Dr Ali Sumner — Journey to Complexity Reality

Some conversations arrive exactly when they are needed.

In this episode of Beyond Survival, we welcome Dr Ali Sumner, a Perth-based researcher, consultant and thinker whose work explores how people and organisations can learn to think more effectively in complex environments.

Ali has spent decades working with the thinking tools developed by Edward de Bono, including the well-known Six Thinking Hats and the broader discipline of lateral thinking.

At the table we explore:

🧠 Why many leadership models are failing

🎩 Edward de Bono’s thinking tools and the Six Thinking Hats

🌍 Complexity thinking and cooperation in the 21st century

⚡ The difference between adversarial thinking and parallel thinking

🕊️ Why the way we have been taught to think may be part of the problem

Ali also speaks about her forthcoming book:

📚 Journey to Complexity Reality — A new worldview and thinking tools to enable global cooperation in the 21st century

The book proposes a shift away from adversarial Western thinking toward more cooperative and adaptive approaches to complex systems and leadership.

This episode moves across philosophy, systems thinking, creativity, leadership and social change — the kinds of conversations that feel increasingly necessary in our times.

🍰 As always at Beyond Survival, food is part of the atmosphere of the table.

Recipes from the episode are shared on our Substack.

For artists, thinkers and people who don’t feel at home in fast culture, Beyond Survival is a place for slow conversation, counter-rhythms and lived experience.

Hosted by

👩 Geraldine & 👩 Kelli

Featuring 🐾 Gizmo the Superhost

Produced by 🎬 Stephanie Davis

📍 Perth, Western Australia

Beyond Survival - Podcast - Complexity Thinking - Edward de Bono- Leadership - Philosophy - Systems Thinking - Creative Thinking - Complexity Leadership - Slow Culture - Artists and Thinkers - StudioZer0 Arts

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Western Australian singer-songwriter Elk Bell is heading into a recording studio in East Perth to begin work on her third full-length album.

Unlike previous projects where arrangements were mapped out in advance, this album begins in a more open place — with acoustic guitar, voice, and the songs themselves as the starting point.

The studio process will unfold collaboratively, allowing instrumentation and atmosphere to grow organically from the material.

Alongside recording, Elk has a series of upcoming performances and collaborations including shows with Glen Musto, a Southwest tour with Hugh Jennings, and a support performance for Killing Frost at Lyrics Underground.

Sometimes music begins not with a plan…

but with curiosity.

We look forward to hearing what emerges from Album No.3.

StudioZer0 | Beyond Survival

Art • Spirit • Culture

A space for artists, thinkers and those who prefer the slower rhythms of culture.

Music - Singer-Songwriters - Australian Music - Artist Watch - Independent Music - Creative Process

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In this conversation with Perth multidisciplinary artist Carl Gopal, we trace the threads between war and poetry, trauma and resurrection, information warfare and medieval epic song.

Carl speaks of:

• Civilian war artistry

• The AIDS crisis and formative rupture

• The politics of exhibition culture in Australia

• Quantum physics as metaphor and meaning

• Reclaiming joy through fashion and play

This is an episode about survival and what lies beyond it.

For those who live in slow culture.

For those who resist algorithmic flattening.

For artists who know their practice is not content — but continuity.

🎧 Also Includes:

🌬 Ginger Fluff

🍋 Lemon Bars

🧀 Brazilian Cheese Puffs

Full manual recipes click here!

Beyond Survival, Carl Gopal, Perth arts, Australian art podcast, multidisciplinary artist, performance art, art and politics, slow culture, counter rhythm, civilian war artist, art as activism, trauma and art, resurrection metaphor, storytelling and physics, StudioZer0 Arts

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artsmartstudiozer0.substack.com/subscribe

Grace Tame — survivor advocate, law reform campaigner, and 2021 Australian of the Year — speaks at a Sydney rally during the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

Known for leading the #LetHerSpeak campaign that changed Tasmanian law and empowered survivors to tell their stories, Tame has since broadened her activism to include global human rights issues.

Her speech — and the chant “From Gadigal to Gaza, globalise the intifada” — has sparked debate across Australia about protest language, political symbolism, and the responsibility of public figures in moments of international conflict.

The word intifada is an Arabic term meaning “uprising” or “shaking off” and historically refers to Palestinian uprisings. Its meaning and implications are debated in contemporary political discourse.

Further Reading:

Grace Tame – My Story

https://www.gracetame.com.au/my-story

Grace Tame – Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Tame

Intifada – Definition & History

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intifada

This episode is shared as part of an ongoing conversation about activism, dissent, and civic expression — for artists, thinkers, and those navigating culture beyond the headlines.

Grace Tame - Australian politics - Activism - Human rights Protest - Free speech - Public discourse - Global conflict - Contemporary Australia - Political culture

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artsmartstudiozer0.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Beyond Survival, Geraldine and Kelli explore the idea of counter rhythms — the quiet, steady practices that resist acceleration culture without becoming reactionary.

From Portland’s singing protester to monks walking for peace.

From tree communication research to collective meditation experiments.

From Portuguese custard tarts to orange-ginger walnut cake.

We ask:

• How do we stay centred in the storm?

• How do we resist without hardening?

• What does cultural coherence actually feel like?

We move between global unrest and personal grounding — weaving breath, art, humour and environmental science into a conversation about stabilising the human field.

🐾 And yes — Gizmo remains the true superhost.

🎵 Artist Watch

This week we spotlight Deva Premal & Miten, pioneers of bringing Eastern mantra into Western consciousness through chant, kirtan and meditation. Their music has become a counter rhythm for millions seeking grounding in turbulent times.

In This Episode

• Counter rhythm as cultural resistance

• The Portland protests & creative dissent

• Tree communication & environmental intelligence

• Collective meditation experiments

• Donut economics & alternative thinking

• The power of breath, humour and presence

🎙️ Beyond Survival is a hybrid podcast blending art, spirit, culture & activism — for artists, thinkers and those who don’t feel at home in fast culture.

Produced by StudioZer0 in Perth, Western Australia.

A glocal meeting space for slow conversation in accelerated times.

Art - Culture - Spirituality - Activism - Meditation - Slow Living - Podcast

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artsmartstudiozer0.substack.com/subscribe

Each episode of Beyond Survival is a hybrid conversation where art, spirit, culture, and activism meet — from the deeply personal to the quietly global.

In this Artist Watch episode, we are joined by interdisciplinary artist Tineke Van der Eecken, whose practice bridges art, science, ecology, and storytelling. Known for her extraordinary corrosion-cast sculptures — transforming the interior structures of animal organs into precious metal forms — Tineke’s work honours both the beauty of biological systems and the fragility of endangered species.

Together we explore her journey from Belgium to Australia, her collaborations with scientists and institutions including SymbioticA and Murdoch University, and her commitment to creating a sculptural archive of vulnerable ecosystems. The conversation also moves into writing and lived experience — including her book Traverse, a 350 km trek through Madagascar that reshaped both landscape and life.

This episode is for artists, thinkers, and those who don’t feel at home with fast culture — for anyone drawn to art as lived inquiry, slow attention, and creative practice beyond survival.

Beyond Survival • Artist Watch • Contemporary Art • Art & Science • Creative Practice • Sculpture • Environmental Art • Slow Culture • Counter Rhythms

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The Rod Manikam Experience isn’t about fame, fast success, or film-school shortcuts. It’s about what happens when you keep showing up.

In this episode of Beyond Survival, we sit at the long table with Rod Manikam to talk independent filmmaking the slow way — built on trust, collaboration, shared history, and a commitment to people over process. From decades of working outside mainstream systems to building a creative ecosystem that lasts, this conversation is as much about life as it is about film.

This episode is for artists, filmmakers, and thinkers who don’t feel at home in fast culture — those interested in longevity, creative resilience, and making meaningful work without burning out.

🎧 Listen or watch Beyond Survival

Available on Substack, YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts

🌱 Support StudioZer0 Arts on Patreon

If you value long-form conversation, independent culture, and slow creative practice, Patreon helps us keep Beyond Survival independent and accessible.

Join us at: patreon.com/StudioZer0ArtsInc

🌿 Join the StudioZer0 community

Follow, subscribe, or support the project via Substack and StudioZer0 Arts Inc.

Pull up a chair. The stories keep evolving.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artsmartstudiozer0.substack.com/subscribe

Season 2 opens with a return to conversation, ritual, and resistance.

Beyond Survival is a hybrid podcast blending art, spirit, culture & activism — moving from the deeply personal to the unapologetically political. This is a space for artists, thinkers, philosophers, and those who don’t feel at home in fast culture.

In Episode 1, hosts Geraldine Pillinger and Kelli Sharp (with Superhost Gizmo 🐾) reflect on what it means to live beyond survival in 2026 — through creative practice, self-care rituals, cultural critique, and grounded political awareness.

In this episode:

* Season 2 vision & upcoming guests

* Artist Watch: Elk Bell (Tenille Elkins) — grassroots WA singer-songwriter

* Food as ritual: gluten-free cinnamon donuts & Mum’s quiche

* Kelli’s Shorts: global headlines & cultural rupture

* Daily protection & self-care practices

* Arts funding, freedom of speech & progressive local leadership

* Adelaide Writers Festival controversy

* Reading from Pearls of Wisdom from an Artist’s Studio

🎵 Featured music:

SWAY (opening) & Holiday Island (closing) — Elk Bell

This episode continues our Horror to Hope thread — staying fluid, focused, and free.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artsmartstudiozer0.substack.com/subscribe

We stand in solidarity with our Australian Jewish community.

In the days following the events at Bondi Beach on 14 December 2025, this short reflection holds space for grief, care, and the quiet strength of community. Across Australia, people gathered — lifesavers standing hand in hand at the water’s edge, synchronised across time zones — offering a simple, powerful gesture of unity.

On Hanukkah, we choose light over fear.

This piece is not about spectacle. It is about presence, remembrance, and the moments when people stand together without needing words.

Shared from all of us at StudioZer0 • Australia.

* Beyond Survival

* StudioZer0 Arts

* Solidarity

* Hanukkah

* Jewish Community

* Remembrance

* Community

* Reflection

* Light Over Fear

* Australia

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artsmartstudiozer0.substack.com/subscribe

🎄✨ Xmas Treesome + Frivolity closes out Season One of Beyond Survival with laughter, reflection, and a generous helping of festive chaos.

Recorded in Perth, Western Australia, this end-of-year episode brings the StudioZer0 table together for a playful, unscripted conversation — part seasonal wrap-up, part creative exhale. Between clinking glasses, shared food, and moments of genuine tenderness, we reflect on a year of making, surviving, and staying curious in uncertain times.

This is an episode about connection over perfection — about what happens when artists, thinkers, and friends sit down without an agenda and let the moment breathe. Expect warmth, mischief, cultural asides, and the kind of conversations that only happen when the year is winding down and the rules loosen a little.

Beyond Survival is a space for artists, slow thinkers, and people who don’t quite belong to fast culture — where art, spirit, culture, and activism meet around the same table.

Thank you for being part of our first season. We’ll see you in the new year. 🕯️🥂

Beyond Survival StudioZer0 Arts Christmas Special End of Season Creative Conversation Artists in Conversation Art & Culture Slow Culture Community Reflection Festive Frivolity Perth Creatives

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artsmartstudiozer0.substack.com/subscribe