TEAM
Dr Irene Perez Lopez
Irene is a registered architect, environmental designer, artist, and lead cura-tor of WaterTalks. She is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Architecture and Built Environ-ment at the University of Newcastle. Beyond academia, Irene has a long trajectory practis-ing in Europe, Latin America, and Australia, focusing on climate change adaptation and urban sustainability. Such practice connects architecture, urbanism, strategic planning, and community co-design. She is firmly com-mitted to the environment and the importance of re-connecting Country and inhabitation to ensure present and future urban sustainabil-ity and security and augment the well-being of communities and individuals, including other species. Dr Perez Lopez is a member of the UNESCO Chair for Intermediate Cities and has worked as a researcher or consultant for UNDP United Nations for Development, the Ministry of Culture in Spain, the Ministry of Housing and Urbanism in Chile, and as an Advisory Board at Newcastle City Council and Singleton Sustainability Panel in Austra-lia, amongst other organisations and institu-tions.
Irene is a registered architect, environmental designer, artist, and lead cura-tor of WaterTalks. She is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Architecture and Built Environ-ment at the University of Newcastle. Beyond academia, Irene has a long trajectory practis-ing in Europe, Latin America, and Australia, focusing on climate change adaptation and urban sustainability. Such practice connects architecture, urbanism, strategic planning, and community co-design. She is firmly com-mitted to the environment and the importance of re-connecting Country and inhabitation to ensure present and future urban sustainabil-ity and security and augment the well-being of communities and individuals, including other species. Dr Perez Lopez is a member of the UNESCO Chair for Intermediate Cities and has worked as a researcher or consultant for UNDP United Nations for Development, the Ministry of Culture in Spain, the Ministry of Housing and Urbanism in Chile, and as an Advisory Board at Newcastle City Council and Singleton Sustainability Panel in Austra-lia, amongst other organisations and institu-tions.
Maria Cano Dominguez @maribel.cd
Maria is a registered architect, researcher and curator with a back-ground focusing on urbanisation and human/non-human inhabitation of the Coquun-Hunt-er. Maria is a Register Spanish Architect and an Associate Lecturer at the University of Newcastle. Before, she was an Academic at the University of Technology of Sydney, the University of Sydney, and the University of New South Wales, across different. Maria is a PhD Candidate at the University of Sydney. Before enrolling on academia, Maria was a Project Architect at Grupo Aranea in Spain (2015-2017), a Design Architect at BCHO Ar-chitects in South Korea (2015), a Graduate Architect at DVA in South Korea (2014), and lastly at MHNDU in Australia (2018).
Maria is a registered architect, researcher and curator with a back-ground focusing on urbanisation and human/non-human inhabitation of the Coquun-Hunt-er. Maria is a Register Spanish Architect and an Associate Lecturer at the University of Newcastle. Before, she was an Academic at the University of Technology of Sydney, the University of Sydney, and the University of New South Wales, across different. Maria is a PhD Candidate at the University of Sydney. Before enrolling on academia, Maria was a Project Architect at Grupo Aranea in Spain (2015-2017), a Design Architect at BCHO Ar-chitects in South Korea (2015), a Graduate Architect at DVA in South Korea (2014), and lastly at MHNDU in Australia (2018).
Shellie Smith @awabagirl
Shellie is an Awabakal woman and 8th-generation Novocastrian. She is an Associate Lecturer in Architecture at the Universi-ty of Newcastle, with a focus on decolonised and Country-led design practices. A graduate in Architecture, Shellie specialised in heritage conservation and has worked extensively on projects across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, and the Lower Hunter, as well as contributing to the Commonwealth Heritage Branch in Canberra. She is currently pursuing a PhD, re-searching traditional Awabakal cultural practices and their integration into contemporary design to foster a deeper connection to Coun-try and community. Through her creative practice, Shellie combines historical research, personal stories, and the interpretation of archived objects to make Aboriginal traditions relevant today. She has contributed to numerous public artworks and events, including the 2022 New Annual Sand Pavilion. Her work is committed to inspiring other First Nations people to reconnect with and reawaken their cultural heritage through ethical, culturally grounded practices.
Shellie is an Awabakal woman and 8th-generation Novocastrian. She is an Associate Lecturer in Architecture at the Universi-ty of Newcastle, with a focus on decolonised and Country-led design practices. A graduate in Architecture, Shellie specialised in heritage conservation and has worked extensively on projects across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, and the Lower Hunter, as well as contributing to the Commonwealth Heritage Branch in Canberra. She is currently pursuing a PhD, re-searching traditional Awabakal cultural practices and their integration into contemporary design to foster a deeper connection to Coun-try and community. Through her creative practice, Shellie combines historical research, personal stories, and the interpretation of archived objects to make Aboriginal traditions relevant today. She has contributed to numerous public artworks and events, including the 2022 New Annual Sand Pavilion. Her work is committed to inspiring other First Nations people to reconnect with and reawaken their cultural heritage through ethical, culturally grounded practices.
Prof Glenn Albrecht
Glenn is a Professor of Sustainability at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia until his retirement in 2014 and an honorary fellow in the School of Geo-sciences of the University of Sydney. He is an environmental philosopher with both theoret-ical and applied interests in the relationship between ecosystem and human health. He has pioneered the research domain of ‘psy-choterratic’ or earth-related mental health conditions with his concept of ‘solastalgia’ or the lived experience of negative environmen-tal change. Solastalgia has become accepted worldwide as a key concept in understanding the impact of environmental change in aca-demic, creative arts, social impact assessment and legal contexts. He also has publications in the field of animal ethics and has published on the ethics of relocating endangered species in the face of climate change pressures and the ethics of the thoroughbred horse industry worldwide. With Dr Phillip McManus (Syd-ney University) has completed a book which was published in 2012 by Routledge on the thoroughbred industry.
Glenn is a Professor of Sustainability at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia until his retirement in 2014 and an honorary fellow in the School of Geo-sciences of the University of Sydney. He is an environmental philosopher with both theoret-ical and applied interests in the relationship between ecosystem and human health. He has pioneered the research domain of ‘psy-choterratic’ or earth-related mental health conditions with his concept of ‘solastalgia’ or the lived experience of negative environmen-tal change. Solastalgia has become accepted worldwide as a key concept in understanding the impact of environmental change in aca-demic, creative arts, social impact assessment and legal contexts. He also has publications in the field of animal ethics and has published on the ethics of relocating endangered species in the face of climate change pressures and the ethics of the thoroughbred horse industry worldwide. With Dr Phillip McManus (Syd-ney University) has completed a book which was published in 2012 by Routledge on the thoroughbred industry.
Mia Tulumovic @miatulumovic
Mia is an architect, researcher and curator of WaterTalks with a background in planning and policy, exploring the commodification of water and unsustain-able industries and development around the Hunter-Coquun. Mia Tulumovic’s fifth year thesis explored community development as an alternative method of urbanism, using the growth and decay of mycelium to democratise the development process. Her interest in community agency within the public realm.
Mia is an architect, researcher and curator of WaterTalks with a background in planning and policy, exploring the commodification of water and unsustain-able industries and development around the Hunter-Coquun. Mia Tulumovic’s fifth year thesis explored community development as an alternative method of urbanism, using the growth and decay of mycelium to democratise the development process. Her interest in community agency within the public realm.
Ananya Khujneri @ananyakhujneri
Ananya Khujneri is a graduate architect and emerging researcher whose work is grounded in theoretical, narrated, and speculative approaches to architecture. With a Master of Architecture (Distinction) from the University of Newcastle and a background in both architecture and landscape from the University of Melbourne, her practice investigates themes of memory, ecology, and cultural identity through drawing, writing, and design. She was awarded the 2024 AIA History and Theory Prize for her thesis, and her professional experience spans across practice in residential-based, landscape and urban planning-based firms, as well as teaching at the University of Newcastle.
Ananya’s research critically engages with urban conditions and histories through modes of inhabitation, viewing architecture as a layered and temporal practice. She works through the intersections between architecture and other disciplines—including film, art, and storytelling—as a way to enrich spatial thinking and representation.
Ananya Khujneri is a graduate architect and emerging researcher whose work is grounded in theoretical, narrated, and speculative approaches to architecture. With a Master of Architecture (Distinction) from the University of Newcastle and a background in both architecture and landscape from the University of Melbourne, her practice investigates themes of memory, ecology, and cultural identity through drawing, writing, and design. She was awarded the 2024 AIA History and Theory Prize for her thesis, and her professional experience spans across practice in residential-based, landscape and urban planning-based firms, as well as teaching at the University of Newcastle.
Ananya’s research critically engages with urban conditions and histories through modes of inhabitation, viewing architecture as a layered and temporal practice. She works through the intersections between architecture and other disciplines—including film, art, and storytelling—as a way to enrich spatial thinking and representation.
Therese Keogh
Therese Keogh is an artist and writer currently living in Awabakal Country. Therese works collaboratively through writing and research projects and is invested in collective imaginaries to create more just relations to lands, waters and people. Their collaborative work includes facilitating ‘Magnetic Topographies’ with Clare Britton and Kenzee Patterson—looking to collective pedagogies of place—and ‘Written Together’—a shared workshop for non-normative writing in arts research. Therese holds a BFA from Monash University, an MFA from Sydney College of the Arts, and an MA in Geography from Queen Mary University of London. Therese is currently undertaking a PhD at The Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne.
Therese Keogh is an artist and writer currently living in Awabakal Country. Therese works collaboratively through writing and research projects and is invested in collective imaginaries to create more just relations to lands, waters and people. Their collaborative work includes facilitating ‘Magnetic Topographies’ with Clare Britton and Kenzee Patterson—looking to collective pedagogies of place—and ‘Written Together’—a shared workshop for non-normative writing in arts research. Therese holds a BFA from Monash University, an MFA from Sydney College of the Arts, and an MA in Geography from Queen Mary University of London. Therese is currently undertaking a PhD at The Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne.
Nicole Chaffey @nicole.chaffey
Nicole Chaffey is a Newcastle based artist with an established studio practice spanning over ten years. Drawing on a deep connection to Country through her Biripai heritage, she seeks to describe her relationship to the Australian landscape by occupying a space between representation and abstraction, where the visible, known world can diffuse into one of spirituality and old knowledge.
The importance of recognising where one belongs is important to Chaffey’s practice of art making. Almost always based within the stories of her family, particularly her Aboriginal grandfather, she seeks out a place where the old history can be acknowledged, and the inheritance of an essential and dependent relationship with the land can be honoured.
Chaffey has exhibited throughout Australia, and has been included in major exhibitions at Glasshouse Port Macquarie and Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery. Her work is represented in public and private collections worldwide.
She completed a Master of Philosophy (Aboriginal Studies) in 2015 for which she received a Research Higher Excellence Award from the University of Newcastle. She was awarded the major prize at the Wollotuka Acquisitive Art Prize in 2011 and was a finalist in the Macquarie Group Emerging Artist Prize in 2013 and the Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship in 2008.
Choi Cai @einschoi
Rob Water
Rob Water is a Gomeroi man (around Tamworth) with deep cultural connections to North-West NSW. Rob is currently based on the Central Coast of NSW where he continues his artistic practice.
He is a poet, storyteller, playwright, cultural educator and spoken word artist and has been sharing Story for over 20 years. Rob has worked closely with grassroots communities, helping them to utilise culturally informed storytelling practice and spoken word poetry to spread their message locally, regionally and around the globe.
He was awarded multi-time NSW Poetry Slam State, is National finalist in the Australian Poetry Slam, and was crowned the Australian Poetry Slam Champion in 2023.
Rob Water is a Gomeroi man (around Tamworth) with deep cultural connections to North-West NSW. Rob is currently based on the Central Coast of NSW where he continues his artistic practice.
He is a poet, storyteller, playwright, cultural educator and spoken word artist and has been sharing Story for over 20 years. Rob has worked closely with grassroots communities, helping them to utilise culturally informed storytelling practice and spoken word poetry to spread their message locally, regionally and around the globe.
He was awarded multi-time NSW Poetry Slam State, is National finalist in the Australian Poetry Slam, and was crowned the Australian Poetry Slam Champion in 2023.
Researcher team: Jye White, Dr. Callum Twomey.
Videographer: Adviteeja Khujneri
ABEW Workshop: Oscar Smith, Tom Condurso, Ethan Cranfield, Max Doran.