Shaping the Atlas of Belonging
Presented by Jocelyn Chiew Strategic & Urban Design & Tim Rob Don Dow & UrbanID
DETAILS
Ticketed
G01 Community Room
Balam Balam Place, Phoenix Street, Brunswick VIC, Australia
The Atlas of Belonging is an independent Australian research project exploring how belonging has been, and can be, enabled for the benefit of diverse communities. The event invites participants to reflect on what belonging means to them, where it has been experienced and how this knowledge can inform the design of future spaces and places.
Drawing on insights from luminaries across streetwear and social enterprise, storytelling and art, and Indigenous-owned hospitality, the event combines a panel discussion and workshop. Through storytelling, mapping and co-design, participants will identify patterns of inclusion and contribute to a living Atlas of design strategies and indicators.
Panellists include Steph Say, Nornie Bero and Tai Snaith.
Exhibition curators include Jocelyn Chiew, Tim Dow and Annelise Porter.
Participants
Steph Say
Steph Say is the CEO of HoMie, a social enterprise and non-profit using fashion as a force for good. Over the past decade, HoMie has supported over 4,100 young people affected by homelessness or hardship to be more work-ready and better prepared for their futures. Steph brings a values-led, outcomes-driven approach, championing models where purpose and profit work together to deliver measurable, lasting change.
Nornie Bero
Nornie Bero is the founder and CEO of Mabu Mabu. Originally from the Komet Tribe of the Meriam people in the Torres Strait, she has been a professional chef for over twenty-five years. Nornie established Mabu Mabu in 2018 with a dream to make native ingredients the hero of the Australian kitchen. She started by selling a range of homemade condiments and spices at South Melbourne Markets and since then, the company is now home to over eighty employees across three departments – retail, catering and dining.
Tai Snaith
Living and working in Melbourne/Naarm, Tai's work investigates the nature of visual storytelling, unusual viewpoints and personal histories. Themes of belonging, transformation and personal mythology permeate all aspects of her work. Her practice spans a broad range of mediums, including painting, sculpture, spoken conversations and large public realm commissions. Tai has also written and illustrated seven picture books published with Thames and Hudson Australia, and a significant part of her work is reading to and running workshops with children. In addition to her visual practice, Tai has conducted two seasons of recorded conversations with female-identifying and non-binary artists (originally commissioned by ACCA) under the project A World of One’s Own.
Jocelyn Chiew FRAIA FRLA
Jocelyn Chiew is an architect, landscape architect, urbanist, educator and writer. She founded The Atlas of Belonging in 2025, crystallising a career-long commitment to shaping meaningful built environments. Formerly Director of City Design at the City of Melbourne and Manager of Campus Design at Monash University, she has also served as a National Councillor of the Australian Institute of Architects.Jocelyn now works as a consulting designer and strategic adviser, and is a state design review panellist with Victoria and New South Wales Governments. Jocelyn is a dual Fellow of both the Australian Institute of Architects and Australian Institute of Landscape Architects.
Tim Dow
Tim Dow is a strategic specialist with over fifteen years of experience developing innovative, user-centred strategies for complex public environments, with a track record across transport, cultural, education and healthcare sectors.He is an expert in stakeholder engagement, co-design facilitation and translating complex user needs into accessible, functional and effective solutions that enhance the user experience.
Annelise Porter, curator
Annelise Porter is the founding director of UrbanID, with twenty-five years of international experience. Beyond architectural design work spanning residential and mixed-use projects, she specialises in spatial strategy and design for complex environments, using data-informed simulation to test and optimise user experience and performance across cultural, retail and sports sectors. She is passionate about creating resilient, human-centred places grounded in real-world behaviour.