Re/connect at The Refinery: Liz Capelin
Thinking about applying for The Refinery 2023? Who better to hear from than Refinery alumni. We caught up with Liz Capelin from the 2021 cohort to find out about her experience with the program.
Who is Liz Capelin?
I'm a mid-career producer at the exciting interface where creative industries meets environmental conservation. What does this mean? I collaborate with diverse makers and thinkers, designing and delivering interdisciplinary projects which focus on telling the stories of our living landscape, often through a place-based, taxonomic or species focus.
The outcomes are often profound and personal for the artists and researchers involved, but the priority is community engagement and environmental stewardship.
I founded Third Nature Projects through the Refinery 2021.
Why did you apply for The Refinery?
To invest time and strategic thinking into my business, to clarify my professional offering, improve confidence and extend my collaborative network.
What was the most valuable thing you got out of The Refinery?
Confidence (good vibes and self-belief) and clarity around my point of difference and skillset.
Biggest surprise?
What a enormous challenge it is to truly back yourself and your vision. How so many other independent creatives struggle with self-belief and the shared stumbling blocks. Learning about the power of confidence and standing up for oneself as a freelancer. How it pays-off to be decisive, set goals and be accountable.
What was the value of Refinery to your business?
Clarity! I also can't express how super supportive the managing Refinery team were to all participants. They believed in each of us, even when we doubted ourselves.
What opportunities have arisen since completing The Refinery?
A large-scale collaborative sculpture in SWELL 2022 focusing on mangroves, a commissioned work for the endangered Richmond Birdwing Butterfly, invitation to participate in a Statewide native grass project (still going) and a large project with Queensland Museum focusing on rainforest invertebrates.
Would you recommend The Refinery?
Yes. For those creatives who are not quite sure what their next steps should be, or who are lone-wolfing and need to find their professional tribe, for those navigating their way through funding mazes and opportunity tangles, AND those who are pushing boundaries between disciplines and want the Sunshine Coast region to be more innovative, thought-provoking and culturally alive.
Take a look at what Liz is up to with Third Nature Projects via the website or over on Instagram.
Image by Mica Schettini of Liz Capelin, Third Nature Projects.