ANNIE BRIGDALE
Collaborating Artist: Country and Belonging
Annie Brigdale is a creative from Aboriginal (Yorta Yorta) and Irish heritage. Her art, encompassing visual art, painting, and ceramics, reflects her deep connection to Country and family.
Annie’s work emphasises listening, observing, and personal growth, and honouring her cultural legacy.
She brings the strength and wisdom of her heritage to her role as the First Nations Learning Officer at Bendigo Art Gallery. At the gallery, Annie engages young people through workshops and interactive sessions, inspiring them to explore their creativity and deepen their understanding of First Nations Art.
NEIL MORRIS
Collaborating Artist: Country and Belonging
Neil Morris is Dja Dja Wurrung man of the Yung Balug clan, a descendant of the King Girribong family. Morris identifies as proud multi lineal First Nations person with additional strong linkages into Yorta Yorta Wemba Wemba, Wiradjuri & Ngurai Illum Wurrung and is also descended of other Indigenous Nations stretching as far as Worimi & Biripi lands on the Mid North Coast of NSW and to Gariwerd in the Western Vic. Additionally Morris indentifies with his lineages that expand into East Asian, SWANA, Celt and Māori.
As a visionary practitioner focused on how we can all expand our deepening roots and building of bridges of connectivity, he is a ground breaking creative and cultural practitioner whom works through mediums of song, sound, word. Morris is also known for a practice which extends into significant social and political discourse whereby he recently completed a Doctorate with a focus on the Sovereignty of Indigenous Music practice.
Morris name is synonymous with his work as decolonial work with DRMNGNOW which explores and centres Indigenous rights and culture via the mediums of hip hop which has included a significant focus on Yorta Yorta language reinvigoration deeply entwined into the use of relationship and kinship notions to country and cultural practice in the now. Morris active propagation of decolonial music framings is further given life through his project MINYERRA which seeks to go beyond bounds of genre limitations with a pulse centric sound driven by Indigenous phrasings, layered with Morris hybrid production which meshes voicings of country, analog synthesis & further detailed textural instrumentation paired with vocal layering in Indigenous languages.
JOSIE GOWER
Collaborating Artist: Country and Belonging
Josie Gower is a Palawa Trawlwoolway artist. Her practice encompasses painting, weaving, and mixed media works.
Josie has created large-scale murals including one on display at Catherine McAuley College.
Josie also leads creative workshops for all ages, including a ‘First Nations Women Exploring Leadership Through Creative Practice’, and teachings for both primary and secondary students.
LEONIE VAN EYK
Collaborating Artist: Country and Belonging
Leonie Van Eyk is a filmmaker, photographer, puppeteer and stage/project manager working in the realm of theatre and dance, documentary and community-based projects.
Her practice includes the creation of a body of short films which document the artistic practices of community groups and tap into the processes of personal artworks unfolding. Leonie also creates multimedia visual artworks for installations, festivals and events and runs art and animating workshops with curious groups.
Leonie has worked within the scope of large-scale puppetry to Bunraku. She has worked alongside companies such as Black Hole Theatre, Weave Movement Theatre, Arts Project Australia, Arts Access Victoria and the Snuff Puppets. Leonie has led and performed in projects as part of The Village Festival at Falls Festivals. She has created a major installation with live stream projections for the Newcastle Museum.
Leonie is motivated to create, devise, develop and implement performances that genuinely benefit communities.
JIM COAD
Collaborating Artist: Country and Belonging
Jim Coad is an artist specialising in large-scale, site-specific projection installations. His work has been featured at major festivals across Australia and in Europe, transforming buildings and public spaces through light, movement, and community collaboration.
Jim’s multidisciplinary practice spans theatre, film, conceptual installations, and large sculptural works, often incorporating interactive and participatory elements that invite audiences to become part of the creative experience.
In 2021, Jim completed a six-month artist residency at Gisborne Secondary College through Regional Arts Victoria’s Creative Workers in Schools Program, furthering his commitment to education and community-engaged art practice.
ZOË BARRY
Collaborating Artist: Cloudlines
Zoë is an acclaimed cellist, composer, sound artist, performance maker and educator based in Taungurung Country/Kyneton.
She works across traditional and found performance spaces and the digital world, collaborating with leading musicians, artists, film and theatre makers across Australia and internationally. A prolific artist, she composes for theatre, gallery installations and chamber ensembles, and creates audio-led immersive works for intergenerational audiences.
Her practice is guided by an interest in the politics of slowness and empathetic ways of listening.
Zoë is a long time collaborator with Patch Theatre, co-directing works including The Lighthouse and Superluminal, and a key artist with Threshold, co-creating Mountain Goat Mountain.
She makes work with and for young people, including 13 years working on the Harmony In Strings project, for which she won an ARIA award.
Her solo work The Nervous Atmosphere, exploring the experience of being struck by lightning three times, premiered at Arts House in 2023.
JASON TAMIRU
Collaborating Artist: Cloudlines
I am Yembena cultural songline.
Eagle, Crow, Emu, Turtle, Snake, Fish, Water, Tree, Earth, Sky, Serpent
Born many years ago I have reincarnated many into the presence of my being today.
My Creator is Baimi and I interpret the custodian Lores of Serpent Dreaming.
My constitution, many cultures, many spirits, many songlines, one earth.
My work focusses on spiritual and cultural alignments to the earth, sky and being.
I engage to a world made 5 billion years ago.
I engage to life made millions of years ago.
I am invisible to hate and visible to warmth
I sing in lingo, play yidaki, clap message sticks, use smoke and fire corrobboree, to connect to the old country and old people.
I work for peace.
Jason Tamiru
Yenbena Songline
Biami Lore
Serpent Dreaming
KELLY RYALL
Facilitating Artist: Composing Space: Listen, Make & Imagine
Kelly Ryall is an award-winning composer, musician and sound designer for theatre, dance and film. Kelly is recognised internationally for creating immersive and multi-layered musical landscapes for the stage and screen.
His recent focus has been to establish a music driven theatre/performance practice, where score not script is the driver behind a work. ANIMAL directed by Susie Dee and THE BACCHAE directed by Adena Jacobs (Melbourne Festival and Dark Mofo) are the first of these works and were received to public and critical acclaim.
He is currently creating music for a new ballet with The Australian Ballet choreographed by Lucas Jervies; and a new work for Circa directed by Yaron Lifshitz. He is composer for the six-part TV series MORE THAN THIS with Paramount + with launched in 2022.
Kelly has won four Green Room Awards and a Melbourne International Arts Festival Award and been nominated for a Sydney Theatre Award and numerous Green Room Awards.
Sarah Sivaraman
Facilitating Artist: Composing Space: Listen, Make & Imagine
Sarah Sivaraman facilitates workshops that bring joy, curiosity and play to the forefront of creative expression.
Sarah believes that art is for everyone to enjoy, and that art making is just another way we can learn, connect and make sense of our experiences and the world around us.
With a background in Art Therapy, and decades of experience working creatively with kids, young people and families, Sarah’s approach is trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming, and person-centred.
LAURA JADE
Collaborating Artist: Brainlight
Laura Jade is an Australian artist, educator, and interaction designer whose work explores the intersections of art, science, technology, and human perception.
Drawing on backgrounds in fine arts, biology, museum studies, and lighting design, she creates immersive experiences that transform complex scientific ideas into playful, accessible encounters, with a particular interest in how invisible biological processes can be made visible through art.
As the creator of Brainlight an interactive EEG-driven artwork that translates brain activity into light, Laura invites audiences to engage directly with their own inner worlds through curiosity, experimentation, and wonder. Her work has been presented in galleries, museums, festivals, schools, and public spaces, where she is known for creating experiences that blend creativity, discovery, and hands-on participation.
Socials: @laurajadeartist
Website: laurajade.com.au
Caroline Bowditch
Performing: The Adventures of Snigel
Caroline Bowditch is a performer and choreographer who is passionate about everybody having access to joy, love, play and the arts. She is a distinguished leader in the arts and culture sector, known as a maker, teacher, and speaker in the arts industry around the world.
Caroline has identified a significant gap in work made for young audiences, where very little includes visibly disabled performers. In response, she and her collaborators have developed new works The Adventures of Snigel and Snigel and Friends, which have been performed around the world.
Caroline’s critically acclaimed contemporary dance works have won multiple awards for celebrating diversity of bodies and experiences. After years working in the UK, she returned to Australia in 2018 to become CEO at Arts Access Victoria, and in 2024 was awarded a Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship.
The Wholesome Hour
The Wholesome Hour is a Naarm based physical theatre company making comedy work for family audiences.
Their first project ‘Episode 1’ premiered online in 2020 as part of La Mama’s 4 Kids program. It won the Green Room Award for Best Design – Independent Theatre, 2021. This work can still be viewed for free on their YouTube channel.
Their first work for live audiences was Polite Mammals. It was developed at ArtPlay in 2022 in collaboration with young people aged 5-9. It premiered at ArtPlay in January 2023 co-presented by Midsumma Festival.
Key creatives include Lily Fish, Sunanda Sachatrakul, Ell Sachs, Angela Fouhy, Jack Lewis and Kimberley Twiner.
They are proudly feminist and LGBTQIA+ led, and passionate about making sophisticated works for undervalued publics. They are pro-wilderness and take the pursuit of silliness extremely seriously.
Sylvie Meltzer
Collaborating Artist: The Disco is Corrupt
Sylvie Meltzer is an interdisciplinary workshop facilitator, performer and teaching artist dedicated to storytelling with more than 15 years’ experience working with children, families and communities across Australia, India and China.
Her practice is grounded in participant-led and devised theatre, creating inclusive spaces where creativity can spark connection, reflection and meaningful conversation. Drawing on a background in theatre-making and drama education, Sylvie is passionate about the ways stories, objects and creative experiences help people express who they are and collaborate with others.
Sylvie has been a core artist with Polyglot Theatre Company since 2016. She has also spent the past eight years working in the Creative Direction team at Satellite Foundation, where she leads creative programs that support children, young people and their families to explore and empower the voices of lived and living experience of mental health challenges.
Briony Farrell
Collaborating Artist: The Disco is Corrupt
Briony Farrell is an actor and theatre-maker based in Melbourne. She holds a BFA in Acting from the Victorian College of the Arts (2015) and an MA in Classical Acting from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (2019).
At the heart of Briony’s practice is creating theatre for young audiences. In 2026, she received ArtPlay New Ideas Lab funding to develop Undertow, a new work for babies, babies in the womb, and their caregivers.
A core artist with Polyglot Theatre since 2016, she has toured nationally and internationally, including Paper Planet to Chemnitz, Germany (2026) and When the World Turns to the Lincoln Center in New York (2025). She continues to perform across Polyglot’s repertoire, including Ants, Forest, Bees, and Boats. In 2020–21, she developed Polypropylene Dreams for 9–12 year olds, before founding her own company, Playfully.
Briony is also an experienced teaching artist, with a practice centred on creating accessible theatre with and for disabled and neurodiverse young people.
Things of Foam & Wood
Tamara Rewse and Hamish Fletcher are the founders of Things of Foam and Wood, Australia.
Industry professionals for over 25 years and collaborators since 2004, together they are a powerhouse of puppetry skills and ingenuity.
Tamara and Hamish have a wealth of knowledge spanning film, television and theatre, with over 50 years combined experience in puppetry. Their knowledge of making and puppetry ranges from the very large to the miniature. Recent career highlights include mechanism design, puppet re-modelling and performance for the international smash-hit ‘Bluey’s Big Play’!
Through the specialised design and build process, Things of Foam and Wood specialise in making puppets and props that stand up to the rigours of touring and handling, with a special focus on the ergonomic nature of each puppet.
Castlmaine Circus
Presenting: Come and Try Circus
Castlemaine Circus has created an inclusive and accessible space and offers classes for all ages in Circus Skills, Aerial Arts and Parkour. They foster an environment where students can take safe risks, support each other and have fun.
Castlemaine Circus was established in 2013 as a direct response to ongoing requests from the community for childrens’ circus classes. What began with 3 classes a week has now grown into offering 37 classes a week, enrolling 400 students of all ages and engaging 20 amazing trainers from the region.
General Manager Sophie Easton has been working extensively in the Circus Industry as a performer, artistic director and teacher working in many countries all around the world for the past 20 years.
Taylor Easton
Taylor Easton is a clown and circus performer known for his skills involving stilt-walking, physical theatre, and slapstick comedy.
He has performed all over the world including at Lamplight Festival and Otherworlds. Taylor has many beloved stage personas, including the Captain Pancake and now CYBRO3000.
Polyglot Theatre
Polyglot Theatre is a world-renowned contemporary theatre company based in Melbourne/Naarm making exceptional arts experiences for children and families.
Their artistic and philosophical approach of child-centred practice has earned them a strong reputation at home and abroad as a leader in the theatre for young audiences sector, celebrated for creating distinctive, participatory and inclusive works that are playful and conceptually rigorous.
Access is fundamental to Polyglot’s work; they are driven by the right of all children to experience growth and resilience through creative play.
Youbi Lee: Youbi is a community art project facilitator and multidisciplinary artist who moved to Naarm from Korea 14 years ago.
Justine Warner: A puppeteer at heart, Justine loves expression through movement. She savours subtlety, sensitivity and silliness, and is intrigued by the effects of connection through creativity on the nervous system, and how it seeds a sense of belonging.
Props Theatre
Presenting: Props Theatre Workshops
Props Theatre is a progressive drama program for 5 to 16-year-olds, teaching improvisation techniques for theatre, mime essentials, soundtrack art, various scripted plays and specialised training in voice work for performance. Props Theatre focuses on respectful, safe spaces for students to learn and explore their own creativity and grow their confidence
The program was created by Alise Amarant in 2018 after 8 years in the Drama Education Industry.
Alise teaches the key skills behind great performances and creating theatre art for Bendigo students.
Electric Wonderland
Presenting: WARNING: This is Not A Theatre Show
Electric Wonderland is an immersive, after-dark sound and light festival held in Bendigo’s historic Rosalind Park each winter. Featuring new and innovative light installations, the festival transforms the park into a spectacular nighttime experience for visitors of all ages.
Electric Wonderland attracts thousands of visitors from across Victoria and interstate, with many families making it part of their school holiday plans.
The festival is curated by Grant and Alicia Villiers. Grant is the Managing Director of Power AV, Central Victoria’s largest audio/video business, Alicia is the Creative and Event Manager of Electric Wonderland.
Anna Manuel
Collaborating Artist: Story Buffet
Anna Manuel is a children’s storyteller and professional development facilitator based in Melbourne. She works with children’s librarians and storytime presenters to deliver engaging and educational offerings for young people.
Anna’s storytelling practice draws on a wide range of oral formats and techniques, including Kamishibai (Japanese paper theatre), Bilingual Filipino-English stories, String stories, hand puppets, body percussion, with original songs woven through.
Anna grew up multilingual in the Philippines and has worked with children and communities across the Philippines, Thailand and Australia.
Kenny Chan
Facilitating Artist: Manga Workshops
Since 2003, Kenny Chan has been running around Australia spreading the love of Manga, the Japanese style of comic drawing.
He has worked as a freelance artist and animator in comics, animation, video games and movies, and is also a fully registered teacher.
Kenny has run over a thousand manga drawing workshops at schools, festivals and libraries over 20 years.
KENNY CHAN
Presenting: Manga Workshops
Since 2003, Kenny Chan has been running around Australia spreading the love of Manga, the Japanese style of comic drawing.
He has worked as a freelance artist and animator in comics, animation, video games and movies, and is also a fully registered teacher.
Kenny has run over a thousand manga drawing workshops at schools, festivals and libraries over 20 years.
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