Candice Lorrae is an award-winning First Nations music producer, artist and mentor with Jawoyn and Torres Strait Islander roots, based in Melbourne. With 25 years of experience in music, she is the founder of The Candy Suite, an independent studio dedicated to supporting and training First Nations women in music production. Her leadership in expanding this initiative was recognised with the 2025 First Nations Creative Fellowship Award from Creative Australia. Candice rose to national prominence as one half of acclaimed Aboriginal electronic pop duo The Merindas. In 2026, Candice steps boldly into her solo chapter, writing and recording her debut album, a deeply personal body of work inspired by her family’s story and her lineage as the second great-granddaughter of Bett Bett, the Jawoyn woman whose life and story were documented in We of the Never Never, The Little Black Princess and The Girl Who Talked to the Stars.
For three decades Janelle Johnstone has collaged a professional background in arts and social justice working across the live music industry, community broadcasting, family violence interventions, and community development. Her practice takes in roles as musician, creative director, communications strategist, and events producer in some of Naarm’s most celebrated subcultural music icons including the Punters Club, The Tote, and Big Day Out. Janelle is currently Associate Lecturer in Crime, Justice and Legal Studies at La Trobe University's School of Social Inquiry. She recently submitted her PhD Sonic a Gender, an interdisciplinary project adopting feminist, decolonial and participatory methodologies to explore gender and resistance in DIY music spaces. She is a regular guest on ABC 774 Melbourne, Triple R and PBS FM, and has written for theconversation.com.
Marita Dyson is a multidisciplinary artist working across songwriting, performance and visual art, together with Stuart Flanagan, as The Orbweavers. Marita is a descendant of Irish, Scottish, Welsh and English settlers, born in Naarm, living and working on unceded Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung lands. Through her work she seeks to more deeply understand the histories and ongoing impacts of colonisation and industrialisation on local waterways and ecosystems, and her own history within this. Marita has exhibited work at National Gallery of Victoria, State Library of Victoria, Scienceworks & Immigration Museums, Platform Vitrines, TCB, Marios Fitzroy and Empathy Museum. She has experience producing and presenting radio, facilitating workshops, and assisting with archival research.
Zena Zada Cumpston is a Barkandji woman with Afghan, English, and Irish heritage. Zena works as an artist, writer, consultant, and curator. She is passionate about plants and seeks out projects that empower community and Country. She is a member of the Birrarung Council and a widely published writer. Most recently, Zena has been focussed on growing her skills and reach as an emerging artist and has been invited to participate in various local and international artist residencies and collaborative opportunities. She is the proud recipient of the 2026 Bandalang Artist Residency at ANU. In 2026 her art will be featured across many projects, including the 'Watch These Hands 'Exhibition at Heide Museum of Modern Art and as an artist in residence at the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Zena was an orator at Darebin’s 2025 MHSJO and is a passionate advocate for social justice.