Creative Australia has announced the first 35 recipients of its new Creative Leadership Program, supporting leadership development for artists and arts workers across career stages.
Running from July 2024 to October 2025, this program will offer in-person and online connections including workshops, peer-to-peer mentoring, keynote presentations, and resources to support self-directed training and development.
Across the program participants will connect to Country, reflect deeply, be creative, share perspectives, develop ideas with each other. They will hear from respected Elders, artists and arts workers who are driving change in our arts and creative communities.
Meet the 2024 Creative Leadership Program recipients:
Alex Craig (They/Them) is a Queer, Blind dancer, performance maker and access consultant living and working on Gatigal land. Alex has worked with Critical Path, Fayen D’Evie, PACT, Gabriela Green Olea, Inner West Council and UTP. Most recently they have been collaborating with Jeremy Lowrencev and Imogen Yang, continuing development of a movement-based work exploring home and belonging through the sharing of personal lived histories (Moving Ideas Residency, ReadyMade Works, 2024).
Alice Cadwell is the Festival Director for the National Circus Festival and the General Manager/Executive Producer at Spaghetti Circus. With over 25 years of experience, Alice has worked in various roles in circus arts companies, including Circus Oz, The Famous Spiegeltent, Circus Monoxide, and NICA. Her happy place is behind the wheel of the Spaghetti Circus bus, driving the kids around and making sure everyone is well-fed.
Andrew Varano is the Director of sweet pea, a commercial gallery in Boorloo (Perth) which represents Western Australian. Previously he worked as a curator and exhibition manager at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts and has also been involved in the founding and running of artist run initiatives including OK Gallery, Pet Projects and Cool Change Contemporary. He currently sits on the board of Art on the Move, a visual arts touring agency, and on the PICA artist advisory committee.
Bobbi Jean Henry is an actor and theatre maker. Bobbi is a Noongar woman from the Southwest of WA. Bobbi has completed Masters in Performing Arts at from Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (ECU) and is currently the Associate Director of Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company. Alongside directing and producing for the company, Bobbi supports facilitation of Noongar language as part of Yirra Yaakin Theatre’s Ngalaka Daa Ensemble – a collaboration with WA Youth Theatre Company.
Catherine Jones is a creative industries leader. Between 2018-2014 she was the APAM Office Director, overseeing Victoria’s contract to deliver APAM. Prior to taking up the role at APAM Catherine was the General Manager of Arts House, Melbourne’s centre for contemporary and experimental performance. Before joining the City of Melbourne, Catherine held executive positions in some of Melbourne’s leading contemporary performance companies including Chunky Move, Malthouse Theatre and Arena Theatre Company.
Colin Robert Kinchela is a Gomeroi man born and raised on his ancestral and unceded country before moving to the city to start his career. Colin works as a Policy Lead in the Policy and Partnerships team at Create NSW, the state arts funding body in NSW. His guidance and training work with the organisation, Our Race has enabled organisations and NFP’s to strengthen their engagements with storytellers, value lived-experience as expertise, cultural safety protocols and engagement practices. He lives on Burramattagal Lands and continues his decades long support for arts in western Sydney.
Daen John Sansbury-Smith (bio coming)
Daniele Constance is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on creating participatory, inclusive and socially driven works, currently working across the lands and waters of Kombumerri Country, Yugambeh Language Region on the Gold Coast and Bundjalung Country in northern NSW. She creates artistic works that draw from direct experience, site-responsive and community engaged practices; often using contemporary performance, dance, installation, sound, community and/or audience participation.
A proud Kaurna and Narungga woman from South Australia, Dearna Newchurch is inspired by the intersection of art, culture and social innovation. Throughout her professional career, Dearna has strived to increase the visibility and capacity of First Nations arts and creatives through innovative and impactful programs, from producing public art events and programs to leading strategic objectives within the sector. Central to her work is the advocacy for creating and holding space that celebrates diverse voices and perspectives.
Ebony Wightman is Dharug based artist, creative leader and disability advocate with a passion for systems thinking, social justice and access for all. In her arts practice, Ebony is inspired by the immersive power of created environments. Utilizing techniques in sculpture, painting, illustration and ceramics, Ebony’s contemporary art practice communicates and explores her lived experience as an autistic person with complex health needs and chronic illness, as well as the intersectional rights and identities of d/Deaf and Disabled communities. Ebony is a co-founder of We Are Studios, the first 100% disability-led arts studio for Western Sydney Artists with Disability.
Elverina Johnson (Bunya Badjil – good woman) is a Gunganji Gurugulu woman of Yarrabah from her grandfather’s lineage and of Yidindji Gimuy from her grandmother’s lineage. She is a direct descendant of King Menmuny of the Gungganji Nation of Yarrabah and King Yinnie of the Gimuy Walubara nation. Elverina has been involved in the arts and creative industries for over 30 years as a multi-disciplinary artist in visual and performing arts. She is a recipient of major civic awards, such as the Rona Tranby Trust Award for her work recording and preserving the oral histories of Australian Indigenous elders, and the state of Queensland’s Smart Women/Smart State Award for Community Innovation.
Fayen d’Evie is an artist, publisher, access advocate, and scholar. Her projects are often collaborative, inviting audiences into sensorial readings of artworks, exhibitions, and texts. A lifetime of fluctuating vision has spurred creative research into blindness as a critical and imaginative position. Fayen is a co-founder of the Access Lab and Library (ALL). Working in partnership with artists and presenting organisations, ALL prototypes methods and tools for access beyond baseline compliance; access that aligns with individual and collective ethics and creative practices. Fayen is also the founder of independent imprint 3-ply.
Geoffrey Lim is the Executive Director of Cypher Culture, a non-profit organisation empowering street dance communities and cultures to thrive. He has 20 years of experience as a deafblind performing artist and community leader. He is a child of Cambodian refugees. Geoffrey has eight years of corporate banking experience specialising in leadership, risk, and financial analysis. He is a board member of Arts Access Victoria, alumnus of the Observership Program and Social Impact Hub, and sits on the City of Melbourne’s Disability Advisory Committee. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws from The University of Melbourne.
Guy Ritani (bio to come).
Jade Turner is Eastern Arrernte (maternal side) from Mparntwe (Alice Springs). Jade is currently working as the Project Manager, Tarnanthi Art Fair at the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA). She has a Bachelor of Archaeology, which she undertook while undertaking a Cadetship at the South Australian Museum. Following this she has worked at different museums and galleries across various roles in curatorial, exhibition coordination and project management. She has a wide variety of experience and insight from her time working in arts and cultural institutions and has a strong passion for confronting the colonial legacy of these places and people.
Jannah Beth is a dedicated music advocate & artist and Founder of Offbeat Collective, a thriving music hub in Marrickville, Sydney. During lockdown, she hand-built Offbeat HQ’s six production rooms with Co-Founder Drew Bisset, fostering collaboration among hundreds of artists. In 2023, she launched ONE OFF TRAKS to empower female, trans, and non-binary songwriters and producers. Previously at Elefant Traks, they shaped the label’s roster and managed projects, while at Mood Media, they curated playlists for global brands. Jannah’s expertise spans songwriting & performing, talent development, and event programming, highlighted by speaking engagements at SXSW and serving as an Observer on ARIA’s board.
Jasmin Sheppard is a contemporary dancer, choreographer and director, a Tagalaka Aboriginal woman with Irish, Chinese and Hungarian ancestry. Jasmin spent 12 years with Bangarra Dance Theatre. Her choreographic works include: ‘MACQ’ (Bangarra Dance Theatre), ‘Choice Cut’ (Yirramboi festival and Toronto’s ‘Fall For Dance North’ Festival, 2019.), “The Complication of Lyrebirds” (2021, Sydney Festival; Campbelltown Arts Centre.), “Value For Money” (GUTS Dance alongside Sara Black, 2021), ‘Given Unto Thee’ (Sydney Dance Company’s New Breed 2021). Jasmin is the First Nations artist-curator at Critical Path where she curates a diverse program for First Nations choreographers. Jasmin is the inaugural Balnaves’ Artist in Residence at Sydney Dance Company across 2024.
Jessica Moody is an independent creative, producer, writer, facilitator, and consultant based in the outer suburbs. Her professional practice prioritises a ‘nourish-to-flourish’ practice driven by curiosity and beauty. Jessica’s work focuses on lasting connections that ensure safer practices for deaf creatives and audiences. Her professional highlights include collaborations with Polyglot Theatre, Victorian College of the Arts, Orange Productions, Victorian Opera, Malthouse Theatre, Director’s Lab, and Chunky Move. Jessica is co-founder of Deafferent Theatre and directed their award-winning productions. She also runs Studio Modig, a deaf/neurodivergent-led studio for creatives and allies.
kelli mccluskey is an award winning artist who co-founded pvi collective in 1998. based on boorloo, western australia, kelli is a passionate advocate for emergent artforms and social practice, regularly speaking on national and international panels and symposia. kelli facilitates playfully participatory discussions on the critical role of arts in society. in 2008 kelli co-initiated cia studios [centre for interdisciplinary arts] a perth based incubator space for experimental practice. kelli is a creative australia peer, a member of #feminist educators against sexism [feas], a climate champion for better futures australia and a troublemaker at heart. good trouble that is.
Kelly Blumberg has extensive experience working in the Northern Territory performing arts sector and is currently engaged as the General Manager at Corrugated Iron Youth Arts. Prior to this she spent six years as Venue Manager at Darwin’s iconic Brown’s Mart Theatre. Other previous roles have included production manager and stage manager with some of Darwin’s leading arts company’s such as Tracks Inc, Darwin Theatre Company, NT Dance Company, NT School of Music and Darwin Entertainment Centre. She is driven by a desire to ensure that the arts is accessible to all.
Australian songwriter Laura Imbruglia is a restless musician with a broad musical palate. She has released four albums covering folk to throat-tearing punk, dark country, psychedelic rock and everything in between. Laura has also been known to dabble in comedy writing and video production via her arts web series “Amateur Hour”. Outside of her creative pursuits, she’s built a professional career in programming, program management, and event production, with roles at Music Victoria and, more recently, Mona Foma. When Laura’s not making art, she’s working behind the scenes to support those who are.
Lauren Mullings is a multidisciplinary artist and producer. She has spent more than two decades designing interventions aimed at greater equity in the creative industries. Her Afro-Caribbean mixed heritage is the foundation for many of her critical responses as an artist and collaborator, and heavily influences her obsession with dynamics; from the subtleties of power to the role of music and art of resistance in transcending barriers and uniting people. She is currently the CEO at MAV, an arts organisation which champions ‘arts as diverse as our people’ and supports pathways for the cultural leaders of the future.
Luke D King, a Deaf artist on Wurundjeri land, is a multidisciplinary creator with a VCA honours degree (2015). His art includes paper-based works focused on portraiture, dance, and performance, showcased at Tinning Street, Bus Projects, and Counihan Gallery. King has been involved in the 2018 Next Wave and All School LAB (2024). He advocates for Deaf artists and is a key figure in Naarm’s Deaf community. As a teacher, mentor, and consultant, he works with Arts House, Chunky Move, and Creative Victoria.
Miranda Wheen is an independent dancer and choreographer based on Dharug country in Sydney. Her practice is rooted in contemporary dance, but also spans areas of intercultural collaboration, improvisation, teaching, community engaged arts, advocacy and dramaturgy for dance. She is an Associate Artist with Marrugeku, and Co-Artistic Director of Dance Makers Collective. She has collaborated with a wide range of artists and companies including; Martin Del Amo, Stalker Theatre, Mirramu Dance Company, Shaun Parker and Company, Julie-Anne Long and the Tsai Jui-Yueh Dance Foundation in Taiwan.
Naima Ibrahim is a writer, community worker and early childhood professional. Her work has appeared in various publications, and she has been shortlisted for the Kat Muscat Fellowship, Liminal Prize and Monash Prize in Creative Writing.
Nathan Stoneham is a theatre artist, CACD facilitator, and creative producer who has been creating contemporary, socially engaged arts processes and performances across the Asia Pacific region for over 15 years. Recently Nathan was an Artistic Directorate member at Next Wave, and an Australian Volunteer at the Arts Council of Mongolia. He is a recipient of Creative Australia’s Kirk Robson Award and the Brisbane City Council Lord Mayors Creative Fellowship, and holds a Bachelor of Creative Industries, a Bachelor of Education, and a Social Work Masters. Nathan’s practice explores transcultural and queer approaches to making art and friends.
Rebecca Slater is a publishing and arts professional based in Naarm (Melbourne). Her work across the literature sector includes roles at Allen & Unwin, Left Bank Literature, the Stella Prize, and Australia Reads. In 2021, she co-founded the Open Book internship, which aims to foster cultural diversity in the Australian publishing industry.
Samantha Faulkner is a Torres Strait Islander (Badu and Moa Islands) and Aboriginal (Yadhaigana and Wuthathi) woman. She is the proud author of Life Blong Ali Drummond: A Life in the Torres Strait, (2007), Editor of Pamle: Torres Strait Islanders in Canberra (2018) and Growing Up Torres Strait Islander in Australia, (2024). Her poetry and short stories are published nationally and internationally. She is member, ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Network; Director, MARION; Treasurer, First Nations Australia Writers Network, ACT Torres Strait Islander Corporation and Us Mob Writing Group. She was the inaugural Torres Strait Islander curator for the 2023 Brisbane Writers Festival.
Sam Routledge is a director and creator of contemporary puppetry, with a strong record of innovation in the form. He has been the Artistic Director of Terrapin Puppet Theatre since November 2012. Sam has created and co-created 20 original works including six international touring productions; Men Of Steel (2006), I Think I Can (2013), You and Me and The Space Between (2016), Infinite Monster (2017), Anthem Anthem Revolution (2022) and The Paper Escaper (2025). Collectively these productions have played in 11 countries including Japan, China, South Korea, New Zealand, USA and the UK.
Sasha Bradbury is an arts manager with national and international experience in the live performance industry. She has worked with a wide range of companies, events and clients including NORPA, RISING Festival, Arts Centre Melbourne, Trestle Theatre Company (UK), The Helpmann Awards, Australian Chamber Orchestra, The Australian Ballet & Nederlands Dans Theater.
Simon John Brian Cook is a Production Manager with 20 years of experience in theatre, contemporary dance, music, and multi-arts festivals. Originally from North Queensland, Simon is one of the Mamu people of that region. Simon began his career as a lighting operator and technician before moving on to work in various roles, including Relighter, Head of Lighting, Technical Manager, Production Manager, and many hats in between. He has played a key role in the developing, presentation, and touring of Blakdance produced works since 2020.
Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa is a writer, performer, producer and cultural leader based in Boorloo. Her work as a multi-form artist for the last decade has been recognised at the Performing Arts WA Awards (2020), Mona Brand Writing Awards (2022), WA Multicultural Awards (2022) and Australian Sikh Awards (2023). Sukhjit was a story-telling trainer at the Centre for Stories (2018-23). Sukhjit was selected to participate in a Broadway producing program with Theatre Producers of Colour in New York (2023) and her debut novel will be released in early 2025 with Upswell Publishing. Sukhjit is currently the Executive Director of The Blue Room Theatre.
Thomas Patrick Campbell (he/him) is an artist, writer and fundraising professional based in Kamberri/Canberra. A Kadazan/Australian man, his practice traces muscle memories across history from Scottish kings and Sabahan chiefs, and embeds them through large-scale textile installations, poetry and performance. Tom is the Development Manager at the National Gallery of Australia. Between 2017-2022, Tom worked with Community Shapers, a values-based fundraising agency. Tom has exhibited across Kamberri/Canberra, Gadigal Nura/Sydney, Naarm/Melbourne and nipaluna/Hobart, and was previously Deputy Chair, Australian National Capital Artists.
Zena Cumpston is a Barkandji woman with Afghan and Irish heritage working as an artist, writer, researcher, curator and consultant. In 2024 her artworks will be presented as part of the NETS national tour of ngaratya, The Soils Project at Van Abbemuseum (Netherlands), Lightscape (Royal Botanic Gardens Narrm/Melbourne), DISH (Town Hall Gallery, Narrm/Melbourne), bíal gwiyúŋo (the fire is not yet lit) at the AGNSW (Sydney, NSW) and the Darebin FUSE Festival (Narrm/Melbourne). In 2024 she was a finalist in the Ravenswood Women’s Art Prize. Zena is a member of the Birrarung Council in Narrm/Melbourne.
Zoë Anne Zmitkova is a Western Australian based artist and designer of live performance who has worked across Australia and internationally for thirty years, in theatre, dance, opera, puppetry and public events. In recent years she has been drawn to themes around connection to place, biodiversity, science and community engagement and action. Zoë has been a member of a number of state advisory panels for the arts, is a current board member of Black Swan State Theatre and a Trustee of the WA Arts and Culture Trust.
