Michaela Olijnyk

Michaela is the Arts Development Team Leader and manages the team of The Other Film Festival as well as a number of DHS funded arts projects.

Michaela is also a visual artist working in the medium of film. Historically, her artistic concerns have challenged dominant discourses about family. She enjoyed great success with photographic work that has toured widely.

Her more recent photographic work explores Melbourne’s western suburban nightscapes. Through illumination, the industrial sites, laneways and train lines of the west become a place where the ordinary is transformed into the extraordinary; where beauty is found in harsh environments, traditionally viewed as ugly; and the inhospitable and dangerous become a place that is magical.

In her artistic work with community organisations, Michaela has worked with community organisations such as Jewish Museum of Australia, Inner South Community Health Service, Family Planning Victoria, Midsumma, Women’s Health in the North, teaching photography and exploring themes of identity.