State Library Research Opportunities Awarded

• $60,000 in State Library of Western Australia research opportunities disbursed. 
• Jordanna Eades awarded the Fellowship for Aboriginal Researchers.
• Dr Shino Konishi awarded the J.S. Battye Memorial Fellowship.
• Two Researcher-in-Residence placements awarded to Dr Dean Chan and Gina Pickering.

The State Library of Western Australia is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 Fellowship and Research opportunities. Applications were open to researchers, historians, curators or scholars based in Western Australia.

Jordanna Eades is the recipient of the inaugural $10,000 Fellowship for Aboriginal Researchers. Her research will focus on the Kaniyang Histories of the Blackwood River Valley. Jordanna is an archaeological anthropologist and South-west Noongar woman with a passion for engaged research and cultural revitalisation projects with First Nations communities. She has an interest in South-west ground stone tools and Kaniyang Noongar history. 

Dr Shino Konishi was awarded the $10,000 J.S. Battye Memorial Fellowship for her research project, The 1979 Sesquicentenary: Contested Commemorations of Western Australia’s Colonial Origins. Shino specialises in Indigenous history and colonial history, with considerable research expertise in Western Australian history. She identifies with the Yawuru people of Broome and is an Associate Professor in the School of Indigenous Studies and School of Humanities at The University of Western Australia. 

Two $20,000 Researcher-in-Residence positions were awarded to Dr Dean Chan and Gina Pickering to investigate and examine the newly digitised Western Australian audio and audio-visual history collections to advance online discovery and curation as part of the State Library’s At Risk Audio-Visual Digitisation Project.

Dr Dean Chan works in the School of Design and the Built Environment at Curtin University. He is a researcher, writer and consultant specialising in cultural studies, history and theory in the Asia-Pacific region. Dean is on the Editorial Board of the Asian Australian Book Series at The Australian National University Press, and has experience in digital storytelling projects, exhibitions and public programs.

Gina Pickering is a content creator and cultural heritage consultant, providing expert advice on co-cultural projects. Gina works across multiple multimedia formats including film, physical and digital exhibition content experiences and podcasts. She is currently undertaking a PhD in human geography at Curtin University focusing on water, family and place in Noongar culture. 

The At Risk Audio-Visual Digitisation Project is funded by the Office of Digital Government’s Digital Capability Fund. The State Library is digitising vast amounts of analogue material, including audio, video, and film formats (records, cassettes, magnetic tapes, film and sound reels). The State Library’s audio-visual collections span over 100 years and include amateur recordings, government and private sector productions, films, music, interviews, and other content depicting people, places, and events unique to Western Australia. 

These opportunities were funded by the generous support of: the Leah Jane Cohen Bequest (J.S. Battye Fellowship), private donors (Fellowship for Aboriginal Researchers) and the Sholl Bequest through the Friends of Battye (Researchers-in-Residence). 

Comments attributed to CEO and State Librarian Catherine Clark:

“The State Library collects and treasures Western Australia's stories. By inviting researchers, historians and curators into the collection we can discover new narratives and fresh perspectives on our shared history.

“We are delighted to welcome the Fellowship and Researcher-in-Residence recipients to the State Library and pleased we have been able to introduce new research opportunities in 2024.

“Congratulations to the four researchers and historians. I look forward to seeing the outcomes of their work and sharing some yet to be told stories.”