Joel Bray, Artistic Director
An artist living in Naarm (Melbourne), Joel Bray is a proud Wiradjuri man whose practice springs from his cultural heritage. His works are intimate encounters in unorthodox spaces, in which audience-members are invited in as co-storytellers to explore the experiences of fair-skinned Aboriginal people, and the experiences of contemporary gay men in an increasingly digital and isolated world. His body becomes the intersection site of those songlines- Indigenous heritage, skin-colour and queer sexuality.
Joel trained at NAISDA and WAAPA before pursuing a career in Europe and Israel with Jean-Claude Gallotta, Company CeDeCe , Kolben Dance, Machol Shalem Dance House, Yoram Karmi’s FRESCO Dance Company, Niv Sheinfeld & Oren Laor and Roy Assaf. He returned to Australia in 2015 to work with CHUNKY MOVE.
Joel’s first work as a choreographer Biladurang won three Melbourne Fringe Awards in 2016. Since then Joel has created solo and ensemble dance works including Dharawungara, Daddy, Considerable Sexual License and I Liked it BUT…
Joel is currently developing a new large scale work Garabari, which premieres in Melbourne in December 2022.
During the pandemic Joel created a multichannel video installation Giraru Galing Ganhagirri. This 7 channel work premiered at the National Gallery of Australia’s 2022 Ceremony exhibition curated by Hetti Perkins.
Veronica Bolzon, Executive Producer
Veronica is a performing arts industry professional with experience in arts management, community engagement and programming roles, in a broad range of organisations within the independent arts, government, corporate and not for profit sectors. Recent roles include Program Producer at Dancehouse, Executive Producer of YIRRAMBOI First Nations Arts Festival, Executive Director, Philip Adams Ballet Lab and Senior Producer for Blak & Bright First Nations Literary Festival 2019 and 2022.
She is passionate about community engagement, strategic planning, relationship management and artistic collaboration, and actively involved in the arts and culture sectors both locally and nationally. Veronica is a board member of Dancehouse, Melbourne. She holds a Masters of Fine Arts, Cultural Leadership.
Veronica is focused on leadership in small to medium arts organisations, and working with diverse and underrepresented cultures, artists and individuals, with a contemporary arts focus.
