Biography
Jane Austin is a poet, writer, illustrator and dreamer who is compelled to explores her dream content through illustration, sculpture, poetry and experimental short poetry films.
Executive Member of Coast on Screen film collective, Austin combines her love of film with her passion for dreaming. She is a member of Dream Network Australia (DNA) and the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) and is a graduate of the Assisi Institute’s Jungian Dream Patterning certificate and other dream study. Her first film was a short doco, 'So happy. Together.', exploring the positive impact of belonging to a group singing harmonies. Her current project is the six-part 'Fable' series, inspired by six profound dreams. Austin premiered 'Liminal' at the MCEVF Festival in New York in 2016 and 'Animus' in 2017. She is currently in pre-production on the third work, 'Mesmeric' and her award winning screenplay, 'Trampoline'. She has written two screenplays, worked in production roles on a number of films including 'Old Mates', a six-part web series and was producer and floor manager on 'The Litmus Test', an monthly video podcast series. She has also produced a successful play reading, 'Millie's War' and a Short+Sweet festival-winning live performance of 'Liminal'. Holding a BA in Literature, she is a published poet in Australia and Ireland, holds TESOL teaching qualifications and has worked in the Adult Migrant language teaching sector as a teacher, coordinator, resource developer and curriculum designer. She has also worked in corporate and marketing communications roles in Education & Training and for two years as a script editor in news and current affairs at ABC, SBS and TCN Channel 9. She was Academic Manager at NAISDA Dance College for 10 years, supporting the development of an innovative arts-based curriculum for Indigenous Australian students. ‘Liminal’ was her first experimental poetry film - a bricolage of spoken words, dance and paper cut animation which premiered at the MCEVF festival in New York, accompanied by a Directors chat. ‘Liminal’ has also screened in Sydney, Darwin and the Netherlands, and soon will screen as part of the St Magnus Conference in Scotland, April 2026. Austin moved to the Top End of Australia to work at Charles Darwin University as a Curriculum Specialist: Pathways and Course Innovation. Austin is also PhD student using arts-based research and auto ethnography to explore the power of symbols, imaginal content and place-based dreaming through different media. Her films 'Dreaming the White Goddess' and 'Anamnesis' were showcased at Darwin Visual Art's 'The Female Gaze' Exhibition, 2023, along with 'Liminal'. Her sculpture ‘Medusa Emerges Under Trying Circumstances’ was exhibited at the juried Dream Art Exhibition, at the International Association for the Study of Dreams Conference, June 2025. Austin’s ‘Medusa Emerges Under Trying Circumstances’ sculpture and poetry film also showcased at Darwin Visual Arts Rinsing // Falling exhibition in September 2025. Creative Work & Presentations
Publications
Fine Art Exhibitions
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