The Cultural Leaders program aims to foster long term change in the South Australian arts landscape. It puts First Nations, POC and queer artists at the helm and equips them with the resources and professional support they need to be effective leaders.
Over 10 months, program co-ordinator Valerie Berry and artistic director Yasmin Gurreeboo will work with emerging community leaders to tailor a program that caters to each participant’s unique needs. Our cultural leaders will then attend a suite of masterclasses to build skills in a variety of areas spanning from artistic processes and arts advocacy to marketing and budget management. For additional support, they will be paired with an industry leader of their choosing and undertake a bimonthly mentorship.
Throughout the program, our emerging leaders will act as consultants and ambassadors for ActNow. They will be integral to informing the direction, culture and vision of our organisation this year.
As the program closes, the cultural leaders will have an opportunity to give back by running a workshop for their own communities — creating an exponential impact and inspiring others to engage with the arts.
Artists Involved
-
Emily Tulloch
(Nexus Arts)Karen Bryant
(Midsumma Festival)Emma Webb
(Vitalstatistix)Edwin Kemp Attrill
Annette Shun Wah
(OzAsia Festival)Mitchell Butel
(State Theatre Company of SA)Gaelle Mellis & Sam Wannan
(Tutti Arts)Asha Bee Abraham
(Footscray Arts Centre)Jennifer Greer Holmes
Ruth Weldon
Nara Wilson
Jennifer Trijo
Yasmin Gurreeboo
(ActNow Theatre)Blake Taylor
(ActNow Theatre)Annabel Matheson
(ActNow Theatre)Ayesha Aggarwal
(ActNow Theatre)
-
Sasha Zahra
Eva Grace Mullaley
Joon-Yee Kwok
Manal Younus
Emma Webb
Emily Tulloch
Karen Bryant
Annette Shun Wah
Our 2023 Cultural Leaders
Amber Giles
Amber Giles (she/they) is a proud Marrungulindjeri-Ngarrindjeri and Nganguruku person living on Kaurna Yarta. Amber is passionate about sharing experiences as a young Aboriginal person. She values her connection with her family and Ngarrindjeri Ruwi (land).
She began working with ActNow in 2021, just months after the First Nations Arts Program. Since then, Amber has toured in country and metropolitan areas, working with many school communities – starring as Amanda in Like Me, Like You, as well as Mik in Responding to Racism.
Amber has enjoyed working with ActNow Theatre, strengthening her confidence, communication skills, and resilience.
On her participation in the Cultural Leaders program, Amber says:
'I’m really looking forward to developing my leadership skills. I hope to seek mentorship from a strong leader so I can be a good leader myself in my community.’
SanSan Ja
SanSan Ja (she/her) was born in Cambodia and migrated to Australia as a refugee. She has an appreciation for traveling and storytelling which are influenced by her culture, faith and positive outlook in life.
SanSan is well-known in Adelaide’s spoken word poetry scene. She has performed her poems and theatre at the Adelaide Fringe and is frequently featured at poetry events around Adelaide, in Germany, Turkey and Thailand.
On her participation in the Cultural Leaders program, SanSan says:
’I am passionate about learning about diverse cultures and ways we can honour and understand each other. I want to be intersectional when driving change.’
Frankie Frick
Frankie (they/them) is an emerging writer and actor. They have worked on several short films, music videos, commercials, and a web series. Currently, they are independently creating an audio drama project to be released in 2023.
They have studied acting as a part of Actors Ink’s Elite Troupe until 2019, with teachers including Brett Hicks-Maitland and Don Kountouris, and completed Mercury Cinema’s Springboard program in 2022.
Frankie has been involved with ActNow since 2019, over that period they have attended multiple workshops and training days. Through collaboration with State Theatre and ActNow, they wrote and performed a monologue for Decameron 2.0 directed by Mitchell Butel.
They are excited to continue working with ActNow on future projects and opportunities, including as a cultural leader along with many other talented artists.
On their participation in the Cultural Leaders program, Frankie says:
’Through the Cultural Leaders program, I’m excited to develop my skills in writing and advocacy while learning alongside such talented peers. I am honoured to be representing my community and am eager to take these skills to better create diverse stories alongside them.'
Nicky Tsz Tung Li
Nicky Tsz Tung Li (she/her) is a Hong-Kong-born multidisciplinary artist. She graduated from UniSA with a Bachelor of Arts in 2020. Nicky began her involvement in the Adelaide music theatre community in 2019 with credits including Miss Saigon, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and Mary Poppins. In 2021, she took part in Hayes Theatre Co.’s ‘Making a Musical’ initiative. Last year, she took on a more socially responsible role of conducting cultural consultation for State Theatre Company of SA’s Single Asian Female and RUMPUS’s Coldhands. She has secured a residency at MakeSpace to develop an original production, Signal: A Theatrical Mixtape, for Adelaide Fringe 2023 in which she explores her connection to her identities as a ‘Bi-Ace Hong Kong girl in Australia’. Early this year, she worked on Tale of The Fire Phoenix presented by the School of Chinese Music & Arts as a sound & graphic designer and a vocalist.
On her participation in the Cultural Leaders program, Nicky says:
‘I am very keen to learn and advocate for cultural safety in all environments. But particularly, I want to create a safe space for people who are struggling to position themselves within 'their communities'. It is hard to find a place where we belong, it is even harder when you are still figuring out who you are.’
Chris Best
Chris Best (he/him) is a multidisciplinary artist living in South Australia. Originally from the USA, Chris is known for his contribution to the Adelaide arts scene as the creative artistic director of Soul Lounge, a monthly open mic night unapologetically tailored to the needs of intersectional artist of colour. His writing is inspired by introspection and the desire to understand why things happen they way they do. He has written and performed poetry for SANAA festival and OzAsia, comedy at the Rhino Room, theatre for Papermouth Theatre, ActNow’s Theatre of the Global Majority, and written for the South Australian Film Corporation, and the State Theatre. Chris is currently working on a series of microfilms in collaboration with South Australian recording artist Emma Feagan.
On his participation in the Cultural Leaders program, Chris says:
’Through the cultural leaders program I'd like to establish myself as a pillar in the artistic community. I'd like to be able to use my influence to funnel more talent into the creative arts scene.’
Mabruka Obsa
Mabruka Obsa (she/her) is an emerging actress and writer of East African descent. Through her work, she explores the different perspectives of being a third-culture kid in Australia along with finding new fun ways to retell folk stories with a modern twist. Inspired by the legacy of the creative arts in her continent of origin, Mabruka is determined to find opportunities to revitalise the role of the arts within the African communities and forge a pathway and support system for the next generation of African storytellers.
On her participation in the Cultural Leaders program, Mabruka says:
’Through this leadership program I aim to gain the knowledge and skills to be able effectively support the re-introduction of the arts into CALD communities.’
Sam Lau
Sam Lau (he/him) is a Hong Kong-Australian actor, musician and theatre-maker working on Kaurna Land. A graduate of the Adelaide College of Arts, Sam has worked in a variety of mediums such as ABC’s TV series Aftertaste, Anifex’s animation film The Better Angels and Too Dumb Blonde’s productions of Does it Please You?. Sam is a frequent collaborator with ActNow Theatre, and has also worked with organisations such as OzAsia (SA), London Artists Projects (UK), State Theatre Company South Australia (SA), Perform!Education (VIC), Contemporary Asian Australian Performance (NSW) and also CARCLEW (SA) where he underwent a yearlong residency in 2022 through their Sharehouse Artist program.
Sam is also an accomplished musician, and often combines his musicianship with theatre such as singing and playing trombone in Katherine Thompson’s musical Darlinghurst Nights directed by Michael Hill, piano and guitar in Taylor Nobes’ cabaret Music & You, and piano in Jim Cartwright’s Road directed by Chris Drummond. Sam has also composed for his short film Between Our Stories — Power directed by Alice Yang and for Walk of the Ancestors, a theatrical work he is currently developing in partnership with Brink Productions.
Sam often explores themes of diaspora in his writing and works.
On his participation in the Cultural Leaders program, Sam says:
’What drew me to the program was the prospect of being able to hold and facilitate those hard to have conversations about the intersections of our lives, and apply them to both our industry and communities.’
Jazz Siegertsz
Jaziel (he/him) is an emerging all-round creative from Adelaide, where he has grown up on Kaurna land. He is an out and proud trans person and loves to create work that normalises genderqueer characters for wide audiences.
Jaziel is a playwright, producer, director, actor, musician, sound designer, technician, and stage manager. He founded and runs Quasar Arts, a new theatre company based in Adelaide that premiered in the 2022 Adelaide Fringe with his original play, Escaping The Burning Sun, which earned itself a four star review from The Adelaide Show Podcast.
Looking forward to what the future holds, Jaziel already has new works in pre-production for the 2024 Adelaide Fringe season.
On his participation in the Cultural Leaders program, Jaziel says:
’I want to build on my skills and acquire new ones relating to production and management in the arts. As I am establishing my business Quasar Arts, I want to gain all the knowledge I possibly can to help it thrive and create more work for Adelaide creatives in the creative arts industry.
Being a cultural leader to me means pioneering something within or significantly contributing to a community. And I consider myself significantly contributing to the creative arts industry as I am moving through it as an open and proud trans person as well as working towards creating more work for the people I know are desperately looking for it.’
Layla Ankliss
Layla Ankliss (she/her) is a Lebanese Australian Muslim and a university student at the University of South Australia. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Sociology and Law, Policy, and Politics. Layla prides herself as being an active member of the community and especially enjoys meeting like-minded people, being a part of a team and working towards meaningful change. She loves to be proactive and take on challenges across a range of disciplines.
On her participation in the Cultural Leaders program, Layla says:
‘Through my involvement in the Cultural Leaders program I hope to learn more about leadership and explore my passion for the arts while taking the opportunity to apply myself in new ways. It is important to me to make strong connections and allow myself to become an asset to the community and in the process make lasting contributions to society.’
Caleena Sansbury
Caleena Sansbury is a proud Ngarrindjeri, Narungga and Kaurna woman. She is also a proud mother to her three year old son. Caleena’s interests as a performance artist draws from cultural and contemporary dance, theatre, storytelling and choreographing. She is a graduate from NAISDA Dance College.
Caleena has worked nationally and internationally with companies/choreographers: Vicki Van Hout in; Long Grass & Les Festivities Lubrufier;, Thomas E. S. Kelly; [MIS]CONCEIVE, Karul Projects; SSHIFFT, Insite Arts; Our Corks Bubs & Saltbush, Polyglot Theatre; Tangled and Legs On the Wall; The Man With The Iron Neck.
Caleena has also worked as producer at Melbourne Fringe 2018. Caleena performed in Taree Sansbury’s work as performer in mi:wi touring to South Australia with Country Arts SA and Vitalstatistix. More recently Caleena is currently a dancer and rehearsal director of the South Australian First Nations dance collective Tjarutja.
In partnership with
