Elysa Whelan

1. I am a white descendent of colonial settlers living on unceded Kulin Country.  Quietly queering and inquisitive.  Shaped by sneaky and unsustainable cultural forces. I slow down with the intention of participating in more kind and accountable ways.  I find grounding and joyful unlearning through sensuous, tactile, materials led ways of knowing and showing.  How might multimodal inquiry support the emergence of playful and anti-oppressive possibilities that were otherwise unthinkable?   

2. Moving, marking, moving.  In the shadow of industry in the inner western suburbs of Naarm yet longing for the wilds.  I roam and co-create within urban edge spaces.  Finding moments of belonging for this creative tension in places that speak to the compromised nature of these times.  How can a more entangled view of experiencing be enacted and what does this enliven within therapeutic arts practice?  

3. With respect and curiosity for the shapes living beings learn to take in navigating our compromising ecologies.  When facilitating learning or therapeutic inquiry I hold an enduring trust in our capacity for creativity and learning together.  I have grown through the persistent welcome and invitation of my teachers.  I aspire to become a similarly generous host.  What pace and shape of relational holding facilitates a more viscerally trustworthy encounter with our ethics and values?