Fardowsa Yussuf (She / Her) Age: 16
Fardowsa Yussuf is a Melbourne-based student who admires all visual art, but she mostly falls into drawing, as it is a way, she expresses her thoughts and ideas on paper. Fardowsa is a Youth Leader at the Darebin ‘The Hub’. She co-facilitates events and runs weekly programs with other youth leaders. She has helped facilitate programs such as Photography, film making, robotics and poetry. Throughout these experiences shown Fardowsa an open door into the arts. On the side, Fardowsa enjoys watching films, cooking and spend time with friends.
Ivy Luo (They / Them) Age: 16
Ivy Luo is a student living in Melbourne. She is fascinated by all art forms, and expresses herself through writing, music, photography, filmmaking and visual arts. Her poetry has been published once by an online magazine and she is constantly producing more work in hopes of reaching a wider audience. Music is also an indispensable part of Ivy’s life: from classical cello to jazz piano, she finds music capable of purifying the soul. Heavily influenced by jazz since 2018, Ivy has become more interested in improvising and creating work spontaneously rather than polishing up her performance on composed works. Apart from writing and music, Ivy explores photographic expression (where her mother is often the model), draws weird comic characters and makes short films with friends.
Dashiel Agar (He/Him) Age: 18
Dashiel Agar is a Melbourne-based student with experience as an actor, arts facilitator, performer, and artist. In the past, Dash has worked with Barking Spider Visual Theatre, Polyglot Theatre and the Melbourne Opera Company, amongst others. Currently, Dash is completing a Bachelor of Arts at Swinburne University, majoring in film and television studies. In his spare time, he writes about moral philosophy, watches films, and hosts picnics and parties for his friends. Dash is passionate about creating thought-provoking, immersive work which confronts moral and political dilemmas and invites audiences to explore their own minds and identities.
Tallulah McKenzie (She/Her) Age: 19
Tallulah McKenzie is a young theatre-maker based in the rural town of Deniliquin. She has collaborated with Outback Theatre for Young People over the past 8 years, creating performance and installation experiences for small communities in desperate need of the arts. Tallulah has received several Australian Theatre for Young People scholarships for holiday residencies with their company in Sydney. She performed in the Sydney Festival in 2017 and has done work experience with the Melbourne theatre company House of Muchness. Tallulah will attend Monash University to study a Bachelor of Arts majoring in theatre in 2020.
Edwina Green (She / Her) Age: 20
Edwina Green is Trawlwoolway multidisciplinary artist, working across installation, sculpture, film, photography and painting. She explores concepts of revitalisation of cultural practices, religion and the post-colonial paradigm and it's affects on people and place. Selectively, Edwina's work that has been apart of Dis Rupt (Yirramboi Festival) Venues 3056 / Anthrophony / (Brunswick Music Festival) and Refuge (ArtsHouse Melbourne) her work creates narratives that engage, provoke, and question peoples interaction with indigenous epistemologies and ways of being. Alongside her arts practice, she also works within Indigenous education as a youth mentor.
Lauren Sheree (They / Them) Age: 21
Lauren Sheree is a femme artist, actor and singer/songwriter based in Melbourne, Australia. Lauren is a proud Wakka Wakka person, whose art focuses on healing, cultural identity and feminism. They currently attends NIDA open for Screen Acting.
In 2017 they started working under the art name ‘Love Like Wine’, which explores femme art and is inspired by nature and the natural form. Love Like Wine is also a part of a creative collective called Converse_X - a group of young creatives from around the world who collaborate with Converse on different projects, Lauren’s latest being a mural outside of their Emporium store.
Lauren’s latest project was Jiyan - a femme experimental show performed at Siteworks. They had paintings displayed, which touched on their identity as a femme indigenous person, and sung a series of songs called Catharsis, accompanied by their ukulele.
Al Lindeberg (They / Them) Age: 22
Al Lindeberg is a contemporary artist, writer and designer living in ‘Melbourne’. They are currently completing a Bachelor of Fine Art at RMIT, specialising in Expanded Studio Practice. Their work celebrates the power of vulnerability and interrogates what it means to be human. In this, they have worked a long-standing interest in soft-sculpture, costuming, painting, poetry & drawing. Al considers the artwork as imminent to experience, rather than a ‘object’ the work itself is the ‘event’ of viewing and participating.
Brittney Anne (She / Her) Age: 23
Brittney has spent the last 3 years travelling, and has recently returned home to Melbourne where she has resumed life as a student and is nearing the end of her Bachelors in Commerce, and Laws. Having spent over a year living in Amsterdam, she gained a great appreciation for Dutch and northern European design, and found the time to follow more creative pursuits; such as sewing, ceramics and photography, with some of her photographic works featured in a Dutch publication for a boutique hotel group. Since returning to Melbourne she has assisted in photoshoot styling for a local jeweller, and has facilitated an event surrounding positive female expression.
Yasmin-Rose (She/Her They/ Them) Age: 23
Born and raised in so called “Melbourne”, Yasmin-Rose (she/her, they/them) has a background in nursing and a passion for carving out spaces for community to celebrate, elevate and heal together.
Yasmin-Rose is a DJ, you can find them playing tunes at your local house party or fundraiser. Since March has been managing the recording studio at Real Youth Music Studios (RYMS).
Under the mentorship of China Aleisse (Floating Key), Yasmin co-produced their first dance/clubnight ‘Drip’, a night of music, dance and performance centring Bla(c)k elevation, Indigenous relations, and PoC solidarity.
Recently completed the Youth Peer Leadership program with The Drum Youth Services. Yasmin co-produced community events and programs for the (in)visible project. An initiative for and by young queer people of colour (QTPoC) in The City of Melbourne aiming to create spaces that are accessible and affirming for young QTPoC to come and connect.
Ashleigh Morris (She/Her They/ Them) Age: 25
Ashleigh Morris is a theatre-maker and creative producer from Perth, Western Australia. Having recently produced the UHT Guild Fringe Hub at Melbourne Fringe 2019, Ashleigh is excited to program a new work as part of Darebin City Council’s Let’s Take Over. Earlier this year, Ashleigh completed her Masters of Arts and Cultural Management and directed ‘MEDUSA’ at Mudfest 2019. Previously, Ashleigh has worked as Co-Creative Director of TASTINGS 18, Creative Producer of Performing Arts at Mudfest 2017 and as a theatre-maker/performer at Fringe World 2015 and Fremantle Festival 2014.