authorised agency such as Ticketmaster Resale, Viagogo, Ticketbis, eBay, Gumtree, Tickets Australia or any other unauthorised seller, you risk that these tickets are fake, void or have previously been cancelled. RESALE RESTRICTION APPLIES. For more details, please refer to our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Attendance at Events.
Please contact Box Office on 9250 7777 as soon as possible to advise if you can no longer attend. If you can no longer attend because you are unwell, or have been in contact with someone displaying COVID-19 symptoms, the Opera House has introduced flexible ticketing options to help you, find out more information here.
Food and beverages will not be allowed unless specified in the event. Opera Bar, Opera Kitchen and Portside are also available to purchase food before your event. Please bring a credit or debit card for any on-site purchases to enable contactless payment.
All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to the foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres in the Western Foyer or as directed by Sydney Opera House staff, adhering to COVID-safe rules.
The health, safety and wellbeing of everyone at the Sydney Opera House is our top priority. In line with this commitment, the Opera House became a smoke-free site in January 2022. Read our Smoke-free Environment Policy.
The Opera House is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children that visit or engage with us. Read our Child Safety Policy.
The Opera House has also developed a Child-friendly Code of Conduct to engage with our youngest visitors.
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