News

First Nations arts leaders find hope in election result

The new Labor government's opening statements offer hopeful signs for two First Nations arts leaders.

24 May 2022 16:26

Jo Pickup

two indigenous actors (Kylie Doomadgee and Rachael Maza) on stage, one is speaking into a microphone, backgrounded by screens showing Indigenous people holding microphones

Performing Arts

ILBIJERRI Theatre Company’s Beautiful One Day. Performers l- r: Kylie Doomadgee and Rachael Maza. Photo by Ponch Hawkes.

After nine years of Coalition rule, Labor’s win on Saturday has significant implications for Indigenous arts and culture in this country.

According to Rachael Maza (a Yidinji Meriam artist and Artistic Director of ILBIJERRI Theatre) and Daniel Riley (a Wiradjuri artist and Artistic Director of Australian Dance Theatre (ADT)) the next three years of government hold great promise for meaningful change.

Unlock this content?

Access this content and more

Join Now Login

Jo Pickup

ArtsHub's Arts Feature Writer Jo Pickup is based in Perth. An arts writer and manager, she has worked as a journalist and broadcaster for media such as the ABC, RTRFM and The West Australian newspaper, contributing media content and commentary on art, culture and design. She has also worked for arts organisations such as Fremantle Arts Centre, STRUT dance, and the Aboriginal Arts Centre Hub of WA, as well as being a sessional arts lecturer at The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).

Related News

Two people in black standing on steps. There are big columns behind them in a production of Caesar.

Reviews

Caesar review: This production in Townsville by TheatreiNQ is superlative

This iteration of Julius Caesar has an epic quality.

Trevor Keeling

$Publicity image for Griffin's 2026 production 'Afterglow', to be staged at Belvoir's downstairs theatre. Two fair-skinned young women with long hair, one wearing vertical striped clothes and the other wearing horizontal stripes, hold each other and laugh. The image is slightly fractured as if double-exposed, and shot in tones of yellow and orange.$

News

2026 season announcements: our rolling guide to the performing arts

Orchestras, recital centres, theatre companies and more: we're compiling a list of 2026 season announcements, to be updated regularly, for…

Richard Watts

Nic Prior in Belvoir's 2025 production, 'Orlando'. An androgynous figure wearing a punk-inspired blonde wig with a short, spiky fringe and long hair at the back, sits with their hands in their lap against a mirrored background. They are also wearing a pleated grey skirt and skin-hugging white and yellow top.

Reviews

Orlando review: a dazzling journey traversing time, place and identity at Belvoir

Trans and non-binary actors take centre stage in this highly theatrical adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s gender-bending classic, 'Orlando: A Biography'.