First Friday Club, our monthly conversation with an industry professional, is a chance for our community to learn more about the writing and publishing industry. In September 2021, we invited audiences to our online event with Lena Nahlous.
Writing NSW’s Program Director, Julia Tsalis, was joined by Lena, who over the last 20 years, has championed opportunities for culturally diverse artists. Lena spoke about how things have changed over that time, and what still needs to change, sharing initiatives that are making a difference and telling us how the writing and publishing sector compares with other art forms.
Watch the full interview on our YouTube channel.
Lena Nahlous is an experienced CEO, producer, curator, artistic director and facilitator with a long-term commitment to equity in the arts and creative sectors. She is currently the Executive Director of Diversity Arts Australia and host of The Colour Cycle podcast. She has over 20 years-experience in arts, cultural and media organisations where she has developed artist brokerage and training programs focusing on creatives from culturally diverse, refugee and migrant backgrounds and young people. Lena has worked closely with local government, particularly across Western Sydney where she established initiatives like the Arab Film Festival, Switch digital media centre and Artfiles, an artist employment and brokerage program. Lena’s recent projects include the After Australia anthology, the Creative Equity Toolkit and Pacesetters.
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