OUR STORY IN 2024
Think+DO Tank Foundation was set up to challenge a system that wasn’t working for culturally and racially marginalised (CaRM) women, to spearhead advocacy and innovative thinking, demonstrate innovative models or practice, and to make a difference in the daily lives of migrant and refugee people in Fairfield and its surrounds through our Community House, a safe space for multilingual arts, literature, storytelling, and the vibrant celebration of multicultural practices and traditions. Positioned as we are, we know that the ongoing violence in Palestine, Sudan, DRC, Iran, Myanmar, Lebanon and other places around the world has taken a heavy toll amongst the communities with whom we work, including our team.
The UNHCR estimates there are now over 120 million forcibly displaced people in the world, more than ever before in recorded history.
Amid the hardships, however, there are stories of resilience, hope, and communities coming together to advocate for peace and change.
What can any of us do about it?
The answer is more than you imagine.
You may have no money, but time and skills to offer as a volunteer.
You may have money, but no time - we would welcome your donation to our tax-deductible campaigns.
If you feel you can't help us in any way, then the opposite is certainly true: we will be able to help you. Reciprocity is the heart of being in community. The spirit of generosity and lifting each other up is what we do.
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Think+DO Tank Foundation invites you to join us as we amplify the creative work of women and kids, particularly from refugee and migrant backgrounds, helping them to write their own stories, sing songs in their language, and to participate more fully in society through the joy of making.
Our multilingual arts programs and skills-based collectives meet regularly to generate connections and to insist on new collective possibilities.
We have a lot to celebrate and to share.
Here’s what we’ve been up to this year.
“I feel alive, it’s different from any space I’ve ever been to in Australia.”
COMMUNITY HOUSE PROGRAMS
Our Community House in Fairfield is the beating heart of the Foundation, and this year, we welcomed more local residents, artists, families, and members of the public than ever before. In recognition of its excellence, we were nominated in the FBi SMAC Awards for ‘Best Arts Program’.
The Seed of Hope Collective met regularly to pursue artistic and entrepreneurial outcomes together, went on cultural excursions, and took part in exhibitions, workshops, and installations at the Fairfield City Museum and Gallery, the Art Gallery of NSW, and Campbelltown Arts Centre, the Chau Chak Wing Museum and the University of Technology, Sydney.
Grow Well, our urban community garden program with the indomitable Community Greening team from Royal Botanic Gardens of Sydney, flourished under through regular workshops with Community Greening expert educator, Adina Oosterwijk together with generous cultural and creative exchange led by Kuku Yalanji artist and edcuator, Henrietta Baird.
Homework Club, our after-school program, providing space and support for young students and their parents struggling to connect or understand the tasks assigned to them at school, as well as creative activities to spark their imaginations, continued to expand with gardening workshops and music-making classes teaching kids how to produce their own tracks.
FAIRFIELD FASHION RUNWAY
For two years, the Seed of Hope Collective — our resident community of local Arabic-speaking women tailors, embroiderers, weavers, artists and cooks — worked hard with fashion designer Melanie Gillbank to create garments reflecting themes of Land, Motherhood, Spirituality and Futurism. The women also collaborated with ceramicist Idil Abdullahi to create handmade ceramic adornments that connect back to materiality and women’s work.
The result was a speculative, wearable experience braiding history, culture, and feminism in a vibrant display.
In December, we put on a show to celebrate these amazing women and their stunning creations. Alongside the fashion, meticulously curated performances built on the themes explored in this unique project: opening with Kuku Yalanji choreographer and artist, Henrietta Baird.
Alongside a special collaboration with the Seed of Hope Choir, we heard beautiful contributions from cellist Catalina Dermenjian, whose solo set was an homage to her Armenian heritage, connecting motherhood to power and protection. Emerging Western Sydney superstar Pa777ience performed an intimate vocal set that responded to the theme of Spirituality while Dj Djinn took us on a journey with familiar sounds and new possibilities.
Our house band on the night featured Palestinian brothers, Majdi and Seraj Jelda who shared Palestinian songs and music. They were joined by classically trained Arab maestros Hussein Kahil, Mohammed Lelo, and Mustafa Altayar.
Fairfield Fashion Runway was possible due to the financial support of Creative Australia, Create NSW, and Mounties Group.
COMMUNITY VOICE
“This space helped me find myself again. I was so tired of always being labelled as a “refugee”—it made me feel like I wasn’t really me. But here, I could just be myself—a young woman from Syria with so much to share. I felt safe, accepted, and free to be who I really am.”
FROM GAZA TO THE AREA
These times call for a response, and we have responded alongside the communities with whom we work.
In August, along with Democracy in Colour, YCollab, and the Western Sydney Migrant Resource Centre, we produced and hosted the From Gaza to the Area event celebrating recently-arrived Palestinian artists and cultural knowledge-holders, which raised $10,000 that supported both Palestinian artists, and the frontline relief for newly-arriving Palestinians provided by Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA).
Following the event, TDTF gifted its Community House to host regular Palestinian tatreez workshops with celebrated Palestinian designer, Gina Barjeel. The gatherings were a much-needed source of joy, creativity, and love for women in the community.
“For me, what makes TDTF stand out from the start has been its staff and its audience. I’ve not come across another organisation like this one with a staff that is majority Arab women or women of colour, with direct experience of dislocation as migrants and refugees. Similarly, coming into this place in Fairfield and seeing it filled with Arab aunties creating art together, talking to each other, making food was almost shocking. The notion of a cultural centre that my aunty and her siblings, who were born in Lebanon, could actually come to, because the art being made there was by and for them, was almost fantastical. I think there is a blueprint here that should be taken up across the board, one that enables communities to flourish through artistic programs made with and for them, in languages they speak, regardless of their level of education or socio-economic status.”
ARTIST DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
MIRROR MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
As announced on Books+Publishing, this year we launched our 2025 MIRROR Mentorship program at the NSW State Library and after a competitive call-out selected three incredible emerging bilingual artists as winners: Huaning Wu, Lia "Lima" Maula, and Leila Frijat. Congratulations again to them and to all who were shortlisted!
The winners will each receive $4,000, and be mentored for 12 months by award-winning established authors Zeno Sworder, Sher Rill Ng, and Freda Chiu.
Head to the MIRROR website to learn more about this exciting program that develops and platforms bilingual artists and writers making Australian bilingual kids' literature to mirror every little reader!
MIRROR is funded by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts funding body.
Weekend Writers’ Residencies
Thanks to Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund, our communal writing residency at our Community House with award-winning novelist Peter Polites as our lead resident artist is up and running. Our first cohort of writers-in-residence includes Vivian Pham, Allessandra Allegretti, Monikka Eliah, Danial Alwan, Carroll Leigh, Norman Saadi Nikro, and Orlando Silver! Each resident will have up to $1K available in financial support over the course of the program.
Every second weekend from 2-8pm, the residents meet in our space to write.
We envision this program as a supported space for community, conversation, and making art. We want to make the writing road a little less lonely, and more accessible. There will be regular opportunities for our resident writers to perform, publish or engage in our other programs, and we’ll have special guest appearances from other authors to provide plenty of tips and inspiration to keep going.
This program will run until October 2025, and we’ve been really excited to see the interest it’s already generated.
Thanks to the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund for its support of this program.
Couture Collective
Over the course of developing the Fairfield Fashion Runway, the Seed of Hope Collective went from strength to strength, growing in numbers to now include 80 women from migrant and refugee backgrounds with a diverse array of skills and interests. Naturally, as we pursue creative endeavours together, new collectives are forming around shared skills and interests, of which the Couture Collective is one. Couture Collective brings together designers and sewers who challenge each other to go to the next level.
Seed of Hope Choir
The Seed of Hope choir is a collective of women from the Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) region, led by Lebanese maestro, Hussein Kahlil.
Our newly formed choir currently comprises of Wafaa Yousif, Ebtessam Gabrial, and Maysoon Al-Karadi.
Each of these incredible women is multi-talented. Hailing from Iraq comes Wafaa, who is also a wonderful poet; Maysoon, an Iraqi who is an accomplished pianist; and Ebtessam, a Syrian artist and teacher who creates sculptures from unique materials.
OUTREACH PROGRAMS
TO YOUR DOOR
Think+DO Tank Foundation brings creative and educational experiences directly to communities in Western Sydney, in regional and rural areas. We deliver engaging workshops, events, and learning opportunities that promote multilingual literacy, cultural inclusion, and creative expression. Designed to empower individuals and foster community connections, this program makes educational resources and artistic activities accessible to those who may not have the opportunity to participate in traditional settings. The To Your Door Outreach program is a key initiative in our mission to inspire positive social change and support diverse communities across Australia.
TO YOUR DOOR: Stories2Soirees
Our TYD Mardi Gras special, in partnership with local queer youth group YCollab, featured short story readings from the anthology Stories Out West (edited by Adrian Allelles), a drag spectacular by Barbi Ghanoush, and musical performances from 3awadi and VV Pete.
TO YOUR DOOR: Food Stories
An intimate evening celebrating our connections to food and local communities in Western Sydney, Food Stories treated us to a menu of acoustic performances, spoken word, hands-on making and family-style feasting and reflects on the many complexities, power, histories, and emotions of sharing food! We enjoyed performances and provocations from Hussein Kahlil, Mohammed Lelo, DJ and musician Nonchalant Flower Boy, Mark Mariano, Henrietta Baird, sydney khoo and a Welcome to Country by Auntie Kerrie Kenton. It's always such a joy to bring our community house to life, and we hope everyone enjoyed discovering Fairfield's hidden gems; from bread in clay ovens, to cold-pressed tahini, abundant spices, and fresh produce from family farms, all transformed skilfully by the hands of the Seed of Hope!
BOOK LAUNCH: The Mother Wound by Amani Haydar (Arabic Edition)
In May, we launched the stunning Arabic-language edition of The Mother Wound by Amani Haydar, and featured a powerful bilingual conversation with two of our own staff, Afaf Al-Shammari and Helen Guliana, about domestic abuse, motherhood, and the impact of violence both intimate and broad-scale, as in war.
You can listen to this incredible dialogue here.
BOOK LAUNCH: Kalakalo by Arieta Tegeilolo Talanoa Tora Rika
In August we had a beautiful community-led launch of Kalokalo by Arieta Tegeilolo Talanoa Tora Rika - with conversation facilitated by Emele Ugavule, as well as performances and readings from Pasifika guest poets from Western Sydney. The first print run has sold out but we have more on order. Email us if you’re interested in a copy.
FLOURISH COMMUNITY COLLECTIVES
TDTF trains local women and supports them to come together to generate new markets and audiences for their goods and services that platform their cultural knowledge, lived experience and expertise. TDTF’s Flourish Collectives aim to strengthen collective, shared forms of action that generate increased household income at the same time as strengthening social connection, peer support, agency, feelings of belonging and pride.
FoodLab Collective
FoodLab Collective was created from a shared love of cooking, eating and exchanging recipes between members of the Seed of Hope Collective. Over the years the group has grown their experience in catering and has had opportunities to up-skill and expand their passion into professional catering. Each member has received accredited Food Safe Handling training thanks to TDTF and our partners.
Adornment Collective
The Adornment Collective is a newly formed group focused on handmade jewellery and wearable art.
Forked Tongues Multilingual Storytelling Collective
This program is for bilingual women who can tell bilingual stories or perform original material to engage, entertain and celebrate Australian multilingualism. It’s a way to ensure migrant and refugee women can stay connected to the cultural folk tales that nourished them and feel empowered to share them with new audiences to keep their traditions alive.
Policy, Advocacy & Sector Development
This work is led by our CEO, Jane Stratton.
LONELINESS
In November, we were proud to make a substantive submission to the NSW Parliament's inquiry into loneliness, an experience at the heart of why almost all our community collaborators are pleased to find us.
We recommended:
a network of Community Houses is established as a focal point for kindness, to be funded and staffed with workforces trained in community development principles.
four enabling strategies to address and reduce loneliness including on-demand transportation, digital inclusion, multilingualism, and a range of transitional measures.
DIGITAL INCLUSION
TDTF is a proud founding member of Wester'ly, a coalition for digital inclusion in Western Sydney.
Our former Wester'ly colleague, Professor Azadeh Dastyari at Whitlam Institute, Western Sydney University has produced a report, Digital Equity and Education. Our CEO Jane Stratton contributed to this, and spoke on the panel at the launch event. You can download this crucial report here.
LEARN MORE
To learn more about TDTF’s research, inquiries, policy work and advocacy, be in touch with us here.
A key part of TDTF’s work to reduce digital exclusion is our participation in the Commonwealth Government’s School Students Broadband Initiative (SSBI). Through this, we can connect families and carers with school-age children who do not have an active NBN internet service at home, to the NBN for free.
If you think you qualify for this, get in touch with us here.