The program is presented by Voices of Women, a not for profit organisation inspired by storytelling and storytellers, performance and music. It has community, openness and collaboration at its heart. We have collaborated with artists across Australia and our Artistic Director has lived and worked extensively in Europe. Over the past three years we have successfully presented performances at Studio MV in Sydney, Inner West Council (Sydney) EDGE Activation Program, and Articulate Project Space, where we made a short film CLEARWAY. We also publish a Voices of Women podcast.
This project is committed to sharing stories and strengthening cross community collaboration, breaking down barriers and presenting diverse stories and tales from all women across Australia and America, in particular First Nations stories, stories from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, from women living with disability and from LGBTQI+ communities.
Lliane Clarke is Artistic Director and Producer and is a writer, editor, publisher, director/producer and communications professional. She created and directed Voices of Women in 2018 and 2019. She is a senior journalist and published author with over 25 years in the publishing and communications industry in both Australia and the UK.
Hasitha Adhikariarachchi
Hasitha Adhikariarachchi is an emerging writer and poet. Raised in Sri Lanka, she now calls Sydney home. Inspired by the futility of everyday sexism, her work includes plays, poetry and short fiction. Hasitha was the runner-up of the Poetry Section of International Women’s Day Writing Competition by South Coast Writers Centre and has been featured by the Macquarie University in ‘Emerging Writers Festival – 2018’ and ‘South Asian Film, Arts & Literature Festival – 2017’. Hasitha’s piece, The Greyhound, the Dark-Bearded Man and the Wind, was selected for ‘The Monologue Adventure-Voices of Women’ organised by Content and Cultural Projects. Last year she won the ‘NSW Multilingual Poetry Slam 2017’.
Veena Sudarshan
Veena Sudarshan grew up in Bangalore, India which is a cultural hub for music, theater and literary activities in South India. She has performed in theatre for 20 years both in English and Kannada, a South Indian language. She have participated in multiple theatre workshops to enhance her acting skills. She has worked with Urban Theatre Project sat Bankstown Arts Centre and Picture Theatre workshop at Migrant Resource Centre. She is a founder member of ‘Anivaasi’ theatre group mainly performing for Kannada speaking community. She has produced and acted in lead roles in theatre and also in radio plays and three short films (Oasis, My Beloved Charioteer, Reflection) and in a feature film (Mukhamukhi, Kannada). Working as a casual radio broadcaster for SBS Kannada Radio, she has interviewed many visiting artists of the Kannada community.
Jeanne Kinninmont is Financial Director of the project, an experienced business project manager and consultant, with wide-ranging experience and interests in business consulting, business writing and communications, project management, financial management, preparing business plans and generally working with business managers to improve results and effectiveness. She has been Business and Property Manager Writing NSW, Director Project Words, General Manager Moorambilla Voices, Senior Project Manager APRA.