1. FIRST NATIONS CULTURAL PROTOCOL & CREATIVE PRACTICE

FRIDAY 29th AUGUST: 9.30 – 11.00am

How can artists and organisations ensure genuine respect for cultural heritage and intellectual property when working with Indigenous cultural material? This conversation explores protocols that promote self-determination, cultural safety, and meaningful collaboration with First Nations artists. Delve into the legal, ethical, and moral considerations at play.

How to ensure respect for cultural heritage and intellectual property, promoting self-determination and meaningful collaborations. These protocols are crucial for navigating the legal, ethical, and moral considerations involved in using Indigenous cultural material in creative endeavours, particularly in the context of non-Indigenous artists or organizations working with First Nations artists.

Link to Create NSW resources:  https://www.nsw.gov.au/arts-and-culture/engage-nsw-arts-and-culture/resource-hub/aboriginal-arts-and-culture-protocols

Image Credits: Aboriginal Arts and Cultural Protocols publication cover – Warruwl (detail) by Lucy Simpson.

2. “WE CREATE SAFE SPACES” REPORT

FRIDAY 29th AUGUST: 11.30 – 12.30pm

“What does it truly mean to create safe spaces in the arts? This session centres on the We Create Safe Spaces Report, researched and co-written by Jasmin Sheppard (Tagalaka, Critical Path’s First Nations artist-curator) and Joshua Staines Wiradjuri), with artwork by Shana O’Brien (ties to Darkinjung and Dharug). highlighting how many of our community and our peers have had to battle the system, struggle through unhealthy ways of working, revealing the lack of scaffolding within arts organisations to support the unique way we work and inhabit spaces.

This report was supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW and Critical Path.

Link to Report: https://issuu.com/criticalpath/docs/we_create_safe_spaces

Artwork: artwork by Shana O’Brien (ties to Darkinjung and Dharug).

JASMIN SHEPPARD:

Jasmin is a contemporary dancer, choreographer and director, a Tagalaka Aboriginal woman with Irish, Chinese and Hungarian ancestry.  Jasmin spent 12 years with Bangarra Dance Theatre performing numerous lead roles such as ‘Patyegarang’, in which critics described her performance as “powerfully engaging, fluent dexterity” (Sydney Morning Herald). Her work MACQ was nominated for a Helpmann Award for best dance work as a part of OUR Land People Stories in 2017, and in 2018 received a Helpmann for best regional touring program. In 2012 Jasmin was nominated for an Australian Dance award for ‘Best Female Contemporary Dancer’. Her work MACQ was nominated for a Helpmann Award for best dance work as a part of OUR Land People Stories in 2017, and in 2018 received a Helpmann for best regional touring program. Jasmin premiered her first full-length work The Complication of Lyrebirds in 2020 at Campbelltown Arts Centre. The work Premiered at Sydney Festival, 2021. Other works include: No Remittance for Legs on the Wall and Choice Cut for Yirramboi festival, which was presented at Toronto’s ‘Fall For Dance North’ Festival, 2019, The Cord presented at New Annual Arts Festival commissioned by Catapult Dance Choreographic Hub.

3. FIRST NATIONS ARTIST PANEL

FRIDAY 29th AUGUST: 1.30 – 2.30pm

Working as a First Nation artist in a regional NSW context. In conversation with

RENAE LAMB: FOUNDING DIRECTOR – MIDNIGHT DREAMING

Proud descendant of the Wiradjuri/Wongaibon people of central-west New South Wales. RENAE Founded Midnight Dreaming as a visionary artist for change. My work is driven by a desire to create equity, equality, and acceptance for our people. It is my life’s mission to help reshape the narrative around Aboriginal culture, shifting it from misunderstanding and stigma to true recognition of the incredible strength and beauty of our communities. Through my work, I aim to inspire others to see and value the profound contributions of Aboriginal people to this land and to create space for us to thrive as we always have.

4. PLACE MATTERS: CREATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON REGIONAL CHANGE

FRIDAY 29th AUGUST: 3.00 – 3.45pm

Shaping a more inclusive and dynamic dance future through locally driven innovation. This in-depth conversation offers an overview of the Northern Rivers dance sector’s post-disaster recovery, featuring research from the Dance Sector Uplift project and initiatives including PH(R)ASE and PRACTICE AND PLAY. Positioned as a model disaster recovery blueprint for regional dance, it opens dialogue around the co-design of a NSW Regional Independent Artist Network (RIAN), which aims to foster a more inclusive, collaborative, and geographically responsive dance sector.

GUEST: PHILIP CHANNELLS

Guest: Philip Channells (he/she/they) is a queer creative director/producer, performer, educator, and change-maker for dance based in the Northern Rivers, and co-founder of PH(R)ASE. Their work celebrates diversity, fosters connection, and supports socially engaged dance practices across regional and urban contexts. As the founder of Dance Integrated Australia, Philip has produced and facilitated internationally recognised projects that blend artistic innovation with participation, shaping the future of performance through exchange, mentorship, and creative leadership.

5. BUILDING ORGANISATIONS FROM THE GROUND UP IN REGIONAL NSW

FRIDAY 29th AUGUST: 4.00 – 5.00pm

A conversation with leading regional arts voices about building organisations from the ground up – the risks, the wins, and the unique challenges of creating ambitious, community-rooted arts initiatives outside metropolitan centres. With Rosemarie Milson (Newcastle Writers Festival), Braddon Snape (The Creator Incubator), Janie Gibson (Whalechorus) and Adam Deusien (Lingua Franca).

ADAM DEUSIEN

FOUNDING DIRECTOR: LINGUA FRANCA

Adam is a director and physical theatre maker with over 15 years’ experience in creating original narrative driven performance, adaptations of canonical texts and contemporary performance, in Bathurst, regional NSW. He is a graduate of Charles Sturt University BA – Communication: Theatre/Media and MA – Directing for the Stage, and in 2018 graduated with distinction as part of NIDA’s inaugural cohort of the MFA – Cultural Leadership.

Adam is Artistic Director of Lingua Franca, working extensively with Local Stages, Bathurst’s Performing Arts Development Program, as a director, producer and dramaturg, presenting work in regional Australia, nationally and internationally. He has directed numerous works with the company including Right Behind You, Unsustainable Behaviour and Mighty. As a freelance artist, Adam has adapted and directed Lysistrata, The Bacchae, The Trojan Women and The Fox (CYCLE Productions) as well as working as assistant/rehearsal director for companies Ensemble Theatre, Griffin Theatre, Stalker Theatre and Siren Theatre Co.

In recognition of his work in regional Australia, in 2016 Adam was awarded the CreateNSW Regional Arts Fellowship, and in 2017 continued this work as Artistic Associate with the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre. In 2018 he was appointed Artistic Director/Director of the Arts Program for Artstate, New South Wales regional arts festival and conference. In 2019 he was the recipient of a Sandra Bates Director’s Award with Ensemble Theatre. From 2019-23 he worked in programming roles with Events ACT and Canberra Theatre Centre as Manager of New Work, and since has returned to freelance making practice in the Hunter Region, regional NSW.

JANIE GIBSON: FOUNDING DIRECTOR – WHALECHORUS

Whale Chorus was founded in 2007 by Artistic Director Janie Gibson. Since 2020 the company has been based in Newcastle, Australia. We make art for and with the community we live in. Our projects centre local voices whilst participating in a global conversation through international collaborations and partnerships with leading theatre practitioners. Whale Chorus is a leading professional theatre company in the Hunter region. Our mission is to reinvigorate theatre’s true function as a ritual of reconnection.

ROSEMARIE MILSOM: FOUNDING DIRECTOR – NEWCASTLE WRITERS FESTIVAL

NWF is now one of the largest regional literary festivals in Australia. The festival extends beyond the annual event and not includes the $5000 Fresh Ink Emerging Writer Prize for regional NSW residents and the unique Story Hunter program, which trains local writers to lead intensive creative writing workshops in primary schools throughout the region.

BRADDON SNAPE: FOUNDING DIRECTOR – THE CREATOR INCUBATOR

The Creator Incubator (TCI) is a lively creative hub housing 38 resident artists, designers, makers, and thinkers, from emerging to those of national reputation, and was founded in 2017 by artist and Director Braddon Snape. TCI is a proud leader in the Newcastle and Hunter Arts community, aiming to foster growth, development, and promotion of not only the artists under its roof but also aims to contribute to the promotion of the wider region’s artists to help build a sustainable cultural landscape. TCI is also honoured to support worthwhile community initiatives such as the mental health support organisation Arts in Recovery (AIR) who run a monthly program engaging people with a lived experience of mental health.