Biographies

Irfan Master is an award-winning author of novels, short stories, poetry, and plays. His debut novel, A Beautiful Lie (Bloomsbury) which explored familial and childhood experiences of the partition of India, was translated into 10 languages and is currently being adapted into a touring stage play. His second novel for young adults, Out of Heart (Bonnier Books) was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal and UKLA award. Irfan's short fiction has also been published in numerous anthologies. Irfan is a passionate advocate for creative and literacy projects in the community and has developed programmes for young people to gain access to the creative arts. He has worked with English PEN, the British Council and the Arvon Foundation to deliver writing workshops in schools and prisons. He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Canberra where he also teaches Creative Writing.

Yleia Mariano is a Filipino poet, raised on Dharawal country and currently based on Ngunnawal country. Making their debut on the slam poetry stage in June 2022 at the Canberra Slam, they became the Inaugural Canberra Slam Champion in November. Yleia represented the ACT at the 2023 Australian Poetry Slam Finals and was one of the top five poets. They have performed at Red Room Poetry events including the ACT Poetry Month Showcase, and broadcast internationally at the BBC's 2024 Contains Strong Language Festival. With ‘HSP (Highly Sensitive Poets)’, they competed in the 2026 Bankstown Poetry Slam Grand Final at the Sydney Opera House. A Canberra Slam co-host and hype-person, Yleia can either be found writing their PhD thesis or about home (again).

Denise Thwaites is a Kamberri-based arts curator, writer and researcher of Uyghur and British descent, whose transdisciplinary, collaborative practice explores the hybrid materials of networked life. She has co-curated exhibition projects for Artspace Ideas Platform (Sydney), Next Wave Festival (Melbourne), Firstdraft (Sydney), This Is Not Art Festival (Newcastle), New Beginnings Refugee Culture and Arts Festival (Sydney) and Haig Park Experiments (Canberra). She has co-curated live art events for international programs such as NOVA_XX Biennial at Centre Wallonie Bruxelles (Paris, FR) and the Institute of Network Cultures (Amsterdam, NL). Her writing on art, technology and radical economies has been published in Kunstlicht, Runway Journal of Experimental Art, Performance Paradigm, Artlink, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art, Cordite Poetry Review and Meniscus Literary Journal and in publications by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Newcastle Art Gallery and Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation. Since 2023, Denise has been a Senior Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Arts at University of Canberra, having previously worked at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, National Art School Sydney and University of New South Wales.

Mariam Ella Arcilla is a Filipina-Singaporean creative producer, writer, and organiser based on Gadigal land. She runs Magenta House: a gathering and knowledge-sharing space that stages culturally-vital programs exploring the caretaking synergies between art, food, communing and experimental practices. Programs come alive through workshops, test kitchens, talks, art pop-ups, a shop, open-access reading sessions, and community partnerships. Alongside this, Mariam works with global collectives and institutions to cultivate projects and resources across artspaces, governments, galleries, publications, and hospitality venues. She has staged various community-engaged projects with Arts House, Bang-On, 4A Centre of Contemporary Asian Art, Institute of Modern Art, and Parramatta Artists Studios. She was a Founding Co-Director of Gold Coast-based initiatives tinygold and Miami Marketta; and served as Co-Chair/Digital Producer/Editor at Runway Journal. As an arts practitioner, Mariam has presented projects on cultural convening and gastropoetics for Saluhan, Welcome Merchant, OuterSpace, Electrofringe, Firstdraft, Liquid Architecture, Canberra Contemporary, and Powerhouse. Growing up in a family of artists and cooks in Quezon City inspired Mariam to carve out a career in creative hospitality—oscillating between hosting, food marketing, waitressing, recipe-making and producing interactive arts experiences across Australia, the Philippines, and the UK. Mariam is an avid snacker with treats in her pockets at all time.

Zora Pang is an artist and organiser, grew up in a coastal Chinese city Shenzhen with the context of rapid urbanisation. Her heritage is, on her father's side, one of making new places home and on her mother's Teochew side, food, Chinese medicine and spirituality - all leading her to see everything as connected and ever-changing. Her creative practice is driven by the desire to connect through differences, always looking for the space to hold curiosity and honesty. She is currently interested in how trust can grow through time over food and conversations, and how embodied experience can inspire conflict transformation in collective work. Zora’s work has been shown in kitchens, parks, bedrooms, cafes, a canteen, a train, a storage warehouse, and meeting rooms. She has presented works with You Are Here Canberra (ACT), Tuggeranong Arts Centre (ACT), Tributary Projects (ACT), Live Art Lab A+G Arts Centres (ACT), Shenzhen\Hongkong Bi-city Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture (UABB)(China).

Janhavi Salvi is an Indian Artist working within the Visual and Media Arts, based in Canberra, Australia. Her practice is driven by the aim to make artworks that move away from the ‘please do not touch’ conditioning to a more liberal form of engagement that encourages touching and tampering with the work, or positioning even the most basic emotional response (even that of a chuckle) as a gesture of co-authorship. She has exhibited her work at Tributary Projects (ACT) and photo access (ACT) as a recipient of the Dark Matter Residency opportunity. Janhavi is an emerging arts leader in the ACT, developing programs for Tributary Projects, You Are Here and University of Canberra Creativity and Culture Seminar Series.

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