Michael Chew
Mr Michael Chew
Founder and Trainer
Friends of Kolkata
Michael Chew is an environmental campaigner, community cultural development practitioner, and freelance photographer. Holding degrees in Fine Art, Physics, and Humanities, he brings wide ranging ideas to art and community projects.
As co-founder of the Melbourne Environmental Arts Festival, Michael created an engaging multi-venue community festival that both celebrated and explored nature, as well as our complex relationship with it. He also believes that encouraging future-oriented thinking is essential for the creation of a just and sustainable world, and has initiated various creative projects around this theme.
Co-founding the NGO Friends of Kolkata, Michael has coordinated international volunteer programmes abroad, and has taught photography to disadvantaged children in India and Indonesia. He views overseas volunteer exchange programmes as a powerful way of engaging Australian communities in the social and economic issues in Asia.
Michael currently supports Friends of Kolkata’s exchange programmes and is developing a model sustainable community space in the Docklands with Future Canvas Inc.