What are we?
The Critical Animals Creative Research Symposium is an annual conference that takes place over the first weekend in October in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, as part of This is Not Art.
Critical Animals brings together students, researchers, writers, artists, academics and thinkers who are critically engaged in creative and experimental art practices. It is an opportunity to present papers, research material and creative practice with an aim to generating discussion and collaboration. Participants and audience explore opposites and juxtapositions, unpack questions and conundrums, and cultivate new avenues for thought and creativity.
Critical Animals partnered with This is Not Art in 2003 to fulfil the creative research aspect of the festival. Critical Animals fosters the development of critical thought and reflection in artistic practice and research, while providing an environment in which ideas and relationships can develop in conversation. In 2010, the festival comprised approximately 250 events in 30 venues, attracting an audience of 5,500 from across Australia.
As a not-for-profit and entirely non-commercial festival, Critical Animals offers all its events for free to artists and attendees. Critical Animals is committed to providing a forum for creativity and discovery. Situated at the intersection of arts and research, it’s a space to share ideas, develop practice and form connections.
For many academics this is the beginning of their conference experience and Critical Animals provides a well supported environment for those stepping out on the research symposium circuit. Critical Animals is a breeding ground for long term networks and partnerships which are formed between artists, audience, festival coordinators and the This is Not Art festival at large.
We thank all our artists for their involvement and invite everyone to join in this wonderful, growing festival.
Who are we?
Ella O’Keefe; Director (2011 – 2012)
Ella O’Keefe has produced programs for The Night Air on ABC Radio National and has recorded a series of interviews and readings with Australian poets for Final Draft, a books and writing program on community radio station 2SER FM. In 2011 she started a PhD at Deakin University, working with the concepts of visual imagination in contemporary poetry. She is still getting used to calling Melbourne home.
Julia Shaw; Director (2011 – 2012)
Julia has recently returned to Newcastle and is enjoying rediscovering the city’s artistic and architectural (and marine) environments. She has previously studied Architectural Technology and Art Theory and this year will commence post-graduate studies in Art Administration. She is interested in the creation of space particularly through installation, staging, land art, alternative architecture and decorative intervention. A current point of research is to the use of city space in display, an interest encouraged by attending the Venice and Lyon Biennales and more recently by her involvement with This Is Not Art. Julia was a volunteer for TINA in 2010 and is extremely excited to join the Critical Animals in 2011.
Yolande Norris; Director (2011 – 2012)
Yolande Norris is a Canberra based art school survivor and all round art tragic who has worked for organisations both large (National Gallery of Australia) and small (Canberra Contemporary Art Space). When she’s not wearing the Critical Animals director’s hat she is a curator, writer, streetpress editor, project coordinator, festival producer, blogger and shop girl.
