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Western Terrace: Stories Are Seeds
Seeds sit in dark soil, waiting to push through a vibrant green. Stories are the same.
Seeds sit in dark soil, waiting to push through a vibrant green.
Stories are the same. They emerge from the unceded lands of Darug Country that is our home and subject to ongoing colonisation. In that land Katie plants the story of her grandmother, who was uprooted from her home in northern Palestine in 1948, a catastrophe that continues to unfold. 2025 also marks 50 years since the end of the American war in Vietnam, which forced millions of Vietnamese people to escape by boat, including Vivian's father.
The Western Terrace will become a shared space for storytelling where you’ll hear the voices of First Nations, Vietnamese and Arab writers. Together we will affirm our solidarity to our distinct but interconnected struggles, celebrate our survival and imagine the collective futures we deserve.
Join us on the Western Terrace for an evening of storytelling and nourishment.
Featuring words by Ethan Bell, Hasib Hourani, Shirley Le, Antoinette Lu plus more to be announced.
Curated by Vivian Pham and Katie Shammas.
Light refreshments will be served.
When: Wednesday 9 April, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Where: Level 3, Western Terrace
Registration: Spaces are limited with some seats and standing room. Registration is essential. As this is an outdoor venue, please dress accordingly. For access requirements please contact PHIVEtickets@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au
Meet the Artists
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Shirley Le is a Vietnamese-Australian writer from Western Sydney. Her debut novel, Funny Ethnics, was published by Affirm Press in 2023. She is also a member of the Sweatshop Writers Collective, a literacy movement based in Western Sydney.
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Hasib Hourani is a Lebanese-Palestinian writer, editor, arts worker and educator living on unceded Wangal Country. His debut book, rock flight, was released with Giramondo in 2024.
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Antoinette Luu is a Vietnamese-Australian writer practising in south-west Sydney. Her alchemic process of writing and editing reworks her cathartic scribbles into profound poetry, immortalising both her youth before it is over, and her culture before it is erased. She currently volunteers with the Bankstown Poetry Slam and was a three-time finalist at their National Youth Poetry Slam. At the University of New South Wales, she majors in English, Creative Writing, and Screen Production, and is an editor for the UNSWeetened Literary Journal.
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Ethan Bell is a Wallabalooa man from the Ngunawal Nation. He is an emerging artist and student based in Campbelltown, Sydney. Ethan's practice is storytelling, drawing from his love of hip-hop. Ethan writes poetry in hopes to give insight into his life.
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Katie Shammas is from the Galilee, Palestine living on Darug country in north-west Sydney. Katie is a member of Sweatshop Literacy Movement and is on the board of Arab Theatre Studio. She has been published in Meanjin, POVO (Sweatshop 2024), Kindling and Sage, and Redroom Poetry.
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Vivian Pham is a Vietnamese novelist, essayist, poet from southwestern Sydney. In high school she wrote a novel called The Coconut Children, published in March 2020 by Penguin Random House. Vivian was a Writer-in-Residence at the University of Technology, Sydney and sits on the reading team of Overland Journal. She is a course director and key tutor for Faber Writing Academy's Writing a Novel course. Vivian holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Philosophy and Creative Writing from Western Sydney University. She’s currently adapting The Coconut Children for stage with Belvoir Theatre and screen with Exit Films.
The Western Terrace is a series of creative gatherings, performances and workshops taking place underneath the golden hour, as the sun sets, facing West, thinking West. Imagining the Western Terrace as an extension of their own homes, gardens and balconies, the series features artists, authors, filmmakers, musicians and community sharing domestic ritual collectively.