Event Type: Festivals

Davina Wright

Davina Wright is a site-specific artist currently living in nipaluna/Hobart. 

She makes site specific, nonlinear and immersive theatre that looks at loneliness, suburbia, violence and feminism. She wrote and directed This is Grayson; a performance for audience 8+ with her collective Gold Satino. It received four Green Room Award Nominations in the Contemporary and Experimental Performance panel and received the awards for Innovation in Site Responsive Performance and Performance for Young Audiences.

Risa Muramatsu Ray

Risa began her dancing career at an early age,  studying both classical and modern ballet and receiving numerous awards at the national competition level. In 2006 she entered the Japan Women’s College of Physical Education, home to some of Japan’s rhythmic sports  gymnastics olympic medal winners, where she majored in contemporary dance and poured her creative energies into choreography, stage production and dramatic composition while performing as a contemporary dancer in Tokyo.  

Complimenting her work in the contemporary sphere, Risa has also  

performed regularly at numerous music festivals and many of Tokyo’s  most famous clubs, as well as contributing her skills in event production  and choreography to many artists both in Japan and on the international stage. Now Risa is based in Tasmania and she is enjoying creating her  works inspired by Tasmanian nature.

Adie Delaney 

Adie began her circus career at NICA in 2004. After graduating she left Australia to Europe to join the UK’s largest touring contemporary circus company NoFitState. Over 8 years she performed swinging and flying trapeze, hula hoops, fire, acrobatics, trampolining, roller skating etc. Adie also spent two years with Cie Oncore’s flying trapeze show ‘Une Drole de Maison’ flexing her clowning muscles, and among other various events performed a season with La Clique at Edinburgh Fringe.

Andy Vagg

Andy Vagg is an artist, designer, writer, poet and performer. His practice explores the qualities and limitations of contemporary existence, and how the choices we make inherently effect, respond to, and delineate social evolution. Using post-consumer objects and materials, he creates work in social contexts, to activate spaces to form literal and metaphorical platforms for the development of ideas to encourage positive social change. His performances explore the role of religion, liturgy and ritual in a contemporary secular context, and how they can help us navigate the ongoing ecological and psychosocial changes caused by industrialisation, globalisation and consumerism. Andy has created work in public and private spaces in Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne, Launceston and Hobart. He has collaborated with community in colleges, high schools, primary schools, community centres, and child and family centres.

www.andyvagg.com

Troy Melville

Troy has worked on an extensive range of film and art projects over 20 years. His projects have involved working for and in collaboration with many different organisations and has often involved working with at risk youth, First Nations and CALD groups. Recent art projects include Paul Boam – A Creative Life, a film for his retrospective exhibition at Moonah Arts Centre. The Partnershipping Project, a national touring exhibition where Troy worked remotely with 19 artists to edit short bio films and Regenerate where New Town primary students created a series of short films about connectivity.

Yumemi Hiraki

Yumemi Hiraki is a multidisciplinary artist currently based in Nipaluna. Her practice delves into the interactions between memory, nostalgia, history and connection to place, while re-examining the relationship to her Japanese heritage. Viewing herself as a resident of cultural gaps, her works evokes a familiar yet foreign sense of longing, belonging and holding on, while hinting at life’s inevitable continuity and ephemerality. 

Yumemi is originally from Hiroshima, Japan. She completed her BFA(Sculpture and Spatial Practice) at the Victorian College of the Arts and has been an active Arts Worker while exhibiting and developing her practice in both Naarm and Nipaluna. Yumemi has a growing interest in community-based arts, mentorship and education, and currently also works as a Youth Arts Officer at the Youth Arts and Recreation Centre.

Julie Waddington

A graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts, Julie has been directing and producing theatre for over 20 years during which she has worked for many organisation including St Martin’s Youth Arts, La Mama, MTC, Melbourne Fringe, Tasmanian Theatre Company, Ten Days and Tasmania Performs. From 2007 to 2010 she was the Artistic Director of Riverland Youth Theatre in South Australia. Julie is currently a specialist drama teacher and independent director and producer. Her latest work, The Motherload, a creative documentary performance made through engagement with over 500 mothers across Tasmania and Australia recently premiered at Junction Arts Festival.

Takani Clark

Takani Clark is a professional dabbler and multidisciplinary creative from lutruwita, exploring and engaging with mediums of filmmaking, visual art and performance. As a First Nations woman, raised within the staunch palawa community, Takani feels a deep responsibility to protect and document the island and its cultural identity and diversity, both environmentally and socially. As a storyteller she strives to use her creative voice to deepen our understanding of each other, the natural world and ourselves. Takani believes that diversity is an integral part of her creative practice, striving to collaborate with people from different artistic practices, any background and all walks of life.

Neko Kelly

Neko Kelly is a New Zealand born emerging video artist with experience in editing and animation. His work involves a range of content; from stop-frame stories screened in Mona Foma, to LGBTQI+ educational resources for Tasmanian schools. Neko has a keen interest in telling stories that inspire empathy and compassion for marginalised communities.

Sheree Martin (Utopia Now Coordinator)
Info to come

Dummies Corp

Dummies Corp are the Australian circus-comedy specialists, recognised for creations of quality that are intelligent, theatrical, inventive and resonate across generations. Their productions transcend language barriers and their unique brand of dum and delightful has created treasured experiences for audiences across the globe.

Rowan Harris 

Rowan Harris has created a number of long-form improvisation show formats including ‘The Holey Book’,  ‘Sciprov’, ‘The Chair’ and ‘MomentUs’ as well as founding the first Long-Form and Narrative improvisation ensemble in Tasmania, ‘Imprognosis’. Some of his favourite shows performing alongside international improvisors have been ‘Close To You’ by Rama Nicholas, ‘The Long Weekend’ by Christine Brooks and ‘In a New York Minute’ by Glenn Hall.   More recent work includes performances for the Burning Desire Festival, Underground ArtsBar, Theatresports and for Science Week.  Rowan was a member of the Danger Academy ensemble for a number of years and performed at the Marion Bay Falls Festival.

Matt Wilson

Matt Wilson has worked for over 25 years as an improvisor, actor, and director. He has performed with companies such as Terrapin, Tas Theatre Company, Blue Cow and Round Earth. As an improvisor he has been seen in The Underground ArtsBar, Theatresports, science week Impro, and Imprognosis’ The Holey Book, as well as his long-standing prize-winning work with Rowan Harris in the duo Harris and Tweed. He can also be seen in the film clip to A. Swayze and the Ghosts Mess of Me and briefly in the feature film Van Diemens Land.

Andrew Morrisby

Andrew Morrisby is a pianist, award winning musical director, choral director, arranger, and tutor based in Hobart, Tasmania. He studied at the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music, completing a Bachelor Degree under the tutelage of Beryl Sedivka. As a student, he performed as a soloist in the Tasmanian Messiaen Festival (2008), and with the Derwent Symphony Orchestra playing Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”. He has also played as an orchestral keyboardist with the Tasmanian Discovery Orchestra and Derwent Valley Concert Band.

Andrew is heavily involved with the musical theatre community, having worked as a musical director, conductor, repetiteur, and pit orchestral musician for a number of Tasmanian theatre companies. He was a member of the winning ensemble, “Blush Opera” at the Tasmanian Cabaret Festival in 2014, and is a recipient of the Tasmanian Theatre Awards for Musical Direction in “Forbidden Broadway” (Hobart Rep 2015), and Best Ensemble for “[Title of Show]” (Old Nick Theatre Co 2019). Andrew has credits for vocal arrangements on the new work “Euphrasia, The Musical” (The Actors Studio, Kuala Lumpur 2019) in a collaboration with composer Mia Palencia.

More recently, Andrew has been busy post-covid as Musical Director for “Shane Warne the Musical” (The Cabaret Club) and “The Old Man and the Old Moon” (Jack Lark Presents), as a guest conductor for the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra Sinfonietta, co-directing vocal group “Tonic”, as accompanist for the Southern Gospel Choir, performing with original rock band “Gabe and the Dagrezios”, original funk/fusion band “Solace”, and as a member of the long-form theatrical improvisation group “The Practitioners of the Ephemeral Arts”.

Andrew works as a private teacher, tutor, and accompanist in Hobart.

Natalie Venettacci

Natalie is a proud Tasmanian creative and a graduate from Actors Centre Australia. She recently toured internationally with Terrapin’s Red Racing Hood. Natalie also toured with Poetry In Action around Australia and recently produced a performance art piece through UTAS at Dark Mofo called Touch Me if you Trust Me. Acting credits include As You Like it and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Directions Theatre, One Man Two Guvnors and Hamlet for Old Nick, O – The Tragedy of Ophelia for Andy Aisbett, and Dot Dot Dot for The Old 505. You might find her on Saturday’s at Salamanca Market roaming as a Covid Buster for Terrapin Puppet Theatre.

Simone Dobber

After a long-short hiatus, Simone is thrilled to be back performing Imprognosis alongside some of Tassie’s finest. Her pre-covid credits include As You Like It and Much Ado About Nothing with Directions Theatre, Chicago with Bijou Creative, How to Hold Your Breath and Those Who Fall in Love Like Anchors Dropped Upon the Ocean Floor with Loud Mouth Theatre Company. Her screen credits include Rosehaven in 2016 and 2017 and The Magnetism of Us with Acute Brow Productions. She has also co-written, costume designed, acted and composed music for Mermaid and the City with Beauty and the Bitches.

Carrie Maclean

Carrie is a writer, actor, director and mother of four. She is a founding member of Mudlark Theatre and the Radio Gothic collective. Since graduating from UTAS with a BPA, Carrie has had numerous performing roles onstage and onscreen, with her debut in a feature role as Ann Solomon in The First Fagin (2012). As a writer, Carrie has several projects in development, including a television drama series for Aquarius Films and Pistachio Pictures and Mental, the Mother Load, a documentary theatre performance exploring the grotesque nature and beauty of motherhood.

Jeff Michel

Jeff is a performer, puppeteer, and theatre teacher who moved to Tasmania in 2005.  He is the chair of Big Monkey Theatre Inc. and a co-founder of Blue Cow Theatre. Credits include: TTC’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf with Rowan and the 2012 Helpmann Award winning BOATS for Terrapin.  His solo show, Pedalling Back, was developed with Peter Matheson, produced by Blue Cow, and toured by Tasmania Performs in 2016.

Rosemary Cann
Rosemary Cann is a pākehā writer, musician and actor based in nipaluna, who has previously performed as a member of Wellington-based improv troupes Playshop, and Definitely Not Witches. Rosemary has participated in multiple playwriting residencies, including Carclew’s Writing Place, Blue Cow Theatre’s Future Proofing the Page and Tarraleah Residency, and ATYP’s National Studio and Fresh Ink Mentorship Program. She has performed in local productions Eurydice, HerStory (2019-2020), The Campaign (2018) and CRAVE (2021). Rosemary is passionate about representative, intelligent art that touches audiences and brings queer and feminine narratives to the forefront. Rosemary holds a BA in Theatre, English Literature and Anthropology, and a Masters in Creative Writing.

Emma Skalicky

Emma Skalicky has worked in Hobart theatre since 2014. Highlights include Shakespeare in the Gardens productions from 2016-2021; Loud Mouth Theatre Company’s Hamlet: Heads or Tails (2014) and The Island of Doctor Moreau (2016); Theatre with Teeth’s Buckets (2017); PLoT Theatre’s Eurydice (2018) and Deadly (2019); and The Theatre Closet’s Crave (2021). She has directed Bad Company Theatre’s Picnic At Hanging Rock (2019); PLoT Theatre’s Doctor Faustus (2017) and Salome (2020); and assistant directed Loud Mouth Theatre Company’s The Island of Doctor Moreau (2016) and Archipelago Production’s The Bleeding Tree (2020).  Previous works include Ophelia: A Decomposition in Two Parts (The Picton Grange Quarterly Review, Issue 6), Panopticon for ATYP’s Intersection 2019: Arrival (Currency Press), and Medusa Waking (Bad Company Theatre, 2021).

Lizy Spanos
Lizy Spanos is a Greek/Canadian performer with a deep love for music, dance, acting, and especially doing all three at once. They have been involved in community theater since the age of ten, in Canada, Greece, France, and Australia. Their most recent performances include Alice (Rattle, 2021) and Mabelu/Lucy (The Old Man and the Old Moon, 2021), and they have been in productions ranging from Shakespeare (in French!) to Rocky Horror Picture Show. They are extremely excited for the opportunity to play with a talented group of improvisors and improve their skill!

Ollie Gorringe

Ollie Gorringe is thrilled to be working with the Practitioners of the Ephemeral Arts, he has enjoyed performing since a young age and has been involved in several theatre productions throughout his schoolyears, including 100 Reasons for War (Hobart college, 2019), Carrie (Bijou, 2018) and The Old Man and The Old Moon (Jack Lark Presents, 2021). For the last two years Ollie has been employed as a Performer with the Round Earth Theatre Company on the West Coast of Tas, honing his skills in acting and storytelling.  Working with a talented set of creatives and performers in such a unique production has been an intoxicating experience for him and he hopes you enjoy the performance.

Jacob Golding 

Jacob Golding is a local performer who’s been seen in Hobart theatres since 2017. Most recently he was seen as Jeremy Heere in the Tasmanian premiere of Be More Chill in the Playhouse Theatre. Prior to stage Jacob has trained for the screen with Sara Cooper since 2010. Jacob is really excited to take on a new performance challenge, completely script less!

Milla Chaffer
Milla Chaffer has been working in theatre for many years in and out of schools. Milla has performed as Kathy Seldon in ‘Singing in the Rain’. Some of her other stage credits include Spring Awakening (Old Nick, 2018) and 21 Chump St (Old Nick, 2018). Her most recent role was as Heather McNamara in Old Nick’s production of ‘Heathers’ this year. Milla has also been working several shows as a part of the creative team, including her role as Assistant Director and Assistant Stage Manager for ‘The Old Man and the Old Moon’ (Jack Lark Presents) to be performed in September 2021. Milla is passionate about theatre both on and off stage and is always looking for opportunities to expand her experience.

Jack Lark
Jack Lark is a theatre producer, director and performer, who holds a bachelor of musical arts in vocal studies, training under Maria Lurighi. He has spent time in Los Angeles studying directing at USC, and has a hardcore passion for directing contemporary musical theatre. He produced the Australian premiere of ‘The Old Man and the Old Moon’ in 2021 and is currently collaborating to create a new Australian Musical Theatre Production.  Jack’s recent performances include As You Like It (Directions Theatre), My Fair Lady (Bijou Creative), and Miss Trunchbull for St.Mary’s College

Obon lanterns – see the installation of lanterns created in the lead up to Winter Light by community members and facilitated by Yumemi Hiraki, mirroring the practice of Japanese obon festival to commemorate and honour ancestors.

Obon dance – gather beneath the lanterns to learn the Obon dance, practiced throughout Japan as part of the Obon Festival, with Yumemi Hiraki and Eri Mulloolly-Hill Konishi.

Rhythmz Bollywood – get ready for high energy classic Bollywood dance from nipaluna (Hobart) bollywood dance institution, Rhythmz Bollywood. Workshop participants have the opportunity to perform during opening night event. (workshop dates to come)

MMT – Madi Mega Talent Hita Man and Rasta Jay of South Sudan. These energetic MC’s rip up the stage with their brand of Badman style East African Dancehall.

Miettes – A contemporary and performative journey into the musical history of France. This unique trio explore their Gallic roots and present a show full of striking sounds and sights, leaving you begging for more than just the crumbs!

Svetlana Bunic – Accordionista Svetlana Bunic presents a well-travelled cinematic repertoire of Frech musette, Argentinian tango, continental movie themes, retro melodies, gypsy grooves, smoking jazz, Latin and cabaret show tunes.

Son Del Sur – Son del Sur is an exciting 10 piece Latin-Jazz and Salsa band. Son del Sur (meaning “they are from the South”) has performed at many of Tasmania’s premier music events and has wowed audiences with their impressive sound.

Kattleya – Kattleya are an acoustic duo from Colombia featuring Latin American music with distinctive upbeat, tropical sounds and uplifting melodies. 

Salsita Kids – Salsitas is an intergenerational dance group with ancestral roots transmitting folklore stories. Salsitas explores traditions which are then performed by modern Latin Americans with a mission to rediscover their unique histories, through Latino rhythms and traditional dance.

Sharifah Emalia Al-Gadrie

Sharifah Emalia Al-Gadrie is a multidisciplinary artist, curator and community development worker based in nipaluna/Hobart, lutruwita/Tasmania.

Her creative practice is responsive and explores belonging and cultural heritage in contemporary Australia, drawing on lived experience as an Asian-Australian woman. Representation, connection and community building are central themes which ground her curatorial practice.

Glenn Richards

Glenn Richards is a multi award winning songwriter, composer, engineer and producer who has toured the world and continues to record with his band Augie March and for his own solo material. He has released eight acclaimed albums, including a platinum and two gold, and has scored, engineered and mixed three feature films, an ABC television series, a recent play for the Theatre Royal Hobart, and many shorts and webisodes. He works out of his studio, Dark Satanic Mill Studio, Hobart, Tasmania.

Hellgart Mahler lives near Devonport, Tasmania, but was born in Vienna. Her father, Hillel Mahler, came from a small village on the Polish-Czechoslovakian border, but his family soon moved to Vienna, then the cultural Mecca of Europe. In his grandfather’s family one older brother became the father of Gustav Mahler (who is Hellgart’s great-uncle), but her musical antecedents go right back to 16th and 17th century Italy, where the Maler family (the H was added later) were brilliant lute makers and players; sought after and vied for by dukes and princes.

Russell Gilmour was born in 1956 and received his early musical training at Guildford Grammar School, WA. Since graduating from the University of New England in the early 1980s, he has worked as a teacher, lecturer and arts administrator. Gilmour is best known for his short, quirky, humorous compositions (Dark on Bach, 2003) and sometimes melancholic, brooding work (Seven Things I’ll Do Tomorrow, 2005). His musical style has developed from a brief flirtation with neo-romanticism in the 1980s (A Peaceable Kingdom, 1985; Host Of The Air, 1984) to a more direct highly melodic style which the composer describes as ‘the art of post classical drivetime’

Don Kay

Don Kay’s musical language has its roots in the tradition of Western art music but has been significantly shaped by his experience of Tasmania’s environment and history. Kay identifies Hastings Bay (1986) as the first mature piece that was a direct, conscious response to a specific personal experience of a specific place, acknowledged by the title. Two works, amongst a number important to him for reflecting this influence, are: Tasmania Symphony – the Legend of Moinee for cello and orchestra (1988), and Piano Trio, The Edge of Remoteness (1996).

Dominic Fynn

Born in Hobart in 1997, Dominic Fynn grew up playing the drums in local bands before shifting focus to composition. Dominic’s music has been performed both locally and overseas, and he has collaborated with the Decibel New Music Ensemble, Hobart Wind Symphony, L’ Ensemble de Musique Contemporaine du Conservatoire de Musique de Rimouski, pianist Michael Kieran Harvey, and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.  In 2021 he received a grant to compose a string quartet inspired by convict folk music, and was selected to be a part of one of Australia’s largest commissioning projects, the ANAM Set. He has studied in Australia with Don Kay, Russell Gilmour, and Maria Grenfell, and in the United Kingdom with Michael Finnissy.

Ensemble Mania was created with the goal to provide a unique listening experience in Tasmania, showcasing music that would otherwise not be heard on the island, while exemplifying the possibilities of a richer, more diverse music scene. This music includes the latest, most exciting composers, to the pillars of Australian modernism and lost masterpieces.

Peter Tanfield
Born in England in 1961, Peter Tanfield started the violin aged four. He studied in Germany, Israel, Switzerland and Holland where his teachers were Igor Ozim, Felix Andrievski, Alberto Lysy, Herman Krebbers and Yehudi Menuhin. As soloist and chamber musician Tanfield has performed throughout Europe, China, Japan, India, Canada, the Middle East, Africa, USA and USSR. He was a prize-winner at The Carl Flesh International Competition, International Mozart Competition and International Bach Competition. He has recorded solo and chamber works for television and radio as well as CD. He has played for Chairman Deng Xiaoping in China and the Sultan of Oman. Tanfield led the Australian String Quartet from 1998 until 2001. As a soloist Tanfield has appeared with many orchestras; the Philharmonia, City of London Sinfonia, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the RAI National Symphony Orchestra in Rome. As concertmaster he has worked with the BBC Philharmonic, RAI National Symphony Orchestra, Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He has performed with Astor Piazolla, Charlie Watts, Pinchas Zukerman, Yehudi Menuhin, Charles Wuorinen, Arvo Pärt, Graeme Koehne, Gary Carr, Carlo Maria Giulini, Mark Gasser and Itzhak Perlman.

Joshua Farner is from Hobart, Tasmania, and began playing the violin at the age of nine. Following completion of a Bachelor of Engineering with 1st class Honours, he was awarded a University of Tasmania String Scholarship and commenced a Bachelor of Music under the tutelage of Dr. Susan Collins. Josh has performed with the Tasmanian Discovery Orchestra and the Australian International Symphony Orchestra Institute (AISOI), and regularly performs as section leader and concertino player with the Hobart Chamber Orchestra. In 2018 Josh was awarded the D & MV McDonald Scholarship in Music from the University of Tasmania, allowing him to travel to London to study under renowned pedagogues Simon Fischer and David Takeno.

Damien Holloway studied viola in Hobart with Keith Crellin, Simon Oswell and Jan Sedivka, followed by postgraduate studies in Brisbane with Elizabeth Morgan. He played viola with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and was a founding member of Camerata of St Johns (Brisbane). He is principal viola of the Hobart Chamber Orchestra, and regularly fosters the performance of new music

James Anderson is currently studying a Master of Teaching at the University of Tasmania, having completed his Bachelor of Music in 2018 studying under Sue-Ellen Paulsen. James has previously performed in the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Youth Orchestra, the Australian International Symphony Orchestra Institute, the Jan Sedivka Camerata, and the Tasmanian Discovery Orchestra. In 2018 James worked with the ensemble Musik Fabrik in Cologne, while also spending time at the Royal Conservatory of Den Hague in the Netherlands.

Davina Wright

Davina Wright is a site-specific artist currently living in nipaluna/Hobart. 

She makes site specific, nonlinear and immersive theatre that looks at loneliness, suburbia, violence and feminism. She wrote and directed This is Grayson; a performance for audience 8+ with her collective Gold Satino. It received four Green Room Award Nominations in the Contemporary and Experimental Performance panel and received the awards for Innovation in Site Responsive Performance and Performance for Young Audiences.

Risa Muramatsu Ray

Risa began her dancing career at an early age,  studying both classical and modern ballet and receiving numerous awards at the national competition level. In 2006 she entered the Japan Women’s College of Physical Education, home to some of Japan’s rhythmic sports  gymnastics olympic medal winners, where she majored in contemporary dance and poured her creative energies into choreography, stage production and dramatic composition while performing as a contemporary dancer in Tokyo.  

Complimenting her work in the contemporary sphere, Risa has also  

performed regularly at numerous music festivals and many of Tokyo’s  most famous clubs, as well as contributing her skills in event production  and choreography to many artists both in Japan and on the international stage. Now Risa is based in Tasmania and she is enjoying creating her  works inspired by Tasmanian nature.

Adie Delaney 

Adie began her circus career at NICA in 2004. After graduating she left Australia to Europe to join the UK’s largest touring contemporary circus company NoFitState. Over 8 years she performed swinging and flying trapeze, hula hoops, fire, acrobatics, trampolining, roller skating etc. Adie also spent two years with Cie Oncore’s flying trapeze show ‘Une Drole de Maison’ flexing her clowning muscles, and among other various events performed a season with La Clique at Edinburgh Fringe.

Andy Vagg

Andy Vagg is an artist, designer, writer, poet and performer. His practice explores the qualities and limitations of contemporary existence, and how the choices we make inherently effect, respond to, and delineate social evolution. Using post-consumer objects and materials, he creates work in social contexts, to activate spaces to form literal and metaphorical platforms for the development of ideas to encourage positive social change. His performances explore the role of religion, liturgy and ritual in a contemporary secular context, and how they can help us navigate the ongoing ecological and psychosocial changes caused by industrialisation, globalisation and consumerism. Andy has created work in public and private spaces in Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne, Launceston and Hobart. He has collaborated with community in colleges, high schools, primary schools, community centres, and child and family centres.

www.andyvagg.com

Troy Melville

Troy has worked on an extensive range of film and art projects over 20 years. His projects have involved working for and in collaboration with many different organisations and has often involved working with at risk youth, First Nations and CALD groups. Recent art projects include Paul Boam – A Creative Life, a film for his retrospective exhibition at Moonah Arts Centre. The Partnershipping Project, a national touring exhibition where Troy worked remotely with 19 artists to edit short bio films and Regenerate where New Town primary students created a series of short films about connectivity.

Yumemi Hiraki

Yumemi Hiraki is a multidisciplinary artist currently based in Nipaluna. Her practice delves into the interactions between memory, nostalgia, history and connection to place, while re-examining the relationship to her Japanese heritage. Viewing herself as a resident of cultural gaps, her works evokes a familiar yet foreign sense of longing, belonging and holding on, while hinting at life’s inevitable continuity and ephemerality. 

Yumemi is originally from Hiroshima, Japan. She completed her BFA(Sculpture and Spatial Practice) at the Victorian College of the Arts and has been an active Arts Worker while exhibiting and developing her practice in both Naarm and Nipaluna. Yumemi has a growing interest in community-based arts, mentorship and education, and currently also works as a Youth Arts Officer at the Youth Arts and Recreation Centre.

Julie Waddington

A graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts, Julie has been directing and producing theatre for over 20 years during which she has worked for many organisation including St Martin’s Youth Arts, La Mama, MTC, Melbourne Fringe, Tasmanian Theatre Company, Ten Days and Tasmania Performs. From 2007 to 2010 she was the Artistic Director of Riverland Youth Theatre in South Australia. Julie is currently a specialist drama teacher and independent director and producer. Her latest work, The Motherload, a creative documentary performance made through engagement with over 500 mothers across Tasmania and Australia recently premiered at Junction Arts Festival.

Takani Clark

Takani Clark is a professional dabbler and multidisciplinary creative from lutruwita, exploring and engaging with mediums of filmmaking, visual art and performance. As a First Nations woman, raised within the staunch palawa community, Takani feels a deep responsibility to protect and document the island and its cultural identity and diversity, both environmentally and socially. As a storyteller she strives to use her creative voice to deepen our understanding of each other, the natural world and ourselves. Takani believes that diversity is an integral part of her creative practice, striving to collaborate with people from different artistic practices, any background and all walks of life.

Neko Kelly

Neko Kelly is a New Zealand born emerging video artist with experience in editing and animation. His work involves a range of content; from stop-frame stories screened in Mona Foma, to LGBTQI+ educational resources for Tasmanian schools. Neko has a keen interest in telling stories that inspire empathy and compassion for marginalised communities.

Adonay Tsegezeab
I’m Adonay Tsegezeab, 23 years old, working with Troy Melville as mentoree on Utopia now for winter light as well as with Tastafe STUDENTS AGAINST RACISM group to make this happen. It’s been amazing working on this project and to be part of it. 

Indigo Garcia is a 16-year-old visual artist working and creating in Nipaluna/Hobart. Swimming through pattern and form, ink stains her identity as she works to represent culture and individuality. Exploring the extent in which she can portray and incorporate all works of organic life, examining the runs of skin, the paths on land. Working with mentor Andy Vagg and the youth of Goodwood, the development and embodiment of their instillation helps to further the representation of utopia and the developing world.

Sheree Martin (Utopia Now Coordinator)
Embracing and trusting in the unravelling uncertainties of creativity is integral to the artistic practice and way of life for New Zealander and Tasmanian Artist, Sheree Martin. Sheree is a passionate nurturer and advocate for ‘art as a process’ and the value that engaging in this open explorative process brings to enhancing our mental health and wellbeing. Sheree shares the joy of this process through her uniquely designed and facilitated ARTplayful experiences within The Little Red Art Shed for young children and families, with her creative arts and wellbeing clients and community projects.

@shereemartin_artist

@thelittleredartshed

Halima Bhatti

Halima Bhatti is a 26 yrs old, locally based contemporary Arabic calligraphy artist from Lahore, Pakistan. Her artworks reflect deep connections and sacred knowledge with every stroke and letter. Taking the opportunity to be a part of the Winter light festival, UTOPIA project, as a mentee with the artist “Yumeimi Hiraki”, from Youth Arts and Re-creation center (Hobart city) Halima aims to express the element of peace, diversity and connectedness through her teams youth based theatre work reflecting upon the vision of Utopia, and thereby connect and influence the mainstream community.

Lucas Rilyey-Lyne
My name is Lucas and I’m 16 years old and my mentor artist is Julie Waddington. I am working with a group from my school which is Campania District School. We are working to create an improvised cross art-form performance installation using physical ensemble theatre, drawing and creative writing. I hope my love for the preforming arts will only grow from this experience. 

Ailbhe Maria Szypura
My name is Ailbhe and I am 14 years old. My mentor is Risa Ray and we are doing a movement based performance with around 10 kids about what they envision their future to look like. 

Our group is located in Cygnet. I’m hoping that this mentee role will teach me how to work with kids and groups, and how to collaborate with others. I have been having a really great time doing this.

Bailey Mifsud

My name is Bailey and I’m 15. I’m working with my mentor artist Adie Delaney and a few of my peers from The Circus Studio in Kingston. We will be putting together a short performance involving ground based circus skills and other elements of movement; around what we as a group perceive to be the theme of Utopia Now! I’m really looking forward to improving my circus and collaboration skills with this project. 

Ari Soo
Ari Soo is a young stand-up comedian, who is occasionally funny and hates people who speak in third person. He recently was flown to Melbourne to perform in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival as part of the Class Clowns National Grand Final – most likely his greatest achievement. 

Malachi
My name is Malachi and I’m 16. I have a passion for sound engineering. I help at school mixing and setting up for the school rock band and have my own home studio where I record and mix songs. I’m hoping to extend my knowledge in sound engineering and working with the people around me so that everyone can have the best experience of Utopia Now! 

Kieran Mulvany
Kieran Mulvany is a homegrown Tassie artist who has been writing and recording music their bedroom since the beginning of time itself. With stories of robots, nights with friends and self reflection there is something for everyone in Kieran’s folio. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2suxg5ymscPaZUKzNsZb2v? si=wsPt_YSHQ6i6LapOdXRI-w Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kieranmulvanymusic/ 

‘Live Art’
Hello, we are Lucas, Josh, Anna, Mia and Belle. We are students from Campania District School. We will be performing a live art experience via a group painting on a large canvas, exploring what utopia is to us personally and how they are different from one another. We hope to show that everyones personal idea of Utopia is different and very diverse, as we all are. 

Sophie Henderson 

Sophie Henderson is a eager performer who has always grabbed any opportunity to perform wether that is singing or acting or both at the same time. She has been in quite a few musicals throughout her life her most recent being in Guys and Dolls with the Old Nick Theatre Company and The Little Mermaid at Southern Christian College where she starred as Ursula. Sophie hopes you enjoy her performance as part of the Utopia Now Youth Performance Stage! 

Genevieve Butler | Director

Director- Genevieve Butler is a bilingual performance artist who uses Bouffon, Drag, Circus, and physical comedy to examine the significance of social masks within theatrical frameworks.  Her artistic practice focuses on how audiences connect/relate universally to colloquial stories.

She is an actor, writer, director, circus performer, mask maker, video editor and teacher of circus fundamentals, mask play and devising. She has toured numerous Fringe and Arts Festivals around Australia, and worked with theatre companies across Australia, Italy and Belgium. She has been a working artist for over 10years   

Genevieve has a diploma in Commedia dell’Arte (FAVA, Italy) and Movement Analysis and Theatre Creation (Lassad, Belgium)— and a bachelors in Theatre (QUT).

Fithawit Hadgu | Actor

Fithawit recently migrated to Australia from Eretria. Since arriving Fithawit has been involved with Students Against Racism (SAR). Through SAR Fithawit has shared her personal story about how she came to Tasmania in schools and workplaces, revealing the realities of what refugees and new arrivals face when they come to this country. Last year Fithawit made her mainstage debut at the Peacock Theatre performing in The Story Behind My Suitcase. Fithawit received a scholarship from Salamanca Arts Centre to attend The Process drama workshops with Ben Winspear, Davina Wright and Lucien Simon.

Takani Clark | Actor

Emerging filmmaker, performer, artist Takani Clark is a professional dabbler and multidisciplinary creative from lutruwita, exploring and engaging with mediums of filmmaking, visual art and performance. As a First Nations woman, raised within the staunch palawa community, Takani feels a deep responsibility to protect and document the island and its cultural identity and diversity, both environmentally and socially. As a storyteller she strives to use her creative voice to deepen our understanding of each other, the natural world and ourselves. Takani believes that diversity is an integral part of her creative practice, striving to collaborate with people from different artistic practices, any background and all walks of life.

Bailey Jackson | Actor

Bailey is a Hobartian Thespian whose hit and miss performances will keep you guessing right until the very end — is this entertainment at its finest or is it a train wreck you can’t look away from? After more than a decade in Tasmanian theatre, still he isn’t sure. Nonetheless, Bailey appreciates Salamanca Arts Centre for rolling the dice and he hopes you enjoy the show.

Jackson Davis | Lighting Designer

Jackson Davis is a theatre maker, writer and performer based in Hobart. Since graduating with Honours from the University of Wollongong in 2012, Jackson has co-founded re:group performance collective and collaborates on new performance works with an emphasis on popular culture and videography. His theatre credits include Lost Boys (Performer, Merrigong Theatre Company, 2018), Route Dash Niner Part 1 & 2 (Director, Merrigong Theatre Company 2016-2017), Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo (Puppeteer, Japan Tour, 2016-2018), Conspiracies (Director, Shopfront, 2017) and LOVELY (Director, PACT, 2014).

Aiden Cleak | Composer

Aiden Cleak is a bleeps and bloops composer and sound FX nerd, who resides a full lightyear away from Earth making futuristic soundscapes and wonky beats. However, you may also find him closer to Hobart creating circuit bent instruments, surrealist art and video games. Aiden performs under the alias of Gochi, and has recently released his second EP of originals titled Ascent of a Madman.

Megan Kenna | Set Designer

Megan is a theatre and film creative learning, working and living in lutruwita/Tasmania. They are interested in design in regards to performance and production. Recently Megan has been apart of the design team of University of Tasmania’s theatre society PLoT. Designing for Cathouse (2021) and The Rise (2022). Megan has also worked and performed in collaboration on Anemeny (2022) and upcoming Antigo Nick (2022) which will be presented on the Theatre Royal main stage, both directed by Davina Wright. Designing for film sets Megan has worked as art director for many Tasmanian productions including Shake and Dance (2019) and Cold One (2022). 

Megan wants to explore the possibilities between design and performance, and how these two elements effect each other, actors and the audience.

Night Garden

Emerging from the beautiful nipaluna (Hobart), post-rock four-piece Night Garden combine equal parts of reverb, delay, and distortion to artfully establish a link between heavy guitars and a sense of impure tranquillity. Night Garden transpires as the fully realised potential of Taylor Lewincamp’s (singer/guitarist) musical compositions. In collaboration with Fergus Oates (bass), Morris Johns (drums), and Hamish Watson (guitar), Night Garden will have you swaying in an expansive world of emotion driven sound baths and methodical hooks.

Velvet Bloom

On April 08, 2022, Melbourne based soul outfit, Velvet Bloom dropped their silky debut EP Glimmer! 

Following on from their headline tour performing this body of work in Canberra, Forster, Brisbane, Sydney, Beechworth, Adelaide and Melbourne, the band announces their first ever show in Tasmania at Winter Light!

With a voice and energy that emits an earnest, heart stirring warmth, Maddy Herbert is a captivating live performer and a truly commanding frontwoman. Backed by a stellar live band of Alex Marko (Lead Guitar), Anthony Rennick (Bass) Miguel Hutton (Synth and Keys) and Nic Morton (Drums & Percussion), Velvet Bloom have quickly earned their stripes as one of the most exciting additions to Melbourne soul’s bursting frontline.

“Equal parts enthralling and enchanting, Velvet Bloom is undeniably on the cusp of big things in the near future.” – Tyler Jenke, Rolling Stone Australia

DJ Bad Camel

A blend of modern/underground House/Garage music with strong inspirations from old and new school trends.

Lawrence Churches is a 25 year old drummer from Hobart, Tasmania. From an early age, Lawrence was exposed to an eclectic range of music styles and genres. This broad introduction provided the foundation for Lawrence’s music career, setting the tone for his highly versatile abilities. Beginning with metal drumming, Lawrence later transitioned into jazz and improvisational approaches on acoustic and electronic kits.

Studying under Stephen Marskell, Konrad Park, Danny Fischer and others, Lawrence has established himself on the Tasmanian music scene as one of the states ‘tightest,’ most versatile and reliable drummers.

Lawrence has since begun DJing and honing his craft as a turntablist by some of the states finest turntablists and DJs (Dameza, Fotti P)

Claire Anne Taylor Band

Claire Anne Taylor will be joined on stage by her band, including the legendary Jethro Pickett on guitar, Louis Gill on bass and Beau Thomas on drums as they present a host of new songs as well as some old ones.

Claire Anne Taylor crafts soulful folk songs that are alternatively lush and intimately earthy. Born in a barn built by her parents in Tasmania’s ancient Tarkine rainforest, Taylor’s music is reflective of her wild and remote upbringing. In 2019 she won the National Live Music Award for ‘The Best Live Voice in Tasmania’ which is testament to the sheer magnitude and depth of her voice and how much emotion she pours into each performance. With her colossal vocals, honest storytelling and powerfully captivating stage presence, her live shows leave the audience in no doubt that they have just witnessed something extraordinary.

‘Taylor’s voice is the stuff of musical legend’  – Canberra City News.

Dameza
For the first time post-pandemic Dameza will be bringing an all new, fast paced, high energy Audio/Visual mashup set spanning the last 5 decades of music, film, television, party and pop culture. All put together live right in front of your eyes and ears in his trademark ‘no holds barred’ style.

Much respected local DJ Dameza has a lengthy run of achievements including a 3rd place position in the Australian DMC finals, Triple J’s Next Crop selection with hip hop group mdusu & dameza, 2nd place prize in the Melbourne Redbull 3style competition, and later in 2014 and 15 – Dameza was unforgettably awarded back to back 1st place titles in the National ‘Wax Wars’ competition. 

Fusing elements of electronica with Hip Hop, classic film, TV and even 70’s funk, genre is not a boundary, but a mere option in an ocean of possibilities for Dameza. His unique mash-ups and incomparable energy on stage have helped him build an unquestionable name for himself over the years.