Lara THOMS

(VIC)

Lara Thoms is the co-director of APHIDS and a queer artist interested in socially engaged, site-specific and participatory possibilities in contemporary art and performance. The work of APHIDS is feminist, intersectional, angry, and funny; bringing artists into meaningful exchange with audiences through performance, screens, and unpredictable encounters in the public realm. Much of Lara’s work is collaborative with people beyond the arts including past works with an ex funeral director, Indonesian Metallica fans, and over 300 Western Australian women. Projects include The Director which toured to the Sydney Opera House, SICK! (UK) and ANTI festival (Finland); Ultimate Vision Monuments to Us MCA C3West, Before The Siren for Perth International Arts Festival and A Singular Phenomenon at The Malthouse. Her work with child activists and asylum seekers on Nauru for We all Know What’s Happening with Samara Hersch was awarded the Patronage Prize and the Audience Prize at Theatrespektakle, Switzerland. Lara is also a member of arts collective Field Theory who co-won the 2020 Melbourne Sculpture Prize.