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ATOMICX
ATOMICX is a multi-disciplinary artist, curator and Creative Director, best known for their immersive events and distinct, colourful painting style. Their practice responds to social inequalities through a figurative and experimental approach, while exploring a vibrant pallet of colour.
ATOMICX has established themself as a 'creative powerhouse', founding and directing two key creative initiatives, No Order Magazine and Riot Collective, in Brisbane's ever-expanding art scene. Each initiative focuses on providing a platform for a combination of established and emerging artists, along with highlighting femme, non binary and genderqueer creatives in a scene dominated by men.
They have worked alongside galleries such as Mayne Line Gallery, Cordelia Street Gallery, Woollonggabba Art Gallery, Bib 'n' Brace, BackDock Arts, The Station, Sure Studio, VENTspace, Ipswich Gallery and Toowoomba Regional Gallery.
ATOMICX lives and works in Brisbane, Australia.
DR BIANCA BEETSON
Dr Bianca Beetson is a Kabi Kabi, Wiradjuri woman and has been a practising artist for over 28 years. Bianca works across a broad range of media including painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, photography, fibre arts and public art. In 2018 Bianca was awarded a Doctor of Visual Art, from the QLD College of Art, Griffith University.
Bianca carved out a path for herself in the Indigenous arts as a trainee curator at Fireworks Gallery, where she worked on major projects, including the 1996 Campfire Group "All Stock Must Go" Installation as a part of the 2nd Asia Pacific Biennial. From 1999 to 2007, she worked in various arts worker roles, including the regional Indigenous community arts officer for Access Arts, artistic director of Catalyst Youth Arts and the community arts officer for Brisbane City Council. These previous roles greatly informed her community-engaged and collaborative arts practice.
Currently, Bianca is working on a collaborative arts-led research project called "Listening to Country", which explores the impact of sound, and in particular, the impact of sounds of Country on the health and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within Institutions. This collaborative approach has allowed Bianca to mentor and support many generations of young and emerging artists as an educator and through her practice and passion for cultural sharing. Bianca has lectured and directed the Bachelor of Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art (BCAIA) degree at the Qld College of Art, Griffith University and was the Director of Indigenous Research Unit until 2022. Bianca was also a founding member of the seminal Aboriginal artist collective proppaNOW Aboriginal artist collective.
Her current board and advisory group memberships include the board of trustees of the QLD Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art and its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisory panel. She is also a NAVA board member, a member of the Arts QLD First Nations Arts and Cultures Advisory panel and on the Independent Interim Body for Treaty QLD.
As a visual artist, Bianca works in a broad range of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, photography and public art.
To sum the work up: "It's all about skin, the skin I am in, thick and thin, the need to win, to shed my skin, to be free from sin. If you face the truth, there is no proof that the skin I am in is the skin of sin!"
Photo by Chloë Callistemon, courtesy of QAGOMA. Artwork in background: Dibirdibi Country 2008 by Mirdidingkingathi Juwarrnda (Mrs Gabori), Brisbane City, 2021.
DR FAIZA EL HIGZI
Dr Faiza El-Higzi OAM is a political scientist who specialises in socio-economic inclusion, cultural diversity and gender equality.
She is a Research Fellow with the University of Queensland School of Psychology, a sessional Lecturer in Political Science and Deputy Chair of UQ Cultural Inclusion Council. She is also a principal consultant with Square Circle Global Development leading the gender, diversity and inclusion portfolio and is the cultural advisor for Women of the World Festival.
Faiza is National Chair of Women of Colour advocacy body and a Director at the National Ethnic Media and Broadcasting Council the peak national ethnic broadcaster. She is also the Chair of Ethnic Broadcasting Association Queensland and community Radio 4EB, and a Board member of the peak body Queensland Council for Social Services.
Faiza earned her PhD in Political Science from the University of Queensland, Australia and previously served as an Executive Manager for the Australian Government international aid program and provided strategic policy analysis on economic development and innovation program for the Queensland government.
Faiza’s research interests are in social justice and include understanding gender and cultural differences in socio-cultural and economic opportunities and outcomes, encompassing such issues as under-representation of culturally diverse people in leadership, and the influence of institutional and societal norms on individuals and groups’ access to opportunities in workplaces. Beyond a focus on gender her areas of expertise extend to institutional dynamics, demographics, social psychology, disadvantage and wellbeing.
She engages regularly with public audiences, government, industry and community groups on issues of equality and diversity. This includes applying an intersectional lens to policy design, analysis and navigating group, institutional and societal resistance to change.
Faiza is the recipient of an Outstanding Multicultural Achiever Award from the Queensland Government and an Order of Australia Medal from the Australian Government for her commitment to positive social change.
HELEN YEATES
Helen Yeates was born in Brisbane in 1945. She taught English at several secondary schools and was involved in teacher training at UQ and QUT. As well, she worked in educational production at the ABC and Education Queensland.
Eventually, she became an award-winning, innovative film and tv academic at QUT, nurturing some of the brightest young filmmakers of the next generation.
A dedicated feminist, she designed and taught the first feminist subjects in education at UQ, as well as the first feminist film and media units at QUT.
Helen is also a filmmaker and a film festival judge. She hosts elegant creative salons and has recently written her memoir ‘Do Look Now’, launched in July 2022 at AVID Reader, West End.
The Australian Teachers of Media grant an annual award in her name to a worthy media education recipient - the Helen Yeates Award for Excellence in Media Education.
KARYN WALSH
Karyn Walsh has worked in the not-for-profit sector addressing homeless since 1978.
During this time, Karyn has worked with many groups to create organisations and services to respond to the local circumstances of people experiencing homelessness and the economic and social systems which create homelessness in the first place.
This has involved work across many population groups such as young people, young pregnant and parenting women, women and children escaping domestic violence, individuals, couples and families living on the streets, in cars, parks and motels.
In recognising our current housing crisis across all communities in Australia Karyn is particularly interested in how we create a more equitable and inclusive housing system that is affordable, has security of tenure and when needed embedded services and healthcare tailored to the needs of tenants.
Karyn has advocated for Housing First and Supportive Housing to form an integral part of our housing system. Karyn is Chair of the Australian Alliance to End Homelessness and CEO of Micah. Projects which provides a range of services and is the backbone organisation for Brisbane Zero.
JES HALLAGAN
JES HALLAGAN IS THE FOUNDER OF DANGEROUS FEMALES.
Dangerous Females is a collective of women fed up with the incidents of men’s violence against women in this country. We are united in a mission to raise awareness and much-needed funding for organisations dedicated to supporting victims of violence or abuse.
“We call ourselves Dangerous Females because we want to take back ownership of the word danger. Too often, 'danger' is a word used to restrict and silence women. We’re told to mind ourselves, that it’s too dangerous for us to be out at night, on our own, wearing that… But, statistics in this country also tell us that it can be very dangerous to be in our own homes.
We are doing something because we can no longer do nothing, and while we may not solve this situation, we want to raise money for incredible organisations that support women to live a life free of violence. We believe we can inspire each other, look after each other, and give each other confidence to be heard.”
KATHRYN LYONS
Kathryn Lyons Cofounder of Accessibili-t Ltd
An award-winning global advocate who believes design fails if it cannot be accessed or used in the way it was intended. Breaking down barriers through innovative design and delivering motivational talks which have the power to create global impact.
Working with governments and humanitarian organisations on practical cost-effective solutions. At the World Toilet Summit, Kathryn explained why there are two types of people in the world, this led to over 1-million accessible toilets being built in India.
As a United Nations delegate, Kathryn met representatives from Kenya and learnt her advocacy and work had spread to Africa, impacting, and improving health outcomes of 50,000 people there. Speaking at the World Expo in Dubai, Kathryn demonstrated how sanitation impacts on mental health. Now aligned with Cities4All, a global organisation that works towards sustainable inclusive cities of tomorrow.
The next step is India, where Kathryn will speak at a Global Conference on Assistive Technology with over 10000 delegates from around the world. Her vision is to achieve an authentically inclusive world, where all people participate equally and independently by improving access and sanitation.
LEESA WATEGO
Managing Director of Iscariot Media Pty Ltd
Leesa Watego is a First Nations mother, wife, volunteer, and business owner. Starting her first business in 1994, over three decades Leesa has grown her business from nano and micro to now a small niche creative project team. Leesa’s business journey has been gradual and defined by her passion for continuous learning and exploration.
Leesa is the Managing Director of Iscariot Media Pty Ltd. She sits on the Queensland Government’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Business and Innovation Reference Group, is a co-founder of Indigenous Business Month and Black Coffee Indigenous business networking. Leesa is an Associate Professor of Practice at QUT Business School.
MONA RYDER
Over four decades Mona Ryder’s work has explored themes of domesticity, social and political structures and memory through my multi-media practice.
From 1981 until 2007 Ryder taught at various institutions QUT, Griffith University. Brisbane, Curtin University and Claremont School of Art, Perth. During this period and more recently, Ryder has been an assessor for honours and master’s thesis and involved in the arts, on boards, as a mentor, a judge and on advisory councils.
Ryder has exhibited widely and executed several major public art commissions and projects, the most recent, Say it with Flowers, a large temporal public art project for Brisbane City Council in 2018. Ryder’s work has been selected for major group exhibitions in Australia and overseas.
In 2020, Ryder was awarded a Creative Sparks Grant, a partnership between the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council that supports Brisbane's local arts and culture. Writing Mona Ryder will introduce her art and practice to new digital audiences via social media platforms launching in October at the QUT Art Museum. Six writers have produced critical essays about my work and these will be used as a catalyst for these platforms.
In 2021, Lures, was part of the opening Exhibition of HOTA Collects at HOTA the Gold Coast and The Tattooed Land, Drawn Thread was part of the fifty -year celebration of Artisan. Ryder’s installation, Fragile Gardens, was exhibited at The old Ambo, Nambour and featured as part of the Fabric Program on the Sunshine Coast.
Image Credits: Richard Neylan Nolan 
SALLYANNE ATKINSON
Born in 1942 to an Irish father and Australian mother, Sallyanne Atkinson has had a long career in politics and business.
The first female Lord Mayor of Brisbane, former Senior Trade Commissioner to Paris and former Special Representative for Queensland in South East Asia, she is now a distinguished guest speaker, business mentor and regularly appears on television and radio and contributes to newspapers. She is a mother and grandmother and lives in Brisbane.
WANITA HONKY TONK
Wanita – The undisputed queen of good time, honky tonk country rock who perceives the world through an autistic lens, is the centre of a turbulent life which undoubtedly is what makes her person and music so raw and real.
Her newly released album hosts a mix of Honky Tonk, Rockabilly, Rock’N’Roll and Country Music. It was recorded by Billy Yates & Larry Beaird at world-renowned Beaird Studios, Nashville.
With a cult following, Wanita owns her red hair and lipstick beyond persona. There is just no doubt the crown has always belonged to Wanita as Australia’s Queen of Honky Tonk. The album captures ‘the dichotomy of Wanita’s life and torrid mood swings, her monumental stage presence, her exceptional vocal capacity and her deep connection with traditional country music,’ and realises the story of Wanita to date. The making of this album inspired the 2021 featuring documentary ‘I’m Wanita’ in Canada’s HotDocs, Melbourne International Film Festival and Western Australia’s Cinefest Oz. and won the following awards:
2021 - Won Best Music Documentary at the 2021 London Raindance Festival
2021 - Won Best Documentary all categories at the 2021 Sydney Film Festival
2021 - Voted into the top 10 Australian films for 2021
2022 - Won the 2022 AIDC Award (Australian International Documentary Conference)