.
c
Open Door Policy
Mentoring, capacity building
2024 – Onwards
Finding your way as a professional artist or arts worker can be lonely and overwhelming. That’s where our Open Door Policy comes in – welcome in!
A few times a year, we’ll host Open Door Days, where you can book time with one of our friendly team members for a chat. Whether you’re seeking professional insights, guidance on navigating the art world, needing a sounding board for your ideas, or simply wanting to talk about what we do here at CuriousWorks, our doors are open. We’re here to answer questions, chat about your work, or simply get to know each other better.
Open Door Days are held at Fairfield City HQ where you can come in for a cuppa and a chat! You can book a one-on-one with one of our team members, or if you can’t make it in person, you can opt for a video or phone call. On these days, we also have a dedicated drop-in time from 12-1pm on both days for anyone who prefers a more spontaneous visit. Light refreshments provided. You’re also welcome to bring your own lunch.
Our most recent Open Door Days were held on the 1st and 2nd of September 2026 with Fairfield City Council's Arts and Culture Officer, Josie Cavallaro joining us as our special guest.
Check out the bios + expertise of each of the CuriousWorks staff below. Please watch this webpage and our social channels for our next Open Door Days. In the meantime, you're always more than welcome to contact us here.
Kiri Zakinthinos
CEO, Writer + Musician
CEO, Writer + Musician
Talk to Kiri about:
- Arts management
- Career development and pathways
- Arts admin and project management
- Budgets
- Grant writing
- Pitching
- Community arts
- Writing
- Music
About Kiri:
Currently CEO of Fairfield-based contemporary and community arts organisation, CuriousWorks, Kiriaki Zakinthinos is an arts professional and writer whose driving purpose is a desire for a fairer, more inclusive, more democratic cultural landscape. As a 1.5 generation migrant growing up in South-West Sydney and pursuing a path in the arts, she cares about making space for and supporting others on similar journeys.
Kiri has previously worked in diverse roles within local government and the small-medium non-profit sectors for organisations such as Utp, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Ensemble Offspring, Diversity Arts Australia, and anti-racism social change charity, All Together Now. As an independent producer, Kiri has presented concerts, cultural workshops, and a children’s music and storytelling show in key venues across Sydney.
She maintains an independent writing practice self-publishing commentary and review pieces on the theme of cultural diversity in the arts on her blog www.culturalomnivore.blog. Her essays and creative non-fiction pieces have been commissioned by Sydney Living Museums (The Factory Floor) and Sydney Review of Books (The Paper Trail).
Kiri holds a Graduate Diploma in Creative and Cultural Industries Management from the University of Technology, Sydney, and a Bachelor of Music from the University of NSW. She has been a Creative Australia Peer and Industry Advisor and is a current member of the Create NSW Community Arts and Cultural Development Artform Board 2024-2026, and of the Fairfield City Council Arts Advisory Committee 2025-2026.
Kiri has previously worked in diverse roles within local government and the small-medium non-profit sectors for organisations such as Utp, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Ensemble Offspring, Diversity Arts Australia, and anti-racism social change charity, All Together Now. As an independent producer, Kiri has presented concerts, cultural workshops, and a children’s music and storytelling show in key venues across Sydney.
She maintains an independent writing practice self-publishing commentary and review pieces on the theme of cultural diversity in the arts on her blog www.culturalomnivore.blog. Her essays and creative non-fiction pieces have been commissioned by Sydney Living Museums (The Factory Floor) and Sydney Review of Books (The Paper Trail).
Kiri holds a Graduate Diploma in Creative and Cultural Industries Management from the University of Technology, Sydney, and a Bachelor of Music from the University of NSW. She has been a Creative Australia Peer and Industry Advisor and is a current member of the Create NSW Community Arts and Cultural Development Artform Board 2024-2026, and of the Fairfield City Council Arts Advisory Committee 2025-2026.
Kumari Abeydeera
Senior Community Arts Creative Producer, Multidisciplinary artist and Arts Researcher
Senior Community Arts Creative Producer, Multidisciplinary artist and Arts Researcher
- Sustaining a multidisciplinary arts practice embedded in decolonial feminist frameworks
- Creative producing
- Workshop design
- Community arts based research
- Community arts and cultural development
About Kumari:
Kumari Abeydeera brings over two decades experience at the interstices of creative programming, community practice, social justice and well being; across community arts, mental health and academia.
Kumari has a long herstory of working with diverse communities to co-design and deliver interdisciplinary arts based programmes centering embodied storytelling, which has functioned to enrich community building, collective care and voice making for marginalised folx from Gadigal, to Dharug and Gundungurra lands to London.
Kumari has a long herstory of working with diverse communities to co-design and deliver interdisciplinary arts based programmes centering embodied storytelling, which has functioned to enrich community building, collective care and voice making for marginalised folx from Gadigal, to Dharug and Gundungurra lands to London.
Kumari is also an exhibiting multidisciplinary artist, writer, psychotherapist and decolonial feminist PhD scholar, researching how diverse artists use their art as activism, against and beyond racism.
Kumari spent much of her childhood in Fairfield and is excited to co-weave creative programmes that centre the lived experiences of the local Western Sydney community, whilst meeting their needs and amplifying their stories across borders and binaries, nationally and transnationally.
Miranda Aguilar
Creative Producer + Writer
Creative Producer + Writer
Andrea Nealy
Finance and Administration Officer + Writer
Finance and Administration Officer + Writer
- Arts admin
- Writing
- Filmmaking
- Budgets
About Andrea:
Andrea Nealy is a Western Sydney filmmaker and writer. Andrea graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of communications and media. Andrea connected with CuriousWorks in 2012 as a participant. She has worked on various projects in different roles including 2nd assistant director and assistant editor for Riz (2014), co-writer and assistant director for When the Tide Comes In (2016), a writer for Urban Stories (2016), production assistant for Las Rosas (2017) and assistant director for Prone to the Drone (2019). Andrea continues to pursue her passion of creative writing. At the end of 2018, Andrea joined the staff team at CuriousWorks working in administration and finance.
Jenny Trinh
Communications Officer + Musician
Communications Officer + Musician
Talk to Jenny about:
- Communications & marketing
- Creative project development
- Experimental art-making
- Music (Making and releasing, DIY shows, performing, composing for movement and film)
- Balancing being an arts worker and an artist
About Jenny:
Jenny Trinh is a Western Sydney electronic musician who performs solo as Wytchings. She is also in two bands: Heart Armour & Worlds Only. Creating dreamy, film-inspired sounds, she has collaborated with artists like Red Rey, Leeroy New, Sile Ellis, Jada Narkle & Carielyn Tunion to create accompanying soundscapes for their works, which have been showcased at Soft Centre, Sydney World Pride, Yirramboi Festival, Marrugeku, Sydney Opera House, and Runway Journal. She's performed at a variety of shows including Phoenix Central Park, Dark Mofo, and SXSW. Her track "Fata Morgana" was nominated for Song of the Year at the FBi SMACs 2022. Her short film Fear Is A Cold Star was included in Pari’s ‘Stain’ exhibition and SeeThru Film Festival in 2025. You can read more about her work here.
In addition to her artistic practice, Jenny has extensive marketing experience built upon her time as the Summer PR & Communications intern at Spotify and then later as the Content & Social Media Manager at Vinyl Group across three brands – Jaxsta, Vinyl.com & Vampr – as well as being part of the National Committee of Women In Music Australia. These diverse experiences combined with her passion for uplifting the thriving artistic ecosystem in Western Sydney and beyond is harnessed in her current role as Communications Officer at CuriousWorks.
William Uy Vu Le
2026 Createability Intern, Writer, Poet + Performer
2026 Createability Intern, Writer, Poet + Performer
Talk to William about:
- Process and journey as intern (so far)
- Tasks, responsibilities and self-generated workload
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policy
- Acceptance of LGBTIQ+, disability and ethnic identity
- Writing and creativity
- Background as Deaf individual
- Corporate culture - ‘why size and energy matter’
- Finding your voice and presence in workplace
- Two-way support
- Transparency in communication and respect
- Work/life balance
- Value of contribution and ideas
- Peer and artistic equality despite job title differences
- Leveraging connections and relationships
- The importance of place and proximity
About William:
Profoundly d/Deaf, William Uy Vu Le is an experienced multifaceted writer, poet and occasional performer across film, television, theatre, print, literature and online content.
Since 2013, William founded an all-inclusive casting agency committed to diverse, disabled and LGBTQIA+ talent with life partner Michael Turkic, touching the raw nerve on issues of equality, opportunity, fidelity and representation. He is passionate about authentic and well-developed portrayals of real people and real stories in entertainment.
In 2014-2015, William was DON'T Dis My ABILITY Ambassador for NSW Government. He raised awareness for access requirements, politically correct language and general etiquette while offering hilariously unique insights into Deaf and Hearing-impaired culture.
In 2016, William proudly narrated with his mother and grandmother (famous TV chef/food sculpture artist in Vietnam) in William Yang's "Who Speaks for Me?” alongside two other Asian families, about anecdotal miscommunication, ethnic identity and migrant diasporas. He also contributed to the 2017 Australian Marriage Equality Campaign with Bà in the form of a TVC and video, which went viral on social media.
In 2021-2022, William was a successful resident of Australia Council's "Future Leaders Program", about the resilience and fluidity of modern leadership; the mindfulness of ‘slow time’ and a profound Indigenous connection to land. In 2023, he completed the five-month intensive Australian Progress’s "Autumn National Fellowship" program about advocacy, campaigning, intersectionality, change, narrative and power for disability rights, sustainability and First Nations justice.
He has been featured in the media and online as disability advocate, including Next Sense and the ABC about his lived experiences. He has spoken at various seminars, workshops and conferences.
Having grown up in Fairfield, William is excited to be part of the 2026 Createability Internship program through CuriousWorks.
Since 2013, William founded an all-inclusive casting agency committed to diverse, disabled and LGBTQIA+ talent with life partner Michael Turkic, touching the raw nerve on issues of equality, opportunity, fidelity and representation. He is passionate about authentic and well-developed portrayals of real people and real stories in entertainment.
In 2014-2015, William was DON'T Dis My ABILITY Ambassador for NSW Government. He raised awareness for access requirements, politically correct language and general etiquette while offering hilariously unique insights into Deaf and Hearing-impaired culture.
In 2016, William proudly narrated with his mother and grandmother (famous TV chef/food sculpture artist in Vietnam) in William Yang's "Who Speaks for Me?” alongside two other Asian families, about anecdotal miscommunication, ethnic identity and migrant diasporas. He also contributed to the 2017 Australian Marriage Equality Campaign with Bà in the form of a TVC and video, which went viral on social media.
In 2021-2022, William was a successful resident of Australia Council's "Future Leaders Program", about the resilience and fluidity of modern leadership; the mindfulness of ‘slow time’ and a profound Indigenous connection to land. In 2023, he completed the five-month intensive Australian Progress’s "Autumn National Fellowship" program about advocacy, campaigning, intersectionality, change, narrative and power for disability rights, sustainability and First Nations justice.
He has been featured in the media and online as disability advocate, including Next Sense and the ABC about his lived experiences. He has spoken at various seminars, workshops and conferences.
Having grown up in Fairfield, William is excited to be part of the 2026 Createability Internship program through CuriousWorks.
Tala Issaoui
Future Culture 2026 - 2027 Artist in Residence + Multidisciplinary artist
Future Culture 2026 - 2027 Artist in Residence + Multidisciplinary artist
Talk to Tala about:
- Future Culture
- Art-making
- Being an early-career artist
- Experimental art
About Tala:
Tala Issaoui is an emerging multidisciplinary artist based in Western Sydney. Her work explores mysticism and its relationship to the self, investigated as a vessel to connect reality and the metaphysical. She works around the mediums of film, sound, and performance as movement and dance in the experimental form. Tala is a graduate of Macquarie University, completing the Bachelor of Media and Communications (Screen Practice and Production/Moving Image and Sound Studies) from 2020-2022.
She was a part of the Utp Rising Program by Utp (2021-2023), where she created works across video, installation and live performance which include 'above, so below' (2021-2022), 'Ode To My Soulmate?' (2022), and 'void...' (2023).
Tala has also created works for JUXTA, making a video work illustrating the FIRE theme, showcased as part of the NEXUS event at the Bankstown Arts Centre (2022). In the same year, she was commissioned from JUXTA to create a sound work that responded to the theme of EARTH, which was exhibited as part of the Bankstown Biennale (2022).
In 2024, she continued to display her work in gallery spaces. She exhibited her first-ever solo exhibition at Puzzle gallery called 'Ode To My Void' which conjoined both her works 'Ode To My Soulmate?' and 'void...'. The work was also on exhibition at PARI, as part of the 'Embrace' group exhibition.
Tala was also a 2024 Burwood Art Prize Finalist, for her video work 'as above, so below' (2021-2022) for the theme Visibility, Ritual and Legacy.
Tala's most recent work, 'Once in a Blue Moon' was a live experimental movement based work, a cultivation of previous works which included ‘Ode To My Soulmate?’ (2022) and ‘void…’ (2023) that explored transformation, rebirth and ritual embodiment. It was showcased as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival (PYT@FRINGE). In the same year, Tala created the sound design for a live theatre work called 'Hayat Amina (Safe Life)' at PYT Fairfield (2025).
She has also created soundscapes for writers with All The Best at FBi radio, which showcase her experimental and ambient melodies she produces. Some of her works include '#600 safe' (2024), '#628 Illuminated Manuscript' (2025), '#653 Tubig Lang (just water)' (2025) and '#687 don't talk about the water' (2026).
She was a part of the Utp Rising Program by Utp (2021-2023), where she created works across video, installation and live performance which include 'above, so below' (2021-2022), 'Ode To My Soulmate?' (2022), and 'void...' (2023).
Tala has also created works for JUXTA, making a video work illustrating the FIRE theme, showcased as part of the NEXUS event at the Bankstown Arts Centre (2022). In the same year, she was commissioned from JUXTA to create a sound work that responded to the theme of EARTH, which was exhibited as part of the Bankstown Biennale (2022).
In 2024, she continued to display her work in gallery spaces. She exhibited her first-ever solo exhibition at Puzzle gallery called 'Ode To My Void' which conjoined both her works 'Ode To My Soulmate?' and 'void...'. The work was also on exhibition at PARI, as part of the 'Embrace' group exhibition.
Tala was also a 2024 Burwood Art Prize Finalist, for her video work 'as above, so below' (2021-2022) for the theme Visibility, Ritual and Legacy.
Tala's most recent work, 'Once in a Blue Moon' was a live experimental movement based work, a cultivation of previous works which included ‘Ode To My Soulmate?’ (2022) and ‘void…’ (2023) that explored transformation, rebirth and ritual embodiment. It was showcased as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival (PYT@FRINGE). In the same year, Tala created the sound design for a live theatre work called 'Hayat Amina (Safe Life)' at PYT Fairfield (2025).
She has also created soundscapes for writers with All The Best at FBi radio, which showcase her experimental and ambient melodies she produces. Some of her works include '#600 safe' (2024), '#628 Illuminated Manuscript' (2025), '#653 Tubig Lang (just water)' (2025) and '#687 don't talk about the water' (2026).
Liliana Occhiuto
Future Culture 2026 - 2027 Creative Producer Intern, Sound Artist + Art Therapist
Future Culture 2026 - 2027 Creative Producer Intern, Sound Artist + Art Therapist
Talk to Liliana about:
- Experimental Art-making
- Soundscapes and how they can work into other mediums
- Side-hustles and opportunities; how to survive while creating
- Art for Mindfulness // Strategies for arts for wellness
About Liliana:
Liliana Occhiuto is a Western Sydney-based sound artist and Art Therapist who works across numerous artistic disciplines to create emotionally evocative and immersive pieces suited to art installations, film and theatre work.
Constructed with the intent to connect with the listener, audio samples are combined with commonplace instrumentation to create unconventional, conceptually rich pieces of sonic art. Elements of electronica, progressive rock, as well as the beauty in the sounds of everyday life are blended to help develop ambient environments that are texturally diverse and engaging.
Throughout her career as an artist and active collaborator, she has created works that have been displayed at numerous institutions, including Carriageworks, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, and PACT. Occhiuto has also created multidisciplinary pieces and facilitated learning through the Creative Leadership in Learning Program at the Sydney Opera House.
Constructed with the intent to connect with the listener, audio samples are combined with commonplace instrumentation to create unconventional, conceptually rich pieces of sonic art. Elements of electronica, progressive rock, as well as the beauty in the sounds of everyday life are blended to help develop ambient environments that are texturally diverse and engaging.
Throughout her career as an artist and active collaborator, she has created works that have been displayed at numerous institutions, including Carriageworks, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, and PACT. Occhiuto has also created multidisciplinary pieces and facilitated learning through the Creative Leadership in Learning Program at the Sydney Opera House.
Esky Escandor
Future Culture 2026 - 2027 Arts Leadership Intern, Arts Practitioner, Cultural Producer + Multidisciplinary Artist
Future Culture 2026 - 2027 Arts Leadership Intern, Arts Practitioner, Cultural Producer + Multidisciplinary Artist
Talk to Esky about:
- Building a creative career in Western Sydney: finding opportunities, networks and your place in the arts
- Balancing different creative roles: building a career when you’re an artist, worker, producer, facilitator, youth worker, community worker ALL at the same time
- Community arts and leadership: collaborating with communities, sharing ownership and creating work
- Writing in comedy, film, and music: my experience in this field and how I make it work with a full-time day job
About Esky:
Ian "Esky" Escandor is a Western Sydney community arts practitioner, cultural producer and multidisciplinary artist working across comedy, music, film and community development. His work explores culture, identity and social change, whether that be through music, writing or stand up comedy, or through the curation of projects that connect artists and communities across Western Sydney. He has collaborated with organisations including Apple, Blacktown Arts, Sydney Opera House, CuriousWorks and the Ted Noffs Foundation, with his work presented at festivals including Sydney Fringe, Adelaide Fringe, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival, SXSW Sydney and CineFestOz Film Festival. His creative practice has also been featured on Netflix, ABC and Channel 10's The Project, reflecting his commitment to amplifying diverse voices and building pathways for emerging artists.
Alongside his artistic practice, Esky has spent over a decade working in community arts and youth development, designing creative programs that use music, film and performance to support young people and strengthen local communities. As Program Coordinator at Street University Mt Druitt and founder of opnsrc.co, he has developed artist pathways through DJ workshops, Director of the Radio Program, coordinating programs at the Street University Mt Druitt site. His combined experience as an artist, producer and community member continues to shape his commitment to ever connecting community with a creative future.
Alongside his artistic practice, Esky has spent over a decade working in community arts and youth development, designing creative programs that use music, film and performance to support young people and strengthen local communities. As Program Coordinator at Street University Mt Druitt and founder of opnsrc.co, he has developed artist pathways through DJ workshops, Director of the Radio Program, coordinating programs at the Street University Mt Druitt site. His combined experience as an artist, producer and community member continues to shape his commitment to ever connecting community with a creative future.
Shyamla Eswaran
Future Culture 2026 - 2027 Arts Leadership Intern, Multidisciplinary Artist, Creative Producer + Facilitator
Future Culture 2026 - 2027 Arts Leadership Intern, Multidisciplinary Artist, Creative Producer + Facilitator
Talk to Shyamla about:
- Developing performance, dance and multidisciplinary projects from an initial idea into something achievable
- Cultural safety, representation and ethical collaboration — including avoiding tokenism and working responsibly across cultures and communities
- Making art from identity, diaspora, history, politics and lived experience
- Choreography, movement direction and embodied storytelling for stage, screen and live performance
- Artist care, artist liaison and people-centred approaches to producing events and creative projects
- Freelance arts life — scoping work, fees (especially how to charge and quote for gigs and projects), boundaries, wearing multiple hats and protecting time for your own practice
- How to build your brand as an artist or collective
About Shyamla:
Shyamla (they/them) is a Western Sydney-based multidisciplinary artist, creative producer and facilitator whose practice moves between making art and building the conditions around it. Across creating, producing, curation, artistic direction and consultation, they centre artist agency, cultural responsibility and self-determined storytelling.
In 2019, Shyamla founded BINDI BOSSES, a South Asian and intercultural arts platform through which they made, curated and produced work for Sydney Opera House, Carriageworks, Museum of Contemporary Art, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art and Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre.
Their credits include Movement Director/Choreographer for Daytime Deewane (Riverside Theatres), Creator and Independent Producer of DIASPHORIA (Create NSW-funded), Board Member of Dance Makers Collective, Co-curator of an inaugural dance festival in Western Sydney (2027), and Cultural Consultant for City of Parramatta. They served on the Board of Ausdance National (2021-2022).
A descendant of Indo-Fijian indentured labourers, Shyamla’s artistic practice explores caste, migration, responsibility to Country, gender fluidity, ancestral memory and belonging through movement, sound and the 3000-year-old Tamil artforms of Parai Attam and Silambam. Their debut solo work, GIRMITIYA, was presented as part of DirtyFeet’s sold-out Out of the Studio season at Sydney Dance Company in 2025.
Shyamla holds a Master of International Human Rights Law and Policy and received the 2020 Multicultural NSW Premier’s Harmony Medal for Arts and Culture.
In 2019, Shyamla founded BINDI BOSSES, a South Asian and intercultural arts platform through which they made, curated and produced work for Sydney Opera House, Carriageworks, Museum of Contemporary Art, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art and Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre.
Their credits include Movement Director/Choreographer for Daytime Deewane (Riverside Theatres), Creator and Independent Producer of DIASPHORIA (Create NSW-funded), Board Member of Dance Makers Collective, Co-curator of an inaugural dance festival in Western Sydney (2027), and Cultural Consultant for City of Parramatta. They served on the Board of Ausdance National (2021-2022).
A descendant of Indo-Fijian indentured labourers, Shyamla’s artistic practice explores caste, migration, responsibility to Country, gender fluidity, ancestral memory and belonging through movement, sound and the 3000-year-old Tamil artforms of Parai Attam and Silambam. Their debut solo work, GIRMITIYA, was presented as part of DirtyFeet’s sold-out Out of the Studio season at Sydney Dance Company in 2025.
Shyamla holds a Master of International Human Rights Law and Policy and received the 2020 Multicultural NSW Premier’s Harmony Medal for Arts and Culture.
Contact
Contact us here
Find us at:
Fairfield City HQ
17 Kenyon St,
Fairfield, NSW, 2165,
Australia
Mail us at:
PO Box 112,
Liverpool, NSW, 1871,
Australia
View our visual story to know exactly how to find us
02 9602 9568
ABN 49 717 992 269
Subscribe to our newsletter
Always Was, Always Will Be, Aboriginal Land.
Our office is located on Darug land at Fairfield City HQ. We would like to acknowledge the Cabrogal Clan of the Darug Nation, the traditional custodians of the land. Our work takes us across Darug, Dharawal and Eora lands. Sovereignty was never ceded.