Thursday 18 July 2024, 2-4pm ACDT
Nexus Arts, Lion Arts Factory, Lion Arts Centre, 68 North Terrace, Adelaide, Kaurna Yarta
Presented by the Arts Industry Council of South Australia
The Arts Industry Council of South Australia (AICSA) recently conducted research into workplace health and safety in the SA arts sector. The results of this survey highlighted that Cultural Safety is an area that needs further development within the sector.
Hear our expert speakers Nara Wilson, Dr Ruth DeSouza and Esther Anatolitis discuss their work and perspectives on organisational change to improve the cultural safety of artists and arts workers. While there is no one single quick fix to a complex issue, this discussion is intended as a conversation-starter around how to drive change. We hope this will be the first in several sessions hosted by AICSA to assist with this crucial work.
For those who missed the session, please listen to the recording and access the workshop resources here.
Speakers
Nara Wilson from BiRiny. Photo: Naomi Jellicoe
NARA WILSON
Nara Wilson is a proud Wirangu, Kokatha and Larrakia woman who lives and works on Peramangk country. In the first five years after completing her film bachelor’s degree, Nara worked as a freelance film producer working on First Nations-based stories within documentary, corporate and short film including producing 9 x 15-minute documentaries for NITV (National Indigenous TV).
From 2018 – 2022 Nara implemented South Australia’s first and second First Nations Screen Strategy for the state. From August 2022 – June 2023 she was the first to implement the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Strategy for South Australia at Arts South Australia as the Senior Project Manager Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts.
At present, Nara created her company BiRiny (100% First Nations owned) which focusses on delivering corporate and commercial filming services.
Esther Anatolitis. Photo: Daniel Gardeazabal
ESTHER ANATOLITIS
Editor of Meanjin Esther Anatolitis is one of Australia’s leading advocates for art, culture and civic engagement. She is a member of the National Gallery of Australia Governing Council, the Australian Republic Movement Victorian and National Councils, Principal of Test Pattern, and Hon A/Prof at RMIT School of Art. As a former CEO or board member of arts organisations and industry bodies across all artforms and practice modes, Esther has advised artists and governments under sensitive, complex circumstances, and written policies on matters spanning creative risk and cultural safety. With a publishing and broadcasting career grounded in ethnic and multicultural contexts, Esther is the author of numerous papers and book chapters including The Relationship is the Project’s chapter on the role of institutions, and her book Place, Practice Politics was published in 2022.
DR RUTH DESOUZA
Dr Ruth DeSouza is a nurse, consultant, facilitator, educator, mentor, researcher, podcaster and writer who migrated to Boon Wurrung country from Aotearoa, New Zealand. She has wide ranging expertise in cross-cultural engagement, having family origins in Goa, being born in Tanzania, and raised in Kenya, The Kingdom of Tonga and Aotearoa New Zealand. Ruth’s work is concerned with equity, justice and cultural safety in both health and creative arts settings.
What is Cultural Safety
Central to feeling safe at work is the expectation that people feel culturally safe. Each person has their own unique cultural identity. Australia is home to the oldest living First Nations cultures in the world and is now one of the most multicultural countries.
A culturally safe workplace is “…an environment that is spiritually, socially and emotionally safe, as well as physically safe for people; where there is no assault, challenge or denial of their identity, of who they are and what they need. It is about shared respect, shared meaning, shared knowledge and experience of learning together.” (Williams, R. (1999). Cultural safety – what does it mean for our work practice? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 23(2), 213-214)
About AICSA
AN INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR THE ARTS
The Arts Industry Council SA (AICSA) is a non-government not-for-profit acting as an independent voice for the arts in SA. Run by a volunteer Executive Committee and part-time General Manager, AICSA acts on behalf of our members to advocate for a strong future for South Australian artists, arts workers and arts organisations.
As the state’s independent, sector-wide representative arts body, the Arts Industry Council of SA (AICSA) is extremely valuable to the South Australian arts sector. AICSA was constituted as an incorporated institution in 1991. The Council receives no operational funding from the government, and derives its support from the industry through member subscriptions, fundraising, sponsorship and in-kind donations.
Our members include over one hundred of the state’s arts and cultural organisations and independent artists. It is to our credit, the South Australian arts sector, that our collective commitment to maintaining our member subscriptions, allows this tradition to continue here today.
Acknowledgements
This project is supported by the Healthy Workplaces Strategy Grants Program, which is funded by Preventive Health SA and administered by South Australian Business Chamber.