Jo Pickup

ArtsHub's Arts Feature Writer Jo Pickup is based in Perth. An arts writer and manager, she has worked as a journalist and broadcaster for media such as the ABC, RTRFM and The West Australian newspaper, contributing media content and commentary on art, culture and design. She has also worked for arts organisations such as Fremantle Arts Centre, STRUT dance, and the Aboriginal Arts Centre Hub of WA, as well as being a sessional arts lecturer at The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).

Jo Pickup's Latest Articles

Image: Thought Catalog on Unsplash.
Features

Meanjin has been saved, but where are the opportunities for emerging writers?

A recent win for a beloved literary journal is a small gain for new authors who face diminished writing pathways.

U>N>I>T>E>D Chunky Move, a dark stage with dramatic smoke effects and white lighting showing a female performer with robotic metallic costuming moving across the stage under a scaffolding set piece.
StarsStarsStarsStarsStars

U>N>I>T>E>D review: Chunky Move's machine-led experiment missing some magic at Perth Festival

Billed as an exploration of machine mysticism, Chunky Moves' latest dance work is not as transcendental as it could be.

From left, Michelle Fornasier, Caitlin Beresford-Ord, Helen Searle, Alex Jones, Rebecca Davis and Tegan Mulvany in Theatre 180’s production of 21 Hearts. Photo: Stewart Thorpe Photography.
StarsStarsStarsStarsStars

21 Hearts review: Theatre 180 brings wartime cruelties and courage to light

A strong ensemble cast brings audiences close to the horrors endured by Australians serving in World War II during the…

Songs of the Bulbul Aakash Odedra: a young male dancer in a white turban and robe photographed spinning with his eyes closed under a shower of red rose petals that are descending on him from above.
StarsStarsStarsStarsStars

Songs of the Bulbul review: Aakash Odedra unleashes exquisite freedoms at Perth Festival

In this dance performance, an ancient Sufi story of a caged Bulbul bird longing for escape is told with delicate…

Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters: the silhouettes of two people standing in a darkened space looking at an Aboriginal dot painting shown spot-lit on a black gallery wall.
Features

Why National Museum’s Songlines exhibition is striking kinship connections in India

A landmark exhibition of First Nations art and culture is currently finding special resonance with audiences in India.

The Wetness by Rose KB. A young white female person sitting in a water bath with her head raised, eyes closed and hands raised together in front of her. She is being sprayed from above by a thin stream of water which is pouring over her face and body.
StarsStarsStarsStarsStars

The Wetness review: cheeky aqueous encounters at FRINGE WORLD

In The Wetness, an assured performance by a solo seductress and her two water-bearing assistants proves a fun, fantastical ride.

Making of a Man, Quindell Orton: a photo of a performer lying on a stage propped up with one hand under their head, seen under a spotlight wearing an opened white shirt showing a fake silicon naked male chest costume which is tucked into to grey trousers.
StarsStarsStarsStarsStars

Making of a Man review: 'genuine' masculinities on show at FRINGE WORLD

Foundations of masculinity are unpacked in Quindell Orton's excellent ‘one man’ dance theatre work, Making of a Man.

arts boards governance: a birds eye view photo of a desk with a magnifying glass over papers, a computer mouse and calculations.
Features

Arts board management 101: arts leaders reveal what's changed

At a time when many are questioning arts boards’ governance capacities, two prominent arts leaders share their thoughts on what’s…

2026 Venice Biennale: artist Gabrielle Goliath and curator Ingrid Masondo.
News

Censorship concerns sparked as another Venice Biennale artist cancelled

South Africa’s Arts and Culture Minister has cancelled his country’s chosen project for the 2026 Venice Biennale, reigniting arts censorship…

arts board in crisis: a photo of a room with an empty board room table. It's a white oblong table with 8 executive style black chairs around it.
Analysis

Arts boards in crisis: how have we landed here, yet again?

As the Adelaide Writers Week crisis worsens, many are asking why arts boards aren’t taking note of others’ past actions.

1 2 3 29