SA’s fastest-rising stars under 30
IN celebration of SA Weekend Magazine’s inaugural Youth Issue, we set out to find inspirational go-getters from all walks of life.
THE streets are alive with the sound of talented young folk achieving big things.
The more you look, the more you find, which was why compiling a list of SA’s “Ones to Watch” was a mammoth task. All over the city, bright under 30s are thinking outside the square mile to make the state a better place.
In celebration of our inaugural Youth Issue we set out to find inspirational go-getters from all walks of life. To assist, we invited journalists Kate Bowden, Craig Cook, Reece Homfray, Gordon Kanki Knight, Tony Love, Simon Wilkinson, Jordanna Schriever, Jessica Leo and Cameron England, and panellists Allison Kane from Carclew Youth Arts, YWCA’s Chelsea Lewis and 2014 SA Young Member for National Youth Week, Beau Brug. We hope our list introduces readers to some new faces.
THE BUSINESS
VINH GIANG, 27
ENTREPRENEUR, SPEAKER & MAGICIAN
An encounter with this enigmatic character is a jaw-dropping affair. From mind-bending card tricks to wise words and positive thinking, this guy has something special.
“The majority of my time is spent speaking, so I travel all over Australia, New Zealand, all over the world,” he says. “I speak to businesses about what philosophies and principles I’ve used to succeed and I use magic as a metaphor in those keynotes.”
Last year, the magician was named South Australian Young Entrepreneur of the year for his online business encyclopediaofmagic.com.au – a series of video tutorials on how to make magic, which teaches more than 34,000 students all over the world.
Not bad for a kid who grew up poor and stumbled upon trickery in the most curious of ways.
“We were very poor, so for Christmas, birthdays and Easter we’d always get packets of cards,” he explains.
After school, Vinh and his pals would head to the State Library where they’d stack their cards and generally make a mess. “One day one of the librarians came up to me and said ‘We’re about to throw some books away, do you want to keep this one?’ It was my first magic book and it changed my life.”
He’s got the goods. Adelaide Fringe-goers may also recognise Vinh from performances with fellow magician Matt Tarrant. Their show Mindblown won Top Reviewed show and Top Voted show for the past three years running.
In September, Giang and his online co-founders will launch a Kickstarter campaign for an inspirational series of 52 playing cards paired with a modified edition of his signature “anything is possible” bottle. “It’s the people we meet who change our lives,” he says. “Having the mindset that anything can happen is the best thing in the world. It continues to open doors.”
LEIGH MORGAN , 28
ENTREPRENEUR
This wine and hospitality entrepreneur isn’t just about doing great things himself, he’s determined to connect like-minded people for the greater good of the state. A co-owner of online wine marketplace Vinomofo.com – which launched in Adelaide in early 2011 before attracting several high-profile investors and moving operations to Melbourne – Morgan, along with Marcus Bailey and James Sargent, this year launched The Engine Room. The initiative aims to develop the enthusiasm of Adelaide’s twenty-something and thirty-something entrepreneurs by providing mentoring and investment advice via a 500-strong network of peers who share a common goal – fighting the economic doom and gloom and keeping top young talent in our state.
JEMMA SCHILLING, 23
MASTER OF COLLABORATION
This Port Lincoln-born gal is actively fighting against South Australia’s brain drain. As the community catalyst at Hindley St co-working space the Hub Adelaide, Schilling is committed to nurturing the creative space, which houses more than 170 entrepreneurs, freelancers and small businesses and also offers Young Entrepreneur Fellowship programs. The UniSA International Business graduate – who also studied at France’s Bordeaux School of Management – is putting many of her peers to shame with the passion she’s poured into the project, which is a hallmark of the growing co-working movement sweeping the globe.
STUART DUCKWORTH, 25
VENUE MANAGER
While he started out his career spinning the decks under the name DJ Stubanga, this law and commerce graduate has gone onto great things. His name is now synonymous with all that’s hip and happening in Adelaide. After six years as the general manager at West End nightspot Electric Circus, he partnered with Tom Skipper to open up East End pop-up venues Little Miss Mexico and then Little Miss Miami. But his crowning glory – with Skipper and Sam Weckert – came in the form of the Royal Croquet Club, first on the banks of the Torrens and then in Victoria Square during Adelaide Fringe. He and his business partners are now promising more big things to come, so stay tuned.
CHRIS HOOPER, 27
ENTREPRENEUR
Through a passion for Adelaide and a desire to help improve the financial environment, Chris Hooper is gaining a strong reputation among the Adelaide business community.
The senior advisory partner at accountancy firm Cirillo Hooper & Company, and executive director of Startup Adelaide (a self-governing organisation representing the voice of start-up entrepreneurs in Adelaide), was named the Young Citizen of the Year as part of the City of Adelaide’s 2014 Australia Day Awards. He also recently gained a place in the Australian Institute of Management’s AIM 30, which recognises 30 outstanding managers under the age of… you guessed it, 30.
ADAM DAZE, 28, and TODD SKIPPER, 26
SOUNDPOND.NET BUSINESS PARTNERS
The Aussie music-loving kids will be all right if this dynamic duo has anything to do with it. Daze is managing director of digital broadcaster Soundpond.net, the station they started when he was just 23. Since then they’ve set up eponymously named venue Soundpond; a safe place for youngsters to hang out with no obligation to purchase a beverage. They can work on their uni assignments or just soak up the atmosphere. The Rundle St digs come complete with studios, a bar, a gallery and a steady flow of local music.
SOCIAL WARRIORS
TARA FATEHI, 24
FOUNDER OF THE ADELAIDE KURDISH YOUTH SOCIETY
She’s a soft-spoken young lady but Tara Fatehi’s eyes burn with determination and memories of war-torn Kurdistan. The youngster and her parents left their homeland when she was two, taking refuge in a one-bedroom abode in Turkey with members from seven other families. When she was five they migrated to Australia, scared, unable to speak English and unsure about what their future held.
“We didn’t know what Australia was…we just knew kangaroos because we’d seen them on TV,” she says. “It was very difficult but the welcome we got was incredible... from the neighbour who baked us welcome cakes to the teachers who took the extra step to help us all. I’ll never forget that first impression… that’s the Australia that I know and the Australia I grew up with. That was the poignant point in my life when I knew that’s how I had to be. That’s the Australian that I had to be when we took the pledge to become citizens.”
Since then, the PhD medicine student has built the future she dreamt of. To give back to her community she volunteers at the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s health promotion unit and the Kurdish Ethnic School in Adelaide.
Fatehi founded the Adelaide Kurdish Youth Society in 2012 with the aim of helping her community promote its rich culture and heritage, and forge strong ties within Australian society. After experiencing shocking medical conditions during a trip to Kurdistan in 2004 she co-founded the Kurdistan Health Project and is the Australian ambassador for youth-led charities such as The WHAM Project, which aims to enrich children’s lives by building schools in areas with limited or no access to education starting with South Kurdistan. She is committed to helping migrants and refugees build a better life in Australia, while also helping others across the globe.
JADON TREE, 18
APPRENTICE & CULTURAL LEADER
This go-getter from Hawker is proud of his Adnyamathanha heritage and since moving to Adelaide earlier this year to complete an electrical apprenticeship is doing country kids proud.
He was a finalist in the Young Australian of the Year 2014 awards, a national finalist at the 2013 Australian Training Awards after winning South Australian School-based Apprentice of the Year and was No Smokes Ambassador for the South Australian Government’s quit smoking campaign. On a personal level, Tree also battled the rare childhood cancer he was diagnosed with when he was 13. He’s also a down-to-earth, decent young lad with a love of sport and mateship.
KHADIJA GBLA, 26
HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATE
You just can’t keep Khadija Gbla down. Since winning the 2011 Young South Australian of the Year and Young African Australian of the Year awards, the Sierra Leone refugee (who moved to Adelaide with her family, aged 13) has continued to speak out against racism and domestic abuse (of which she was a victim). She is currently in the process of petitioning Prime Minister Tony Abbott to protect Australian girls from female genital mutilation and is CEO of Khadija Gbla Cultural Consultancy and director of the West African Women’s Association of South Australia.
The outspoken local is also an inspirational speaker and runs Chocolate, a magazine for young African women.
TESSA HENWOOD-MITCHELL, 25
SOCIAL AMBASSADOR/INTERNATIONAL AID WORKER
In 2009, this local lass founded charity Tia International Aid Inc after volunteering at a Bolivian orphanage as part of her Social Work and International Studies degree at the University of South Australia. Now the charity’s director, she and a team of more than 20 volunteers raise funds to create opportunities for disadvantaged and vulnerable children and youth in Bolivia.
On home turf, Henwood-Mitchell works as an engagement officer for HYPA (Helping Young People Achieve) and treks some of South Australia’s most challenging terrain as an assistant team leader with the Operation Flinders Foundation, helping troubled youth get back on track.
MOHAMMAD AL-KHAFAJI, 24
ADVOCATE OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND MULTICULTURALISM
Iraqi refugee Mohammad Al-Khafaji knows firsthand what it’s like to arrive in Australia; he and his family fled to Syria from Iraq and arrived in Adelaide through the United Nations Refugee Agency in 2003. He was touched by the local welcome and after studying Engineering/Software at the University of Adelaide is now a graduate business analyst for Bridgestone Australia.
His passion for peace and human rights led him to the completion of a federally funded anti-extremist course and his position as a member of the board of management at Multicultural Youth South Australia and Ambassador for Welcome to Australia and The Welcome Centre.
KELLY VINCENT, 25
DIGNITY FOR DISABILITY MP
Kelly Vincent was elected to the Legislative Council in 2010 in an event that turned heads and made history. The first Australian politician to permanently use a wheelchair for mobility, youngest woman currently sitting in an Australian parliament and the first Australian to be elected on the platform of disability rights is also known for her beautiful personality and as a supporter of the Youth Affairs Council of South Australia.
LAUREN KIMM, 25
ADVOCATE ON YOUTH, TRAINING
& GENDER EQUALITY POLICY
Whether she’s keeping a watchful eye on her two children or clocking up leadership roles, this mum is an example that the path to success knows no rules.
The operations manager at Group Training Australia (SA) worked her way to the top through study, volunteering (with the City of Playford Youth Advisory Committee in a youth mentor role) and her involvement with the Minister’s Youth Council of South Australia Management Committee and the Youth Affairs Council.
“My advice to young mothers would be to use your child as a reason and an inspiration to be the best you can be, not as an excuse not to.”
MUHAMMAD MUSLEHUDDIN CHANDIO, 16, UMAIR NAVEED, 10
Volunteers
When they’re not studying, playing cricket or at their local mosque, these two lads can be found volunteering as part of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association. They are just two of 500 members who help out at Salvation Army shelters, with the Red Cross door knock appeal, cleaning roads with KESAB and organising events to raise funds for Novita and Red Cross.
If there’s a nana to help across the road, chances are these are the boys who’ll do it. For the Year 11 Unley High School and Year 5 Edwardstown Primary School students it’s all about promoting their message of “love for all, hatred for none” and breaking down negative stereotypes about young people and the Islam faith.
JENNIE LENMAN, 25
BREAKFAST PRODUCER
This Radio Adelaide breakfast producer has a CV that packs a punch. When she’s not toiling behind the radio scenes she can be found working at the Adelaide G-TRAC Centre, a University of Adelaide initiative developed to deliver teaching, education and research in an aged care setting, writing about the local arts scene or volunteering her way into the industry through festivals and events.
GAME CHANGERS
KRIS WILSON, 22
LAW TUTOR & CYBER WHIZZ
Watch out world. This Flinders University law graduate will fly to the UK later this year to take up PhD studies at Oxford University’s Centre for Doctoral Training in Cyber Security (CDT). The CDT takes 16 students a year, with just four accepted from outside the EU.
Raised in Quorn, Wilson is an associate lecturer at Flinders and an adviser at the university’s Yunggorendi First Nations Centre for Higher Education and Research, supporting indigenous students.
SARAH LENIGAS, 24
PROJECT OFFICER
In May, this project officer for fundraising and community projects at Cancer Council SA jetted off to Sydney as a Student Ambassador (Torrens University Australia) to assist one of nine global leaders speaking at Australia’s inaugural World Business Forum. Lenigas was paired with speaker Randi Zuckerberg (former director of marketing at Facebook and founder and CEO of Zuckerberg Media). The sky is the limit when she wraps up her Masters of Business Administration.
STEVEN SAFFI, 22
FUTURE ASTRONOMER
A shooting star in every way, Saffi has his head in the clouds and his focus on space. In 2010, the Adelaide University Astrophysics PhD student was selected for the Australian Gemini Undergraduate Summer Studentship in Chile and won the inaugural Astrophotography Award in 2013. “He has a brilliant mind, is so unassuming, and he has come so far despite being written off in his early years as not being smart,” says Rona Sakko, SA co-ordinator of CSIRO’s Double Helix Science Club. “I am positive that he will one day be among the very best astrophysicists in the world.”
SAMMY VAN DIEPEN, 20
BUSINESS SUPPORT OFFICER & STUDENT
This Elizabeth Downs lad received a full scholarship to study a Bachelor of Commerce at Torrens University Australia, which he kicked off this year. In May, he was selected as a Student Ambassador to assist one of nine global leaders speaking at Australia’s inaugural World Business Forum in Sydney. He was paired with speaker Lyn Heward, Cirque du Soleil’s former director of creation. Van Diepen is employed as a business support officer at the Department of Communities and Social Inclusion – Youth Justice Support.
“Professionally, my biggest achievement is successfully acquiring the position of trainee to a state member of parliament at the age of 18,” he says.
JULIAN O’SHEA, 30
ENGINEER & DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS
He just scrapes in to the “youth” category, but Julian O’Shea has made the most of his 30 years on the planet. The award-winning engineer was a National Finalist in the Young Australian of the Year Awards 2014 for his globe-trotting efforts to build a movement of engineers, researchers and designers who deliver technological solutions to improve living conditions in some of the world’s poorest countries.
“I’m excited about the opportunity that technology has to empower people around the world,” he says. “I’m going to continue to find ways to link my technical expertise to social issues that matter. I’m delighted I still get to run our humanitarian education programs in Adelaide and am back regularly to work with the volunteers and students engaged in our projects. South Australia will always be home.”
GEMMA KILLEN, 27
RESEARCHER IN GENDER STUDIES
A high achiever who collected awards and accolades during her recently completed Bachelor of Arts Honours degree at Adelaide University. When she’s not making curious crochet creations (find Our Front Room goods at E for Ethel and local markets), the crafty lass has women in business and body image on her mind.
Her studies into the effects of negative body image on young women achieving their leadership potential have been extensive. “This year, I’m moving my focus away from the workplace and looking at young queer women’s relationships with body image in the context of changing media representations of young lesbians,” she says. “I’m currently talking with a number of people from different universities to see where would be the best fit to embark on the epic that is the PhD.”
HEALTH LEADERS
CALLUM HANN, 24, and THEMIS CHRYSSIDIS, 28
CHEF & DIETICIAN
Callum Hann is a Barossa boy, runner- up in the 2010 series of MasterChef and winner of MasterChef All Stars in 2012, while Themis Chryssidis is a dietitian, health professional and qualified personal trainer. The mates run Sprout (cooking school) and travel the country educating young people in all things healthy eating and living. They were this year’s Australian Healthy Weight Week ambassadors and are working with hotels in Playford, Port Augusta and Whyalla to change their menus in order to help to prevent obesity in children and educate locals in making sensible eating choices. The lads were also chosen to help run recruitment and interview days for Jamie Oliver’s Adelaide restaurant Jamie’s Italian. The future looks bright with an announcement about a new project on the horizon. “We can’t even tell Mum or Grandma right now,” says Chryssidis. “Watch this space.”
TRAVIS RANSON, 24
PARKOUR INSTRUCTOR
Bending, flipping, aerial yoga, capoeira, firespinning… anything goes at converted warehouse Point A – so long as it involves movement.
The flexible Ranson runs the hub for young people who are keen to develop their physical skills through movement cultures. He teaches parkour classes to make ends meet and also helps design parks for safe parkour practise. His focus on non-competitive, healthy, nutritious life choices earned him a place as state finalist for Young Australian of the Year 2014 and has benefited local children at schools, community groups and disengaged youth.
NICOLE WHITE, 24, and MARLEE BALES, 24
WHOLE FOOD MAGAZINE PRODUCERS
These two fresh, local food-loving women are so pumped up about South Australian whole food they started a magazine about it. Bona Food Magazine is an impressive little package and available at 24 stockists around Adelaide. “Fuelled with disdain towards the conventional food standards in Australia, we wanted to show people how easy and delicious it can be to eat a whole food diet which is plant-based,” says editor White. Both masters in the kitchen, they also serve their vibrant creations at Bona Food Café at Market Shed on Holland on Sundays.
CLAIRE TATYZO, 29
PROJECT OFFICER. YOUTH SERVICES
Claire Tatyzo believes young ladies should kick-start their journey through teenage years armed with positive self-esteem. The co-ordinator of Adelaide’s Go Girls! school holiday program promotes active living, balanced eating, food preparation and positive body image. Tatyzo was also the YWCA of Adelaide’s representative at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York during March 2014 and also facilitates the Respect, Communicate, Choose program, which gives young people the tools and support to develop, promote and perpetuate equal, safe and respectful relationships.
THE WRITE STUFF
ALEXANDRE DUBUIS, 26
FOUNDER, EDITOR & ART DIRECTOR OF FAINT MAGAZINE
Alexandre Dubuis quite literally stands out from the crowd. This shining star is as bright as they come and channels his love of fashion and style into FAINT Magazine, which he started in 2010 as an online venture. The first print edition was self-funded in November 2011.
In April 2014, he released IN VITRO, which is now internationally distributed. Now Melbourne-based, Dubuis is the kind of driven editor who barely sleeps. The hard work paid off; Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Levant (UAE), Germany, Holland, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, Paris, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, London and New York are all confirmed to stock FAINT in 2014.
HANNAH KENT, 30
AUTHOR
In a whirlwind of page flicks, Hannah Kent has made one of the most talked-about debuts in Australian publishing history. Her novel, Burial Rites, and the feature film rights have been sold internationally and she was named one of six finalists in the prestigious Stella Prize for writing.
Kent won a record $1 million-plus advance for the historical novel based on the story of convicted murderer Agnes Magnúsdóttir, the last woman executed in Iceland. It made the long list for The Guardian UK’s First Book Award and was short-listed for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award. She is an inspiration to young (and old) Australian writers.
PATCH OLIVER, 21, and RAPHAIL SPARTALIS, 17
PLAYWRIGHTS
Patch Oliver and Raphail Spartalis are the 2014 winners of the Flinders University Young Playwrights Award. In their bid to win State Theatre Company’s major award for the encouragement and support of new writing talent, both tackled serious subjects; Oliver’s play Took is a short collection of monologues from characters who have committed suicide, while Spartalis’ play The Natural Selector confronts the issue of overpopulation in the near future.
Keep your eyes on the stage – these young writers are just hitting their stride.
GEMMA BOYD, 24
POET
A rising star on the poetry and spoken word circuit, Boyd isn’t one to shout her own praises so we’ll do it for her. The self-taught performance poet is bonkers about words and was the 2012 and 2013 State and National Poetry Slam finalist. She also runs poetry nights and can be seen on stage at The Coffee Pot on June 28 with fellow poetry extraordinaire and 2011 National Poetry Slam winner Luka Lesson. Nineteen-year-old Manal Younus is also tipped as one to watch.
DESIGN DOYENS
FRANK SMITH, 29
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
This tall, bearded graduate landscape architect has been busy shaping the city through Hassell projects in Rundle St, Hindley St and Rundle Mall. Passionate about Adelaide and making it easier for locals to leave their cars at home and embrace a more active city (yes, he’s an avid cyclist and surfer), he also recently worked on a pop-up parklet on King William Rd and was project designer for the Riverbank Precinct’s jaw-dropping The Blue Hive. Under-used CBD space? Surfer Smith to the rescue.
DAVID BICKMORE, 27
ARCHITECT
It’s been a rapid rise for Renmark-raised David Bickmore. The UniSA architecture grad was snapped up in 2009 by leading architecture practice Hassell and that year won the Australian Institute of Architecture Award for the Advancement of Architecture. Bickmore worked on the Adelaide Oval’s western grandstand, a project he enjoyed as a designer and keen footballer. In recent months he has become a director at his own studio -gram with former Hames Sharley architect Graham Charbonneau. Together they’ve tackled projects in Adelaide (including Gallery on Waymouth), Sydney, Indonesia and more.
DANIEL TO, 30, and EMMA AISTON, 29
PRODUCT DESIGNERS
Daniel To and Emma Aiston work as design team Daniel Emma, creating homewares and stationery that have won plaudits from the world’s creative cognoscenti. In their cottage in Rosewater, and under the watchful eye of their sausage dog Frankie, the duo creates pared-down items such as a desk accessories set for New York firm Field and cosmetics packaging for Parisian beauty house Guerlain.
ECO CHAMPIONS
AMY ROBERTS, 26, and ANNY DUFF, 26
FASHION DESIGNERS
Amy Roberts, designer of eco label Vege Threads, is also behind The Town Local, a retail store on King William St that stocks design-driven clothing, decor and accessories by talented Australians. Production designer and stylist Anny Duff creates limited edition handmade jewellery and sustainable clothing for her label B GOODS. They are gutsy, driven and committed to the sustainable fashion philosophy – we salute them.
JEREMY MILLINGTON, 25, and BILAL ABOU-MOSLEH, 24
MANAGING DIRECTORS AT 1:1 CONSTRUCTION
Jeremy Millington designed and built the first fully council-approved, structurally and environmentally certified superadobe structure in Australia. He says it will be the first in a long line of earthen constructions. He is on the Adelaide Sustainable Building Network committee, the SCoPe organising committee and is committed to educating people on sustainable design.
Bilal Abou-Mosleh is a graduate of the Masters of Architecture program at UniSA and has done extensive research on permanent structure analysis with a focus on war-torn countries such as Lebanon. His aim is to build structures that are capable of withstanding war.
BIANCA AMATO, 22
NATURAL & BUILT ENVIRONMENTS, UNI SA
This Playford Trust Honours Scholarship winner has a history of academic excellence and a strong work experience background (she volunteered with koala management at Cleland Wildlife Park, worked as an intern in Arid Recovery at Roxby Downs, was chosen to participate in a fauna study of Hiltaba Station in the Gawler Ranges, and worked for 10 weeks on a scientific station in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador). She shows promising signs for a future focused on the land and its inhabitants.
JESSICA BUSS, 22
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, FLINDERS UNI
Jessica Buss also earned herself a Playford Trust Honours Scholarship for her constant high marks during a Bachelor of Technology in Aquaculture. She is embarking on a project to improve survival and health of greenlip abalone at peak temperatures, which will be an extension of work already laid down by 2013 Playford Scholar, Brett Lange.
CARMEN DA SILVA, 22
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, FLINDERS UNI
Carmen Da Silva is embarking on her Honours project “Changes in the social structure of the invasive allodapine bee and their environmental effects”, the outcome of which could be beneficial to Australia due to the global decline in European honeybees.
She is passionate about wildlife conservation and sustainable agriculture, is vice president of the Flinders University Marine Biology Association and was a Playford Trust Honours Scholarship recipient this year.
MUSIC MAESTROS
TKAY MAIDZA, 18
MUSICIAN
As a little girl Tkay Maidza always thought she’d be an architect. “I thought I’d do uni and be a normal person who’d have to do a nine to five job,” she admits. But then her music career happened. This shy western suburbs girl, who moved from Zimbabwe to Adelaide with her parents when she was five, couldn’t have predicted it.
“I used to make videos with my friends during high school and we started remixing songs and uploading them to YouTube,” she says. “My parents told me to start doing it properly because up until then I’d just been remixing songs that weren’t mine. So I started writing originals and that’s how it all began.”
It’s been a whirlwind of a journey since. Maidza performed her first full set at the Ed Castle last year and since then has performed Handle My Ego and current single Brontosaurus (both co-written with local producer Bad Cop) at global music gathering BIGSOUND, on an Australian tour with Nina Las Vegas Presents and at festivals such as Groovin’ The Moo and Victoria’s The Hills are Alive.
Her tunes are as catchy as the winter flu and when new single Uh Huh (recorded at Sydney’s The Grove Studios) is released mid-July, expect more smile-inducing beats. “It’s pretty ‘dancey’ – less full-on compared to Brontosaurus but still happy, dance vibes. It’s me,” she says.
Tkay has also announced she’s on the line-up for Splendour In The Grass and boutique dance festival Listen Out in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane. She has also signed to a major label, the announcement of which will coincide with her single release. Exciting times are ahead for this endearing pocket-rocket.
“I want to take everything internationally; I want to do shows in America and the UK. I just hope more people understand my music and like it… that’s why I’m doing it – to make people happy, dance and have fun.”
ALICE FRASER, 26
EVENT PRODUCER & CHAMPION OF LIVE MUSIC
Passionate about the live, local music scene, this earthy dreamer runs The Jam Room, is producer of The Cafe Series, A Music Warehouse Project and Some Folk In Spring, and is artist programmer for Moving Music and co-producer of A Band On Boat; all aimed at producing performances in creative spaces. Exciting new projects on the horizon include roles as artist services and festival operations at Darwin Festival and Woodford Folk Festival plus city producer of the Adelaide instalment of Sofar Sounds, a movement of secret one-off gigs in living rooms across the globe. Sofar originated in London and Adelaide is one of three Australian cities involved.
ALLDAY, 23
RAPPER
This lad from Blackwood began rapping at the tender age of 10 and hasn’t looked back since. The 2012 NIDA winner now lives in Melbourne where he works with producer C1 and is a firm fixture on the Australian hip-hop landscape with plenty of airplay on Triple J. Keep your ears peeled for single So Good and debut album Startup Cult, which lands on July 4 via Illy’s label ONETWO. Allday has also been named main support slot for the upcoming Splendour in the Grass sideshows by British singer Lily Allen. For a treat, head to his Facebook page to hear his Triple J “Like a Version” cover of INXS hit Never Tear Us Apart. Brilliant.
OISIMA, 30
ARTIST & PRODUCER
Anth Wendt, aka Oisima, is a jazz-infused electronica producer from local turf. A bit like the Pied Piper of local music lovers, he has also turned heads abroad with his jazz-infused melodies and hypnotic hip-hop beats. Oisima will join an impressive line-up for the Red Bull Music Stage at Splendour in the Grass while building towards his debut album Nicaragua Nights, which is due for release mid-2014 on Pilot Records/MGM.
ROSS McHENRY, 28
MUSICIAN
There’s something about Ross McHenry. Currently in Japan playing an Australian music showcase with his Afro-beat nine-piece band The Shaolin Afronauts (alongside The Bamboos), this musical force to be reckoned with is off to Melbourne International Jazz Festival with his future-jazz improvisational band Future Ensemble. He is the only South Australian muso to be invited to play the prestigious festival. The Shaolin Afronauts are also performing at the UK’s Glastonbury Festival and launched a Pozible campaign which raised $15,365 to help get them there. McHenry is married to Tara McHenry (vocalist from his first band The Transatlantics) and the pair recently had their first baby, Mabel.
SAM WRIGHT, 24
PURVEYOR OF WEIRD & WONDERFUL EVENTS
Sam Wright’s immersive live music and art tour Moving Music wowed locals, while A Band On Boat (aboard The Popeye) earned him the Best Music Industry Initiative gong at the Fowler’s Live Music Awards 2013. A former recipient of the Adelaide Festival Centre’s Anthony Steel Fellowship, program co-ordinator at Adelaide Cabaret Festival and Adelaide Festival, Wright hit Hobart this year to help run MONA’s Dark Mofo Festival as programming operations co-ordinator. Bus to Big Trees on November 8 in Kuitpo Forest marks the next quirky gig spot.
“We plan to send four by 57-seater coaches into the woodlands for an experience of music, arts and whatever else might jump out at us,” he says.
MAKIN’ IT
KASPAR SCHMIDT MUMM, 23
ARTIST
A man with curls as wild as his imagination, Kaspar Schmidt Mumm creates bright, large-scale bursts of geometric colour accompanied by surreal prose (but you won’t see words on his paintings… he’s not into that caper). The artist can often be found lending a creative hand at events associated with The Happy Motel and travelled to Berlin last year where he fed off crazy creative vibes and had an exhibition at Gallery Ardes in Schönberg.
“It went better than I could have imagined. I sold all my work and there were hundreds of people at the exhibition. I met lots of famous artists from the gallery down the road… it was incredible.” Will the adventurous soul stay in Adelaide? “I’d love to travel to another country, make a whole lot of work and bring it back here.”
LUCAS CROALL, 22
ILLUSTRATOR & PRINT MAKER
This dreamy sort has been drawing since he was old enough to hold a pen, studied Visual Arts at UniSA and is a full-time artist who also has a thing for globetrotting. Lucas Croall recently joined forces with the aforementioned Kaspar Schmidt Mumm to bring retail and gallery space Mr Ist alive in the former Trims building on King William St. Open for just one week thanks to Renew Adelaide, the temporary haven allowed creatives to showcase their abilities. They think (and do) big things and the pair insist the Mr Ist collective will be back… just watch this space.
NATASHA NATALE, 25
SCULPTOR
The girl with the magic hands won this year’s inaugural Emma Hack Art Prize for her blown and diamond-carved glass sculpture called Stump. Her work was selected from 32 finalists including photographers, sculptors, painters and digital artists. The University of South Australia Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours – Glass) graduate was also the winner of the coveted Heysen Prize for Interpretation of Place in 2012, earning a $10,000 prize for her efforts. When she’s not creating works of art she serves waffles at her family’s new late night dessert digs Fudge It: Waffle Bar.
JAKE HOLMES, 25, and CASSIE ALVEY, 25
ART GALLERY & STUDIO OWNERS
Artist Jake Holmes and his partner Cassie Alvey help keep the local art scene’s lifeblood pumping with Tooth and Nail Gallery warehouse (home to up to 40 artists) and brand, spanking new art-supply shop. They toil for the love of art and we tip our hats to their talent-packed inner-city establishment. Adelaide is lucky to have them.
AMBER CRONIN, 24, and ERIN FOWLER, 26
MANAGERS OF CREATIVE HUB THE MILL
Visual artist Amber Cronin and dancer/choreographer Erin Fowler run artist residency, studios, gallery, event space and collaboration hothouse The Mill. Designers, dancers, writers, photographers, architects and filmmakers fill the space where they are free to create, connect and collaborate. The latest creative concoction, Pantheon, runs until July 11 and is a sight to behold.
spotlight stealers
DERIK LYNCH, 27
ACTOR
Derik Lynch is the kind of guy who appears shy at first… then lights up a room when the spotlight is on him. He is also one of the few people in the world who can say they’ve spent an hour with the Queen of Australia. The encounter came in 2013 during a UK performance of his role in the stage production of Namatjira, for which he won Best Newcomer at the Sydney Theatre Awards in 2010.
“You’re gonna love my story,” says Lynch with a grin. “Everybody freaks out when I tell my story.
“We (the cast) weren’t allowed to tell anyone before it happened and never imagined we’d get to spend that long with the Queen. She was really nice… as a child I never, ever thought I’d walk through that courtyard right in to Buckingham Palace!”
Lynch, a proud Yankunytjatjara and central Arrente man, grew up in Old Timers camp in Alice Springs. He moved to Finke Aputula community for schooling with his mum and sister. His childhood is full of memories of trips to Adelaide to see his nan Rosalie, a constant source of support and guidance.
Lynch discovered a passion for singing in 1999 when studying at Yirara College in Alice Springs. In 2000 he auditioned for the Spirit Of Australia CD for Qantas Airline’s 40th anniversary and was chosen to take part in the recording. He went on to record more albums with the Yirara choir at CAAMA radio in Alice Springs.
“I started living in Adelaide when I started high school, Woodville High back in 2003,” he says.
Lynch took up an Arts Administration Traineeship with Carclew Youth Arts and went on to work within their Aboriginal Arts Development program where he translates indigenous stories and Inma for a major project delivered across the APY Lands. When he’s not mastering arts admin he can be found on stage. Windmill Theatre’s Pinocchio and Namatjira, with leading indigenous actor Trevor Jamieson (a dear mentor), were highlights.
“I just do the things I love doing and things just seem to fall in to place,” he says.
Big things are ahead for this vibrant character… keep your eyes peeled for him on stage and on screens for a much-anticipated 2015 television drama series. “I’ve got a few big surprises coming up!”
ALYSHA HERMANN, 26
CREATIVE PRODUCER
Creative producer, playwright, performer. Where do we start with this Riverland-based whippersnapper? Hermann was winner of this year’s Channel 9 Young Achiever Award (Coffee Club Arts Award), a Young Social Pioneer for the Foundation for Young Australia’s Young Change Makers Program and is part of Urban Myth Theatre Company’s senior ensemble. She is also creative producer at Expressway Arts, is participating in Vitalstatistix’s Future Present residency (exploring climate change) and is halfway though a double degree in teaching and arts. She balances her busy creative schedule with her role as mum of two.
JIANNA GEORGIOU, 23, AND LORCAN HOPPER, 25
PERFORMERS & EMERGING DIRECTORS
This dancing queen and king are part of the Restless Youth Ensemble and have performed in myriad local productions and interstate projects including a season of SALT by Spanish director Rob Tanion in late 2013. Georgiou was awarded a professional development grant by The Australia Council for the Arts, which will take her to Brisbane for a further term at Bundanon for Beyond Technique Residency #2. Meanwhile, Hopper has added street cred for his appearance in local band The Audreys’ music video for Baby, Are You There? In 2011, he was one of the first recipients of Arts Access Australia’s Cultivate grants, a professional development grant program for artists with disability.
SAM MALSEED, 18
DANCER
Reality television show fans will be familiar with this beaming rural face. Malseed was one of six finalists in the national dance competition and television series So You Think You Can Dance Australia, doing the whole of Mount Gambier proud (especially dance teacher Maria Slape from MJ Dance Studio). A country kid with all the right moves and a big heart to boot, he is currently teaching nationwide workshops with fellow contestants Jay Johns and Renelle Jones. We await his next perfectly choreographed move.
tastemakers
LACHLAN COLWILL, 27
CHEF
Leading a kitchen team where no one is over 30, Lachlan Colwill has taken the restaurant at Hentley Farm in the Barossa’s western ranges to the pinnacle of regional dining in Australia.
Hentley is the reigning Advertiser Restaurant of the Year, a tribute to the creativity and superb technique shown in its ambitious set menus – particularly the 10-plus-course “Discovery”. Many of the dishes are finished at the table by the chefs, adding a touch of theatre as your ox tongue is napped with mustard sauce, but also allowing diners to meet the fresh-faced crew who produced such a wonderful meal.
STEWART WESSON, 25
CHEF
He’s been quiet since he left Public a year ago but 2012 Australian Young Chef of the Year Stewart Wesson assures us he’s busy. He has spent the past six months perfecting the Scandinavian-inspired bread which will be the hero of new wholesale bakery, pastry and coffee shop The Flinders Street Project. The funky digs open in July in partnership with The Ginger’s Cafe and Pantry on Egmont’s Michelle Kewell and Megan Roodenrys. It will host intimate one-off dinners called The Saturday Night Project, and there’s a new restaurant on the horizon, too.
JUSTIN DELLA ZOPPA, 28
POTATO & ONION FARMER
It’s all about spuds in Justin Della Zoppa’s world. The man of the land helps run family business Hilltop Produce, located 5km outside of Waikerie.
In May 2014 he was named the 2014 Rabobank Potatoes South Australia Industry Award winner and as part of his prize was awarded a scholarship to attend the 2014 Rabobank Farm Managers Program, which offers young farmers the opportunity to develop and enhance their business management skills. It’s good news for local horticulture.
JONO KAITATZIS, 24
MARKET SHED ON HOLLAND MANAGER
This smiling, SA produce-loving local has lived on Gilbert St his entire life. His family runs seven-day business Gilbert St IGA and they kicked off Market Shed on Holland, a weekly Sunday mecca for South Australian food producers, artisans and performers. High profile fans include chef Simon Bryant and celebrity trainer James Duigan.
“We have always had such a long and strong connection with the community and have grown such a wonderful appreciation of food and health and that’s where the inspiration for The Market Shed came from,” he says. “We’ve got plenty of plans for the future of The Market Shed – it’s where my absolute passion is.”
KENTON PORKER, 27
SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE, FOOD & WINE, BARLEY BREEDING, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
The recipient of this year’s Thyne Reid Foundation/Playford Trust Scholarship in Agricultural Science grew up on his family’s sheep and cereal farm at Karoonda and went on to complete a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree at Adelaide University. He did Honours in plant nutrition and worked as an Agronomist with SARDI for four years before deciding to embark on a PhD. His project Understanding and manipulating barley phenology to maximise yield potential is aimed at developing hardier and more robust varieties which can deal with future climatic changes.
SCREEN STARS
TILDA COBHAM-HERVEY, 19
ACTOR AND TEA ENTHUSIAST
Sweet, gamin, down-to-earth Tilda Cobham-Hervey can barely believe the commotion caused by local film 52 Tuesdays. The film, which premiered as part of Adelaide Film Festival 2013, was shot every Tuesday over a year and follows the changing relationship between 16-year-old Billie (played by Cobham-Hervey) and mother Jane (transgender actor Del Herbert-Jane) as Jane changes sex. Director Sophie Hyde won a director’s prize at the Sundance Festival and Tilda’s performance has been the talk of the town since. Tours of Melbourne and Sydney, an agent in the States and a whirlwind tour of America and Europe (including a series of auditions with international heavyweights – shh) promise big things for this humble, wide-eyed lass. “Tilly” was also a finalist in the prestigious Australians In Film Heath Ledger scholarship.
Despite the whirlwind year behind her, she remains the book-loving, tea-pouring (she earns a crust at T2) young lady we adored when we first met her.
HARRISON GILBERTSON, 21
ACTOR
Harrison Gilbertson began acting at the age of six when he played the character of Sorrow in a local production of Madama Butterfly and made his screen debut in 2002 playing the role of Greggy in Australian Rules. He is currently filming a romantic thriller based on Lauren Kate’s best-selling novel Fallen, directed by Scott Hicks. His big break came in 2009 when he landed the lead role of Billy Conway in Accidents Happen. His US debut was in the indie Virginia, directed by Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, and starring Jennifer Connelly and Ed Harris. He won the 2010 AFI Young Actor Award for his performance as Frank Tiffin in Beneath Hill 60 and during the same year appeared in Need for Speed with Aaron Paul and the thriller ghost feature Haunt with Liana Liberato and Jacki Weaver. He will appear in the indie Australian-produced movie My Mistress with Emmanuelle Beart, a romance about a young man who becomes infatuated with his neighbour, an S&M dominatrix. Phew!
HENRY THONG, 18
FILM DIRECTOR
Henry Thong has the ambition to work for one of the big Hollywood studies and has already made giant strides in that direction. The Year 12 student from Glenunga International High School won the International Youth Silent Film Festival in Portland, Oregon, this month with his entry The Girl In The Camera. It was the week of his 18th birthday. Thong used his friends as actors and scripted, directed, shot and edited the film himself. The film was the unanimous choice as winner of the South Australian Silent Film Festival last year where judges identified Thong as a “talent to watch”. The budding Hollywood director intends to study at an established art school for the next few years to gain the technical training to produce great stories.
XAVIER SAMUEL, 30
ACTOR
Another Adelaide-born lad who scrapes into the youth category by the skin of his perfect pearly whites. The Flinders Uni drama student turned Hollywood heart-throb hit the big time with vampire flick Twilight and recently returned home to star in Adelaide Festival stage production The Seagull. Expect to see him on the big screen soon alongside Brad Pitt in upcoming World War II film, Fury, which opens in Australia on November 13.
DEMI LARDNER, 20
COMEDIAN
This funny-bone tickler won Australia’s biggest and most prestigious open mic competition, 2013 Raw Comedy, and went on to be the co-winner at the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe. She moved to Melbourne with fellow comics James McCann and Angus Hodge to make a living out of her jokes. Worth the trip interstate if you’re in need of a giggle.
VINE PERFORMERS
TOM BARRY, 27
WINEMAKER
You can’t argue with a Young Winemaker of the Year 2013 accolade at the prestigious Gourmet Traveller Wine awards in Sydney. This third generation winemaker at Jim Barry Wines studied winemaking at University of Adelaide’s Waite campus and has some serious work experience behind him including the 2005 vintage at Yalumba and the 2009 vintage at Shaw & Smith. After a three-month market immersion in the USA he travelled to the Mosel Valley in Germany to assist Ernie Loosen with his 2010 vintage. In 2011, Barry’s riesling odyssey continued with a vintage at Weingut Salomon in Austria. A top drop all around.
KATRINA EDILLOR, 27
ECONOMIST
A self-confessed “dreamer”, Katrina Edillor grew up in the Philippines and learnt the value of hard work early. After completing a bachelor’s degree in Economics in Singapore (where she spent her Saturdays volunteering her time to teach math in a juvenile prison), she moved to Australia to study a Masters in Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University’s Adelaide campus (earning the Highest Distinction in the process). These days she is an economist for the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia.
“I am involved in an industry that presents so many opportunities to families, communities and to the country as a whole if good public policies are in place,” she says.
RUNWAY SUCCESSES
CAMI JAMES, 27
CO-FOUNDER OF DI$COUNT UNIVERSE CLOTHING LABEL
Still flying relatively under the radar, Cami’s label with her design partner Nadia Napreychikov was the toast of Australian Fashion Week at its debut this year. It has a cult following, including some of the world’s most-watched celebs. Miley Cyrus wore their signature tee for her post-VMAs shoot with Terry Richardson and used it again for her Bangerz world tour. The duo also designed one of Katy Perry’s jaw-dropping costumes for her Prismatic world tour and Beyoncé, Britney Spears, MIA, Azealia Banks, Iggy Azalea and Kimbra are all fans of the brand, too.
PAUL VASILEFF, 24
DESIGNER OF PAOLO SEBASTIAN
This Adelaide couture designer needs no introduction but let us give you one anyway. Such a tender age to dress one of the world’s biggest stars; E! News host Giuliana Rancic wore his delectable oyster-coloured gown for her sashay down the red carpet at this year’s Academy Awards. His gowns are regularly seen on red carpets Australia-wide. This year’s Logies, for example, saw him dress Dannii Minogue, Michelle Bridges, Carrie Bickmore and Ada Nicodemou.
MADISON STUBBINGTON, 17
MODEL
Madison Stubbington recently hit the runway in Monaco for Louis Vuitton’s first showcase of its Cruise collection and has worked with famed photographers Annie Leibovitz, Steven Meisel and Patrick Demarchelier, as well as US Vogue industry heavyweight Grace Coddington, with whom she shares her hair colour.
Stubbington was discovered by Pride Models at the tender age of 14 and is now pursuing her career full-time, residing in Paris but looking forward to returning home to Northgate. She made her debut at Paris Fashion Week this year by walking for Saint Laurent and Louis Vuitton.
KIRSTY MACPHAIL, 24
MODEL
This brunette beauty from Gawler has resided in New York for the past three years and before that Paris for two as her modelling career has grown exponentially.
Discovered by local agency Finesse, her major campaigns include names like skincare giant Lancome, Ted Baker, Ben Sherman and one for Aeropostale that saw her face gracing huge Times Square billboards. She has shot fashion editorials for Italian Vogue and Yen but says she still tries to get home annually to visit her family and dogs.
KATE ANDERSON, 26
FASHION DESIGNER, FINDERS KEEPERS CLOTHING LABEL
Heading up a local label whose international profile has grown to heights that defy superlatives after being seen on the backs of some of the world’s biggest celebrities (the Kardashian sisters, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Jessica Biel, Kristen Stewart among them), Finders Keepers continues to grow at a rapid rate under Anderson’s direction.
It is Harrods’ best-selling new brand in womenswear and Topshop features the brand in its Australian flagships. The label is sold throughout more than 10 countries, has a huge presence in the US and the UK and is stocked in Harvey Nicholls, Neiman Marcus, Nordstroms and on Shopbop, Revolve Clothing and Nasty Gal – a global clothing force to be reckoned with.
LAUREN WALSHE, 27
MODEL
Since winning the SA heat of Girlfriend magazine’s model search at the age of 14, Lauren Walshe moved to Milan then New York. She is now with Ford Models New York and has an agency in Munich, Paris, Milan and London. She has strutted her stuff at Milan Fashion Week, walked for John Richmond, Diesel and opened for cult Italian label AB/Soul. She recently shot with Clairol and Garnier, and New York department store Macy’s has her splashed all over its famous interiors. Most recently the lovely lass modelled In Mocean bikinis shot by Serge Nivelle in Turks and Caicos Islands.
SPORTING STARS
TROY BROSNAN, 20
DOWNHILL MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDER
Troy Brosnan could ride a bike at two and was racing BMX a year later. At the age of 13 he was introduced to downhill mountain biking and claimed state and national championships before taking the Junior World Championship in 2010 in Canada. He retained the title in Switzerland in 2011 and has been a member of the professional Californian-based Specialized team since 2010. Brosnan was ranked fifth in the world after his first year at the senior level and has recovered from a horror crash to be ranked eighth in the world. When competing in Scotland’s Fort William this month he took home his first World Cup.
JAMES AISH, 18
FOOTBALLER
This son (and nephew) of a gun is delivering on his promise just 12 games into his AFL career with Brisbane. Aish is the son of Norwood premiership player Andrew and nephew of SA Football Hall of Famer Michael, who followed in their footsteps by winning two SANFL league premierships with the Redlegs – all before his 18th birthday. Drafted by the Lions with pick no. 7 last year, Aish made a strong start to what will certainly be a long and successful AFL career.
ELENI GLOUFTSIS, 21
FOOTBALL UMPIRE
In 2010, Eleni Glouftsis became the first female to field umpire a division one SA Amateur Football League game and she has been blazing a trail for women to follow ever since. This year, Glouftsis once again boldly trod where no woman had been when she officiated an SANFL league match between North Adelaide and Glenelg at Prospect Oval on August 24. She excelled and went on to umpire league finals, leading some to predict she may soon become the first woman to field-umpire an AFL match.
RIKKI BELDER, 20
TRACK CYCLIST
Track sprinter Rikki Belder has already been crowned national champion three times. The Flinders University engineering student is also handy with a paintbrush and created a canvas depicting team mate, Olympic gold medallist Anna Meares, which was auctioned to raise money for the Little Heroes Foundation.
JESS TRENGOVE, 26
RUNNER
Jess Trengove uses her profile as an marathon runner for a number of charitable causes. She will compete in this winter’s Commonwealth Games and was hailed for her 11th-place finish at the World Championships, which was the best ever result by an Australian woman.
DARCEY SADLER, 20, AND MACKENZIE SADLER, 17
RUGBY PLAYERS
Darcey Sadler played for Australia in the Australian Women’s Rugby Sevens team in 2013 and sister Mackenzie was selected in the Australian Youth Squad for Women’s Rugby Sevens and is also in the open Australian Development Squad for Women’s Sevens in 2014. It is a massive achievement for both girls as rugby union is not a particularly popular sport in SA and development opportunities are limited compared to the eastern states.
JAMIE KAH, 18
JOCKEY
Despite riding full-time for just two years, this talented jockey has taken all before her. She beat all the boys and her senior rivals to win the Adelaide premiership last year, won races in Singapore and moved to Melbourne to continue her career. Her star continues to rise in Victoria, winning her first feature in April and made her Group 1 debut last month. She’s the best young riding prospect out of SA this century.
BELINDA WHITE, 25
SOFTBALLER
White first picked up a softball glove aged 11 and made her first Australian squad at 19. She has represented the country in tournaments including the 2012 World Championships in Yukon, Canada, where the team claimed gold. At last year’s Canada Cup she won the best catcher award and has always dreamt of representing Australia at the Olympics but is not sure she will get the chance since the sport has been cut from the event. In August, she heads to Haarlem in the Netherlands for the Softball World Cup.
KYLE CHALMERS, 15
SWIMMER
Kyle Chalmers broke Ian Thorpe’s record for the 15-year-old age group in the 100m freestyle at the national age championships in Sydney this year. His time of 49.68secs was better than Thorpe’s 50.21secs set back in 1998. The son of former AFL ruckman Brett Chalmers may soon have to decide whether he pursues a swimming or football career.