Jake Yang is a recent graduate of Adelaide Central School of Art, Kaurna Land, Adelaide. Yang’s practice explores various disciplines, notably painting, sculpture, drawing and photography. Yang’s practice is driven by the continual exploration youth culture in contemporary society, integrated with strong influence from his conservative traditional Chinese culture. Yang challenges the normative assumptions around identity through his exploration of existing within in three very different cultures at once (Chinese, Australian and contemporary cultures). His practice explores the evolving cross-section within himself. Yang’s practice explores contemporary ways of painting, through formal elements influenced by Traditional cultural artefacts and techniques as a way to connect with his neglected cultural identity growing up. In his series of work, he forefronts personal inner conflictions in his life, highlighting intimacy, privacy, freedom and rebellion. This inner struggle speaks to a double-life representation of façades and expectations that derive from conservative cultural upbringings.

Born in Iran, Hamed Sadeghi is a multi ARIA award nominated, tar player and composer based in Sydney Australia. He is the founder and composer of the Eishan Ensemble, one of the most acclaimed bands in Australia and has toured nationally and internationally for numerous times. Vazesh, his fully improvised collaborative project with Jeremy Rose and Lloyd Swanton has been a finalist at  Art Music Awards. He has been involved in many collaborative and solo projects around the world including touring with the maestro Shahram Nazeri in Australia and have played at the most well known festivals and prestigious concert halls.

Maryam Rahmaniis an Iranian born Santur player. Maryam conjures a magical sound from her santur, a delicate 72-string hammer dulcimer, to weave spells of ancient culture and tradition.

Hjálmar Marteinsson is an Adelaide based performer of Icelandic descent who works across multiple disciplines. As Einar The Strange he is an intimidtating and fearsome figure in the Australian ProWrestling scene.

Join us as we discuss his work, community, connection to heritage and the ancient and fascinating collision of art, athletics and theatre that is his chosen medium.

Jamila has been writing and performing work for the stage, screen, and livestream since 2016, and has worked with Sydney Theatre Company, AdelaideFestival, Malthouse Theatre Company, Darlinghurst Theatre Company, AdelaideCabaret Festival, State Theatre Company of South Australia, Vitalstatistix, Midsumma Festival, and ActNow Theatre.Notable roles include Phoebe in the development of Curiosity (dir. Shari Sebbens, Sydney Theatre Company, 2021); Milla in Butterfly Kicks (dir. MaryAngley, Rumpus 2021); and Sita, Jamila’s feature film debut in Shadow (Back toBack Productions). In 2021 Jamila created and performed Benched, with seasons presented by FELTspace, Carclew in SALA Festival, and Headspace Berri. Jamila was a 2020 Carclew Fellow and is currently an Artist-in-Residence at Carclew, Co-Chair of the Equity Diversity Committee, an Advisor for AustralianPlays Transform, a Disability Consultant and Advocate, and a founding member and Access Coordinator at RUMPUS. Jamila is a queer, disabled artist and ambulatory wheelchair user. Accessibility, inclusion, and joyful rigour inform Jamila’s award-winning practice. Jamilagraduated from the Acting program at Adelaide College of the Arts in 2018 and holds a Bachelor of Arts in the Advanced Program for High Achievers (Drama and International Relations) from Flinders University.

Chiranjika (Chira) Grasby is a Tattooist, emerging visual artist, and emerging curator, but to many they are known simply as ‘Poko Ono’. Their tattoo career began in 2015, coinciding their Bachelor of Visual Art at Adelaide Central School of Art - completed 2019. Throughout this time they began freelance curating and exhibiting across multiple local ARIs, most notably Sister Gallery in 2018, and as one of the curators for Carclew’s 2019 Emerging Curator Program.

WHY THIS? is a podcast series in which Nexus Arts’ Media Manager, Aaron Schuppan talks to arts workers from across the creative industries about their roles, their passions and what keeps them going to work day after day. Let’s be honest, is there anyone working in the arts who hasn’t asked themselves, ‘why this??’.

This series of informal chats features arts workers from all backgrounds, media and career levels. Aaron talks to people just starting out in their field to seasoned professionals. Each conversation is inspiring, funny, educational and, if we dare, inspirational.

Lazaro Numa is an accomplished Cuban trumpeter, composer and educator with over 20 years’ international performing experience. Studying trumpet from an early age, Lazaro has played with some of Cuba's finest musicians including Omara Portuondo and Barbarito Torres from the Buena Vista Social Club. Lazaro left Cuba in 2008 to expand his music career and has had the opportunity to tour in Europe, Asia and Australia with a number of top international music acts including the Afro-Cuban All-Stars, The Bar at Buena Vista and Havana Meets Kingston.

Currently based in Adelaide Australia, Lazaro is making his mark on the local music scene regularly performing in major music events and festivals across the city such as WOMadelaide and the Adelaide Fringe. Lazaro also composes and performs his own original music, regularly performing with his ensemble "Sabor a Cuba". In 2020 throughout covid lockdown,  he founded a new project "Cuban Trumpet Plus" with 3 other Cuban trumpet players and together they have released a number of songs that have gained attention from the Cuban music community across the globe.

In 2016, Lazaro recorded his debut album “Mi Cuba” in Havana which features some of Cuba's musical greats  such as Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabal, and is inspired by the music he listened to growing up.

Lazaro is an exciting talent and part of the next generation of Cuban musicians proudly showcasing traditional Cuban music to the world.

WHY THIS? Is a podcast mini-series consisting of informal chats with arts workers of a wide variety. Aaron Schuppan, Nexus’s Media Manager, chats with arts workers from a wide variety of backgrounds, mediums and career levels - from people just starting out to seasoned professionals.

“Why this?” is something that everyone in the arts asks themselves from time to time. The conversations are inspiring, funny, educational and, if we dare, inspirational.

Nelya Valamanesh is a second-generation Iranian migrant working and residing on Kaurna Country. Her work revolves specifically around sharing stories and narratives of people of colour through a queer lens. Over years Nelya has taken this passion and collaborated on theatre, film, TV, and writing projects.

In the first episode of Why This? Nelya and Aaron discuss her upcoming projects, how she got started, her creative struggles, the importance of representation, awkward chats with your parents and the under-rated magnificence of the movie Clueless.

Episode contains some light language - but it's all within context.