29/09/2020
We acknowledge the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work, live and create, and recognise their continuing connection to the land, water and community. We recognise that sovereignty was never ceded and pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, to their ancestors and elders and to our shared future.
This weekend we held a meeting to discuss the systemic racism faced by First Nations, Indigenous and People Of Colour in the Australian theatre community.
We acknowledge that we can do better to build an inclusive culture and are committed to educating ourselves and setting a new standard for our conversations and actions as a company, at every level.
We love creating work and making theatre and appreciate that a part of the reason we have been able to do so is because we are in a position of privilege. We want to use our privilege to do better; this means investigating and changing our own actions, holding our work and our industry accountable, and amplifying the voices and work of First Nations, Indigenous and People of Colour.
The past few weeks we have witnessed a lot of hurt and vulnerability from Indigenous, First Nations and PoC artists. We have also witnessed strength, passion and resilience; we are incredibly hopeful that this spotlight on systemic racism will ultimately lead to more inclusive theatre.
We pledge to make inclusion and equity a larger focus of our work in the future; encouraging, supporting and celebrating diverse voices. We acknowledge that a statement is just a statement and actions speak louder than words, but we are committed to holding ourselves accountable to this pledge. We stand with the Indigenous/First Nations/Bla(c)k, Black/African Australian and People of Colour in our community, and we are listening.
Please reach out to us if there are elements of this statement or our processes which you would like to discuss.
