Third Cultures, Third Spaces was the 2023 program for Fairfield City Museum & Gallery (FCMG). The program included Marikit Santiago’s We Eat This Bread, social history exhibition, MÌNH, and development project, Tick the Box. Third Cultures, Third Spaces transformed FCMG’s physical site into a space where discourse of the “third culture” could be acknowledged, critiqued, and challenged.
We Eat This Bread Public Programs
Marikit Santiago’s We Eat This Bread explored themes surrounding The Last Supper through the lens of cultural and social identity. Public programs for this exhibition included community collaborations like Bread & Bayanihan (27/2/2023) that included panel talks with Bayanihan Sydney, Baybayin script workshops, and a basketball competition with Embers Basketball. Closing event Huling Hapunan (1/4/2023), tagalog for The Last Supper, featured live performances by DOBBY, Barkaa, and L-FRESH the LION, and an artist conversation between Marikit Santiago and writer June Miskell.
Image: Liza Moscatelli
Image: Jade Cadelina
Image: Liza Moscatelli
MÌNH Public Programs
MÌNH explored Vietnamese and Chinese diasporic life in Australia, through the perspectives of 17 contributors who shared collective memories, yearnings, and cultural reflections. Public programs for this exhibition included How can art help minh heal? (29/7/2023) a screening of ‘Looking For You | Tìm Hiểu’, a bilingual film about the mother-daughter relationship in Vietnamese culture, followed by a panel discussion focusing on mental health. The exhibition closed with MINH LA AI? (23/9/2023), Vietnamese for Who Are We?, a family-friendly day of cultural arts, bilingual storytime, and workshops by artists Bic Tieu and My Lệ Thi. The event also featured the symbolic burning of paper boats by curator Sheila Ngọc Phạm to honour those lost at sea, contributing to artist Phuong Ngo’s Article 14.1.
Image: Legacy Studios
Image: Jimmy Ky
Image: Jimmy Ky
Tick the Box
Tick the Box was a creative development program that explored navigating the arts sector as a creative from a ‘minority’ or ‘third culture’ background. The program focused on cross-cultural dialogue and critical thinking, involving young writers and diverse creatives to create new works addressing the marginalisation of minority artists. Over four months, participants collaborated to challenge the institutional practice of “ticking the box” to meet diversity quotas. The program culminated in a June 2023 event at FCMG, where new artworks and performances were showcased. It provided a safe space for identity negotiation and empowered young creatives to define their own narrative.
Museum & Gallery Director: Carmel Aiello
Museum & Gallery Curator: Alinde Bierhuizen
Program Producer: San May
Museum & Gallery Curator: Alinde Bierhuizen
Program Producer: San May
We Eat This Bread
Artist: Marikit Santiago
Photo Documentation: Liza Moscatelli and Jade Cadelina
Artist: Marikit Santiago
Photo Documentation: Liza Moscatelli and Jade Cadelina
MÌNH
Curator: Sheila Ngọc Phạm
Photo Documentation: Legacy Studios and Jimmy Ky
Curator: Sheila Ngọc Phạm
Photo Documentation: Legacy Studios and Jimmy Ky
Tick the Box
Creative Producers: San May and Kelly-Ann Standley
Writers: Amuor Malou, Asha Tukuitonga, and Naikbakht Wahidi
Artists: Feras Shaheen, Liliana Occhiuto, and M. Sunflower
Writing Mentor: Bilal Hafda
Program Partners: Story Factory and PYT Fairfield
Video Documentation: Sivani Yaddanapudi
Photo Documentation: Saarah Hanif
Designer: Subin Yoon
Creative Producers: San May and Kelly-Ann Standley
Writers: Amuor Malou, Asha Tukuitonga, and Naikbakht Wahidi
Artists: Feras Shaheen, Liliana Occhiuto, and M. Sunflower
Writing Mentor: Bilal Hafda
Program Partners: Story Factory and PYT Fairfield
Video Documentation: Sivani Yaddanapudi
Photo Documentation: Saarah Hanif
Designer: Subin Yoon
We Eat This Bread was assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.
MÌNH and Tick the Box were supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.
