Introducing our 2026 Queer Development Program Artists

Sisters of VĀ - Katharine Atafu-Mayo & Pounamu Rurawhe

The recipient of the Stephen Cummins Residency are the Sisters of VĀ - Katharine Atafu-Mayo & Pounamu Rurawhe.

Hailing from the ancestral waters of Hawaiiki nui, Hawaiiki roa, and Hawaiiki paomaomao, Sisters of VĀ were born from the great island of Samoa and the land of the long white cloud, Aotearoa. They are a collaborative sisterhood, who work in the realms of actiVĀtion (term coined by the sister’s Tuakana, Rosanna Raymond), talanoa and toi maaori.

During the two-week residency, they will be developing ‘Te Ao Moemoeaa’ (The world of dreaming), which explores the interrelationships between the pacific waters of Samoa, Aotearoa and Eora Nation through a series of durational ceremonial actiVAtions which observe concepts surrounding dreaming, spiritual interaction, ancestral veneration and the ‘VA body.

We're also thrilled to announce the further participants in our 2026 Queer Development Lab.

Blake Wilson

Blake Wilson is a trans-disciplinary artist living on Gadigal country, Sydney. Their experience of disability and gender is played out through textile design, installation, live performance activation, photography and video. Blake’s practice interrogates the phenomena of the clown through his interpersonal experiences of harassment for their gender expression in public and private spheres.

He draws upon historical and contemporary representations of the harlequin in medieval painting, concepts of the court jester, European modernism (e.g. Parisian Art Neuvaeu). Incorporating with queer practices in kink, body modification, piercing, voyeurism and sploshing.

Dechen Gendun

Dechen is a Sydney-based queer dance artist working at the intersection of street dance, improvisation, and performance, using the body as a site for memory, rhythm, and exchange.

With over 15 years of experience in hip hop and house, their practice explores street dance as an embodied language for communication, storytelling, and connection.

Skye Gellmann

Skye Gellmann (AU, 1985) is an artist working across performance, photography, and the moving image. Their work moves between live and mediated forms, including full-length works, durational performance, and documentation. Central to their practice is instability as a generative force; movement emerges through the bodys negotiation with physical, material, and environmental conditions.

Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts

Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts is a Bundjalung human rights lawyer, writer, educator, and advocate dedicated to advancing First Nations justice, child rights, and cultural safety. Her work spans legal practice, private consultancy, and education, with a strong focus on First Nations oversight, systems accountability, and supporting better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, particularly children and young people.

A survivor of forcible child removal in Australia, Vanessa’s lived experience profoundly shapes her advocacy and public work. She is widely recognised for her staunch commitment to justice, her leadership in speaking out against institutional harm, and her determination to create safer, more culturally responsive systems for future generations. Vanessa is also a published author, a Fulbright scholar and recognised leader internationally and nationally whose writing reflects both personal history and political purpose.

Yolanda Frost

Yolanda Frost (b. 1996) is a multi-instrumentalist, performance artist, aerial performer, DJ and life model whose practice is driven by rhythm and improvisation to create raw, electric and memorable episodes.

When she breaks from the restraint of classical life modelling, Yolanda is a high energy performer and DJ in clubs and festivals. Spanning genderfuck drag, aerial shows and go-go dancing with an animalistic streak, Frost attains trance in drag as a spiritual form to ground her in her experimental ritualising. A legendary Sydney exhibitionist, she can be found straddling subwoofers at dawn. As a solo musician she draws from a swathe of instrumentation to orchestrate transportive sonic movements, from ambient synth drones to pulsating trance rhythms.

Angel TeAohaki

Angel TeAohaki is a an emerging independent movement artist, creative & teacher working between naarm & gadigal land.

Establishing their artistic language through their foundations in classical dance their creative practice is rooted in the intersection of contemporary dance, performance art, site specific performance, club performance & classical art.

Angels practice implores a wide variety of performance genres to explore the dynamics of queer identity in relation to culture, community and it’s impact.

Mira Oosterweghel

Mira Oosterweghel is an interdisciplinary artist living and working on unceded Wurundjeri land in Naarm. They use performance, video, collage, text, sound and sculpture as methodologies to explore queer affect and corporeality as a lens to understand the world. Recent group and solo exhibitions include: Manic Pixie Clownboy at Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub, Figuring ground at Grafton Regional Gallery, Unison at West Space, Teeth hide, 2023 at Kings Artist Run, Soiled feet rammed dirt, 2022 at Incinerator Gallery, Bone with a hole 2021 at Blindside ARI.

Heather Maitland

Raised on Darumbal Country, where the beginning philosophies of community and storytelling in dance were seeded, Heather works as an independent dancer and choreographer. In 2021 they commenced training with Queensland National Ballet School where they graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Elite Performance before relocating to San Francisco, California. Here they gained valuable knowledge under the mentorship of the Alonzo King Lines Ballet Training Program, directed by Karah Abiog. In 2024, Heather returned to Australia to navigate the freelance contemporary dance scene and return to community.

Sara Meiklejohn aka Dharra

Dharra (She/They) is a proud descendent of the Gamilaroi and Bidjara peoples, she is a queer multidisciplinary artist, connecting to movement as a channel for expression, release, storytelling and intergenerational healing.

Her main mediums are intuitive dance and acrylic on canvas. These creations are born from and inspired by her time sitting on country and pondering in these moments of self intimacy. Through contemplation and transmutation, their deep connection to the land is strengthened and honouring her ancestors.

Dharra's art reflects and channels the themes of grief & hope by reclaiming her body through sensuality and pouring Blak rage into healing for herself and her people. In a colonial world that moves too fast, Dharra's movements are a testament to strength in softness, and vulnerability in slowness through honouring breath, country, listening and surrendering.

Chien Shih-Han

Chien Shih-Han (Hannah) is currently studying for a master’s degree of Transdisciplinary Arts, Taipei National University of the Arts. graduated from MA in Performance Making from Goldsmiths, University of London, and BA in Drama at National Taiwan University of Arts.

He began working as an actor for theatre and screen in 2014. In 2020, he created his drag queen alter ego, Hannah, through a project-oriented artwork, using this persona to create art across various fields.

The core of his work explores the depths of nationalities and identity, gender fluidity, daily life in Taiwan, and the wild mix of pop culture and the underground scene. He uses these themes to picture how minority groups survive, presenting his work with a raw tone that is humorous and chaotic.

Ella Rerekura

(Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Tuwharetoa) Is a multidisciplinary performing artist who was raised in Ōtautahi and currently resides in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Ella’s artistic kete includes many practices, including dance, choreography, singing, writing, pigment making and polaroid photography that she uses to explore the nuances within her identity as wahine, Māori, and CODA (child of Deaf Adults). Ella’s artistic work is deeply tied to her whakapapa journey, reflecting her desire to learn and understand more about her tūpuna and how they reside in her body today. Ella made her directorial debut with her first full-length show, "E NGARO ANA KOE?" at the Basement Theatre in 2025. She was also a recipient of the 2024 MAP Speculative Futures residency, during which she developed her multimedia solo performance, "Who Calls Me On When No One Is Home," and the workshop "Body of Remembering." Ella showcased her work at the ‘MAP Resides’ exhibition at CoCA Toi Moriki, co-curated by Janaína Moraes and Kat Stefanova, as well as in The Physics Room’s ‘Offsite’ exhibition, curated by Honey Brown. Additionally, Ella performed in the award-winning show "Prowl" at Auckland's 2024 Fringe Festival and Wellington’s 2025 Fringe Festival.

Hayley Walters-Tekahika

Hayley Walters-Tekahika is an Auckland-based dance theatre artist, choreographer, actress, producer, and founder of Prowl Productions, a company creating bold, movement-driven performance experiences that blend street dance, theatre, and immersive storytelling. Grounded in live performance and street dance, her artistic practice centres waacking as a cultural form and a powerful tool for expression, connection, and transformation.

Of Māori (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Whātua) and Pākehā (Scottish, Irish, French) heritage, Hayley creates work that explores identity, belonging, resilience, and collective liberation. Her practice is shaped by community, collaboration, and the creation of spaces where diverse stories and voices are seen, celebrated, and heard.

Su PinWen

SU PINWEN (HE/THEY) is a Feminism Artist. Born in Taiwan in 1985, currently based in the south of Taiwan. They are Artistic Director of KUABO DANCE THEATRE Company, resident at Chiayi Performing Arts Center. PINWEN’s work challenges the heteronormative revolving around notions of gender, feminism(s) and nudity. Since 2013, he's researched and practiced tactile culture. They take dance into social and political realms beyond its forms. Their recent work explores body politics with feminist approaches across disciplines.

Xin Ji

Xin Ji is a queer contemporary dancer, choreographer, and educator based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa New Zealand. His practice works through the body as an archive, using choreography, autobiography, storytelling, physical transformation, and live performance to explore identity, memory, intimacy, and the politics of being seen.

Xin trained in Chinese Classical Ballet at the Beijing Dance Academy and later performed with the Shiki Theatre Company in Japan, where he played Mr. Mistoffelees in Cats. From 2015 to 2024, he worked with many leading dance companies and artists in Aotearoa New Zealand, including Footnote and The New Zealand Dance Company, performing and touring nationally and internationally. He now works as a freelance artist alongside his role as an educator.

These artists will receive two weeks of support whilst they explore their work in a collaborative setting and expand their skills and techniques with experienced artist facilitators. Stay tuned for further information about the public showing at the conclusion of the program.

Please join us in congratulating this exceptional group of artists on our Instagram.

Tickets are out now for the QDP Showcase! It will take place on July 30 and 31. Get in quick! This program is easily one of our most popular, with tickets selling out fast every year. You don't want to miss this one!