The LYREBIRD PROJECT
is a multidisciplinary collection of responses to the new book written
by Kate Liston-Mills: TO HEAL A LYREBIRD (2025). The creatives who put
this book together are: Kate Liston-Mills, Bettina Kaiser, Matilda Gould,
Dr Josh Dubrau and Eva Mills. Coastal creatives who are joining the larger
project include: Nayara Piloni, Kym Hawthorne, Malachi Mills-Hindle,
Amy Grealy, Alfie Tait and there are more to be announced. Produced by
theatre director Eva Mills, this coming launch/exhibition is sure to be
special. Follow @authorkatelistonmills and @lyrebirdproject to stay updated.
Also follow Navigate Arts for upcoming events.
Requiem for a Canary
A collaboration with Sydney based artist and designer Bettina Kaiser early in 2021, consisting of installation and microfiction. The work Requiem for a Canary was named one of the finalists for the Northern Beaches Environmental Arts Prize and exhibited at the Manly Gallery, Nov 12-Dec 12, 2021.
Collaboration with Bettina Kaiser Art+Design
Exhibition showing in the Chrissie Cotter Gallery in Camperdown, Sydney: DEAD NATURE. Click here for a Q&A by Bettina on the exhibition, subject matter and collab. Click here for more info on NATURA MORTA.
RECENT POETRY
Kate Liston-Mills’ poem, ‘Whole – if it is all one thing’, was published as part of The Red Room‘s Disappearing collection. You can view the poem here.
COMMUNITY LIAISON FOR WANDERER FESTIVAL, Pambula Beach
Wanderer heralds a watershed new genre of boutique festival: a truly multi-generational celebration of music, art, culture and place across two days and founded on the core tenets of sustainability, community and creativity. A sanctuary of music, art and community crafted with Wanderer’s different audiences in mind in three unique spaces. As a passionate and proud community member of Pambula, Thaua Country, Kate has been proud to be part of the original organisational committee that made this festival possible and wonderful since 2022. If you haven’t been, you haven’t really lived. Subscribe to Wanderer and make sure you add it to your agenda as soon as possible. Next festival: 2027. Bring it on!
Photo credit: Wanderer Festival
STORY TREE @ EPHEMERAL FESTIVAL, Panboola wetlands
Ephemeral Festival celebrates the landscape and conservation of Panboola wetlands and the creativity it inspires. Please check out the website or follow on social media for all future events. Story Tree is a vibrant little session under a gumtree, accompanied by Andy Zarins. Picture Books and dress ups are compulsory.
OLGA MASTERS JUDGE for Headland Writers Festival, Tathra
Olga Masters was born in Pambula on the Far South Coast of New South Wales, the second of eight children. Her early life was characterised by the poverty of the depression era, her family moving around the South Coast region in search of work. The annual short story award, named in her honour, is funded by the Masters family and run by South East Arts in conjunction with Headland Writers Festival. Winners are published in Island Magazine.
Chris Masters (Olga’s son, the great Australian journalist and author) and Kate.
RUBBISH COLLECTING
Picking up litter weekly keeps one fit and also keeps the town clean. Kate has been rubbish collecting weekly since about 2018. Initially it started to raise money for the housing crisis through some Go Fund Me campaigns but now it’s just a regular hobby. With the extremely generous help of the community, Kate has raised over $33,000 through rubbish collecting, busking, clothing sales and campaigning. Kate has lots of friends and family who help her along the way which makes it fun! Kate also has volunteered on the Bega Valley Shire Waste Strategy Team for the past year and is working on a few upcoming projects with the waste team.
PAMBULA PUBLIC SCHOOL ANNUAL FUNDRAISING DANCE-A-THON
DJ Sparkle and DJ Cookie/DJ Astronaut have been rocking this primary school annual fundraising event since 2024! Eliza Daniels and Kate Liston-Mills have the best time dancing and raising spirits, first up for lower primary students and then later in the day for upper primary students. Eliza Daniels is an absolute force of nature and her dancing is EXTRAORDINARY. Hopefully this event will plant a seed in kids to dance through life and love music. And turns out, sponsoring kids to dance for 30 minutes non-stop is actually a very successful fundraiser for the school! Win, win, win!
VOLUNTEERING AT GIIYONG FESTIVAL, Jigamy Farm
Giiyong is my favourite festival and my favourite event of the year. Australia has the oldest, living culture in the world and Giiyong celebrates this on Thaua Country in spectacular fashion. If you have never been please check out the website and put it in your diaries. I am so proud to be a volunteer each festival, to work with an incredible team of people and to cheer on my beautiful mudjilali (friends).
HOUSING CRISIS FUNDRAISERS
Organised by the amazing Ken Vatcher and Dave Crowden, the annual housing crisis for the Social Justice Advocates of the Sapphire Coast is a night of brilliant entertainment for a good cause. Make sure you follow SJA and come along next time. It takes a village to house a village.
