From April 9 to April 11 Footscray Community Arts Centre (FCAC or fa-kak) hosted the Contemporary Pacific Arts Festival (CPAF or see-paf) which included a 2 day symposium. I spoke on the Indigenous Intellectual Property Panel about the role of the writer. After a very academic, over theorised, over talked two days I’m struggling to find the words, any words really to articulate my experience.

So instead I thought I would summarise my symposium experience into 10 tweet sized (140 characters) sound bites with images I found on the internet.

left to right: Leilani Kake, Patricia Adjei, Naup Waup and Lana Lopesi, photo credit: Leafa Wilson, photo courtesy: Facebook

Do you mean that parasitic relationship between the artist and the critic?

Back patters is a nice word for circle jerk

I’m just a little confused about what your trying to do?

Siliga David Setoga Pecha Kucha slide, photo credit: Leuli Eshraghi, photo courtesy: Instagram

Sorry thats the last slide

All I wanted to be was a Mother Fucking Artist B.Arch

left to right: Leafa Wilson, Rosanna Raymond, Margaret Aull, Louise Tu’u and Ema Tavola, photo credit: Ema Tavola, photo courtesy: Instagram

It’s like cultural health and safety

If you’re going to fuck someone over at least fuck them openly

Every panel has a rouge

The most important thing is a succession plan

Symposium notes, photo credit: Ema Tavola, photo courtesy: Instagram

Art is a weird place

“Of course, there are many ways to make art in the world and there are thousands of different art histories, yet the dominant lexicon of art seems to fit only one of these interpretations. Indigenous cultures have been exhibiting, curating and making for thousands of years. Today, in a multicultural society with engrained notions of class and race hierarchies, the underlying question is how we maintain the integrity and multiplicity of all art.”

Lana Lopesi