Category Archives: Media

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Bridging Hope Charity Foundation Founder Tina Tian Awarded Women’s Charity Award

On 20 May 2018, the 11th Women’s Summit Forum was held in Beijing. The summit is an annual event, jointly sponsored by the China Business Confederation and the Brand Alliance, which aims to recognise professional women and their contribution to the community as positive role models.

Tian Tian was awarded the 2018 Chinese women’s charity award for her dedication and achievements to public welfare and public welfare practices over the years. Tina’s passion and commitment to the Foundation has taken centre stage in her life, with a focus on ensuring that Bridging Hope Charity Foundation has a significant and enduring impact in the fields of mental health and the arts.

Congratulations to our Founder, Tina Tian, on being awarded the 2018 Chinese ‘Brand Women Summit’ Charity Award.

Feature Artist – Spotlight on Blak Douglas

Blak Douglas interprets social justice and political commentary. This work depicting the NorthEastern tip of Western Australia highlights a need for better access to equality, education and employment opportunities for Indigenous Australians.

Douglas’s works are in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia, National Museum of Australia, National Maritime Museum, AAMU (Netherlands), National Taiwan Museum, City of Sydney City Councils and Parliament of NSW. He was also one of 59 finalists in the 2018 Archibald Prize at the AGNSW, with a captivating portrait of uncle Roy Kennedy, a fellow Language man.

Blak Douglas
Wealth for soil, 2017
synthetic polymer on canvas
150 x 150cm

The 8th Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Suicide Prevention

Bridging Hope Charity Foundation, together with Lifeline Australia, attended the IASP 2018 Asia Pacific Regional Conference in New Zealand, 2-5 May 2018.

The 8th Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Suicide Prevention brought together researchers, practitioners, helpline workers, programme planners, graduate students, communities and anyone affected by suicidal persons, from a range of disciplines from within New Zealand, the Asian-Pacific Region and around the world.

It is estimated that over 800 000 people die by suicide, a ‘global’ mortality rate of 16 per 100,000, or one death every 40 seconds. Although traditionally suicide rates have been highest among the male elderly, rates among young people have been increasing to such an extent that they are now the group at highest risk in a third of countries, in both developed and developing countries.

The aim of the Asia Pacific Conference was to identify key issues in suicidal behaviour in the Asia Pacific Region in order to formulate cohesive, relevant and evidence based strategies by bringing together networks working in the field of suicide prevention and to share knowledge, skills, research and good practices in preventing suicide.

LR: Dr Tong Yongsheng, Alan Woodward, Anke Timm, Cecilia Anthony.

Feature Artist – Spotlight on George Tjungurrayi

One of Australia’s leading and most respected artists, Tjungurrayi’s iconic paintings cross cultural boundaries and capture his passion and understanding of the land and serpent dreaming.

Tjungurrayi is one of 70 artists participating in the 21st Biennale of Sydney, with this works a feature installation in Carriageworks, one of the seven venues of the Biennale. Superposition: Equilibrium and Engagement, the theme of the 21st Biennale of Sydney, runs from 16 March through 11 June 2018 at the Art Gallery of NSW, Artspace, Carriageworks, Cockatoo Island, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Sydney Opera House, and 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art. The theme title of the Biennale refers to a quantum physics term that points to how were are all linked on this earth and that opposing views may come together in a state of equilibrium – perfectly referencing Tjungurrayi’s bridging cross-cultural boundaries.

To view the Artistic Program of the 21st Biennale of Sydney visit biennaleofsydney.art

George Tjungurrayi, Untitled, 2017, acrylic on linen, 183 x 153 cm (Courtesy the artist and Utopia Art Sydney)

George Tjungurrayi, Untitled, 2017, acrylic on linen, 153 x 122 cm (Courtesy the artist and Utopia Art Sydney)

George Tjungurrayi, Untitled, 2016, acrylic on linen, 153 x 122 cm (Courtesy the artist and Utopia Art Sydney)

George Tjungurrayi Installation view of the 21st Biennale of Sydney (2018) at Carriageworks Presentation at the 21st Biennale of Sydney was made possible with generous support from Geoff Ainsworth AM and Johanna Featherstone Photograph: Zan Wimberley Courtesy the artist and Utopia Art Sydney

Feature Artist – Spotlight on Aly Indermühle

Aly Inderhmüle is a sophisticated and highly intellectual early career artist – relatively early in her artistic career following a long and esteemed career as a 3D designer – one of the USA’s first 3D Designers for the Department of Defence.

Indermühle’s works are not only about light, but about emotion and connection. Her works are based on sensation and a sense of comfort relating to the unconscious connection we feel to each other as light around us changes – sunset orange, vivid summer blue, exotic magentas. Light and digital technology are a natural for Indermühle’s oeuvre, that combines the structure of the real world with the beautify of sublime elements and energies.

Two of Inderhmüle’s stunning works are in our collection:

Acoustic 2017
Materials: LEDs, Nano Computers, Aluminium
Colours: 3 Elements with pulsing colours of yellow, pinks, reds, and soft purples.
1.2 H x 2 W .45 D m Approx.

Vortex 2017
Materials: LEDs, Nano Computers, Aluminium
Colours: 3 Elements with breathing colours of soft pink, sky blue, dreamy aqua, and soothing purple.
1.3 H x 2 W .15 D m Approx.

Feature Artist – Spotlight on Stevie Fieldsend

Stevie Fieldsend is an early career artist who completed her Masters only a few years ago. In that short time Stevie has already been highly recognised through inclusion in major art prizes and acquired for significant public collections including Artbank and the Macquarie Group Collection.

In Mira Mira series, Stevie works with this fascinating pleated fabric. The two dimensional lines melt into the third dimension, painting meets sculpture, verticality slips into other directions. Gold gives birth to satin blues and browns. It conveys a feeling of exceeding boundaries, of being out of the body, the fissures between internal and external. The sensation of being pulled out of herself, the inside becoming outside. A maturation process in flux …

Stevie Fieldsend
Mira Mira 23 & 27

Young Pacific Leaders Conference 2018

The fifth Young Pacific Leaders Conference took place in Honolulu, Hawaii on 11-12 January, through a partnership between the East-West Center’s Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) and the U.S. Department of State.

A diverse and highly selective group of 26 young men and women from across the independent Pacific states, Australia, New Zealand and the United States were chosen to participate in the conference. In addition, six outstanding alumni of previous conferences were invited to participate for a total of 32 Young Pacific Leaders.

This conference provided emerging Pacific leaders, aged 25-35, with new skills and knowledge to advance the region’s economic vibrancy and civic engagement, thereby contributing to regional security and development.

Bridging Hope Charity Foundation’s Founder Tina Tian was invited to attend the event and present TWT Creative Precinct, the arts and wellbeing.

TWT is a Major Supporter of Bridging Hope Charity Foundation. The TWT Creative Precinct is an exciting and vibrant initiative which involves the conversion of a number of commercial buildings between Atchison Street and Chandos Street in St Leonards into creative spaces.

Since opening in 2014, the TWT Creative Precinct has grown to house more than 70 artists from the visual, performing, music and film disciplines. Incorporating 16 different spaces over 11 buildings on Atchison and Chandos Streets, the precinct offers over 4500sqms of subsidised space to the local creative community.

2017 China Philanthropic Person of the Year

Congratulations to our Founder, Tina Tian, on winning the ‘2017 China Philanthropic Person of the Year’ award.

The 2017 China Public Welfare Annual meeting is the annual event for China’s philanthropic sector; and “Converge together, march forward” was the theme of this year’s meeting held on 13 December at the Beijing National Conference Center.

One hundred recipients across China were recognised for their contribution to the sector. The awards are designed to acknowledge philanthropy across different industries including education, entertainment, business and other fields, that have made outstanding contributions to the development of the sector in 2017.

Tina Tian, Founder of Bridging Hope Charity Foundation, attended the meeting as a guest speaker, and was a recipient of the ‘2017 China Philanthropic Person of the Year’ award.

Congratulations to Tina on winning this prestigious award.

Feature Artist – Spotlight on Kate Shaw

Kate Shaw’s exquisitely painted landscapes deal with transformations that link the psychological self to the physical world. Shaw’s works are a beautiful celebration of the transformative environment. Masterful use of paints and resin mimic nature’s flowing transformations through transmuted lava flows, a gnarled tree, an iceberg.

Kate Shaw has participated in many national and international group and solo shows, and her works are in held in important private and public collections in Australia, the USA, Korea and the UK.

Artist Kate Shaw

Artist: Kate Shaw
Artwork: Untitled Landscape 2

Biennale of Sydney Video Series

We are delighted to share this video from the Biennale of Sydney, and to celebrate experiences of other individuals who also value what the Biennale does.

In this edition, ‘The Philanthropist’ we meet Dr Dick Quan, a renowned collector of Australian and international art whose enthusiasm and passion for promoting contemporary art to audiences is widely admired. Dr Quan has supported the Biennale of Sydney for over a decade.

Bridging Hope Charity Foundation’s support of the Biennale – Asia Pacific’s leading contemporary art event – is the first major arts sponsorship for our Foundation.

Bridging Hope is proud to support one of the most exciting contemporary art events in the region, which allows free access for audiences of all ages to the work of Australian and international artists. We look forward to experiencing the 21st Biennale of Sydney as it brings the work of artists from around the world to multiple Sydney venues in 2018.

Support for UNSW’s A&D ANNUAL 2017 Graduate Exhibition

Bridging Hope Charity Foundation announces philanthropic support for UNSW Art & Design’s ANNUAL and inaugural winner of the TWT Excellence Prize.

Bridging Hope Charity Foundation has announced a five-year commitment to support UNSW’s A&D ANNUAL 2017 graduate exhibition, which will feature the work of more than 200 emerging creative artists. Presented from 29 November – 9 December, the A&D ANNUAL is Australia’s largest and most diverse national showcase of graduate contemporary art, design and creative media work.

At an event at UNSW to announce the partnership, Bridging Hope Charity Foundation also revealed the inaugural winner of the TWT Excellence Prize, a new annual award for a graduating student that will be offered until 2021.

Graduating artist Jessica Long was awarded the 2017 TWT Excellence Prize, which includes a $2,000 bursary, for her video work titled Apartment Block No. 10. Graduating students Caitlin Dubler, Maya Mulvey-Santana, Luke Power and Beccy Tait also received Highly Commended awards.

IMAGE (supplied by UNSW): Jessica Long, Apartment Block. No. 10

The TWT Excellence Prize considers digital media, painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, furniture and jewellery design, and ceramic works. The UNSW faculty selected 10 shortlisted artworks based on promise and professional commitment to being a full-time artist. The winner was selected by a panel consisting of Ross Harley, Dean of UNSW Art & Design; UNSW Deputy Head of School (Design) Dr Mark Ian Jones; UNSW Fine Arts Lecturer Izabela Pluta; and Natalia Bradshaw, Art Advisor and Curator at the Bridging Hope Charity Foundation.

Bridging Hope Charity Foundation founder Tina Tian said: “Bridging Hope Charity Foundation is delighted to support the ANNUAL, UNSW’s exhibition to launch the next generation of artists, designers, makers and digital media creators. As the Exclusive Supporter for the ANNUAL and with our TWT Excellence Prize, we encourage young graduates to celebrate and professionalise their artistic practise. We invite friends, family and industry partners to experience the wonderful energy showcased at the truly vibrant exhibition.”

Ms Tian, a passionate philanthropist in the fields of mental health and the arts, founded Bridging Hope Charity Foundation in 2015. Building on the important work delivered by the Foundation in China, the Australian arm of the Foundation seeks to give back to local communities by supporting the twin pillars of mental health and well-being initiatives and arts programs throughout Australia.

Dean of UNSW Art & Design Ross Harley said: “Supporting young and emerging artists and designers is fundamental to our creative cultural ecology. Bridging Hope Charity Foundation’s visionary and generous contribution to our A&D ANNUAL graduate exhibitions and screenings underscores the graduates’ achievements and assists to launch the careers of the next generation of contemporary artists, designers and creatives.”

The A&D ANNUAL has a free public opening on Tuesday 28 November at UNSW Art & Design from 5-9pm, where more than 200 emerging creative practitioners will display their final projects across six venues, including UNSW Galleries, Australian Design Centre, Kudos Gallery, Black Box and AD Space.

Say ‘Masculinity’: Photography and the Mental Health of Men

By Michael Louis Kennedy (Source: homeronline.com)

Photographer Paul McDonald is possessed by two things. The first is a set of mysterious and intimate medical slides found by chance at an auction and carried with him ever since; and the second is the very concept of masculinity.

This much is clear only minutes into the first of the two workshops making up ‘Masculinity, Self and Survival,’ McDonald’s event as part of the 2017 Big Anxiety Festival. The event listing promises the exploration of mental health and suicide in men, and at the end of the process we’re to walk away with a unique portrait that we’ll co-create, reflective of our own relationship with the issues discussed. Continue reading full article here.

Content note: This article mentions suicide.

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Paul McDonald has 20 years’ experience in photography and is an experienced educator, mentor and curator. He is currently Director of contact sheet, an international initiative promoting excellence and innovation in photographic practice, in St Leonards Sydney and is part of the TWT Creative Precinct.