About
Echo Location builds connections between people, places and ideas through creative research, projects and facilitation.
Echo Location is led by Kelly Lee Hickey and works with a network of independent collaborators and peers.
About Me:
I am a trans-disciplinary artist and creative researcher working across a range of mediums including writing, performance and visual art.
My practice is collaborative, creative and participatory, and underpinned by principles of hospitality, curiosity and care.
My current focus is creating spaces for people to connect, heal and dream alternate futures in times of polycrisis and collapse. I am doing this through a community philosophy practice that experiments with collective ritual, food sharing, reading, writing and making.
I am an Australian Poetry Slam Champion and winner of the Press Press Manuscript award. I have perfomed and presented my work at festivals in Australia, China, New Zealand and Indonesia, and undertaken residencies in South Sulawesi and Finland.
I was awarded a PhD from Victoria University for my research exploring the intersections between creative practice and community pedagogies in response to ecological and social crisis. My academic and creative work is published internationally. I have presented at conferences and events including the World Congress of Public Health, The Sydney Biennale’s School of Water and The International Arts and Health Conference.
Extended Practice Background
My practice is collaborative, creative and participatory, with a commitment to building connections between country, community and critters.
I specialise in collaborative program design, research, education and resource development that supports healthy land, healthy communities and healthy futures. I am committed to methods and practices that increase access and depth of engagement in learning, planning and decision making I have over 20 years experience in the community and cultural sectors in the Northern Territory and beyond. I have worked with as a consultant and community development specialist with government and academic institutions, private companies and not for profit organisations including Children’s Ground, Charles Darwin University, Regional Arts Australia, iTalk Studios and Lock the Gate.
I’ve worked across the creative, community and public health sectors for over 15 years, as a project and program manager, facilitator, evaluator and educator. I’ve designed projects independently and for organisations. I’ve worked as a consultant, joined and led creative teams, and worked within organisations. I’ve facilitated training for professionals, community meetings and panels at writers festivals. I love holding space, researching and translating ideas, strategic analysis, and creative development. I’m committed to social and ecological justice, regional communities, and collective healing and transformation.
I have over a decade’s experience and graduate qualifications in community development, with specialisations in public health, violence prevention and climate justice. I have specialist training in collective narrative therapy and worked alongside the Dulwich Centre Collective Narrative team on the Yia Marra project. I am a skilled facilitator and storyteller, working as a consultant for iTalk studios and the Alice Springs Women’s Shelter in narrative project development. I have delivered workshops in creative and therapeutic writing for the Red Room Project, NT Writers Center, Arts Access Victoria, Express Media and the Mental Health Association of Central Australia.
I was the artistic director of the National Young Writers Festival (2007) and Eye of the Storm Writers Festival (2013), and have worked as a creative producer on numerous other projects. I am an Australian Poetry Slam Champion (2010) and winner of Press Press Manuscript award (2011). My poetry and non-fiction writing has been published in Australia, China, Indonesia and New Zealand. I have toured extensively throughout Australia and Asia, including performances at the Bookworm Writers Festival (China), The Ubud Readers and Writers Festival, The Makassar International Writers Festival (Indonesia), the Byron Bay Writers Festival and the Sydney Writers Festival.
