About The Colour Cycle Podcast
The Colour Cycle podcast shares knowledge, experience and insight from artists and creative workers from across Australia and around the world. The podcast shares critical conversations about racial equity in the arts and screen sectors. We’re also sharing leading practices, and spotlighting great work and creators. Here are some previous seasons of the podcast: https://diversityarts.org.au/the-colour-cycle-podcast-archive/
The Colour Cycle is a project of Diversity Arts Australia (DARTS) Australia’s national voice for cultural diversity and racial equity in the arts, cultural and creative industries. Our work is underpinned by a human-rights ethic, social justice principles, and the belief that a truly diverse spectrum of creative expression and participation is fundamental to a democratic, inclusive and sustainable creative sector, and society.
The Colour Cycle Season 8: Breaking Ground
This podcast was produced on the unceded Burramattagal lands of the Darug nation.
Get ready for Season 8 of The Colour Cycle Podcast, Breaking Ground — a special International Women’s Day series by Diversity Arts Australia unpacking artivism, radical care, creative survival, gatekeeping and collective action. Explore how marginalised artists navigate inequitable systems with resilience and candour — find The Colour Cycle Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and more!
Breaking Ground by Diversity Arts Australia was proudly funded by NSW Government’s – Women NSW, Creative Australia, and Create NSW. Venue Partner: Arts and Cultural Exchange. Event partners: The Dream Collective, Parramatta Artist Studios, Hachette Australia.
Season 8 - List of episodes
Ep 1: Welcome to Breaking Ground - International Women’s Day
Breaking Ground: Women in the Arts and Creativity is a special podcast series by Diversity Arts Australia (DARTS), recorded on Burramattagal land of the Darug Nation to mark International Women’s Day 2025.
Settle in for compelling conversations about whether we can separate the professional from the personal, why we don’t ask for help, what to do about gatekeepers, and why joy can be an antidote to setbacks confronting marginalised peoples.
For more on Breaking Ground:
Breaking Ground Media Release
Breaking Ground YouTube highlights
Credits:
Guests: Peta Strachan, Lena Nahlous, Katrina, May
Interviewers: Maybelline San Juan, Nadyat El Gawley
Music: Gringo Flamenco by Montana Skies (Free Music Archive), CC-BY- 4.0 International
The name of this series was inspired by UK-based Speaking Volumes
Podcast Producer; Editing & mixing: Nadyat El Gawley
Colour Cycle Executive Producer and Host: Lena Nahlous, DARTS CEO
Digital Engagement & Comms Manager: Glaiza Perez
Symposium Project Producers: Simone Amelia Jordan, Lena Nahlous, Kevin Bathman
Breaking Ground by Diversity Arts Australia was proudly funded by NSW Government’s – Women NSW, Creative Australia, and Create NSW. Venue Partner: Arts and Cultural Exchange. Event partners: The Dream Collective, Parramatta Artist Studios, Hachette Australia.
Ep 2: Artivism: Separating the Personal and Professional
Breaking Ground: Women in the Arts and Creativity is a special podcast series by Diversity Arts Australia (DARTS), recorded on Burramattagal land of the Darug Nation to mark International Women’s Day 2025.
This episode looks at the challenges of using the arts to create change — whether under repressive or democratic regimes. And how can First Nations artists and artists of colour survive the demands of a creative life when there are inequitable structures?
For more on Artivism:
YouTube: Artivism, separating the personal and professional
Show notes/ Credits:
Guests: Roanna Gonsalves, Moones Mansoubi, Lusi Austin, Suzie Wrong, Rataj Abdullah, Ruth Nahlous
Interviewers: Maybelline San Juan, Nadyat El Gawley
Music: L’Etoile danse ( Pt1) by Meydan (Free Music Archive) licensed under Attribution 4.0 International
The name of this series was inspired by UK-based Speaking Volumes
Podcast Producer; Editing & mixing: Nadyat El Gawley
Colour Cycle Executive Producer and Host: Lena Nahlous, DARTS CEO
Digital Engagement & Comms Manager: Glaiza Perez
Symposium Project Producers: Simone Amelia Jordan, Lena Nahlous, Kevin Bathman
Breaking Ground by Diversity Arts Australia was proudly funded by NSW Government’s – Women NSW, Creative Australia, and Create NSW. Venue Partner: Arts and Cultural Exchange. Event partners: The Dream Collective, Parramatta Artist Studios, Hachette Australia.
Ep 3: Things My Aunty Didn’t Teach Me: lessons in sustaining a creative career
Breaking Ground: Women in the Arts and Creativity is a special podcast series by Diversity Arts Australia (DARTS), recorded on Burramattagal land of the Darug Nation to mark International Women’s Day 2025.
From tackling censorship today to truth-telling, join the panel’s iconic aunties as they take you through strategies to navigate your creative yearning and career—all with a lot of good humour and candour.
For more on Things My Aunty Didn’t Teach Me:
YouTube: Lessons in sustaining a creative career
Credits:
Guests: Professor Anita Heiss, Oumi Karenga -Hewitt and Dr Paula Abood, Anushri Sood
Music: L’Etoile danse ( Pt1) by Meydan, (Free Music Archive) licensed under Attribution 4.0 International
Music: Relaxing Latin guitar by Greg Kirkelie (Free Music Archive) licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International
The name of this series was inspired by UK-based Speaking Volumes
Podcast Producer; Editing & mixing: Nadyat El Gawley
Colour Cycle Executive Producer and Host: Lena Nahlous, DARTS CEO
Digital Engagement & Comms Manager: Glaiza Perez
Symposium Project Producers: Simone Amelia Jordan, Lena Nahlous, Kevin Bathman
Breaking Ground by Diversity Arts Australia was proudly funded by NSW Government’s – Women NSW, Creative Australia, and Create NSW. Venue Partner: Arts and Cultural Exchange. Event partners: The Dream Collective, Parramatta Artist Studios, Hachette Australia.
Ep 4: Radical care and resilience
Breaking Ground: Women in the Arts and Creativity is a special podcast series by Diversity Arts Australia (DARTS), recorded on Burramattagal land of the Darug Nation to mark International Women’s Day 2025.
How do we take care of ourselves? Why do so many of us struggle to ask for help, and what might we mean by the idea of resilience? Is it the same as resistance and speaking to power?
For more on radical care and resilience:
YouTube: Radical care
Show notes/Credits:
Guests: Nancy Diaz (moderator), Rhanna Collins, Fatma Mohammed, Alexia Derbas
Music: Gringo Flamenco by Montana Skies (Free Music Archive), CC-BY- 4.0 International
Interviewers: Maybelline San Juan, Nadyat El Gawley
The name of this series was inspired by UK-based Speaking Volumes
Podcast Producer; Editing & mixing: Nadyat El Gawley
Colour Cycle Executive Producer and Host: Lena Nahlous, DARTS CEO
Digital Engagement & Comms Manager: Glaiza Perez
Symposium Project Producers: Simone Amelia Jordan, Lena Nahlous, Kevin Bathman
Breaking Ground by Diversity Arts Australia was proudly funded by NSW Government’s – Women NSW, Creative Australia, and Create NSW. Venue Partner: Arts and Cultural Exchange. Event partners: The Dream Collective, Parramatta Artist Studios, Hachette Australia.
Ep 5: Collective Action
Breaking Ground: Women in the Arts and Creativity is a special podcast series by Diversity Arts Australia (DARTS), recorded on Burramattagal land of the Darug Nation to mark International Women’s Day 2025.
Catch this final part of the day, where you’ll hear some concluding remarks and a range of voices on what people took away from the Breaking Ground gathering for International Women’s Day.
Show notes/credits:
Guests: Emerald Brunt, Anushri Sood, Fatma Mohammed, Anne, Belinda Jombwe, Lena Nahlous, Helen Huggins, Tahmoor, Ruth Nahlous
Music: Relaxing Latin guitar by Greg Kirkelie (Free Music Archive), Attribution-Non Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International
Interviewers: Maybelline San Juan, Nadyat El Gawley
The name of this series was inspired by UK-based Speaking Volumes
Podcast Producer; Editing & mixing: Nadyat El Gawley
Colour Cycle Executive Producer and Host: Lena Nahlous, DARTS CEO
Digital Engagement & Comms Manager: Glaiza Perez
Symposium Project Producers: Simone Amelia Jordan, Lena Nahlous, Kevin Bathman
Breaking Ground by Diversity Arts Australia was proudly funded by NSW Government’s – Women NSW, Creative Australia, and Create NSW. Venue Partner: Arts and Cultural Exchange. Event partners: The Dream Collective, Parramatta Artist Studios, Hachette Australia.
The Colour Cycle Season 7: Where We Are Now
This podcast was produced on the unceded lands of the Bidjigal Clan of the Darug nation and the Gadigal and Wangal peoples of the Eora Nation.
Get ready for Season 7 of The Colour Cycle podcast, Where We Are Now! This season unpacks powerful stories of creativity, resilience, and social change—spotlighting women in hip-hop, radical care in the arts, and the transformative impact of diverse leadership across Australia and the UK. Find the Colour Cycle Podcast on all good listening platforms: Spotify, Apple Podcasts and more!
Season 7 is a collaboration with This Is Who We Are. It is a project which amplifies and brings together Women of Colour/Global Majority Women in solidarity. Formed by a collective including Renaissance One, Third Space, Diversity Arts Australia and more plus Australia and UK-based cultural practitioners/activists including Lena Nahlous, Bernardine Evaristo, Dr Paula Abood, Nur Shkembi, Melanie Abrahams and Sarah Dara. This season is supported by Creative Australia, Create NSW, British Council and Renaissance One.
Season 7 - List of episodes
The Colour Cycle Season 6: Pacesetters Conversations
Get ready for Season 6 of The Colour Cycle Podcast: Pacesetters conversations. Dive into intergenerational dialogues with trailblazing artists from culturally and racially marginalised backgrounds. Find out more about the social impact of their creative journeys at the original Pacesetters Creative Archives project by Diversity Arts Australia.
The Colour Cycle Podcast is on all good listening platforms: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Anchor, Castbox, Castro, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podcast Addict, PodChaser, RadioPublic, SimpleCast, and Stitcher.
This season is supported by Create NSW. Diversity Arts also receives core funding from Australia Council for the Arts.
Listen to Season 6
Listen to all the episodes in Season 6: Pacesetters Conversations
Season 6 - List of episodes
The Colour Cycle Season 5: StoryCasters TAKEOVER
StoryCasters is a project of Diversity Arts Australia and provides training and mentorship to young culturally diverse digital producers. Visit STORYCASTERS.NET for more.
The Colour Cycle Podcast is on all good listening platforms: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Anchor, Castbox, Castro, Deezer, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Listen Notes, Overcast, Playerfm, Pocket Casts, Podcast Addict, PodChaser, RadioPublic, SimpleCast, Stitcher, and TuneIn.
This season is supported by Multicultural NSW and Create NSW. Diversity Arts also receives core funding from Australia Council for the Arts. StoryCasters trainer/ mentors: Jennifer Macey, Phoenix Eye, Sweatshop Literacy Movement, Nicola Morton, Del Lumanta.
Season 5 - List of episodes
The Colour Cycle Season 4: Esteemed UK and Australian artists share WHO ARE WE NOW? in this special season!
This podcast was produced on the unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin nation, and the Gadigal and Wangal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. Always was. Always will be. Aboriginal Land.
As part of British Council’s UK/AUS Season, Diversity Arts Australia (DARTS) is proud to present a new season of The Colour Cycle podcast spotlighting synergy between trailblazing female creatives in the UK and Australia!
Four insightful episodes—titled UK/AUS – This is Who We Are (Part One)—emphasise the experiences of women of colour and Indigenous women working in the arts and creative industries in the UK and Australia. The guests share cross-cultural knowledge, unpack the differences between regions, the notion of resilience, existing as women in artistic spaces and what they’ve learned throughout their careers.
Novelist and producer Sharmilla Beezmohun and filmmaker and broadcaster Pearl Tan (Pearly Productions)
This podcast is a collaboration with This Is Who We Are, a UK-Australian movement of intergenerational & intersectional women artists, producers and creatives of colour who are transforming sectors, thinking and spaces.Co-directors Melanie Abrahams (Director. Renaissance One), Paula Abood (Director of The Third Space), Lena Nahlous (Executive Director of Diversity Arts Australia and host of The Colour Cycle podcast), Nur Shkembi (Melbourne based curator, writer and scholar). Festival Curator Melanie Abrahams Project Manager: Sarah Dara. Producer Renaissance One.
Support Diversity Arts on Patreon to help us continue to deliver our Colour Cycle podcast series.
Listen to Season 4
Listen to all the episodes in Season 4: This is Who We Are – UK/AUS (Part One)
Season 4 - List of Episodes
The Colour Cycle Season 3 is here!
This new season of The Colour Cycle is centred around “Concrete Strategies for Racial Equity.” We cover a huge breadth of content: the impacts of Covid-19 on artists, global anti-racism movements such as Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate, the necessity of diversity standards, the power of Indigenous music in retaining language, and the importance of allyship and leadership networks. The season also features a series of conversations with UK creative industry thought-leaders, in partnership with British Council Australia. Featuring: Writer/ broadcaster Benjamin Law; Executive Director, Creative Diversity Network UK Deborah Williams; Noongar singer/songwriter Gina Williams; Head of Inclusion, British Film Institute Jennifer Smith; artist and refugee advocate Safdar Ahmed; writer/performer Moreblessing Maturure; Senior Manager, Aboriginal Strategy and Engagement at Create NSW Peter White; Asian Australian Alliance Founder Erin Chew; local media legend Sunil Badami + MORE.
The opening and closing track “You know What” was written by UK based musician Spider J. Heartfelt thanks to Arts and Cultural Exchange for providing us with a recording studio.
Support Diversity Arts on Patreon to help us continue to deliver our Colour Cycle podcast series.
Listen to Season 3
Listen to all the episodes in Season 3: Concrete Strategies for Racial Equity
Season 3 - List of episodes
The Colour Cycle podcast Season 2: Fair Play!
The Colour Cycle Podcast is packed with important ideas, strategies and insights from leading thinkers in the arts. If you’re committed to equity in the creative sectors, then you don’t want to miss this. This season features a special recording of Fair Play season live at the Diversity Arts Symposium, Wheeler Centre in Melbourne.
We’re sharing these thought-provoking and courageous conversations far and wide. Conversations and experiences from First Nations trail blazers Genevieve Grieves and Tony Briggs, international guests like Deborah Williams from the UK’s Creative Diversity Network, Disability leader, artist Caroline Bowditch, Aseel Tayah, Paula Abood, and many more.
Legendary hip-hop and soul artist MC Trey composed our title track.
Support Diversity Arts on Patreon to help us continue to deliver our Colour Cycle podcast series.
Season 2 - List of episodes
The Colour Cycle Season 1: A podcast to challenge cultural whitewashing
The Colour Cycle aims to disrupt cultural whitewashing and examines whether Australia’s Arts and Cultural sector looks like Australia. Join the conversation on your socials with #TheColourCycle.
Listen to a short Intro:
Listen to Season 1
Listen to all the episodes in Season 1: A podcast to challenge cultural whitewashing
Season 1 - List of episodes
“We want our podcast to open up the conversation about why our arts and screens don’t reflect Australia’s real cultural diversity. We’re also showcasing some brilliant artists and creative workers along the way.”
“Growing up without seeing yourself reflected back in your nation’s stories is a quietly dehumanising thing.”