About me
Renee Liang is a poet, playwright, paediatrician and fiction writer. She is involved in organising community arts events such as artistic blind-dating initiative Metonymy and Funky Oriental Beats (FOB), a platform for Kiwi-Asian performing artists. She is a regular contributor to The Big Idea, a website linking NZ's arts community.
In her own writing, Renee has been published in the New Zealand Listener, JAAM, Blackmail Press, Tongue in your Ear, Sidestream and Magazine.
Following the success of her 2009 play "Lantern", in September 2011 she will be premiering "The First Asian AB" in Auckland, then touring to Wellington as part of the 'rugby' season at BATS theatre. “The Bone Feeder” also premieres in Auckland as a professional production in November 2011.
Renee is currently leading the Asian Advisory Group for Growing Up in New Zealand based at the School of Population Health (University of Auckalnd), which seeks to benefit all NZ children by finding out what impacts on their development. For her activities in arts, medicine and science, Renee was named a Sir Peter Blake Emerging Leader in 2010.
Why am I doing the LIFEWISE Big Sleepout?
I hate the idea of feeling helpless, and then embarrassed at my own reaction, when I meet someone living on the street. So I’m doing this to help myself, really. I know that spending just one night out in the open won’t really give me insight into what it means to be homeless – after all I’ll be secure in the knowledge that a warm home awaits me the next night. But at least this way I can raise some awareness and understanding, if not in others, then myself. I’m most looking forward to hearing the stories from homeless people themselves – I’m sure they have a lot to say!
