This summary was researched and written by Isabell Bilous as part of RMIT internship in early 2025.

The Year 1996 was comprised of four overlapping programs that: a visual arts program, art and technology program, a writers program and performance program. The visual art program worked with galleries across the city, such as 200 Gertrude, Caulfield Arts Complex, Linden, Sutton Gallery, Chinese Museum and many more art spaces that placed emphasis on education. Artists from these galleries collaborated with Next Wave, challenging the traditional structures of the educational system, the implemented beliefs along with it and how artists are inducted into the art industry. The program was a combination of anecdotes, oil on canvas paintings like Australian Chinoiseries by Max Meldrum, photography by Melanie Palffy called No Title and Illustrations John and Betty by Marjorie Howden.

Art and Technology
The art and technology program focused on combining traditional forms with the upcoming media at the time. This included Patricia Piccinini’s work, Love Me Like a Lamp. This digiprint photograph discusses the topic of HGI (Human Genome Initiative), which catalogues human genetic material.

Performances
Theatre, or any type of performance, can have an everlasting impact on the audience with a strong message, which is what makes it memorable. The performances within Next Wave’s 1996 festival was produced and choreographed by multiple groups, like the performance Grind, which was put together by Stompin Youth Dance Company; and Rub the Angel, which was performed by Derek Porter; or the famous 7 Stages of Grieving by Wesley Enoch, performed by Deborah Mailman.

Grind by Stomping Youth Dance Company, an emotional performance that brought up issues of peer group pressure, drug use, youth suicide and environmental issues and the sensation of isolation from social media presence. This dance company used every performer’s talent to pull it together for such an emotional performance, especially when knowing that these company members have gone through such issues, amplifies their emotional release within the work to create higher awareness.

Rub The Angel, Project Ariel, was put together by Julia McDonald, Derek Porter and many others. This performance was about the childhood and adult desire to fly; however, the only difference between the two was that the adult dream was to fly away instead of just flying. In essence, they attempted to outline the difference between soul and behaviour, experiences between good and bad and what it means to be human.

Last but not least, 7 Stages of Grieving by Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman, an outstanding performance that, like Grind by Stomping Youth Dance Company brought up societal issues. 7 Stages, however, focused more on the discrimination of the First Nations, the multi-generational trauma of the Stolen Generation that has been passed down, the double standard in the current day from the government and the genocide—creating a cry for help in the public domain. The intertwining personal stories and political history escalate the effect and the movement at the time. These many other performances in the festival similarly uphold Next Wave’s values of supporting the artistic community and pushing the boundaries.

About Isabell
I am Isabell Bilous. I am currently studying for a bachelor of printmaking, however, I have always been a mixed media artist at heart, incorporating my cultural traditions, such as sewing motifs, poetry, and traditional dance, with today’s relevant issues. Even though some of my works are based on literature, movies, music, and nature and aren’t commenting on current society, they still have a metaphoric undertone with an abstract aspect to them. Alongside my artistic passions, I have a strong interest in conservation due to my experience with history, and my end goal is to work as an archival conservator in a major gallery.