Pip Kelly is a Western Australian artist, curator and researcher. Her award winning films and exhibitions focus on history, truth-telling, transformation and untold stories.
Recent work
Freshwater Mussels Public Artwork
Artist: This is my first public art work, commissioned by Laing O’Rourke for the new Whiteman Park train station as part of the Morley to Ellenbrook line (Metronet). Installed in May 2024. The station is currently under construction and will open in January 2025.
Wadjemup:
koora wordel, kalygool wordel
Wadjemup: koora wordel, kalygool wordel (Rottnest Island: always was, always will be) is a thought provoking exhibition made by two First Nations curators Vanessa Smart (Nyoongar) and Samara King (Karrajarri) as part of the emerging curator program at WA Museum, in partnership with Rottnest Island Authority. The curators and I collaborated to create two films and to record a series of oral histories with Nyoongar elders. The first film “Wadjemup” - evokes a sense of place and spirituality and is directed by Vanessa Smart. The second film “Truth of Wadjemup” talks about the recent misuse of the burial ground and Quod as a camping area and hotel, and describes the penal era (1830s-1920s), directed by Samara King. The films were edited and produced by myself. An extended version of the films recently screened at Cinefest Oz, 2020.
Audio Tour at East Perth Cemeteries
Research, Writer and Creative Producer: Creation of six audio stories depicting the lives of those buried at Perth’s first colonial cemetery.
Thematic vision and research, followed by scripting, interviewing, re-enactments with actors and Noongar elders. Collection of observational soundscapes. Editing and post-production.
Jorng Jam
Creative Producer/Curator: Jorng Jam combines rare historical photos, photography, film and sculpture with the oral histories of several Cambodian families who share their memories of the Khmer Rouge era. Jorng Jam means ‘to remember’ in Khmer and began during my Asialink Arts Management Residency in Phnom Penh, in 2014. A collaboration between four internationally recognised Cambodian artists (Neang Kavich, Kim Hak, Neak Sophal & Kong Vollak) led to the first exhibition in Phnom Penh, for the Our City Festival. The artists interviewed their parents about their lives before, during and after the Khmer Rouge era, using their own reclaimed personal photographs as a starting point. A second exhibition in 2015 deepened our collaborations, as the four artists joined me in South East Queensland to work with members of the Cambodian-Australian community (funded by Arts QLD). Jorng Jam exhibited at Logan Art Gallery 2015, National Museum of Cambodia 2016 and the International Association of Genocide Scholars Conference, Phnom Penh 2019.
Audio Recordings
A common thread in my work is the use of audio recordings and in depth interviewing for:
research and development
documenting important stories for future preservation
collaborating with traditional owners, knowledge holders and young indigenous people
weaving important first hand stories into creative outcomes such as audio stories, films, public art & audio tours.
I use various techniques depending on the project for example, observational recordings, research interviewing, open ended in depth interviews, oral histories and the recording of scripted content.
My background in anthropology and documentary film provides the basis of my knowledge and experience in this area. I also facilitate and show people how to record their own stories with elders on country.
Research interviews with historians Mark Cryle and Captain Adele Catts.
Re-enactments scripted from WWI diaries and letters, plus narration.
Research, script, produced and directed by: Pip Kelly.
Short film made for State Library QLD and ABC.
Research interviews conducted by Noongar Yorga, Vanessa Smart.
Interviewees: Stan Headland, Barbara Bynder and Brendan Moore.
Directed and scripted by Karajarri curator and researcher, Samara King.
Audio facilitation, Edited and Produced by Pip Kelly.
Full stories at:
www.alwayswdjemup.com
pipkelly26@gmail.com
+61 405 691 932
I’m an experienced documentarian who uses film, photography and sound recordings for research and exhibition purposes.
I curate and creatively produce for the museums and galleries sector, combining my skills in research, anthropology, oral history and documentary film. I work across signature programming, exhibition, project development, curation, community partnerships, offsite and regional activation.
I’m currently developing my skills as a public artist.
I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which I work and live, Whadjuk Nyoongar Boodjar. I pay my respects to the leaders of First Nations people in Western Australia and throughout the country - past, present and future. I acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded.