Tim Cole and BaoBao Chen, “Small Island Big Song”

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Tim is an Australian creative who has been working on cross-cultural arts projects with music at the heart since producing Not Drowning Waving’s album and DVD ‘Tabaran’ in Papua New Guinea.

​Skills developed whilst studying film making at Melbourne University during the day, and producing music at night, which led to a career of equal parts film & music, for artists & events including Archie Roach, The Australian Indigenous Music Awards, Proof & Bran Nue Dae (film soundtracks), Not Drowning Waving, My Friend the Chocolate Cake, The Sing Sing Concerts, Shellie Morris and the Borroloola Songwomen and Circus Oz with 8 years of international touring with seasons on Broadway NYC & West End London.

His reputation in Indigenous arts led to him to Alice Springs as Senior Music Producer for CAAMA - Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association. It was the experiences here recording traditional songlines whilst hearing the 5th IPCC report, which led to the founding of ‘Small Island Big Song’.

Tim holds a BEd. in Media Arts from Melbourne University an A.D. in Music Production from the University of Victoria in Australia and has received a Churchill fellowship and invitation to speak on climate change and the arts at the United Nations, APAP - NYC, WOMEX. Along with industry recognition through numerous awards for projects he has played a key creative roll on.

Having negotiated, booked, planned and tour-managed several successful international concert tours across Europe, the USA, Asia and Oceania, involving up to 13 artists from 8 countries, whilst releasing a music album, creating an interactive website and bringing a feature film to screen, BaoBao now finds herself as one of Taiwan’s most prominent producers of cross-cultural arts projects.

With a B.A. in Business Management from YuanZe University in Taiwan, BaoBao has rea­­­lised Small Island Big Song project from the grassroots up, fundraising through crowdfunding, philanthropic bodies and arts grants along with initiating the project’s Fair Trade Music structure and recognition of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

As a vivid storyteller and fluent in English and Mandarin, she has a social media following of 150K+, and has been invited to present at TEDx, APAP - NYC, WOMEX, FestPac - Guam, Peace Boat - Japan, World Stage Design, Taipei Arts Festival - Taiwan, Green School - Bali, Stanford Univ, Boston Univ, and numerous film and music festivals.

She was brought up by a vegan family on an organic farm and was a member of the Roots and Shoots program of the Jane Goodall Foundation. It was her skills in arts management and her love for nature that founded Small Island Big Song. She has been instrumental in the project’s success to date and is busy at the laptop right now laying the future pathways.