LIMINAL in 2019
It struck us recently that it seems like we’re always looking to the future, and rarely focus on the things we have achieved, the things we work so hard to create.
So we thought we’d take a moment to look at the things we’ve done this year.
// january //
Australia Council Arts Grant
We started the year off with a big win: we received our first Australia Council Arts Grant! For the first time, we could pay our editorial team. This also allowed us to publish our weekly interviews, establish new streams, and to run the inaugural Liminal Fiction Prize.
SPOTLIGHTS, PLAYLIST & Boundless
Winning this grant meant we could run three special streams this year.
Spotlight
Firstly, Spotlight, curated by Mike Eleven, illuminates the work of incredible Asian-Australian artists and designers.
Mimi Leung – Spotlight #7
Playlist
Secondly, Playlist, curated by Non Chalant, is an ongoing archive of Asian-Australian musicians.
Rainbow Chan – Playlist #6
Claudia Mancini – Boundless
Boundless
Our third new stream was Boundless, a space which considers the experience of mixed-race Asian-Australians, curated by Sumarlinah Raden Winoto.
// february //
LIMINAL PRIZE
We launched the Liminal Prize for Fiction, a new literary prize for writers of colour, the first of its kind.
Design / Mike Eleven
DIVERSITY ARTS
In February, we took part in the Diversity Arts Fair Play Symposium, where our editor was quoted in Arts Hub’s ‘9 Electric Quotes on Diversity from Industry Experts’:
‘We recently launched the Liminal Prize for Fiction, which only takes submissions from writers of colour. And of course we have received an interesting amount of white fragility as backlash. But in a country where our biggest literary prize, that has been running for 63 years, has only been won by three writers of colour… I want to see more excellence because I know that it’s there.’
Comic Sans #2
We launched our second issue of Comic Sans at Sticky Institute’s Festival of the Photocopier! Featuring Lazy Willy, Meg O’Shea, Soolagna Majumdar, Hien Pham and dangerlam.
Cover / Rachel Ang
// march //
PRINT EDITION #1
We launched our first print issue, featuring interviews with Eugenia Flynn, Russell Jack, Lin Jong, Dominic Golding, Ra Chapman, Julie Koh, Benjamin Law, Melanie Cheng, Alice Pung, William Yang, Rainbow Chan, TextaQueen, Caroline Garcia, and Hoda Afshar.
The launch event featured a live set by Rainbow Chan, DJs Yeo and flowerboy 卓颖贤, and readings by Leah Jing, Adolfo Aranjuez, Eugenia Flynn, Elizabeth Flux and Melanie Cheng.
Photo / Leah Jing
// april //
INTERVIEWS
Have we mentioned that alongside special projects, we’ve been publishing interviews online all year? In April, we interviewed Benjamin Law, James Nguyen, Siying Zhou, Catherine Huang, and Kyle Casey Chu. Take a look at our entire archive here.
Photo / Leah Jing
// june //
PERFECTION
In collaboration with the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University who had recently released an edited collection of essays on the theme of ‘Perfection’, we launched our own Perfection chapbook, edited by Leah Jing & designed by Anny Luo. The book features work by Bella Li, Julie Koh, Adalya Nash Hussein, Humyara Mahbub, Stephen Pham, Cher Tan and urbigfog.
Design / Anny Luo
EWF x LIMINAL
In June, also collaborated with the Emerging Writers Festival, holding readings at Loop Bar as part of the EWF X program. ‘Interstitial’ featured readings by Rachel Ang, Heather Joan Day, Peo Michie, Steven Finch, Darlene Silva Soberano and Jessie Tu.
Photo / Hashem McAdam
Window Horses Screening
Presented by our Boundless editor, Sumarlinah Raden Winoto, in conjunction with Darebin Intercultural Centre at Northcote Town Hall. LIMINAL screened Window Horses, written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Ann Marie Fleming. Read our interview with Ann Marie.
Photo / Jessica Dang
// july //
Comic Sans #3
The editors of Comic Sans, the serialised Comics Anthology, flew to Perth to launch Comic Sans #3 at PCAF! Featuring Issey Fujishima, Pey Chi, Gabby Loo, Zachary Durian, Thom Nguyen & Hiro McL.
Cover and Hand / Rachel Ang
// august //
Centre for Stories COLLABORATION
We collaborated with the Centre for Stories! Edited by long-time Liminal interviewer, Robert Wood, the Centre for Stories took over our Interview, 5 Questions & Boundless streams for August, to feature incredible Perth creatives, such as Elizabeth Tan, Camha Pham, Tando Velaphi, Chris Gurney, amongst many more. In 2020, look out for a print issue of this collaboration.
Photo / Leah Jing
PENCILLED IN: THE LIMINAL EDITION
We guest-edited Pencilled In’s fourth issue, which featured LIMINAL interviews and newly commissioned art by James. J Robinson, Mindy Gill, Vivienne La, Sumudu Samarawickrama, Rachel Ang, Madison Griffiths, Nikki Lam and Stephen Pham.
Design / Mike Eleven
The Pencilled In: the LIMINAL edition event was part of the Writers Victoria 2019 program, at the Writers Victoria library in The Wheeler Centre. The launch featured readings by Rachel Ang, Madison Griffiths, Sumudu Samarawickrama, Cher Tan.
Photo / Hashem McAdam
Sticky Institute x Craft Cubed
LIMINAL Print Issue #1 graced Sticky Institute’s shop window for the month of August, to celebrate Craft Victoria’s Craft Cubed Festival window walk!
Photo / Leah Jing
// september//
Melbourne Writers Festival
We collaborated with MWF and the QVWC to present ‘WRITING: A Liminal Art’. Four writers—Eunice Andrada, Manisha Anjali, Jamie Marina Lau, and Bella Li—showcased their works, and discussed the craft of writing as an art of metamorphosis.
Photo / Hashem McAdam
LIFTED BROW #43
In September, we also partnered with The Lifted Brow, to publish 2019 LIMINAL Fiction Prize Winner, Bryant Apolonio, in their 43rd print magazine. Bryant’s piece, ‘Bad Weather’ was edited by Hassan Abul.
Photo / courtesy of The Lifted Brow
FCAC Exhibition: Her Focus
Three LIMINAL portraits, of Caroline Garcia, Madison Griffiths and Anu Kumar, were chosen as part of FCAC’s ‘Her Focus’ exhibition.
Her Focus Promotional Poster, featuring Caroline Garcia by Leah Jing.
// october //
Australian Short Story Festival
We partnered with ASSF, and produced a panel featuring readings and conversations with Roanna Gonsalves, Melanie Cheng, Elizabeth Flux, Hannah Wu, Sumudu Samarawickrama, and Jessica Yu.
// november //
Asian Australian studies Research Network Conference
Active since 1999, the Asian Australian Studies Research Network is a network for academics, community researchers, and cultural workers who are interested in the area of Asian Australian Studies.
Our editor, Leah Jing, presented the LIMINAL project as critical intervention, in the paper ‘Liminality, Visibility & Community: Mapping the Asian-Australian Arts Landscape’, in the 7th Biennial Conference on Asian Australian Identities, ‘Genealogies of Identity Politics’.
Photo / Leah Jing
// december //
Mapping Melbourne: NIDA x LIMINAL
Liminal collaborated with NIDAnights and MAV to create an experimental night of poetry & sound, considering the theme of ‘Silence’. The night featured new work by Angie Pai, Kezia Yap, Hannah Wu, Darlene Silva Soberano, Tracy Chen, Panda Wong, Jamie Marina Lau & Non Chalant. Set design by James Lew, Lighting by Rachel Lee.
Photo / Hashem McAdam
Comic Sans exhibition
To celebrate the end of our Comic Sans series, we launched our larger-than-life Comic Sans exhibition as part of the Mapping Melbourne 2019 launch, at Testing Grounds. Featuring work by dangerlam, Humyara Mahbub, Issey Fujishima, Lee Lai, Matt Huynh, Meg O’Shea, Rachel Ang, urbigfrog, and more.
Lee Lai’s ‘Nice Young Man’ at Testing Grounds, 2019. Photo / Leah Jing
Comic Sans #4
During this launch, we also celebrated the final issue in the Comic Sans series, Comic Sans #4, which features Claudia Chinyere Akole, Max Nie, Ariel Ries, Rani Pramesti & Cindy Saja, Tara Kenny & Madison Griffiths.
Photo / Joshua Allen. Cover / Rachel Ang
Comic Sans Workshops
Our talented pal dangerlam, who featured in Comic Sans #2, ran two workshops for Comic Sans: the first, as part of Mapping Melbourne’s Community Day, and the second, as part of MPavilion’s Archibald Weekend.
It feels fitting to end the year in collaboration and community.
Photo / Anthony Richardson