Why This? A Nexus Arts Podcast Aaron Schuppan

Jake Yang is a recent graduate of Adelaide Central School of Art, Kaurna Land, Adelaide. Yang’s practice explores various disciplines, notably painting, sculpture, drawing and photography. Yang’s practice is driven by the continual exploration youth culture in contemporary society, integrated with strong influence from his conservative traditional Chinese culture. Yang challenges the normative assumptions around identity through his exploration of existing within in three very different cultures at once (Chinese, Australian and contemporary cultures). His practice explores the evolving cross-section within himself. Yang’s practice explores contemporary ways of painting, through formal elements influenced by Traditional cultural artefacts and techniques as a way to connect with his neglected cultural identity growing up. In his series of work, he forefronts personal inner conflictions in his life, highlighting intimacy, privacy, freedom and rebellion. This inner struggle speaks to a double-life representation of façades and expectations that derive from conservative cultural upbringings.

Born in Iran, Hamed Sadeghi is a multi ARIA award nominated, tar player and composer based in Sydney Australia. He is the founder and composer of the Eishan Ensemble, one of the most acclaimed bands in Australia and has toured nationally and internationally for numerous times. Vazesh, his fully improvised collaborative project with Jeremy Rose and Lloyd Swanton has been a finalist at  Art Music Awards. He has been involved in many collaborative and solo projects around the world including touring with the maestro Shahram Nazeri in Australia and have played at the most well known festivals and prestigious concert halls.

Maryam Rahmaniis an Iranian born Santur player. Maryam conjures a magical sound from her santur, a delicate 72-string hammer dulcimer, to weave spells of ancient culture and tradition.

Hjálmar Marteinsson is an Adelaide based performer of Icelandic descent who works across multiple disciplines. As Einar The Strange he is an intimidtating and fearsome figure in the Australian ProWrestling scene.

Join us as we discuss his work, community, connection to heritage and the ancient and fascinating collision of art, athletics and theatre that is his chosen medium.

Jamila has been writing and performing work for the stage, screen, and livestream since 2016, and has worked with Sydney Theatre Company, AdelaideFestival, Malthouse Theatre Company, Darlinghurst Theatre Company, AdelaideCabaret Festival, State Theatre Company of South Australia, Vitalstatistix, Midsumma Festival, and ActNow Theatre.Notable roles include Phoebe in the development of Curiosity (dir. Shari Sebbens, Sydney Theatre Company, 2021); Milla in Butterfly Kicks (dir. MaryAngley, Rumpus 2021); and Sita, Jamila’s feature film debut in Shadow (Back toBack Productions). In 2021 Jamila created and performed Benched, with seasons presented by FELTspace, Carclew in SALA Festival, and Headspace Berri. Jamila was a 2020 Carclew Fellow and is currently an Artist-in-Residence at Carclew, Co-Chair of the Equity Diversity Committee, an Advisor for AustralianPlays Transform, a Disability Consultant and Advocate, and a founding member and Access Coordinator at RUMPUS. Jamila is a queer, disabled artist and ambulatory wheelchair user. Accessibility, inclusion, and joyful rigour inform Jamila’s award-winning practice. Jamilagraduated from the Acting program at Adelaide College of the Arts in 2018 and holds a Bachelor of Arts in the Advanced Program for High Achievers (Drama and International Relations) from Flinders University.

Chiranjika (Chira) Grasby is a Tattooist, emerging visual artist, and emerging curator, but to many they are known simply as ‘Poko Ono’. Their tattoo career began in 2015, coinciding their Bachelor of Visual Art at Adelaide Central School of Art - completed 2019. Throughout this time they began freelance curating and exhibiting across multiple local ARIs, most notably Sister Gallery in 2018, and as one of the curators for Carclew’s 2019 Emerging Curator Program.

Since graduating they have presented their first solo exhibition (En)Titled at Urban Cow Studios, co-founded local Zine initiative Index Adelaide, was commissioned to curate Time and Trace at Nexus Arts, and opened Halfpace - the first QPOC (Queer & Person(s) of Colour) Tattoo Studio on Kaurna Land.

Their involvement in these varying career outlets find common ground through their lived experience as a queer mixed race artist, and they hold a consistent drive to create platforms for other marginalised artists in their community.