Research and Publications
Jorge Leiva is an interdisciplinary researcher whose work spans arts education, cultural diplomacy, and socially engaged practice. His research explores how international creative partnerships can foster cultural education and mutual understanding—particularly between Australia and Colombia. His Master's thesis at the University of Melbourne examines the role of artistic and educational collaborations in promoting cross-cultural exchange, highlighting the value of independent initiatives, festivals, and cultural diplomacy in building sustainable relationships.
Jorge’s broader academic interests include:
International creative partnerships for cultural education and promotion
The intersection of technology and tradition in contemporary art
Multi-arts performance and experimental processes
The role of the arts in mental health and wellbeing
The inclusion of Aboriginal and pluricultural perspectives in visual arts education in Victoria
His published work includes contributions to poetry, visual arts, literacy education, and arts catalogues, and his research has been cited in scholarly texts on Australia–Latin America relations and media arts. His academic and artistic practice continues to advocate for inclusion, dialogue, and the transformative power of the arts.
One of Jorge’s key fields of research explores international creative partnerships for cultural education and promotion, with a particular focus on fostering artistic and educational exchanges between Australia and Colombia.
His Master's thesis explores how artistic and educational partnerships between Australia and Colombia can promote cultural understanding, social inclusion, and creative exchange. Through interviews with diplomats, artists, and cultural leaders, the research identifies the potential, challenges, and impact of cross-cultural collaborations—highlighting landmark initiatives such as Australia’s participation in the Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro de Bogotá and the Mi Amigo Internacional school exchange program.
The study provides a roadmap for building meaningful partnerships through shared artistic goals, community engagement, and government collaboration. It also supports the ongoing development of Jorge’s international arts organisation peopleartpeople, which fosters intercultural dialogue and educational exchange.
Click the title below to read the full thesis.
EL TARRO
Between 2010 and the early 2020s, EL TARRO, created by Claudia Escobar Vega and Jorge Leiva, became a platform for experimental art that took form into a platform where new Latin Australian artists arriving in Melbourne performed and connected with each other and with audiences. During its history, EL TARRO played an important role in the development of a community immersed in a new wave of Latin-Australian contemporary art in Melbourne.
It worked with more than 300 artists and cultural leaders presenting over 40 sessions, and engaging audiences of over 10,000, mostly in Melbourne, but also in Sydney, Buenos Aires, Mexico, Berlin, Bogota, San Francisco, Cesena and Venice.
EL TARRO’s work was widely recognised across its history. In 2010, it was officially selected as a Leading Project across the Southern Hemisphere by The South Project Inc, and also featured in the exhibition From Latin American Stories to Victorian History: Building Bridges (2018) by Latin Stories Australia. Additionally, it received a City of Yarra Grant (2018) and the Pozible Gigs Prize (2013) for the gig with most supporters.
In 2020 it released the report ‘Who is going to look this way? A glimpse of Latin Australian contemporary artists in Melbourne towards the 2020s’.
Visit peopleartpeople
Selected Publications
Leiva, J., Escobar Vega, C. (2020) Who is going to look this way? A snapshot of contemporary artists in Melbourne towards the 2020s, EL TARRO
Leiva, J. (2016). Posesiones, Sueño y Esperanza. In Aguilera & Chipkiewicz A Voz Limpia Vol. 1
Poetry in Spanish, National Library of Australia, Melbourne, p. 42-45.
Leiva, J. (2005). ESSL. In Britto, J.C. Getting Ahead, Grupo Editorial Fenix,. Bogota.
Baldi, C. & Leiva, L. (2003). Literacy Times, 1(2), City College of New York, New York.
CATALOGUES
Heartlands Refugee Fine Art Price 2011 Coordinator, fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne, 2011 pg. 52
Creating Liminal Spaces, Teacher-Artmaker Project, National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication, Meblourn, 2016. Pg. 53
Spectrum, Synergy Gallery, Melbourne, 2011,
V Art Biennial de Suba, Centro Comercial Bulevar Niza, Bogota. 2005. pg. 14
IV Art Biennial de Suba, Centro Comercial Bulevar Niza, Bogota. 2003. pg. 14
III Art Biennial of Suba, Francisco Jose de Caldas Library. 2001. pg. 36
Igualmente Diferentes, Centro Cultural Santa Cruz, Bogota. 2001, pg. 1
Academic Citations
Carr, B. & Minns, J. (2014). Australia and Latin America: Challenges and Opportunities in the New Millennium, ANU Press, Canberra,
Rivera, M. (2013). The Outsider's Guide experience: journalism and art in digital societies, RMIT Press, Melbourne.
Academic Research
Leiva, J. (2010). International Creative Partnerships for Cultural Education and Promotion: The Case Between Colombia and Australia. Unpublished Thesis