Matriarchs

Olivia Adams is a proud Wulli Wulli woman from and based in Meanjin (Brisbane). Olivia graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts: Dance from the Queensland University of Technology and has since built a career as an independent artist, dancer, choreographer and producer. Olivia has spent most of 2023 performing in Karul Project’s 15 stop national tour for SILENCE while also working as a producer for BlakDance.

Over the years she has also performed with Digi Youth Arts, Polytoxic, and assisted with the delivery of Bangarra Dance Theatre’s youth program Rekindling in regional communities. Last year Olivia had the exciting opportunity to perform in Germany for Documenta 15 as a part of Richard Bell’s Tent Embassy, present at Western Arts Alliance’s Advancing Indigenous Performance symposium in Calgary and begin the development of her first full length work Matriarchs.

Olivia is proud to work in and on works that champion First Nations voices and stories and is passionate about continuing the practice of healing and storytelling through dance

Arabella Walker is from the maternal line of the Auburn Hawkwood Wulli Wulli people. Walker’s art practice focuses on the challenges of connecting to her First Nations histories whilst living in contemporary society. Walker meets this challenge by weaving Indigenous cultural knowledges of knowing and being and into diverse mediums of media such as paint, video projections, and installations.

Emerging from a dance background, Walker incorporates multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary practices. From this dialogue Walker often uses her body to actively express concepts, stories, and cultural connections—engaging with explosions of colour and energetic mark making that washes over her and connects her to the traditions of ritual and ceremony as a form of contemporary expression. Walker’s creative process communicates a cultural intent in ways that words cannot.

Jhindu-Pedro Lawrie is a storyteller, learning from his experience and point of view as a young Aboriginal man of Yergala-Mirning & Wuthathi cultures growing up in an ever-changing world. As the drummer of now defunct The Medics (Triple J Feature Album, ARIA top 30 album charts), Jhindu’s performances were full of intensity, commanding an immediate emotional connection with audiences. Mentored by Jhindu’s father, ARIA Award winning Bunna Lawrie of Coloured Stone, the band won a swag of awards for band, album and song of the year (The Deadly Awards, National Indigenous Music Awards, Queensland Music Awards).

Jhindu has continued his creative work as a drummer, vocalist and guitarist for a long list of bands, including Elko Fields, Minor Premiers, and Gentle Ben And His Shimmering Hands, such is the Meanjin/Brisbane way. He composes, writes and performs stories and workshops in varied and interesting ways, with his culture at the forefront, including live contemporary dance productions, children’s programming at the Museum Of Brisbane, and an interactive music installation for the High Rotation exhibition honoring the past 30 years of Brisbane music history.

Nevin Howell is a Brisbane-based video designer and videographer. He was previously a Teaching Artist at Zen Zen Zo in 2014-18; a Resident Artist at Markwell Presents in 2015-18; and an Edit Assistant at optikal bloc in 2019-21. Nevin graduated from QUT in 2016 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Drama).

Nevin has made contributions as a video designer to Queensland Theatre,Playlab Theatre, Brisbane Festival, Wynnum Fringe, QMusic, Metro Arts, The Little Red Company, The Good Room, Counterpilot, Common People Dance Project, Backbone Youth Arts and Festival of Australian Student Theatre.

Nevin has been nominated for Best Video Design in 2023 by the Matilda Awards for his recent work on Queensland Theatre’s Vietgone.