About — irene zhong

Image of Irene, a person of Hakka-Chinese heritage with fair skin and dark brown shoulder-length hair. They are pictured in the centre from the chest up, smiling slightly to the left, with a grey Melbourne sky behind them. — Credits: KAte disher-quill

Irene Zhong (they/them) mythologises how we relate to each other and the ever-changing world. Irene grew up immersed in Hakka-Chinese musical traditions while receiving training in western art music.

in 2021, irene participated in arts access victoria’s first music makers mentorship program under the guidance of parvyn. irene was interviewed by NAMILA BENSON FROM ABC TV’S ART WORKS ON THIS FORMULATIVE EXPERIENCE. during MUSIC MAKERS, irene also wrote about their experiences in music and disability for music victoria. irne was shortlisted for the Arts Access Amplify Award in 2021. They were nominated in 2022 as one half of between mirrors, a non-binary dream pop band with co-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, emily gray. their new EP, blue dreams, was released with off the list! records in march 2023. irene premiered their classical choral piece commissioned for the consort of melbourne, sappho fragments (2022) at the melbourne recital centre, as a recipient of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Composition Award.

A versatile creator, Irene animated, recorded, and released Everything You Do (2017), a project on saying farewell to life-changing relationships. Irene composed Epistolary (2018), an electro-acoustic piece set to found footage provided by three close connections in their life, weaving an intricate narrative of how the desire for connection and love perseveres across borders and languages.

irene’s advocacy led them to join the midsumma festival’s access all areas panel, a discussion led by queer and disabled artists on tools and strategies to uplift other queer artists with disabilities (2022). later in the year, irene took part in co-designing a National Songwriting Program for deaf and disabled songwriters, in collaboration with accessible arts, arts access victoria, and apra amcos (2022-ongoing).

Right now, irene is working on protest songs, an ethno-musicological, mutual-aid initiative aiming to fundraise for local social justice causes and marginalised communities, funded by Arts access victoria’s nurture grant. and far on the back burner, you might just see irene working on an album of obscure stories and perspectives they’ve accumulated since their move to Melbourne in 2016.