Published 10 September, 2021

Introducing #CreativeLinks – a celebration of the incredible creatives who help support the Victorian music industry through their work. 

VMDO are launching a new campaign sharing a series of recommendations for creatives, by creatives in an effort to spread some positivity in a difficult time and encourage future industry connections.  

Jacinta Keefe

First up, we spoke to photographer Jacinta Keefe, a proud Wiradjuri woman who runs Jacinta Keefe Photography. Jacinta has a huge love for Melbourne music and has been a prominent photographer in the city for over a decade. Check out her #CreativeLinks recommendations & give them a follow below! 

1). Tiffany Garvie – Photographer. "Tiff is such a legend, a great companion to work with, and always up for a yarn, has a real passion for the music scene here in Melbourne!" 

2). Phoenix Waddell - Production Designer and Graphic Designer. "Phoenix's attention to detail and putting her 100% into every job she takes on makes her an absolute star in her field". 

3). Kaydee Kyle-Taylor – Make-Up Artist. "Kaydee is a total boss babe with a killer vibe to boot, legendary at makeup specializing in First Nations Skin tones! I've had the joy of being done up with makeup by this amazingly skilled woman and also photographing her work in my recent Merindas image". 

Music in Exile

Next up, we spoke to Music In Exile, a not-for-profit artist services company that champions Australian musicians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The organisation is artist-led, working with individual artists to build viable and sustainable career opportunities in the Australian music industry. In doing so, they hope to highlight the invisible barriers that exist for these artists and to work toward a more accessible and equitable industry, as well as a harmoniously connected community.

Check out their #CreativeLinks recommendations & give them a follow below! 

1). Eye To Eye Productions. “Athina and their wonderful team of young creative powerhouses put together the stunning music video for Mindy Meng Wang's collaborative track with Tim Shiel 'Hidden Qi 隐.气' . We were lucky enough to be Eye to Eye's first official music video release, which has since been followed by some truly beautiful work!

2). Celeste Watson – Graphic Designer. “Celeste generously donated her time to design a t-shirt for Gordon Koang as part of our collaboration with Everpress. What Celeste made not only looked incredible, but was also so full of heart and passion. We are so grateful!”

3). The Social Studio. “The incredible people at The Social Studio started working on a collaborative flag and suits for Gordon and Paul to wear on their Unity tour, looking at the idea of 'Unity' and how this can be expressed in our everyday lives. We are so excited to be reunited with the amazing, diverse talents at The Social Studio when it's safe, to see the final designs and celebrate!”

Chelsea Wilson

Next up, we spoke to Chelsea Wilson, Melbourne-based vocalist, songwriter, producer, DJ and mum. Chelsea is also a Board Director of Music Victoria, Producer at the Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts Monash University, Artistic Associate Melbourne International Jazz Festival Congress, Director of the Women of Soul Collective and just released a new podcast about Women in music called Control.

Check out her #CreativeLinks recommendations & give them a follow below! 

1). Amy Chapman – Artist, Sound Engineer, Label Manager (Wantok Music) & Musician. “We first started working together at PBS 106.7FM and became good mates; Amy was Interviews and Multi-Platform Content and I was the Music Manager. It was brilliant to collaborate with Amy on my new podcast Control. Check out the first few episodes of Control, edited by Amy!” 

2). Carla Troiano. “Carla and I work together in the Women of Soul Collective. Carla is an incredible vocalist and is so fun to perform with. Not only do we sing together, Carla does an incredible job managing the WOS social media pages. Carla also styled the most recent WOS photo shoot, making everyone look and feel stunning! Check out her company Impero Media for your styling and social media needs!”

3). Vanessa Fernandez – Graphic Designer & Songwriter. “Vanessa is an incredible graphic designer and songwriter. She designed the new Women of Soul Branding and website also created the Control Podcast logo. She is so good to work with, she really understands musicians being an artist herself, but she also creates gorgeous designs for retail, hospitality and a range of other clients. As a former in-house designer for Arts Centre Melbourne she can pretty much design anything, in any size for any reason! Highly recommend.”

Photos by Nicole Cleary

Control shoot make-up & hair by Amy Kenny Makeup

How to Get Involved

VMDO are encouraging  you to get involved and help spread the love, by sharing your own creative recommendations.

Post on your Instagram feed or story with work from 3 creatives you’ve collaborated with and want to recommend, along with the #CreativeLinks hashtag. 

Don’t forget to tag VMDO so we can share your post too!