Here’s a lil short film that I made with some friends in the desert outside of Las Vegas.
Our prompt was “Boo!” and our tool was a polaroid camera with a limit of 20 shots. Playing around with my friend and fellow artist, Greg Dutcher, we made this short film.
Hello! This is my first blog post on my site under my new name! For those who know me as Pam Austin and are confused as to whose site this is… I’m changing my last name from Austin to Keleigh (pronounced “Kelly”).
The name belonged to my sister, Alana Keleigh. It was originally her middle name, and after a series of life changes, family reshuffles, etc. she decided to make it her last name. She was an environmental scientist, a lover of karaoke and punk rock, and one of the coolest people I’ve ever known. A lot of the reason why I do creative work comes from her: through her love of music, she showed me that art could be an outlet for complicated feelings and an avenue for creating connection and community.
Alana died by suicide in April of 2021 and by taking her name, I’m choosing to carry forward the pieces of her that she gifted to me: her bravery and ingenuity, her passion and tenacity, and her sheer irreducibility.
So please bear with me through the messy, complicated process of changing my name, and honouring the legacy of my older sister, Alana.
