JOY PERSISTS

Free Program

forever foreign

Heritage, identity and the human experience.

Jane Inyang is a Nigerian artist raised in Namibia, Botswana and so called-Australia. Having worked across Boorloo, Ngunnawal, and Gadigal Country, Inyang’s artistic journey has been marked by a deep exploration of identity, memory, and relationship to place.

With a practice spanning photography, video, and music, Inyang blends the qualities of these mediums to create emotionally dynamic works. Her practice  explores themes of disconnection and transformation, drawing on personal and collective histories to create works that resonate on to an Afro-Australian upbringing. With a keen ability to capture meaningful narratives and moments, Inyang invites viewers to reflect on their own experiences of belonging and connection, making her work both intimate and expansive.

Artist – Jane Inyang.

Presented as part of Soul Alphabet’s closing program and 10 Nights In Port Fremantle Festival 2024, Forever Foreign | Joy Persists invites audiences to engage with Inyang’s rich and evocative practice.

Curator and Curatorial Assistant bios:

Bahar Sayed (WA/NSW)

Curator

Bahar Sayed is a writer and arts worker on Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar. She is the Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at The Art Gallery of Western Australia and her background spans theology, film and visual arts. Bahar has an interest in faith-based and cultural traditions within contemporary artistic practices, and her work has been featured in UnMagazine, Fremantle Arts Centre, Runway Magazine, Running Dog, West Space Gallery, and Linden New Arts, amongst others.

Persephone Abshir (WA)

Curatorial Assistant

Curatorial Assistant, Persephone Abshir is a Boorloo-based black, queer creative, with a focus on writing and curation. In their words “I enjoy bridging the divide between art and its audience by way of inclusion and consideration”. Community is a driving force in their subject matter and artistic direction.

Reading Room: Knowledge Systems

“Part of being a revolutionary is creating a vision that is more humane. That is more fun, too. That is more loving. It’s really working to create something beautiful.” – Assata Shakur.

This reading room session will be guided by texts and prompts co-curated by Vuma Phiri, to facilitate an open discussion.

Vuma Phiri (WA) Reading Room Co-Curator, engages with the stories around her as a form of entertainment, learning and cultivate empathy. She created the AfroHeritage Book Club at the Centre for Stories to bring other avid readers along with her and share the works of Africa’s finest writers. Her writing has been published in Black Ballad UK, SBS Voices, and in the Centre for Stories Anthology, Under the Paving Stones, and the Beach.

13:00 – 15:00 Sat 24 / Free

The Film Program

A beautiful portrait of friendship and hope.

The joy persists Film Program has been curated by Sundus Saalax (WA), Founder of Tha Film Project – a program that centres underrepresented voices and dismantles colonial narratives through the power of film.

By amplifying Black stories we foster a space for dialogue and cultural exchange, enrich an understanding of identity and ignite new avenues for intellectual exploration.

Talking About Trees (2019)
Documentary

Four, veteran members of the Sudanese Film Club embark on a journey to revive an old, abandoned outdoor cinema, hoping it will inspire a return of cinema-going culture in Sudan. In the crisis-ridden country, the four friends encounter insurmountable resistance.

18:00 – 20:00 / Free / Closing Event