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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. In this episode, we're unpacking intersectionality. What is it? Why is it important, and what does it mean to live an intersectional life? In London, freelancer, editor and novelist Sharmilla Beezmohun (Co-founder of independent literature organisation Speaking Volumes) unpacks the question with Sydney filmmaker Pearl Tan, a lecturer in directing at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, who is studying for a PhD looking at the intersectional experience of diversity workers in the screen industry. Later on in the show, UK based independent producer and curator Melanie Abrahams chats to poet and playwright Chérie Taylor Battiste on the lived experience of intersectionality. Guests (in order of appearance): Pearl Tan, Sharmilla Beezmohun, Chérie Taylor BattisteInterviewers: Lena Nahlous and Melanie AbrahamsHost: Lena NahlousProducer: Nadyat El Gawley Music: GetawayCredits: Co- written by MC Trey (Australia) and Savuto (Fiji) / TAPASTRY © Recorded at Treehouse Productions, FijiVideo shot by Only Ideas Studio, Fiji. More information:Intersectionality: Ask the other questionHow intersectionality can help storytellersHow to be a good Indigenous allyNot quite right for usSpeaking Volumes - What Reflecting Realities means to you? 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.

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. In this episode, we’re peering a little into our personal lives today with some quick vox pops from artists and creatives. Our question: What is something we learnt about later in life, that we wish somebody in our lives had told us about? It could have come from our mothers, fathers, extended family, or people we came across growing up. UK performance artist Aleasha Chaunte considers becoming a parent and what she learned from her mother and family; and Sharmilla Beezmohun talks about how she wishes she knew that the older we get, the less we know. Guests (in order of appearance): Aleasha Chaunte, Jennifer Lee Tsai, Dj Sarah Love, MC Trey, Maya Jupiter, Sharmilla Beezmohun, Pearl TanInterviewers: Lena Nahlous and Melanie AbrahamsHost: Lena NahlousProducer: Nadyat El Gawley Music: GetawayCredits: Co- written by MC Trey (Australia) and Savuto (Fiji) / TAPASTRY © Recorded at Treehouse Productions, FijiVideo shot by Only Ideas Studio, Fiji. 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.

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. In this episode we’re speaking to three award-winning women of the Hip Hop world across three continents. These pioneers discuss working across regions, why community is integral to Hip Hop, and what resilience means to them. In Australia is MC Trey, a pacesetter in the world of hip hop whose legacy spans 20 years of music about everyday life, love and her Pacific community. In London is one of the busiest award-nominated aficionados of hip hop, DJ Sarah Love who’s also a broadcaster, TV presenter and journalist. In California is Maya Jupiter who was born in La Paz to a Mexican father and Turkish mother. She grew up in Australia where she fell in love with Hip Hop, later dropping three albums and hosting music shows on TV and radio. Guests (in order of appearance): MC Trey, DJ Sarah Love, Maya JupiterHost and Interviewer: Lena NahlousProducer: Nadyat El Gawley Music: InshallahCreditsSongwriter: Maya JupiterVocals: Maya Jupiter, Mia Xitlali and Sandino González-Flores.Qanoon and Oud: Halim Al-khatibDrums: Evan Cristo,Bass: Juan “El Unico” Perez,Keyboard: Quincy McCraryGuitar: Quetzal Flores.Video Production: Abby VanMuijen of RogueMark Studios, Art by Eliza Reisfeld and Animation by Marisa Rafter More informationSupporting the arts can increase our resilienceThe Complex Intersection of Gender and Hip-HopLife and Hip Hop : women’s role in the industryDJ Sarah Love Juice Crew interview This podcast is in 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.

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. This episode brings together Professor Deborah Cheetham AO, First Nations Creative Chair of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and producer of Australia's first Indigenous opera, and Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE, founder of the first professional orchestra in Europe to be made up of a majority of Black, Asian and ethnically diverse musicians. These two trailblazing women talk about their decades-long careers, decolonising systems and breaking down doors in Australian and UK classical music. Both speak to Melanie Abrahams who is our partner on this project, creative director and curator with Renaissance One in the UK. Guests: Chi-chi Nwanoku OBEProfessor Deborah Cheetham, AOInterviewer: Melanie AbrahamsResearch and presentation: Lena Nahlous, Diversity Arts AustraliaHost: Lena NahlousProducer: Nadyat El Gawley More information: Short Black OperaEnsemble DutalaChineke! Music: Threads of Existence, part three of a composition from Deborah Cheetham’s Woven Song – Pukumani series. Credits:Music composer: Deborah Cheetham AOGuzheng: Mindy Meng Wang (guest musician)Flute: Lisa-Maree AmosOboe: Joshua De Graaf Clarinet: Justin BeereAudio recording courtesy ABC ClassicWoven Song - Pukumani on YouTubeFilmed on location at NGV AustraliaCinematography and Production: David Ward More background information:The Chineke! Effect – if you can see it, you can be itClassical Drive with Chi-chi Nwanoku Classical Drive with Deborah Cheetham 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.

In 2020, Sydney Arts Management Group (SAMAG) facilitated a panel asking what was the role and responsibility of the creative sector in the fight for racial justice. Hosted by Diversity Arts' Lena Nahlous, the talk featured leading activists, artists and community leaders, who explored whether we should we take the path of reform or instead "blow it all up" and completely rethink our industry structures? Listen on for an insightful conversation about how can arts and cultural organisations can work with Indigenous and culturally diverse peoples in meaningful ways that transcend mere symbolism. Featuring: Merindah Donnelly (Executive Producer, BlakDance), Rosie Lourde (film director, producer, performer) and Tian Zhang (curator and facilitator, founding co-director of Pari) LINKS MENTIONED:Asian Australian Alliance report: https://asianaustralianalliance.net/covid-19-coronavirus-racism-incident-report/covid-19-racism-incident-report-preliminary-report/Shifting the Balance report: https://diversityarts.org.au/tools-resources/launch-report-culturally-diverse-arts-leadership/Creative Equity Toolkit: https://creativeequitytoolkit.org/

In this bonus episode of The Colour Cycle Season 3, Lena Nahlous chats to poet and theatre producer Zainab Syed about how she successfully engaged Muslim communities in Western Australia. Zainab talks about the industry-wide barriers that exclude marginalised audiences from theatres. With a focus on Performing Lines Western Australia's staging of Layla Majnun, a solo show devised by diverse and emerging artists from WA featuring US Farsi scholar and storyteller Ustaadh Feraidoon Mojadedi, Zainab reveals how she brought in both Muslim and non-Muslim audiences in huge numbers by considering everything from venue and staff training to strategic marketing. This panel was a part of the 2020 Australian Performing Arts Exchange (APAX), and was facilitated and recorded by Catherine Conner and the team at PAC Australia. At the time of this interview, Zainab was creative producer at Performing Lines WA and is now producer at Belvoir Street Theatre in Sydney.

Lena Nahlous talks to multidisciplinary artist, activist, Ted x speaker and creative director of FOLK magazine Moreblessing Maturure about fighting erasure, the importance of having spaces to experiment and create, and the need for critics of colour. This vibrant conversation was recorded at the event Future Women, in partnership with City of Parramatta and Parramatta Artist Studios. Alison Tanudisastro also chats to singer-songwriter and performer Zaya Barroso at we are the mainstream's International Women's Day event.

The creation of physical spaces — theatres, film companies and galleries — is integral to showcasing the work of culturally diverse artists and true pluralism of Australia. This episode explores the need for these spaces, with a particular focus on a diverse creative hub in Adelaide called Nexus Arts. We also ask: what happens when a global pandemic shuts down these critical centres? Featuring: Refugee Art Project's Zeinab (Sara) Mir, the Diverse Screens panel discussion at Adelaide Fringe Festival, poet and painter Elyas Alavi, and emerging artist Yusuf Ali Hayat. Learn more about Nexus Arts: http://nexusarts.org.au/

Can we increase cultural diversity on and behind our screens through official diversity standards? How necessary and effective are standards and targets? Lena Nahlous explores these questions by speaking to the Head of Inclusion at the British Film Institute (BFI) Jennifer Smith and Australian filmmaker Pearl Tan, a participant in British Council’s INTERSECT program. We also check in on writer and co-founder of The Pvblication Lamisa Haque on how she's been adapting her practice to Covid times. Learn more about the British Council: https://www.britishcouncil.org.au/

Diversity Arts Australia and British Council joined forces to run INTERSECT, a knowledge-exchange program between Australia and the UK which connected culturally diverse and First Nations arts and screen leaders from both countries. This episode we talk to INTERSECT participants about how they "put down cultural markers" in their respective sectors to affect long-term change, making diversity a vital part of core business rather than just a "side dish." Featuring: INTERSECT participants Abdul Shayek (Theatre Director and Artistic Director of FIO), Nike Jonah (Executive Director of the Pan-African Creative Exchange) and Mikala Tai (former Director of 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art). Alison Tanudisastro also speaks to Sydney-based artist Ayebatonye about how they've been adapting in Covid times at a we are the mainstream event. Learn more about British Council Australia: https://www.britishcouncil.org.au/

What is the power of language? How does the language we speak inform artistic practice? What do you do when the State has historically attempted to erase that language? Our special guest this episode is singer-songwriter and British Council ACCELERATE alumni Gina Williams, who creates contemporary music in her traditional Noongar language with her musical partner Guy Ghouse. Gina talks about the power of music to celebrate culture and pass it down to future generations. Support Gina and buy her albums here: http://www.ginawilliams.com.au/ Learn more about British Council Australia: https://www.britishcouncil.org.au/

The past two years have seen worldwide changes in the ways we talk about racial and cultural representation. Contemporary audiences are increasingly seeking out and demanding greater diversity in our screen and performing arts sectors. Writer/broadcaster Sunil Badami talks to CEO of Creative Diversity Network (UK) Deborah Williams about how things are shifting globally. We also speak to Refugee Art Project's Safdar Ahmed about the impacts of Covid 19 on his artistic practice and the communities he works with. British Council, Creative Victoria, Screen Australia, Belvoir Street Theatre, The Wheeler Centre and Diversity Arts Australia hosted and supported Deborah's visit to Australia in 2019. As the former Diversity Manager at the British Film Institute (BFI), Deborah designed the diversity standards for film and broadcasting in the UK and has a wealth of insight when it comes to the creative sector.

The Covid-19 pandemic saw a surge of Anti-Asian racism. In response, Diversity Arts Australia launched I Am Not A Virus, an artist-led project that provides powerful counter-narratives to xenophobia and racism. This episode spotlights interviews from Asian artists, partners and curators from the I Am Not A Virus project, along with two spoken word pieces that were commissioned as part of the project. Featuring: Erin Wen Ai Chew (founder of Asian Australian Alliance and Being Asian Australian), artists Jacqueline Pon, Sean Stephen Ryan, Jayanto Tan, Andrea Srisurapon, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art curator Reina Takeuchi, and works by Kelly Huynh and Jasper Lee-Lindsay. Read Asian Australian Alliance's "COVID-19 Racism Incident Report Survey Comprehensive Report 2021" here: http://diversityarts.org.au/tools-resources/asian-australian-alliance-releases-covid-19-racism-incident-report-survey-comprehensive-report-2021/

In 2020, Diversity Arts Australia and British Council launched the Creative Equity Toolkit (www.creativeequitytoolkit.org), a how-to resource that supports organisations in reaching diversity goals. This episode was filmed at the Toolkit launch at Sydney Opera House. It features conversations about the global anti-racism movements of 2020, allyship, building alliances between the culturally diverse immigrant space and First Nations movements and practical strategies for making change in the creative sector. Panel: Peter White (Senior Manager, Aboriginal Strategy and Engagement at Create NSW), Benjamin Law (writer and broadcaster) and Mikala Tai (Head of Visual Arts, Australia Council for the Arts). Spotlight: Writer-filmmaker Katrina Irawati Graham.

Intersectionality can mean different things for different people and can be applied across a range of settings and in different ways it enables us to understand identity as a complex multi-dimensional category but it can also be an approach to the way we move and work in the world. And as a practice it provides a foundation for working critically, sensitively and with nuance in the arts. This panel: Eugenia Flynn, Creative Producer of the Fair Play Symposium; Azizeh Astaneh, a visual artist, graphic designer and founding president of Melbourne Artists for Asylum Seekers; Dominic Golding, an artist and a community worker who has worked with refugees, migrants, and people with disability; Peter Waples Crowe, a Ngarigo queer visual and performing artist, and Aboriginal Health worker; and Jax Jacki Brown, disability and LGBTIQ+ rights activist and Publishability Project Officer at Writers Victoria.

Genuine diverse leadership has the potential for the audiences who are engaging with culture to see themselves, their narratives and histories, reflected in what they see and experience. This panel discussion includes arts leaders from the UK and Australia who participated in the inaugural year of the INTERSECT program. INTERSECT is a joint British Council and Diversity Arts Australia knowledge exchange that aims to strengthen international collaboration and connections between diverse and indigenous arts leaders in both countries.

In 2014 Caroline Bowditch premiered a dance theatre performance called "Falling in Love with Frida" with both disabled and non-disabled performers, and sign language interpretation embedded at its centre, the award-winning and critically acclaimed piece was shown 93 times to sold-out audiences across the UK and internationally. In this keynote address, Executive Director of Arts Access Victoria Caroline Bowditch performs a monologue from this piece and then talks about her obsession with Frida Kahlo. She also talks about why it’s important to reclaim Frida Kahlo as a disabled artist, and why her work doesn’t focus on accepted mainstream conventions.

Diversity and inclusion employment practices are often focused on recruitment, but not on retention. Promoting cultural competency in the creative sector is a step towards creating safe spaces that foster and encourage equity. In his keynote at the Fair Play symposium, Rob Hyatt from the Koorie Heritage Trust talks about the importance of identity in workplaces, and specifically addresses the arts sector in his keynote about cultural safety and inclusion. Rob Hyatt is an Aboriginal man with ties to the Lake Tyers community and the Wotjobaluk in Western Victoria. He is the education manager of the Koorie Heritage Trust and works to foster an understanding of contemporary Aboriginal communities through an awareness of the past. Rob explains the importance of identity and connection to Aboriginality through heart and mind. And one of the activities he uses in this training, which he also does as part of this talk is to ask the people to write where they are from on a piece of paper .. but I won’t give this away. You’ll have to listen to hear what happens when people return their piece of paper to him.

In the creative sector, the most visible marker of power can be seen by who occupies positions of leadership, who is on the boards, who judges the awards and runs the company? Who hires? Who dispenses funds? Who signs off on the program or decides what work gets made? Speakers on arts leadership as part of the “Take it from the Top” panel at the Fair Play Symposium in Melbourne - hosted by Diversity Arts Australia. Panelists include: Jodie Sizer, Co-CEO of Price Waterhouse Coopers Indigenous Consulting; Jeremy Smith, Director of Community, Emerging & Experimental Arts at the Australia Council for the Arts; Koraly Dimitriadis Cypriot-Australian poet, writer, actor and performer; Jane Crawley, Director, Arts Investment, Creative Victoria; Michael Williams, former Director of the Wheeler Centre; Katrina Segdewick, CEO of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) and Professor James Arvanitakis, former Chair of Diversity Arts Australia and pro Vice Chancellor of Western Sydney University.

After years of talking about diversity in the arts sector it's starting to feel like a monologue that only reaches an audience of our own communities, say Dr Paula Abood and Aseel Taya a Palestinian creative director and installation artist. Aseel says when applying for arts funding, the process is not tolerant of people from migrant backgrounds and even less accommodating for those pitching art that is deemed not “relevant” for Australian audiences. Dr Paula Abood is a writer, creative producer and educator, and a leading figure in the space for 30 years. She's calling for the entire funding regime to be restructured because currently the major organisations take the bulk of the money while the small-to-medium sector, where diversity flourishes, is left with the crumbs.