Announcing Our Shifting the Balance Leaders!

Ali Ibrahim is a museum conservator with 12 years of rich experience preserving ancient materials and arts in Egypt, Chile and Australia. Arriving in Australia in 2021, Ali currently works as a conservator at the Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney, as part of the Museum’s Western Sydney project. Before this, he worked at the Powerhouse Museum in collections documentation. Ali holds a Masters in Museum and Heritage Studies from the University of Sydney and a Bachelors in Archaeology and Conservation Studies from Fayoum University. Ali firmly believes in the power of culture and art to unify humanity, seeing them as essential tools for fostering global solidarity and understanding.

Athésia, a Haitian French Canadian/Australian of African, French, Spanish, and Taino descent, is an international jazz singer, songwriter, presenter, producer and actor. Arriving in Australia in 2013, she served as a radio host and producer on ABC Jazz and Eastside Radio and, in 2018, she produced Australia’s first Haitian musical event, blending storytelling, traditional Haitian chant, and songs from her album Athésia & The Gentlemen. She embraces her roots as a guiding force and fervently advocates diversity and inclusion. Athésia believes in the responsibility of entertainment with consciousness, meaning and purpose, a mantra that keeps her heart in tune with her mission.

Belinda is a Ugandan-Australian producer, writer & actor. Her most recent acting credits include Apples Never Fall (Peacock), The Secrets She Keeps (Paramount), Five Blind Dates (Amazon Prime) & Interceptor (Netflix). Belinda holds a Bachelor of Arts (Performance Studies, Sociology) and Commerce (Marketing) from the University of Sydney. She is currently the marketing director at Life Charity Focus and is in pre-production for her upcoming series Going Home, developed with Screen Australia’s support. Additionally, she is establishing The Nansumba Foundation, a non-profit aimed at creating safe and accessible spaces for CaRM Australians to develop marketable screen projects.

Coti Cibils is an Argentine multidisciplinary artist and movement therapist. Her work spans contemporary dance, physical theatre, biomechanical movement, Pilates, and movement-focused visual arts, particularly photography and videography. Cotis’ art addresses social and cultural issues, advocating for diversity, women’s rights, human rights, and health. She has created interdisciplinary art pieces incorporating performances, installations, and clothing as props. She co-founded CALLE, a Latin American arts collective, and received funding from Creative Australia. Her current project, *Other Corporealities*, explores movement and dance with individuals over 50.

Danielle Tuwai is an arts and cultural projects manager, events producer, curator, programs manager and arts administrator. She is a Māori, Fijian, Tongan woman born in Aotearoa and raised on Gadigal Country. She has worked in music, media, theatre, and entertainment for two decades locally, nationally, and internationally. Danielle is currently undertaking a Master of Fine Arts in Cultural Leadership at NIDA and is the Cultural Projects Coordinator, Cultural Infrastructure, at the City of Sydney Council, working on providing affordable creative space for artists and arts organisations in Sydney. Danielle specialises in Indigenous and Multicultural cultural strategy, engagement and programming and is passionate about elevating equity, diversity, inclusion and representation in the Australian cultural sector.

Jonathan has been a performer for over 22 years, with extensive credits in all areas of the industry and has been a proud member of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) since 2003. He is a founding member of MEAA Equity Diversity and serves his third term as Co-Chair. Jonathan was the previously elected NSW Vice President of Equity and a Delegate to the MEAA Federal Council. He was also an Executive Committee member and The Directory Co-ordinator of The People of Cabaret (TPofC).

Juan Guillermo Robayo Gómez is an artist and a graduate of the National University of Colombia’s film school. He has received scholarships from Fundación Carolina and the British Council, allowing him to pursue a Master’s in Fine Arts in Spain and film studies in the UK. His performance, Sound Shadows, was showcased at the Reina Sofía Museum, and his work has been exhibited in galleries across Spain and Colombia. As the creative and executive producer of La Casa del Árbol Films, he produced the series Give Me Back the Night! and Airuna, which premiered globally, including at the Berlin Series Festival. He has also served as a juror for cultural grants. Currently, he is the artist-in-residence at PYT Fairfield in Sydney.

Laura is an award-winning community, arts and cultural leader with over fourteen years of experience heading arts programs and strategies at arts, local government and community organisations. Laura has managed, produced and curated multi-artform festivals, events, exhibitions, tours, workshops and capacity-building programs. Laura’s career has focused on the intersectionality of community, arts, culture, and diversity. She has developed and designed strategies and programs in consultation with CaLD artists and communities. Laura’s former roles include Coordinator/ Chair at the Sydney Latin American Film Festival (SLAFF), Creative Producer at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, Arts and Culture Manager at SSI, and Venue Manager at the Bankstown Arts Centre.

Lucia Tường Vy Nguyễn is a writer, editor and arts worker living on unceded Gadigal and Wangal land. She is currently Senior Editor at independent performing arts publisher, Currency Press. Her writing has been featured in publications such as Kill Your Darlings, Runway Journal, Art Collector and LIMINAL’s non-fiction anthology, Against Disappearance (Pantera Press, 2022), as well as art spaces such as Fairfield City Museum & Gallery and Pari (forthcoming). She is invigorated by the opportunity to play and dream within, around, or even outside capitalist structures of ‘work’.

Lusi Austin is a bi-racial woman of Fijian-Australian heritage living on Wiradjuri Country, Cowra, NSW. Recently, she wrote, directed, and produced a new Australian musical, Intertwined. She explores inter-generational and cross-cultural work through her creative arts practice to promote reconciliation, healing, and truth-telling. Using song, music, playwriting, and storytelling, she develops dramaturgy that highlights grassroots community narratives. Her goal is to deepen her leadership in community cultural development, fostering meaningful collaborations with both First Nations and non-Indigenous communities and contemporary arts leaders and practitioners across Australia.

Maissa Alameddine is a Lebanese interdisciplinary artist, arts worker, and creative producer living and working on the unceded lands of the Cammeraygal and Dharug peoples. With extensive experience as an organiser, agitator, event maker, curator, and space creator, she actively brings people together to collectivise and collaborate. Her work centres on storytelling and community, working through intersectional and intergenerational approaches that challenge normative discourses and prioritise self-determined processes in the contemporary art world. Maissa is also a co-founder and creative producer of Arab Theatre Studio, an arts collective based in Western Sydney.

Marian Abboud is a leading socially engaged, multidisciplinary artist in Western Sydney. She creates collective outcomes through technologies like video, sound, and performance for civic engagement and social activism. With a Bachelor of Visual Communication from the University of Western Sydney, she has exhibited nationally and collaborated on major projects. Marian is currently Artistic Director for Next Wave 24-25 and works on public art commissions in Merrylands and Parramatta. She is deeply involved in international residencies and community arts programs, particularly supporting refugee and migrant women through her work with the Think+DO Tank Foundation.

Moones Mansoubi has 10 years of experience organising and running community projects and events in Australia, working with people from diverse backgrounds. She has a wealth of experience in managing and delivering community art projects, bringing her knowledge in Community Arts and Cultural Development and her project management skills together to respond to the interests and needs of the community. She also worked as a journalist and producer at SBS for five years. She is a freelance translator, and her translations have been published in various media outlets, including The Guardian and The Saturday Paper. Moones holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and is passionate about social justice and cohesion. She is currently the coordinator of SSI’s Community Refugee Welcome Centre, which won two awards during her role.

Neel Banerjee is an intercultural theatre practitioner living on Darug land. An emerging creative leader in Western Sydney, Neel’s work involves cultural development, engaging theatregoers, community capacity building, education, and live-performing theatre training. Neel works extensively amongst culturally and linguistically diverse actors, creatives, and audiences. His creative development combines personal and political, ritualistic and physical theatre. As an artist, Neel is interested in a collaborative and interrelation approach to theatre development. Under his creative leadership in the last decade, Nautanki Theatre has presented a body of work that validates the South Asian diasporic experience in Australia. Neel was awarded Parramatta Citizen of the Year-Highly Commended 2024 for his contribution to arts and community. Neel has recently completed his international residency in Bangladesh, International Producers Training offered by Powerhouse Museum and Factory International, UK. Neel was selected for the Emerging Leadership Program offered by McKinsey & Company through the Australian Scholarship Federation. He works locally and joins forces in the Indo-Pacific region.

Nicole Pingon (she/they) is a multidisciplinary artist, theatre maker, and artist facilitator working across live performance, installation and digital mediums. Expanding across and between mediums, Nicole’s practice tends to be collaborative, curiosity-led, and process-driven, focusing on new work. Nicole has recently worked with Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir, Little Eggs Collective, Shopfront Arts Co-op, Blush Opera and SBS Audio. Nicole is a member and collaborator of the Little Eggs Collective and Ninefold Ensemble, a passionate teaching artist, and currently chairs Shopfront Arts Co-op’s CALD Advisory Board.

Born in Burundi and raised in London, Oumi is an impact producer based on Wiradjuri Country, committed to equity in education and the creative industries. With a background in communications, she moved into community development, education, and economic development. Oumi is Chair of Western Riverina Arts, served as a non-fiction editor for Mona Magazine, and in 2023 taught Writing for Performance and Acting through NIDA Connect. Oumi produced the Griffith Screen Industry Forum and worked on TEDxWagga Wagga (Stage Manager) and TEDxGriffith (Curation and Speaker Coaching). Last year, Oumi was selected for Screenworks’ Regional Producer Elevator Program and also founded Our Corner, a business focusing on projects rooted in collective agency.

Piumi Wijesundara is a Sri Lankan theatre artist with international expertise in directing, producing, playwriting, and acting, focused on socially conscious, devised theatre. She holds an MA in Theatre Directing from East 15 Acting School, UK, and trained at the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS). Currently a Public Programs Producer at the Cultural Facilities Corporation, she also freelances as a theatre practitioner in Sydney. She previously served as Program Manager – Children and Young People at NIDA Open, Sydney. As former Co-Artistic Director of Stages Theatre Group, Sri Lanka, her notable works include Awa/Kaawa/Giya and Ovaryacting! Her acting credits include Thought Curfew (Rwanda), Girls at Checkpoints (UK), and Ruins (25A Belvoir St Theatre). Piumi is passionate about theatre education, artist sustainability, and fostering a vibrant arts subculture.

Talia Smith is an artist and curator from Aotearoa based in Sydney, Australia. She has curated exhibitions for organisations such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Singapore International Photography Festival, IMA, UTS Gallery, Ballarat Foto Biennale and Cement Fondu among others. Her writing has appeared in various publications such as Memo Review, Art New Zealand and artist catalogue essays and books. She was nominated for Best Art Writing by a New Zealand Maori or Pasifika in the 2022 AAANZ awards. Talia was chair of Runway Journal 2017-18 and is currently a board member at Bus Projects and on the editorial committee for Un Projects. She has completed research residencies in Singapore, Germany and the Nordics and currently works as the Coordinator of Programming at Blacktown Arts.

Born and raised on Darug Land, Vanessa is a Latinx educator, producer and radio host with a passion for fostering creativity and community. She has created and delivered engaging creative writing workshops and content for young people across so-called Australia, and currently hosts a specialist show showcasing Latinx arts, culture and music on FBi Radio.

Yuki Kawakami is a creative producer, educator and programs curator with a background in dance and performance. She works at the Art Gallery of NSW as a programs producer for Creative Learning. In 2019, she was assistant curator of the Art Gallery’s major exhibition Japan supernatural and creative producer of its associated Sydney Festival program, Night parade of 100 goblins. She has previously been chair and co-director of the artist-led space Firstdraft. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Curatorial Practice at Monash University for Past Wrongs Future Choices, an international project aiming to connect local and global stories of racialised uprooting, internment and dispossession of civilians of Japanese descent during the Second World War.