Melville Storylines Festival

Janine Browne is a writer, artist, poet, founder of the Black Dog Project and a resident of Melville. Janine was the feature artist for Melville Storylines 2023. Janine's Army of Ink characters were installed across the parks of Melville in a public art project, sharing stories of difference and strength because sometimes the stories we tell ourselves are the most powerful.

An installation was showcased at AH Bracks Library + Creative Space to show the process of how Janine lovingly crafts and designs her handmade and self-published Browne Ink Studio books, Janine spoke in conversation at the library and was a feature guest on the first season of The Ville podcast, speaking to the power of story and imaginary friends.

Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa is a passionate storyteller who has a multi-disciplinary creative practice as a producer, writer, filmmaker, theatre-maker, performer, and educator and she grew up in Leeming. Sukhjit was the inaugural feature artist for Melville Storylines in 2022.

Listen to ਪਰਦੇਸ Pardēs by Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa as she responds to belonging and place, and reads us an ode written by her to a colourful Punjabi-influenced childhood in Leeming, or read a copy of the poem here.