Announcing the 2026 Creative Pathways Parramatta Participants

Angela Nielsen is a writer and founder based in Western Sydney. She is the founder of Recipe Repeater, a social enterprise importing premium Kampot pepper directly from Cambodian farmers into Australian markets. Through her writing, Angela explores the messy, honest reality of building businesses that do good, sharing stories of social entrepreneurs who are creating change through commerce, not charity.

Project Synopsis:
Parramatta is no longer just Western Sydney’s CBD, it is one of Australia’s most exciting hubs for social enterprise, creative business, and community driven commerce. In this episode we explore the entrepreneurs, makers, and changemakers quietly building something meaningful in the shadow of Sydney CBD. Answering the question: what does it actually look like to build a business for good in Western Sydney?

Arman Merchant is a Sydney-based cinematographer, photographer, and visual storyteller who lives behind a lens. Driven by a love for cinematic flair and authentic human connection, she specializes in capturing the vibrant, diverse stories that make a community tick. When she isn’t framing up the perfect shot, you can usually find her chasing beautiful light or collaborating with local creators to bring fresh perspectives to life.

Project Synopsis:
A cinematic digital story celebrating the delicious chaos, bright colors, and amazing aromas of Harris Park. From the sizzle of the kitchens to the busy, smiling sidewalks, this film captures the fun, food, and community spirit that brings the heart of Parramatta to life.

Dina Dewnarain is a creative with experience in journalism, screen production, and community radio. She is keenly interested in the arts, storytelling, and multiculturalism. Through her work, she strives to connect with others, to continuously learn, and to gain a better understanding of the world around her.

Project Synopsis:
A review of the book Parramatta: A Dictionary of Place and Memory by Yumna Kassab, as well as an interview with the author. This memoir is a collection of musings and observations from Yumna about Parramatta and her experience living there, using the format of a dictionary, with entries labeled from A to Z.

Deborah Prospero lives, works, studies, and writes on Dharug Country in Sydney’s West. A creative non-fiction writer focused on people and placemaking stories, her work has appeared in Refinery29, the Powerhouse Museum, Locative Magazine, and Written Off. In 2026 she guest-edited Written Off Issue 5, won the 2025 My Place in Cumberland competition, and received a Varuna x Whitlam Institute Essay Residency.

Project Synopsis:
A feature article on Parramatta Laureate in Literature, Eda Gunaydin. Through a walking tour of Parramatta, the piece explores the suburb’s changing identity, building on themes from her essay Second City. Written as an in-conversation feature that mirrors the act of walking, it examines literature as a bridge between people and place.

Fale Tumanu is a Samoan storyteller, poet, and performer dedicated to preserving and celebrating Pacific culture. As co-founder of Tagata Moana Writers Hub, she empowers emerging voices through creative expression. Her work reflects themes of identity, heritage, resilience, and service, inspiring audiences across diverse communities and generations.

Project Synopsis:
Interviews with key female artists and arts leaders highlighting the invisible labour behind arts and culture in Parramatta. Featuring women whose work in producing, organising, mentoring, advocating, and creating helps sustain the creative ecosystem, this project will also celebrate their contributions, leadership, and impact on the local cultural landscape.

Jasmine Baker is a Lebanese-Australian bilingual storyteller, performer, and poet based on Dharug Land. Working across narrative, verse, and hybrid forms, she explores themes of diaspora, identity, cultural memory, and belonging. Her work draws on multilingual and multifaith perspectives, using poetry and storytelling to connect ancient traditions with contemporary experiences.

Project Synopsis:
A podcast episode exploring multilingual storytelling and local migrant education programs, with a focus on language preservation, diaspora identity, and cultural transmission. Through discussions of education, performance, and community engagement, the episode examines how storytelling fosters belonging and sustains cultural knowledge across generations.

Kanchana Thirunavukkarasu is a 70-year-old creative based in Parramatta working across writing and digital story telling. Her stories revolve around microcosms of senior walking groups and Tai Chi for health. She is a member of New Writers Group Parramatta and her works revolve around identity and belonging to the community.

Project Synopsis:
Podcast episode called Don’t Count The Missing Sheep. It explores the benefits of seniors walking long distances in a group. The project will showcase one such group called Parramatta Walking Group, emphasising the sense of community, belonging and support the group provides to its members.

Kathleen Thomas is an emerging Indian-Australian creative, currently based in Sydney. With extensive dance training, a NIDA acting Diploma and a deep passion for literature, performance and writing to guide her university studies, Kathleen intends to use her unique voice to explore work across stage, screen and the page to make diverse audiences feel seen; inspiring them to use their gifts for change.

Project Synopsis: A memoir-style feature on coming of age as a multicultural Australian creative in the Parramatta LGA (and surrounds), exploring themes of identity, family and artistry to discover what it means to belong to two cultural worlds; and how that is a strength.

Max Mi is a young writer and student living in Parramatta with a strong interest in storytelling, culture, and community. His work explores how history, identity, and place are interlinked, with a particular focus on how diverse voices shape contemporary Australian communities. Through writing, he aims to highlight stories that create newfound understanding, connection, and cultural appreciation of Parramatta.

Project Synopsis: This feature article explores Parramatta’s emergence as a major cultural hub in Western Sydney. It reveals how First Nations, migrant, and Asian artists are contributing to the city’s evolving creative identity, while exploring the role of communities and initiatives in shaping Parramatta’s cultural future. The project seeks to celebrate the diversity, creativity, and unique stories that define the city today.

Paris Rosemont is a Thai Australian poet and author of Banana Girl, Barefoot Poetess, and >>glitch<<. Drawing on her Thai Australian heritage, her writing explores diaspora, desire, cultural inheritance, and social dynamics. Through her creative practice and service on literary boards and committees, she champions greater diversity in Australia’s literary landscape.

Project Synopsis:
Parramatta: the place to get Lit? A feature article exploring how Parramatta’s rich cultural diversity is shaping one of Australia’s most vibrant emerging literary communities, and whether the city has the cultural foundations to become New South Wales’ first UNESCO City of Literature.

Sarah Dee is a 19-year-old Filipino writer, artist and published author based in Sydney, Australia. Interested in themes of social justice, youth, and identity, she creates prose poetry and visual illustrations, which have been featured in her three books, in publications, and in creative spaces across Australia.

Project Synopsis: This project explores the Filipino cultural landscape of Western Sydney, examining how art, food, music, language, and community traditions are preserved and reimagined across generations. Focusing on Parramatta’s role as a cultural hub, it considers how heritage, migration, and belonging continue to shape contemporary Filipino-Australian identity and expression.

Samantha Haran (she/her) is an Eelam Tamil writer, radio-maker and community organiser based on unceded Dharug land. She is currently the Production Manager at the community radio show Race Matters on FBI Radio and a Master’s candidate at UNSW School of Law & Justice. She loves historical materialism, pop music and the colour hot pink.

Project Synopsis: A feature essay on Parramatta Park as a place of communion, connection and reprieve from the isolation and hyper-commercialisation of capitalist society.

Sofia Pimentel is a writer and lyricist whose work deals with criticism, contemporary art, and cultural research. Interested in dissident stories, intimacy, digital life, and (not) belonging, she draws on personal experience to examine broader social and cultural questions. Her practice combines observation, storytelling, and critical reflection, exploring systems behind performance and authenticity.

Project Synopsis:
Profile of Ilhan Abdi, examining the formation of consciousness through lived experience, and how her early encounters with culture and environment continue to shape her engagement with her identity and authentic representation

Sydnye Allen is an African-American educator and creative based in Ashfield, NSW. With a PhD in Human Development and over 20 years’ experience in early childhood education, she writes creative nonfiction and poetry. She is passionate about community-led media projects that amplify diverse voices and culturally nuanced lived experiences.

Project Synopsis: 

Podcast episode on how the ‘N’ word was introduced to non-African-Americans through art (hip-hop), and how the creative arts still have a responsibility to educate those same non-African-Americans.

Unaloto Funaki is a Tongan multidisciplinary creative based in Western Sydney, whose work centres on Pasifika stories, culture, and community. Inspired by his lived experiences and upbringing, he creates work that explores identity, family, belonging, and resilience, using storytelling to celebrate Pacific voices and spark meaningful conversations.

Project Synopsis:
This feature explores the rise of Pasifika storytelling in Parramatta and Western Sydney, highlighting how emerging creatives use film, theatre, music, writing, and performance to reclaim identity, preserve culture, and challenge stereotypes. Through artist interviews, it examines how key hubs such as ACE and Riverside Theatres support the development and sharing of authentic Pasifika narratives.