beth sorensen

On Saturday 17 April we hosted Stories from 2148, a reading and panel discussion facilitated by Winnie Dunn featuring Evelyn Araluen, Maryam Azam, Sarah Malik and Joy Adan.

Stories from 2148 was curated and hosted by Tongan-Australian writer, editor and Mount Druitt local Winnie Dunn, celebrating the sovereignty, diversity and creativity present in women artists who have grown up and reside within Blacktown city. Featuring Evelyn Araluen, Maryam Azam, Sarah Malik, and Joy Adan, Stories from 2148 took audiences through the backstreets of Blacktown discussing why the area is such a potent source of inspiration.

Tea and sweets were served at the Afghan Tea Corner by Maryam Zahid of Afghan Women on the Move.

The event was livestreamed on our Facebook and can be viewed below.

Curator

Winnie Dunn

Winnie Dunn is a Tongan-Australian writer and arts worker from Mount Druitt. She is the general manager of Sweatshop: Western Sydney Literacy Movement and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Sydney University. Winnie’s work has been published in the Sydney Review of Books, The Saturday Paper, The Griffith Review, Meanjin Quarterly, SBS Voices, Southerly and Cordite. She is the editor of several anthologies, most notable Sweatshop Women – Australia’s first anthology entirely written, edited and designed by women of colour. Winnie is currently completing her debut novel as the recipient of a 2019 CAL Ignite Grant.

Artists

Evelyn Araleun

Evelyn Araluen is Co-Editor of Overland, as well as a poet, educator and researcher working with Indigenous literatures at the University of Sydney. Her work has won the Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers, the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize, and a Wheeler Centre Next Chapter Fellowship. Her debut poetry collection DROPBEAR is available now, published by the University of Queensland Press. Her work has been published extensively and Sweatshop is honoured to have published a poem of Evelyn’s in The Big Black Thing: Chapter. 2. Born, raised, and writing in Dharug country, Evelyn is a Bundjalung descendant.

Maryam Azam

Maryam Azam is a Pakistani-Australian writer and teacher who lives and works in Western Sydney. She graduated with Honours in Creative Writing from Western Sydney University and holds a diploma in the Islamic Sciences. Her debut poetry collection The Hijab Files (Giramondo, 2018) was shortlisted for the Mary Gilmore award and the Anne Elder award.

Sarah Malik

Sarah Malik is a Walkley-award winning journalist and writer who grew up in Western Sydney. Her most recent work ‘The Area’ – a three-part SBS series – explored the changing face of the region, and experiences of race, culture, class and immigration through conversations with locals in their favourite cafes and restaurants. She is passionate about storytelling and voice – and believes there is power and freedom in women and culturally diverse people taking control of, and telling their own stories and narratives. 

Joy Adan

Joy Adan is a Filipino-Australian writer and emerging artist from Western Sydney. A business journalist by day and calligrapher and memoirist by night, Joy uses different mediums to tell stories and surface the colour and connection in our everyday experiences. She is published in Sweatshop Women: Volume One.

Curated by Winnie Dunn

Stories from 2148 is supported by Create NSW and Sweatshop is supported by Australia Council for the Arts, Packer Family Foundation, Crown Resorts Foundation, Blacktown City Council and Information and Cultural Exchange Centre. 

Social media by Mark Mariano.