Lily May Potger is an Sri-Lankan, British artist residing in Meanjin (Brisbane), Queensland. Hailing from Garlambirla (Coffs Harbour) Lily trained in movement and dance at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in London where they received multiple scholarship awards and graduated with a first class honours degree at age 21. They are Currently a Company Artist at Australasian Dance Collective in Meanjin QLD.
They have since collaborated with artists across the country on multidisciplinary works harnessing their undisciplined approach to create small and large scale outcomes for Adelaide Contemporary Experimental (SA), Australasian Dance Collective (QLD), The Bait Fridge (SA), Tina Stefanou (VIC), The Adelaide Biannual (SA), St Georges Council (NSW), Critical Path (NSW) and Rirratjingu Council East Arnhem Land (NT), MUD Experimental and Extended Domains among others.
As a performing artist Lily devises concepts and scores that respond to their personal landscape framed by their queer, multinational existence. Through the creation of these happenings Lily uses embodiment to filter the complexities, undercurrents, and nuances of personal and social existence in so called Australia.
Lily’s practice is deeply embedded with community and social interfacing, through personal experiential and academic research they devise and develop teaching and facilitating methodologies that function as practice research through long term connection and engagement with communities. This evolving practice invites the interest and issues of communities' socio-political interests and issues into the folds of ephemeral experiences.
Lily’s practice considers modalities of dance and contemporary dance training and how it can be used as a site to explore and enact socio-political, colonial, class and social issues. Through a holistic approach of socially engaged practices, Lily creates experiences for communities to respond to each other through art. Their practice sits at the cross section between embodiment, academia, and community and aims to project the voices of their community into institutions that represent art and knowledge.
Tina Stefanou, Dance the War of Proximity, performative action and live filmic event, April 24-28th 2024, Adelaide Zoo, Mount Lofty Summit, The Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Art Gallery of South Australia, for Adelaide Biennial of Contemporary Australian Art: Inner Sanctum, 5.5 hours, photography Andrew Kaineder and Wil Normyle.