The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre
The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre is closed.
We kick off 2026’s edition of Digital Stories with Filipino-Australian local photographer and videographer, Justin Cueno.
Justin walks us through how his artistic journey began to where he stands now as one of western Sydney’s leading photographers.
He takes us behind the lens to celebrate not only the craft and discipline of his practice but also the community, friends and peers that have contributed to his career along the way.
The film, ‘One Degree of Separation’, is a story about craft, community, and finding your eye.
Justin’s artist statement:
One Degree of Separation showcases the architecture of Sydney’s creative scene and the foundations that build it through my perspective.
In this work, I gather my community inside western Sydney’s grassroots hub, Common House Studios, a shared space where strangers stand side by side, linked by an invisible web. Everyone is interconnected through a mutual understanding. Tied together by a shared love and passion for creating, existing within a single degree of separation from each other.
Within the Sydney scene there is a mutual acquaintance within each circle and it is only a matter of time until you cross paths. Creatives only known by name become long-time collaborators.
At the core of my practice is community: family and friends built on the pillars of support, camaraderie, and trust. Each presence in the room bridges to another.
This work reinforces that community is at the centre of creativity.
Bio
Justin Cueno is a Gadigal Land / Sydney-based creative specialising in video, photography, and creative direction.
Connection is a priority. For Cueno his practice is grounded in connecting with people through collaboration.
His work spans across fashion and music in the Sydney creative scene, grounded in cultural storytelling. He creates striking imagery that blends editorial polish with conceptual depth.
Cueno’s practice often explores themes of identity, diaspora, family, and cultural memory. He centres the complexities of navigating cultural identity in the contemporary world.
You can find Justin on Instagram here
Nicole Yagdulas is a creative producer with a passion for fostering diversity and inclusivity through cultural engagement. She specialises in coordinating projects revolving around platforming POC individuals and communities – spanning across fashion, film, art, music and design.
You can find Nicole on Instagram here
This project is presented by Blacktown Arts and supported by Blacktown City Council and the NSW Government through Create NSW.
