about

team

Olivia C. Davies artistic director, curator

Brian Postalian general manager

Kelly McInnes marketing manager, festival coordinator

Kayleigh Sandomirsky festival stage manager

Andie Lloyd festival lighting designer

Deanna Peters/Mutable Subject website

 

board

Sheldon McRae chair

Kristen Lewis director

Emily Tait secretary, director

Neville Joanes director

Tony Lanier director

Olivia Davies director

Matriarchs Uprising centres Indigenous women who are nurturing and advancing the art of contemporary dance. We're a platform for artists and audiences to come together and connect across different nations and Indigenous worldviews through dance.

The festival is a celebration of Indigenous womanhood and our stories of transformation. Artistic Director and festival curator Olivia C. Davies invites audiences to share in the inspiration drawn from women dance artists who are creating and performing compelling works that connect past, present and future through movement. The festival's an incubator for new ideas and a platform for conversation generated by our programming—honoring of ancestral spirit, connection to land, questioning of identity politics, and revitalization of cultural heritage, language, mythologies and potential futures.

Each festival artist is invited specifically for their contributions to the Contemporary Indigenous dance milieu and we've connected Indigenous artists from across Turtle Island, Australia and Aotearoa in cross-cultural exchange to bring about new ways of experiencing the world. By sharing our cultural traditions and contemporary dance practices, we generate new ideas and expand the circle of our form and celebrate the richness of our heritage. These artists bring their unique vision and worldview to the studio and the stage.