The City of Melbourne’s First People’s festival YIRRAMBOI welcomes Emily Wells (Kamilaroi), formerly the festival’s Executive Producer, as its new Executive Lead. Together with Artistic Lead Sherene Stewart (Taungurung/Filipino), Wells also steps into the role of Co-Lead of YIRRAMBOI. It’s a new model for the festival reflecting collective leadership rather than hierarchical structures, ensuring responsibility is shared and decisions are grounded in accountability.
Wells is an award-winning producer, playwright and access advocate whose work sits at the intersection of community, culture and equity. A Creative Australia First Nations Arts and Cultural Award recipient (2023) with over a decade of experience across Australia’s arts and cultural sectors, she has built a reputation for championing First Nations artists, leading projects that centre self-determination and embed inclusion as a cultural responsibility.
