Azarmidokht Elahi is an Iranian-Australian multidisciplinary artivist, educator, and community arts facilitator based in Sydney. She is the founder and creative director of HamAva Women’s Group, a community platform that brings women from diverse cultural backgrounds together through art, dialogue, and collaborative creativity.

With more than 25 solo exhibitions across Iran and Australia, Azarmidokht’s artistic practice explores themes of identity, migration, memory, gender, and human rights. Working across visual arts, installation, and participatory projects, her work creates spaces where personal narratives and collective histories can be expressed, witnessed, and shared.

Her practice is grounded in community engagement and socially responsive art. Through workshops, public programs, and collaborative projects, she works with culturally diverse communities, including migrants, refugees, and women navigating displacement and social change.

Azarmidokht’s work is deeply connected to ideas of belonging, reciprocity, and care. She is particularly interested in how artistic practices can connect people to land, memory, and each other while amplifying voices that are often unheard.

Alongside her artistic practice, she works as a community arts teacher with TAFE NSW, facilitating the Art and Connection course and creative programs that support cultural exchange, empowerment, and social connection.

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Dr. Catherine Sarah Young is a Filipino-Chinese interdisciplinary artist, designer, writer, and scholar. With a background in molecular biology, fine art, and interaction design, she cultivates an artscience practice by using scientific experimentation and molecular transformations in her art-making, often relating these to environmental and social issues. Catherine has an international profile, with numerous fellowships, exhibitions, and speaking engagements. She was one of ArtReview Asia’s Future Greats in 2018, a Thirteen Artist Awards recipient in the Philippines in 2021, was listed as one of the 10 Women Leading the Fight against Climate Change by Earth.org in 2024, and is an Obama Leader for Asia-Pacific. Her PhD dissertation is entitled, ‘The Ghost of Rain: Investigating Petrichor as Companion Molecules in the Critical Zones through the Arts’. She is currently a sessional academic in UNSW Sydney School of Art and Design where she mentors Master of Design students on their capstone projects framed around the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

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Kirsten Maglalang is an early-career artist based in Western Sydney. Her mixed-media practice reflects her desire to connect with her Filipino heritage with the creation of works that focus on language and cultural material. At the heart of her practice is her passion for exploring the many aspects of love and its transformative powers through collaborative art making.

During her time as a Future Culture Arts Worker Intern, she gained valuable experience in multiple areas of arts and cultural work. This great period of knowledge exchange helped her develop skills that align with her deep commitment to shaping a Future Culture that is both equitable and expansive.

She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from UNSW Art & Design, where her practice in theory continues to motivate her to create art that amplifies human connection, honours memories and finds ways to keep them alive.

Photo: Dylan Mangunay

Kylie Colemane is a proud Barramadagal woman of the Darug speaking nation, with Wiradjuri connections.

Based on the Mornington Peninsula on Bunurong land for over a decade she has worked with schools, universities, community groups & corporate groups facilitating various workshops.

As a cultural educator, artist & ecotherapist she invites the use of nature elements to improve physical and mental health creating wellness. Creatively bringing nature, art & mindfulness together with a First Nations lens. Focusing on observing, being with & enjoying nature elements.

Currently Kylie is an Indigenous Industry Fellow based at Monash Peninsula campus creating educational resources based around native plants, bushfoods and adding to her published, co-authored papers based on intergenerational learning. Kylie is one of the cohort chosen for the Koorie Heritage Trust Blak Design 2025. Consults on Urban projects around plants & design, has completed public art installations featuring botanical illustrations on Darug country, Sydney. 

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Nicole Barakat is a Kfarsghabi, Lebanese artist living on the lands and waters of the Gadigal. She works with deep listening and intuitive processes with intentions to transform the conditions of everyday life. Her artwork engages unconventional approaches to art-making, creating intricate works that embody the love and patience characteristic of traditional textile practices. Nicole’s practice is rooted in re-membering and re-gathering her ancestral knowing, she works with coffee divination and plants and flower essences for community care.

Nicole is the 2025 recipient of the open award ($50,000) in the Fisher’s Ghost Art Award,

Campbelltown Arts Centre. Nicole undertook an artist residency in Bethlehem, Palestine in 2010 and was in residence, through Creative Australia, at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France in 2023 where she convened with a 300-year-old Lebanese cedar tree in the Jardin des Plantes.

Nicole completed a Bachelor of Applied Arts (Craft Arts) in Textiles in 2002 with first class honours at the University of NSW Art & Design.

Photo: Jacquie Manning

Rodaba Qureshi was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. She completed her high school education at Kabul, Abul Qasim Ferdawsi High School and later graduated with honors from the Institute of Fine Arts and Industry. She pursued painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, graduating with honors after completing a year of Turkish language preparation. Her work explores themes of identity, culture, and the resilience of women, expressed through symbolic and expressive imagery. She primarily works with oil paints. Currently based in Australia, she continues to develop her artistic practice and share her visual narratives.

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Shiva Dadvar is an art therapist who works with the use of art as a tool for self-awareness, emotional regulation, and personal growth. She has experience in the field of creative therapeutic approaches and is passionate about creating safe, supportive, and non-judgmental spaces for emotional expression through art.

In her art therapy workshops, Shiva focuses on providing a calm and inspiring environment where participants can connect more deeply with their inner world through the creative process. She believes that art can be a powerful medium for understanding emotions, reducing psychological tension, and enhancing self-awareness.

Her approach integrates art, mindfulness, and creative expression to support individuals in having a meaningful and healing experience through artistic practice.

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Ali Rezvani is a Sydney-based cinematographer and independent filmmaker whose work is defined by a nuanced visual language focused on the complexities of human relationships. Originally from Iran, Rezvani built an extensive portfolio—shooting over 30 projects, including features, documentaries, and short films. 

Throughout his career, he has navigated multiple roles, including Director of Photography (DOP), director, and producer. His artistic contributions have gained international recognition; in 2017, he was honoured with the Golden Lake Award in Turkey. His cinematography has also been showcased at prestigious festivals, such as the San Mauro Film Festival and SWIFF 2023.

Since arriving in Australia, Rezvani has actively integrated into the local creative community. His work often draws inspiration from classic literature and diverse art forms to craft evocative imagery.

Photo: Flore Vallery Radot

Annabel Hom (she/her) is a Cambodian classical dancer, experimenting with Cambodian contemporary movement styles. Annabel began her artistic journey in Cambodian Classical Ballet at 10 years old. Her dance practice has taken her from domestic to international stages having professionally trained in Cambodia and performed at Womadelaide Festival in 2024. She also is an instructor in cultural education for Cambodian-Australian young people with Sydney Apsara Dance Group helping the Khmer diaspora preserve their connection with culture. You can find Annabel here: instagram.com/sokla.bel/

Maggie Tra is an electronic Producer, DJ, label head and musical polymath. The Australian born Vietnamese/Cambodian artist brings finesse and flair to the dance-floor by embracing the culture of the land she's in with wholeness and conviction. A weaver of musical fibres, her creations as a music producer entwine melody, genres and tempos to create her own tapestries coupled with Asian influences.

Tra’s electronic soundscape gives listeners an immersive experience with captivating melodies and groovy bass-lines. She intertwines dance genres to create her own distinctive sound, which immerses the crowd into a realm where time has stopped.

Tra made her incredible debut as a producer with the release of her debut EP ‘U.L.A’ (U Look Asian) in 2021, and has continued a slew of releases since then. Her debut album ‘Kingdom of Her’ (2022) and ‘Very Vui’ (2023) and ‘Dancing Untethered’ (2024) and has been supported onTriple J, Bandcamp, NTS, Mixmag Asia, Bandcamp & Worldwide FM. She has also released music with labels Shika Shika Collective & FuFu Records. Her recent highlights are that she showcased at SXSW Sydney as an official artist, and worked with Sony Music Japan.  With each release she continues to push the limits of dance music and become an integral figure in the Australian dance scene. 

Grounded and full of hope to see more diversity in the music industry, Maggie founded SYS Sister Sounds. A label and collective that supports women & non-binary people in the music industry. The organisation runs ’Pho The Girls’ DJ Workshops which is now a community of female & non-binary DJs based in London, Vietnam, Thailand and Australia. More recently she founded Hà Nội Community Radio. As a DJ she’s graced the decks in India, Brussels, Berlin, London, Australia and Vietnam. Her artistic ability to produce compositions that are both sonically and emotionally appealing demonstrates her mastery of electronic music production. It has garnered the support from Resident Advisor, DJ Mag, Mixmag Asia and more. Tra musically exposes herself within her sets in varying perspectives interweaving genres and styles with a focus on bringing Asian music to the forefront.

San May (they/them) is a creative producer and digital artist working and living in Sydney on unceded Dharug land. They hold a bachelor's degree in Creative Arts for Film and Television Production from JMC Academy, and since 2017 has been working in western Sydney to deliver creative and artistic programs alongside community. 

San has experience in art education, event producing, production and festival design, and stop-motion animation. A strong advocate of human and social rights, San hopes their work inspires others to broadcast diversity in the arts. 

You can see more of their work here: https://sndrmy.com/

Sovanarry Chan (she/he/they) is an artist and performer interested in exploring realms of identity, transformation, and collective healing through storytelling. Their dynamic presence as a performer is rooted in depth and authenticity which draws from re-connection to ancestral wisdom and lived experiences. 

You can find Sovanarry here: instagram.com/fancyladboyking/

Aprille Asfoura is a Palestinian-Australian artist working across documentary film, writing, digital media, and community organising, based in Colomatta (Blue Mountains). Her practice is grounded in intimate storytelling – capturing conversations, preserving everyday moments, and creating space for voices shaped by displacement and diaspora.

Aprille brings over fifteen years of experience across the screen and creative industries, spanning documentary direction, production design, and story development. She has supported and organised international productions and screenings from Australia, the U.S. and Germany. She holds a Graduate Diploma in documentary from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) and participated in Documentary Australia’s Impact Producer Program in 2024.

Aprille is the founder of Arts Impact Society, an organisation using art, storytelling, and visual media as tools of resistance and solidarity across colonised lands. Its current slate is committed to Palestinian liberation through projects like Names Not Numbers, a documentary channel centring voices from Gaza, and public campaigns including typographic interventions, poster campaigns, and memorial print works designed to challenge dominant narratives, demand public attention, and move people to action. Aprille’s practice asks how collective creative work can tend to memory – documenting what matters before it is lost and asking how we pass it on.

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Ahmed ElKhalidi is an Adelaide-based multidisciplinary artist and designer working across drawing, photography, video, installation, animation, illustration, and digital media. His practice reflects on questions of home, memory, and belonging, shaped by his Palestinian background and the experience of living between places. Working with digital collage, typography, archives, and moving image, he brings together fragments of personal stories, historical references, and everyday imagery. His work often moves between personal memory and shared histories, exploring how identity is shaped by migration, distance, and cultural memory.

His solo exhibitions include My Grandfather’s Orchard (Jacaranda Gallery, 2023), Swapped at Birth (The Mill Gallery, 2019; Jacaranda Gallery, 2018), Go Back to Where You Came From (Jacaranda Gallery, 2015), I Was Not Born Here But She Was (Vanishing Point Gallery), Beyond My Circle (Makan Art Space, 2007), and East and West (French Cultural Centre in Amman, 2004). Group exhibitions include Sumud – Voices from Palestine (Margaret River, 2024), Hurriyah at the South Australian Living Artists Festival (2024), Hurriyah (Abdali, 2023), Sin Límites at Casa Árabe (Spain, 2020), the International Biennial of Contemporary Art (2007), Squiggle Gallery, the Amman Theatre and Arts Festival (2007), the International Salon of Contemporary Artists (2002), the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts (2003), and printmaking exhibitions at Darat al Funun (1995). Alongside his art practice, ElKhalidi works as a multidisciplinary designer, collaborating with cultural organisations, community groups, and public institutions on visual communication and creative projects.

Sivani Yaddanapudi (She/Her) is a Sydney-based queer South Asian filmmaker/creative producer living on Darug land. As a filmmaker, her aspirations and intentions are to provide a space for individuals that were historically not listened to. Her works range from cinematography, producing, content creation and workshop facilitation within the community arts sector.

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Fale Tumanu is a proud Sāmoan word artist, an emerging writer, and theatre performer. She currently resides and creates on Dharawal land. Her work is deeply informed by Fāgogo (traditional storytelling), her cultural lens, as well as exploring the raw, real and mundane realities of the human experience. Fale’s been an active participant in the writing scene, having been shortlisted for her work in the RUSSH Magazine Literary Showcase, mentored by Sweatshop, and is a co-founder of Pacific-led writing collective Tagata Moana Writers.

Fale’s writing journey started out as an outlet for her emotions and yet has evolved into short stories, prose and many other poetry forms. When she is away from writing, she enjoys reading, meditating in her garden, and is always on the lookout for the next community event to attend and support. 

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Jade Dewi Tyas Tunggal is a Javanese Australian director, choreographer, writer and Body–Mind Centering® somatic movement educator whose work traverses contemporary performance, dance theatre and interdisciplinary arts research. Her lineage bridges Australian convict-settler histories with the ceremonial and cosmological lineages of Yogyakarta’s Keraton and the Borobudur temple complex, grounding a practice that moves fluently across cultures, philosophies and embodied knowledge systems.

Internationally trained across the USA, Europe, Asia and Australia, Jade holds a Bachelor of Dance (Miami/NYC), a Master of Choreography (VCA), and completed a Darmasiswa Scholarship at Yogyakarta Arts University. Her rigorously articulated methodology integrates improvisation, somatic embodiment and physical dramaturgy, positioning the body as a site of memory, relation and insight. Working at the nexus of authorship, co-creation and interpretation, she develops intercultural works that are both structurally sophisticated and deeply rooted in lived, sensory intelligence.Jade has collaborated with leading companies and independent artists including Ria Soemardjo, Kirk Page, Bebe Miller, BodyCartography Project, Mirramu Dance Company, Chunky Move, Bangarra, Legs on the Wall, Hermes Ensemble and Marrugeku. These partnerships embed her practice within expansive networks of experimental and intercultural performance.

A committed contributor to First Nations partnerships, regional arts leadership, youth dance and community-driven initiatives, Jade plays a significant role in shaping contemporary Asian Australian performance discourse. Her work advances a vision of dance and interdisciplinary art that is inclusive, critically engaged and anchored in embodied, cross-cultural knowledge.

Photo: Kate Holmes

Ria Soemardjo is a Naarm-based musician, vocalist and interdisciplinary collaborator recognised for her evocative sound worlds and her sustained commitment to intercultural exchange. Of Australian Javanese heritage, her distinct, haunting vocal style reflects a deep engagement with Balinese and Javanese gamelan traditions, while her broader practice draws on an exploratory approach to voice, ritual and site-responsive composition.

Equally at home in contemporary performance, theatre, community ritual and experimental sound practice, Ria creates, records and performs music across Australia and Asia. She collaborates widely with independent choreographers, directors and musicians. Frequently working with long-term creative partners such as Jade Dewi Tyas Tunggal to craft sonic environments that interweave voice, frame drums, gamelan textures and her hand-crafted clay flutes and drums.

Ria’s works often arise through embodied research and sensitivity to place, developing contemporary performance rituals that respond to natural or urban sites. Recent projects include Ngayomi (with Jade Dewi Tyas Tunggal), excerpted at Marrugeku’s Contested Lands forum (2023); processional commissions for Chinatown and the Mission to Seafarers; the guided audio walks Murmuring Lake and Swallow Walk; and Of Frogs (Darebin FUSE 2022), featuring her sculptural sound-objects.

A sought-after collaborator across dance, theatre, community arts and interdisciplinary practice, Ria brings a distinctive sonic presence to projects that explore cultural memory, ecological attunement and the poetics of listening. Together with her collaborators, she continues to expand the role of music within contemporary Asian Australian performance ecologies.

Photo: Max Milne

Sohrab Kolahdooz is a Sydney-based percussionist, multidisciplinary artist, and cultural practitioner whose work explores rhythm as ritual, storytelling, and intercultural dialogue. With over 20 years of professional experience, his practice is grounded in Iranian percussion traditions and expands across diverse rhythmic languages from the Middle East, Africa, India, East Asia, and Latin America, which he reinterprets through contemporary and collaborative performance making.

Having performed on more than 300 stages internationally, Sohrab has collaborated with renowned artists and presented work across major venues, festivals, and cultural institutions in Australia and abroad. His performances often sit at the intersection of traditional practice and contemporary experimentation, drawing on ancestral forms, improvisation, and cross-cultural exchange.

Alongside his artistic practice, Sohrab holds a Bachelor of Music and brings extensive experience in music education, workshop facilitation, and arts leadership. He has designed and delivered creative learning programs and community arts initiatives for diverse participants across educational, cultural and public settings. With a parallel background in arts management and program leadership, his broader practice is informed by a commitment to creating meaningful artistic experiences that foster belonging, connection and shared cultural understanding.

Photo: Ravy Najassani

Shervin Mirzeinali identifies as an Iranian-Australian composer, director, and community-driven artist. His work is deeply rooted in my cultural heritage while exploring new forms of musical expression that bridge traditions, identities, and contemporary sound worlds. He completed his Doctorate in Composition with a focus on spectralism and Iranian Dastgah, and much of his creative research continues to explore how these traditions can be reimagined through a contemporary lens. 

He is especially drawn to rituals—how they hold meaning, memory, and transformation. He likes to dive into them, unpack their layers, and rework them into shared creative experiences. This interest flows through both his solo and collaborative work, from composing award-winning pieces like Panbe Zan, to curating and directing cross-cultural projects. In 2023, he co-founded the Iranian Music Festival in Sydney, which has become a platform for celebrating both traditional and experimental Iranian music. Whether through sound, storytelling, or community engagement, he is interested in how old forms can speak to new contexts, and how creative practice can open space for reflection, connection, and cultural exchange.