Kim Roberts (she/her) is an experienced and passionate arts leader and advocate. With 25 years in the music industry in charity management, community radio, festival administration and as a working musician (which she still enjoys), Kim has a deep understanding of the needs of artists and arts organisations in our current climate.
With added roles and qualifications in social research, vocational training and digital media, Kim brings a breadth of skills and a strong focus on knowledge sharing, advocacy, diversity and inclusion, artist pathways and sustainable organisational development.
Kim is also the General Manager 0.2FTE for the Arts Industry Council SA, a non-government not-for-profit acting as an independent voice for the arts in SA.
Makeda Duong is a visual artist working primarily in textiles. Her current practice attempts to unravel and represent aspects of her lived experience in relation to themes such as race, class, mental illness, and the social processes of stigmatisation and othering.
Since graduating from the South Australian School of Art in 2013, her work has been exhibited in local and interstate galleries including the Jam Factory, Craft Design Canberra, and as part of the Adelaide Festival and the Oz Asia Festival. In 2020, she was selected to take part in Nexus Arts’ studio residency for SALA, which culminated in her second solo exhibition and winning the Don Dunstan SALA Award.
Her most recent solo exhibition at Murray Bridge Regional Gallery showcased a celebration of 10 years of arts practice. Her piece ‘Personal Responsibility’ is currently touring nationally as part of the Tamworth Textiles Triennial. Her work has been acquired by the Adelaide Migration Museum, and she was the winner of the 2022 Gallery M Contemporary Art Prize.
Makeda has recently returned to work with Nexus Arts managing the visual arts program.
Raed Hanifie is a graphic designer based on Kaurna Yerta with Afghan roots.
Graduating from the University of South Australia with a Bachelor of Design (Communication Design) in 2023, Raed is interested in typography, photography, printed media, music, and fashion. Previous projects include styling and photography for Mr Choon and A Flat Shop’s (now known as Shop Pond) 2021 Winter Postcard Project.
Raed also works as the menswear buyer and social media manager at Miss Gladys Sym Choon.
Living with disability, Michèle is a multi-Award-winning writer and director for performance–stage, screen and poetry.
She is one of Screen Australia’s inaugural certified Screen Access Coordinators and a Board Member of the Australian Network of Art+Technology. She graduated in 2020 as a medico-neuroscientist and loves swimming in wild water places.
Kultar Ahluwalia is a hip hop artist from Southern Adelaide with Punjabi and Irish roots. At a young age coming to terms with his identity, Kultar found wisdom in the empowering words of revolutionary hip hop artists. Kultar has been releasing and performing music over the last two decades under various pseudonyms and in the group, We Move Like Giants. More recently, Kultar began creating works under his birth name.
In 2023, Kultar was selected as one of six artists in the Nexus Arts Interplay Program. During his time in the program, Kultar created a new stage show and accompanying EP “The Mixed-Race Tape”.
In 2024, “The Mixed-Race Tape” was premiered at OzAsia Festival across two capacity shows at Nexus Arts with glowing reception. Kultar was invited for performances and media appearances on outlets such as ABC Radio National, SBS, Channel 9, themusic.com.auand Glam Adelaide.
In 2025, Kultar will be taking “The Mixed-Race Tape” into new territories across Australia and, as always, hitting the home studio and sharing new music.
And, in a full circle moment, he will be commencing a role at Nexus Arts supporting and mentoring the next cohort of Interplay artists.
Jennifer Trijo is a Filipino singer, actor, and multi-instrumentalist living and working in Kaurna Yerta.
Her professional theatre credits include: Baruska in Once (Darlinghurst Theatre Company; Black Swan State Theatre Company; Comedy Theatre; HOTA); Janelle Woods and Shirelle in Beautiful – the Carole King Musical (Matt Ward Entertainment); Ms. Mendoza in The Deep North, the first African-Australian musical (South Australian Playwrights Theatre); Hua Mulan, Pocahontas, and Badroulbadour in Disenchanted (Mad About Theatre); and Kim in the Australian tour of Miss Saigon (LWAA | Michael Coppel).
Jennifer is a regular featured artist at the Oz Asia Festival and Adelaide Fringe Festival with credits including: Pinoy Street Party (2021); Someday – A Mindful Cabaret (2021-2022); Hyoshi in Counterpoint (2022-2024); Leslie & Anita: The Fallen Stars of Hong Kong (2024); the Jennifer Trijo Band (2024); and Typhoon for SAPT (2024).
Since releasing her debut self-titled EP, she has composed approximately 100 original songs. Recent career highlights include being named a 2024 Finalist in the APRA AMCOS Professional Development Awards in the Music Theatre category for her musical Dragonfly, and winning a 2024 Green Room Award for Best Artist Ensemble in Commercial Music Theatre with the multi-talented cast of Once.
Jennifer is an advocate for accessible arts education and works as a mentor for emerging First Nations and culturally diverse singer-songwriters through Nexus Arts, Adelaide. She is a voice faculty member of the Elder Conservatorium of Music (Music Theatre), a graduate of the Bachelor of Music & Bachelor of Education double degree at UNSW, a graduate of a Certificate IV in Fitness at AIPT, and a proud member of the MEAA.
She is thrilled to be one of the original Australian cast members of Hadestown (Opera Australia & Jones Theatrical Group).
Ruth Weldon (She/Her) is a highly skilled and experienced arts worker, living and working on Kaurna land.
Ruth has almost 20 years experience in the arts, primarily in community and cultural development, working with emerging artists, in youth arts and arts education.
Outside of Nexus Arts, Ruth works as a freelance audio describer with Acess2Arts and is a co-chair of the Arts Industry Council of South Australia.
This year, she graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) with an MFA in Cultural Leadership. From her beginnings, travelling the world working on festivals, she has had a range of experiences across ticketing, marketing, producing, project management and development.
Ruth is immensely passionate about making arts accessible for all and helping to foster the next generation of arts workers and makers.
Bolanle has a dynamic background in both the creative and business side of advertising and media production.
With extensive experience as an Advertising Agency producer and as a producer with Nigerian Idol, Bolanle has honed a unique blend of creative direction, project management, and strategic marketing expertise. She has always enjoyed the process of bringing stories to life and can always be found reading a good book with a cup of tea.
She currently works as our Marketing Manager, focusing on leveraging her experience to deliver results that elevate Nexus Arts.
Damien has extensive experience in Front of House and Venue Management for Arts Organisations in Australia including Belvoir St Theatre, Griffin Theatre Company, Darlinghurst Theatre Company, Seymour Centre Sound Lab and Adelaide Festival Centre.
Damien is delighted to bring this experience to Nexus Arts and looks forward to hearing from artists wishing to perform at our venue. Please get in touch!
Kiera J. Simmons (She/They) is an emerging South Australian sound designer based on unceded Kaurna Land. Their creative work in Speculative Soundwalking and live electronic performance explores engagement with place through sound.
As a freelance sound designer, she works with local and global artists on creative projects focusing on queerness, ecology, neurodivergence and embodies theatrical experiences.
Since 2024, she has served as Head Technician at Nexus Arts and Chairperson of Creative Original Music Adelaide. In both roles, they enjoy supporting and collaborating with artists and community members on an exciting variety of shows and events.
Zhao Liang began learning the guzheng (Chinese harp) at the age of six in Singapore. Arriving in Adelaide in 2002, Zhao established the School of Chinese Music & Arts in Gouger St in 2005. Zhao is an exciting and highly accomplished performer, with a heart for the community and touch of an artist.
Her work includes a number of stimulating and ground-breaking projects, such as the Multicultural Storytimes program for audiences under 5 years of age, which has been widely performed across local councils and libraries. In 2014, Zhao initiated An Oriental Flair, an 8-piece ensemble of eastern harps and western strings. She is also a founding member of Moonta Street, a group presenting a contemporary world music sound blending Chinese and European traditional music.
In 2019, Zhao founded San Ureshi: a unique oriental trio with David Dai (erhu) and Satomi Ohnishi (percussion). This ensemble performs original compositions breaking boundaries yet embracing tradition, and in 2019 and 2020 responded to exhibitions at the Art Gallery of South Australia. Zhao also performs in the Radial Quartet, an experimental group with Jarrad Payne (drums and electronics), Dylan Marshall (guitar), and Bonnie Aue (double bass).
