Pip Kelly is a Western Australian curator, film-maker and creative producer. Her award winning films and exhibitions focus on history, truth-telling, photography and transformation.

 

Recent work

Wadjemup:
koora wordel, kalygool wordel

Wadjemup: koora wordel, kalygool wordel (Rottnest Island: always was, always will be) is a thought provoking exhibition made by two First Nations curators Vanessa Smart (Nyoongar) and Samara King (Karrajarri) as part of the emerging curator program at WA Museum, in partnership with Rottnest Island Authority. The curators and I collaborated to create two films and to record a series of oral histories with Nyoongar elders. The first film “Wadjemup” - evokes a sense of place and spirituality and is directed by Vanessa Smart. The second film “Truth of Wadjemup” talks about the the recent misuse of the burial ground and Quod as a camping area and hotel, and describes the penal era (1830s-1920s), directed by Samara King. The films were shot, edited and produced by myself. An extended version of the films recently screened at Cinefest Oz, 2020.

Jorng Jam

Jorng Jam combines rare historical photos, photography, film and sculpture with the oral histories of several Cambodian families who share their memories of the Khmer Rouge era. Jorng Jam means ‘to remember’ in Khmer and began during my Asialink Arts Management Residency in Phnom Penh, in 2014. A collaboration between myself as curator/producer and four internationally recognised Cambodian artists (Neang Kavich, Kim Hak, Neak Sophal & Kong Vollak) led to the first exhibition in Phnom Penh, for the Our City Festival. The artists interviewed their parents about their lives before, during and after the Khmer Rouge era, using their own reclaimed personal photographs as a starting point. A second exhibition in 2015 deepened our collaborations, as the four artists joined me in South East Queensland to work with members of the Cambodian-Australian community (funded by Arts QLD). Jorng Jam exhibited at Logan Art Gallery 2015, National Museum of Cambodia 2016 and the International Association of Genocide Scholars Conference, Phnom Penh 2019.

Highlights

Museum, contemporary art, history, photography, public art, documentary film, collaborative and community led projects, all with one thing in common; their ability to transform.

Thomas Banks’ Quest for Love

 
 

“Thomas Banks’ Quest for Love”, is a 30 minute documentary about disability and sexuality told through the eyes of a young gay writer with cerebral palsy. The film is an intimate and heartfelt account of Thomas’ quest to fall in love with another guy, while also writing and acting in a play about his desires. The film won best short film at Queerscreen’s - Mardi Gras Film Festival 2019, and The Director’s Choice award at Melbourne Queer Film Festival and Most Charismatic Protagonist at Uhvati Film Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia. The film screened at the largest LGBTQ+ film festival in the world - The Iris Prize Festival and also received a special mention in the Australian Shorts competition at Antenna International Documentary Film Festival - Sydney 2019. Thomas Banks’ Quest for Love is currently screening at festivals internationally and is available exclusively in Australia on Stan from Dec 3, 2020.

Work with me

pipkelly26@gmail.com
+61 405 691 932

 

I curate and project manage for the museums and galleries sector, combining my skills in anthropology, oral history, documentary film and creative production. I constantly think outside the box and work across signature programming, exhibition, project development, curation, community partnerships, offsite and regional activation. I am an experienced project manager who can weave together many elements in order to tell a story.

I make commissioned documentary films for global organisations who are dedicated to achieving equality and making a positive impact on the planet. I teach film-making workshops to adults and young people.

Download my CV

I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which I work and live, Whadjuk Nyoongar Boodjar. I pay my respects to the leaders of First Nations people in Western Australia and throughout the country - past, present and future. I acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded.