EVENTS
APAX: Arts Market
We’re excited to be participating in the Australian Performing Arts Exchange (APAX) — the national gathering of more than 450 performing arts professionals from across Australia.
As part of the 2025 APAX program, we will be pitching our new multidisciplinary work, Guewel — a ritual journey into an ancient cosmovision.
This is a unique opportunity for presenters, programmers, and collaborators to connect with our work as we share the vision and creative potential of Guewel, and explore its touring future across Australia’s diverse stages and communities.
GUEWEL: WORLD PREMIERE
Guewel is a ritual journey through an ancient African cosmovision, exploring landscapes of the soul and preparing us for life’s beginnings and endings.
Seven years in the making, Guewel is a multi-art form work from director Lamine Sonko, who has journeyed to the remote and sacred places of Senegal to understand how ancient cosmology and metaphysical knowledge shape our ways of being in the world.
In a landmark collaboration with the National Theatre of Senegal, Guewel channels deep ancestral power through primordial sounds worlds and sacred rhythmic dance, offering a reflection on our interconnected, collective human experience.
Blending traditional and contemporary music, dance, projection animation and filmed cultural landscapes, Guewel brings together ancient and new artforms in a vibrant meeting of worlds, bridging cultural and temporal divides.
Arts House Neighbourhood Gathering
Local community and friends of Arts House are invited to a free morning tea.
As they share their upcoming program for Season 2, 2025, you can meet the team, spend time with your neighbours and get a behind-the-scenes look at a performance in the making.
This event will be co-hosted by Arts House’s new Head of Programming, Naomi Velaphi alongside artists Lamine Sonko and Jonathan Craig.
DEUP: Film Screening + Discussion
Join us for a special screening of short film DEUP, followed by a panel discussion on intercultural arts collaboration and research
Documentary film DEUP is part of a collection of multi-artform works by 13.12, exploring new perspectives on ancient ways of knowing and being. Directed by Lamine Sonko, the film offers a glimpse into a community in Senegal where lives are lived within an ancient soundworld and where music, rhythm and ritual are the fabric of collective experience.
Following the screening, we will be joined by panelists for a discussion exploring intercultural and interdisciplinary arts collaboration and research including the challenges and opportunities of creating art that transcends boundaries. Moderated by Dorcas Maphakela, the conversation will include Director Lamine Sonko, CEO of Multicultural Arts Victoria, Lauren Mullings; 13.12 Producer, Olive Moynihan; Arts House Creative Program Lead, Amrit Gill.
BEMAC Discussions: Moving Memory
Join us on Monday 7 April for the next instalment in the BEMAC Discussions series; a free panel discussion on “Moving Memory: The Role of the Arts in Preserving Cultural Narratives”. How do the arts shape and safeguard cultural heritage? Join a dynamic panel of artists as they explore the power of storytelling, performance, and visual expression in keeping traditions alive. Engage in thought-provoking discussions on memory, identity, and the evolving role of the arts in preserving cultural narratives.
Moderated by Anna Cerreto, the panel will feature Karla McGrady, Katherine Palella, Lamine Sonko and Siyavash Doostkhah.
ASG International Conference 2024
African Agency in a Changing World: Embracing Opportunities and Navigating Challenges
The 3-day conference will bring together scholars (students, faculty, and researchers), advocates, practitioners, policymakers, and community members within and outside Australia for a conversation around African Agency in a world that is currently undergoing geopolitical shifts
Honorary Fellow (University of Melbourne) Lamine Sonko will present a paper examining guewel practices as a means of embodying and transmitting metaphysical knowledge systems. The event will also feature an exclusive screening of 13.12's short documentary film DEUP.
The conference is hinged on Africa's historical portrayal as a passive participant in global progress and the ongoing narratives of the continent’s dependency. It, therefore, seeks to highlight the various ways in which Africans assert their agency in historical and contemporary terms within and outside the continent.
Lamine Sonko + Pirritu
Composer, director and multi-instrumentalist Lamine Sonko joins Ngiyampaa singer-songwriter Pirritu for an intimate double-bill performance that traverses embodied knowledge, tradition and contemporary culture.
Lamine Sonko creates multi-artform experiences inspired by his background as a guewel(cultural role) of the Sing Sing clan and Korings of Kaabu, and a member of Senegal’s Serer, Wolof and Mandinko communities.
"It is not only hearing the words and understanding the stories that is crucial, but the vibrations and soul felt in the music are also uplifting"– Sydney Morning Herald
Pirritu (meaning ‘Brett’ in Ngiyampaa language) was adopted by a non-Aboriginal couple as a newborn baby and raised to be proud of his Aboriginality, to follow his cultural journey and to connect back to family, culture and language – a journey he began when he was 14 years old. Two things drive his continual thirst to connect to his people, country, language and culture – his daughter and his passion for music.
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to catch two innovative musicians and storytellers on stage for one night only.
DEUP + Live Performance
Join us on Friday, 15 July for Lamine Sonko's short film Deup, followed by a live musical performance. We are thrilled to be back at New Hall for the film screening and live performance.
DEUP PREMIERE + Live Performance
Join us in the cinema for the world premiere of Lamine Sonko's short film followed by a live musical performance.
The world premiere of short documentary film Deup is part of a multi-artform program of works from 13.12. This screening at ACMI will be followed by a live performance from director/composer Lamine Sonko accompanied by a string trio.
Composition Seminar
The Composition Seminar is a series of weekly seminars consisting of special topics on current issues in composition and contemporary music led by members of the academic staff or visiting composers and performers.
research seminar
In this research seminar, Lamine Sonko reflects on his longterm engagement with embodied knowledge of ancient rhythmic traditions in West Africa, as well as current research exploring the adaptation of traditional music, dance, and theatre in contemporary Australia. The seminar will include a discussion and live music demonstration.