June Paisa Perkins
Author and Educator empowering multicultural community through multi-arts and intercultural stories especially for young people and their parents.
Dr June Paisa Perkins is a multi-arts creative born to a Papua New Guinean Indigenous mother and Australian father. She was raised in Tasmania as a Bahá’i and combines poetry, blogging, photography, story and more to explore themes interesting her. Peace, ecology, spirituality, cultural diversity, resilience and empowerment.
Projects to
Empower, Engage, Enlighten
Poetry Performances for all ages, including interactive ones for young children.
Professional collaborations with designers, illustrators and writers.
Poetry and Diversity advocate with commissions done for QAGOMA, QPF and QWC.
June Perkins aka gumbootspearlz
Devoted to Writing for and with community
250 +
Publications – Poems, Non-fiction articles, Photographs, Flash Fiction, Short Stories
10 +
Collaborations – Artists Collectives, Galleries, Libraries, First Nations Radio
4
Books Produced Themes – Creativity and Resilience, Cyclone Recovery, Poetry
25 years
Dedication to Creativity, Community, Connection, Intercultural learning
Why Work with Me?
- Creative
- Caring
- Collaborative
- Connector
- Culturally sensitive & Ethical
- Proven Track Record
“Excellent Collaboration”
June is a joy to work and collaborate with, she is organised and has consistently shown solid dedication to her projects at the gallery. June is also a captivating storyteller, she has a careful and considered style of communicating and genuine interest in exploring ways to engage the listener
QAGOMA Staff
“Gifted teacher”
June used a fun group activity that had all of us composing lines of poetry in response to a visual stimulus. The end result surprised us all, especially those of us who previously thought we could not write poetry. I look forward to attending a more in-depth and longer poetry workshop with this gifted teacher.
Renee – Workshop Participant
“Working in community”
I have been impressed by her professionalism, her ability to work well with community and arts groups, her creativity and imagination. As well as working with community, she has a strong personal arts practice, particularly focused on photography and photographic collage, as well as writing skills.
Sally – Artistic Collaborator
Storytelling is empowerment
Projects
- New Pathways Continuing‘Nature never did betray the heart that loved her’ William Wordsworth And so it begins again. The new pathway towards becoming more of an educator alongside writer. Another quarter of University and this time I am learning about the HumanitiesContinue reading “New Pathways Continuing”
- Fractured Fairy Tales and Ridiculous RhymesTa, da! Cover reveal! Preorder HERE. Wonderful anthologies, from Anthology Angels, are produced annually, and proceeds go to a different charity each year. This year Anthology Angels are ambassadors for Walk for Prems and profits from the anthology will beContinue reading “Fractured Fairy Tales and Ridiculous Rhymes”
- Reviews of South of the Sun“South of the Sun is an enchanting illustrated book of fairy tales – but not the kind you read to children at bedtime. They are strictly for grown-ups. Often dark, the stories visit places where things don’t end happily everContinue reading “Reviews of South of the Sun”
Commissions QWC, QAGOMA, Mana Pasifika, QPF, QMF, Creative Arts Recovery, La Luna Youth Theatre
Collaborations Illumine team, Children’s Poetry Panel collective, Illuminations Collective, Ink of Light Writing Festival, Helene Magisson, Magic Fish Dreaming Team, Malanbarra Women’s Health and Housing, ABC Open, Licuala Writers, Nell Arnold, Daphne Cazalet, BushTV
Mentorships QPF, Michelle Worthington, ASA, ABC Open, Nell Arnold, Interplay 94
Mentoring others Youth Endeavour 2 years, ALEA Literature Festival, Library and school based workshops for poetry, (Brisbane, and Cassowary Coast),World Literacy Day Philippines, Licuala Writers, Tutoring First Nations University Students (Deakin QUT, University of Southern QLD, James Cook University), First Year Uni (New England University, and James Cook University), ITAS tutoring (Wollongong)
24+ contributions to anthologies.
The latest one being South of the Sun.
For Children, For Queensland, For Writer’s Groups, For Pasifika, For Indigenous, For Bravery, For Hope, For Forests, For Faith, For Australian Fairy Tales.
