Blak Social
Blak Social
Blak Social celebrates the cultural resurgence of Indigenous peoples with a line-up as varied and constellated as our identities.
From dance tunes to mesmerising movement to heart-stopping melodics, Blak Social is a celebration of Indigenous artists and the future they create.
Featuring:
Diimpa
Elisapie
Katina Olsen
The Merindas
Paula Delaney-Nazarski
Blak Social premiered at Horizon Festival 2019 as an event created by our outgoing First Nations Producer, Alethea Beetson. Since then, Blak Social has transformed into her flagship arts company that works across music, performing arts and apparel.
Horizon Festival is honoured to partner with a sovereign-led space like Blak Social and we continue to support Alethea’s work in decolonisation, cultural resurgence and ancestral connection.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
DIIMPA
Eclectic and esoteric, Diimpa is an avant composer, soundscape weaver and sonic wizard. He is a proud mixed Kabi Kabi autistic queer man who works with keyboard instruments to create worlds of effortless magic and sound journey. Filled with electric pulses or ambient textures, Diimpa’s unique brand of contemporary minimalism is, at its heart, transcendent.
ELISAPIE
Ambassador for Inuit culture, Elisapie represents the wild and rough beauty of the Canadian North. Her new album, The Ballad of the Runaway Girl, is the musical tale of an expatriate Inuk. On June 19th, 2020, Elisapie returned with a new single called Asuguuq. This song is a gift to Inuit communities in the wake of National Indigenous Peoples Day.
KATINA OLSEN
Katina is a proud Wakka Wakka Kombumerri choreographer and also has Norwegian, German and English Ancestry. Katina’s choreographic interests interrogate her Indigenous cultural dance and story through various forms including theatre, moving sculpture, film and installation.
THE MERINDAS
The Merindas are the collective force of Ballardong Whadjuk and Nyoongar woman Kristel Kickett (from Tammin, WA) and Candice Lorrae of Jawoyn and Thursday Island heritage (born in Darwin, NT). Based in Melbourne, these soul sisters are trail-blazing their innovative style of Indigenous music. They describe their unique sound as “electronic pop with a dance-hall feel, alongside hip hop and R&B influences."
PAULA DELANEY NAZARSKI
Paula Delaney Nazarski is a Ngugi Woman from North Stradbroke Island. She is an esteemed actor and writer who frequently works with Queensland Theatre Company. She has written, performed and toured in theatre shows all around Queensland. Paula is passionate about the arts and the role of storytelling in the contemporary world
Partners
Presented by Blak Social
