About Me

I am a Deaf Auslan Art/ Yoga Therapist/NAATI translator/counsellor and Artist with a passion of creating, learning and sharing the love of yoga/art.  I am the founder of Auslansoul, a Deafled wellbeing and counselling services/programs that is culturally inclusive and accessible for members of our Deaf community.  I bring a wealth of experience to this space, having worked extensively as an educator, wellbeing facilitator, family support coordinator, early intervention leader, advocate and Deaf Arts leadership.

I deeply understand how the unique identities, experiences and Deaf trauma of individuals including those who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing , Deafblind, Deafplus and Late Deafened shape their lives. My belief is grounded in empowering them on their journey to mental, emotional and creative wellbeing.

I offer  ( art/yoga/wellbeing) weekly classes, workshops, retreats and one to one sessions at my lovely Thornbury studio “Auslansoul” or via online.  I am excited to be part of the Auslan wellbeing/yoga and Deaf art movement where it is not a privilege but accessible, inclusive and culturally sensitive for members of the Deaf community.

I am also available to provide Deaf Awareness Training for Hearing Yoga Teachers.  Non signers who are learning Auslan are welcome to attend her classes.

 

“We carry inside us the wonders we seek outside us.” – Rumi.

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Irene Holub is a multidisciplinary artist driven by a profound belief in the transformative potential of creative expression, enabling others to experience this. Irene’s oeuvre is distinguished by its endeavour to elicit empathy, evoke emotions and provoke contemplative experiences through an interplay of conceptual frameworks and an eclectic range of materials. Within her body of work, poetry emerges as a recurrent motif, subtly or overtly, woven together by the quest for identity and a connection with the unseen.

Patterns, connections, fragments and memories appear in Irene’s works as many layers of perceptions from within and from others. Her works have been shown at St Heliers Gallery, FLOW festivals, Women’s Gallery, Firestation Gallery, Melbourne Fringe Festivals and local contemporary events. Irene participated in Flesh After Fifty – Abbotsford Convent as the Auslan Art Translator /Artist,  Language consultant/translator for Archibald Prize, National Museum Australia/QR Rush.  Her directional ventures like “Invisible Skin” and “Chaos” illuminate her passion to the future of Deaf Arts. Her work, like “Tsunami Teacup” captures the urgency of our times, selected for the CLIMATE Gallery’ s Disability Lens on Climate Emergency, showcasing her art as a potent tool for social change.

Recent works:

  • 2017 – Art Exhibition with Asphyxia – “Looking In Looking Out” – Abbotsford
  • 2019 –  Directed “Invisible Skin” – Loop Bar, Melbourne Fringe
  • Presenter – State of Deaf Arts, Arts Centre Melbourne
  • 2021 –  “ Deaf Heart” was accepted as part of “What I wish I told you” project at Footscray Arts Centre
  • 2022 – Directed CHAOS I – projection art for White Night Bendigo 2022 and Melbourne Fringe with Ramas McRae. Presenter – Womens’ Register – Common Threads of the future of Deaf Arts.
  • 2023 – Directed CHAOS II for FLOWfestival 2023. Performed for Mirror – State Library Of Victoria 2023.  “Tsunami Teacup” CLIMATE Gallery – Disability Lens on Climate Emergency.
  • “Heart” –    Projection Art –  Create Lab – Greater Bendigo
  • 2024 – Working  on a series of five projection art films – “SPACES Longing to belong” selected to be screened at the Winter Night Screen with Counihan Gallery, Brunswick –

Deafness for Irene is a gift. She is passionate about education and empowerment. Throughout her art career and as a teacher, educator and advisor, she advocated for access to Auslan in Arts. She introduced the concept of Auslan Arts tours by Deaf Interpreters at NGV.  Provides Auslan Art Tours at the Art Gallery of Ballarat and Bendigo Art Gallery. She has worked as a curator, workshop presenter, Auslan translator, Language consultant and board director of Arts Access Victoria, Deaf Victoria and Deaf Australia.

Irene is one of the founders of FLOWfestival – Deaf Arts and worked as a creative producer for the FLOW festival 2021 – Deaf Arts, Deaf Led event. Her art is a social movement, a documentation of those influenced by the mainstream who have (un)intentionally removed the rights of people to be different, Deaf and proud.

In the words of fellow artist Lou Hall, “Irene Holub’s works take the viewer deep into the language of symbolism; she is an artist of great technical prowess with unstoppable enthusiasm and energy.” In every stroke, every frame, Irene Holub paints a vibrant narrative, inviting the world to listen, learn, and celebrate the beautiful tapestry of differences that make us human.

Irene is not just an artist; she’s a storyteller, using her art to bridge the gaps between worlds, languages, and cultures.

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