Inner West Ideas with Nicol & Ford
Saturday 28 March, White Bay Power Station
For the 22nd Biennale of Sydney, this one-day gathering listens to the echoes of lived experience to reclaim what has been forgotten, reframe what has been misremembered, and inscribe new community stories of our city in response to “Rememory”. Through panel conversations and performances, artists, organisers, and cultural workers trace lineages of queer nightlife, diasporic identities in performance, and embodied storytelling—insisting that memory is active, communal, and future-forming.
12.45-1.00pm — Welcome to Country by Daniel McDonald and introductions by Nicol and Ford
1:00–1:45pm — Reclaiming Performance
Moderated by Felicity Tchorlian (aka Demon Derriere) in conversation with Emma Maye Gibson (aka Betty Grumble), Basjia Almaan, and Tynga Williams [First Nations Sister Girl]. Together they unpack personal and cultural histories of performance through the intersecting lenses of class, gender, and race.
1:45–2:00pm — Performance
Poet Nyaluak Leth debuts a newly commissioned spoken-word work, weaving language, identity, and lineage into the landscape of White Bay Power Station.
2:30–3:15pm — Reclaiming Spaces
Moderated by community icon Jonny Seymour, this session explores the architectures of nightlife and cultural gathering. Featuring Xander Khoury, Mia Dennis, and Sam Watson-Wood—leaders shaping ballroom culture, queer festivals, and platforms that amplify performers from historically underrepresented communities.
3:45–4:30pm — Reclaiming Identities
Led by Dino Dimitriadis, this conversation traces intergenerational transgender experiences across community, culture, and performance—from mainstage productions to ballroom spaces. Joining Dino are actor–theatre critic Suzy Wrong, artist–curator and community leader Kilia Paluhu, and theatre and screen actor Janet Anderson.
4:30–4:45pm — Performance
Fetu Taku closes the day with a powerful movement performance, guiding audiences through Rememory and transforming the venue into a space of reclamation, embodiment, and collective renewal.
Free, bookings required. Book here.
Meet the speakers
Katie-Louise and Lilian Nicol-Ford are the creative minds behind Nicol & Ford, an Inner West independent fashion house renowned for pushing boundaries in contemporary couture. Their work explores the intersection of art, fashion, and cultural storytelling, blending sculptural design with narrative depth. Named “Australian fashion’s most compelling storytellers” by Harper’s Bazaar (2024), the duo is celebrated for uncovering erased histories and amplifying diverse voices through their practice. For the Biennale of Sydney's Rememory, they bring this ethos to life by curating panel conversations and performances drawn from within their communities, fostering dialogue that connects stories and experiences across time, context, and culture.
Moderator: Felicity Tchorlian (she/they), known onstage as Demon Derriere, is a neo burlesque artist and creator of the acclaimed Big Thick Energy platform. Her work centres body liberation and challenges ableism and fatphobia through vibration driven performance. As a queer, Hard of Hearing POC artist, Felicity is committed to reclaiming performance histories, spaces, and bodies.
Emma Maye Gibson
Emma Maye Gibson (AKA Betty Grumble) is a Warrane/Sydney based storyteller and performance artist. Largely through the avatar/war mask/love letter/critter of Grumble she engages her body as a hopeful and medicinal site for catharsis and pleasure. She moves in a genre dance of ritual theatre, autobiography, cabaret, performance art and multi-media. She is a proud Ecosexual and believes in art as an action of her spirituality.
She has her Masters in Fine Arts from UNSW and has presented work at The Sydney Opera House, Glastonbury, Edinburgh Fringe, Perth & Adelaide Fringes, The Melbourne Comedy Festival, The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Griffin Theatre, Belvoir St Theatre, The Bearded Tit, Red Rattler Theatre, OUTsider Festival (Austin, Texas), MoMA (NYC), Joe’s Pub (NYC), The Glory (London), LiveWorks, The Old Fitz, AsiaTOPA, Dark Mofo, Mona Foma, Sydney World Pride, Ted X, AGNSW, MCA, Berlin Fringe, The Ladies Lounge, The Forest Congress, All About Women, Rising Festival and beyond.
She believes in the transformative power of flesh, social sculptures and live space, leads Grumble Boogie ‘Thank You Body’ aerobic psychic love energy dance classes and is currently engaged under the guidance of mentors Dr Annie Sprinkle, Elizabeth Burton and Victoria Spence.
Major works include: Sex Clown Saves The World, Love & Anger, The Unshame Machine, GRUMBLISM, Grumble Boogie, Goddess – The Elizabeth Burton Story, Mini Beast Disco, A Composting Cabaret, 24HR Grumble Boogie, 6HR Grumble Boogie, Enemies of Grooviness Eat Shit, A Loved Woman & BODY SPELL.
She is the 2025 Performance Space Fellow and one half (alongside Dr Charlotte Farrell) of performance collective Body of Work who are working on their new offering's titled CALM DOWN & WORKERS' WIVES (Sydney Biennale 2026) She considers the late great Palestinian/Lebanese poet Candy Royalle to be one of her greatest guides.
Basjia Almaan
Basjia Almaan is a Black Queer model, creative director, dancer, movement director and performer, and a celebrated member of the Ballroom community on Gadigal Land and multi-category Grand Prize winner. Her work centres and uplifts Black femme bodies while challenging and reshaping the Australian fashion and media industries. Basjia is the originator of The Pyramid, a groundbreaking QTBIPOC-centred performance platform championing equity and visibility for marginalised performers. An established voice across fashion, performance and nightlife, she is recognised for her artistic leadership, community impact and transformative presence both onstage and behind the scenes.
Tynga Williams
Tynga Williams is a proud Wiradjuri, Gamilaroi and Noongar woman and the first Indigenous trans woman represented by BlakList Agency. Raised in Western and South-West Sydney and trained at NAISDA Dance College, she works across modelling, dance, burlesque and cabaret. Her work has been featured in Vogue Australia, Vanguard edition (July 2025), and RUSSH Magazine (March 2026), where she appeared in Issue 115 as “Agape,” representing love and advocacy. Tynga is also growing her leadership within BlakList as a Peer Mentor and Cultural Support Officer for the Next Gen Program, supporting emerging First Nations talent.
Tynga Williams is a proud Wiradjuri, Gamilaroi and Noongar woman and the first Indigenous trans woman represented by Blaklist Agency. Her career began at 22 when she answered a call-out for an all-Indigenous runway, a moment that set her on a transformative creative path. Raised in western and south-west Sydney and trained in dance at NAISDA, Tynga works across modelling, dance, burlesque and cabaret. She uses her platform to champion authentic representation for First Nations and queer communities, driven by a belief in the power of visibility and self-determination in fashion and performance.
Performer: Nya
Nyaluak Leth is a South Sudan–born, Brisbane raised poet and performer whose work bridges identity, memory and diaspora. Known as NMMWL, she weaves language, movement and sound into immersive storytelling. Her multidisciplinary practice spans poetry, performance and community centred projects, shaped by lived experience and a commitment to amplifying underrepresented voices.
Moderator: Jonny Seymour (they/them) is a musician, DJ, and cultural organiser known for shaping Sydney’s nightlife and creative communities. With decades of experience producing events and advocating for inclusive spaces, Jonny has collaborated with festivals, venues, and grassroots initiatives to sustain vibrant cultural ecosystems. Their work champions diversity and accessibility, ensuring that music and performance remain central to community life.
Xander Khoury
Xander Khoury is a leading force in Australia’s contemporary Ballroom renaissance and the co-founder and Father of the House of Silky, a queer BIPOC collective reshaping Sydney’s nightlife and cultural landscape. His work centres creating safe, affirming spaces for queer, trans and BIPOC communities—spaces he long searched for growing up in Western Sydney. Through House of Silky, he has built a community grounded in family values, nightlife innovation and cultural leadership, establishing events like The West Ball and The Door List as vital hubs of visibility, joy and resistance.
Mia Dennis
Mia Dennis is an Eora/Sydney-based model and artist whose work spans runway and editorial, including Australian Fashion Week. Drawing on her South African roots, she speaks candidly about self-acceptance and navigating industry pressures, advocating for size inclusivity and body confidence in fashion. Known for breaking rules and taking up space across Fashion and Performance, Mia brings a bold, boundary-pushing presence to numerous creative scenes. Beyond the lens, Mia leads with community: building safer, affirming nightlife and cultural spaces rooted in queer solidarity and chosen family.
Sam Watson-Wood
Sam Watson-Wood is a multidisciplinary curator and cultural programmer with over two decades of experience across Australia, the UK and Asia. As Founder and Director of Friends with Strangers, a socially-engaged cultural organisation working at the intersection of artistic excellence and social impact, she curates and produces multi-disciplinary art experiences that embrace risk, experimentation, advocacy and joy. Central to her practice is building platforms where queer communities can gather, thrive and imagine more equitable futures through art and shared cultural experience. Prior to Friends with Strangers Sam held key roles, including Executive Producer and Artistic Adviser at Performance Space, Festival Director of Art Month, and Director of Programs and Partnerships for Sydney Contemporary, where she launched and grew Australasia's premier international art fair. Sam served as Deputy Chair of PACT Centre for Emerging Arts, sat on both PACT's and Carriageworks' Inclusion and Diversity Committees, and currently sits on the community advisory board of the Pride Centre.
Moderator: Dino Dimitriadis (they/them) is a director, dramaturg, and producer with a strong commitment to queer and trans storytelling. They have led major projects including Carriageworks’ Trans Theatre Festival, nationally touring shows and numerous acclaimed productions across Sydney’s independent theatre scene. Dino’s work focuses on representation, ethics, and creating platforms for underrepresented voices.
Suzy Wrong
Suzy Wrong is a Sydney-based actor, writer and muse whose work champions visibility and cultural transformation. A prominent theatre critic and blogger, she has written more than 2,000 reviews on her platform Suzy Goes See, becoming a key voice shaping Sydney’s performing arts landscape. Suzy has been a vocal advocate for trans rights and representation, drawing on her lived experience from Singapore to Australia and her long career across stage and screen. She also appeared in SBS’s Hungry Ghosts, portraying one of Australian television’s first joyful, multidimensional trans characters.
Kilia Paluhu
Kilia Pahulu is a Western Sydney–based Fakaleiti artist, curator and community leader whose work spans performance, movement and sound. Originally from Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand, she is a prominent figure in Eora’s queer and ballroom scenes and is the lead artistic producer of the iconic Sissy Ball, one of Australia’s most significant vogue and ballroom events. Her movement-based practice explores queer belonging and Moana cultural identity, and she is a regular performer across underground queer spaces and major arts institutions. Originally from Auckland, she works across performance, curation and cultural leadership.
Janet Anderson
Janet Anderson is a Sydney-based actor whose work spans theatre and screen, grounded in bold, contemporary performance. A graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art, with earlier training at Newtown High School of Performing Arts, she has appeared in productions including Orlando (Belvoir), Sistren and All the Fraudulent Horse Girls (Old Fitz), Collapsible (Red Line), Overflow (Darlinghurst Theatre) and Mercury Fur (KXT). Her screen credits include He Had It Coming, Plum, Reef Break and Last King of the Cross. Recognised across Sydney’s independent sector, Janet has received multiple award nominations for her performances. A committed changemaker and advocate for transgender rights, she has written for Vogue and spoken widely in national media, including the ABC, about representation and equity in the arts.
Fetu Taku is a Sydney-based movement artist and choreographer from Christchurch, Aotearoa. Trained internationally and creator of The Dark Angel Project, she develops inclusive, holistic movement spaces. Her multidisciplinary work spans teaching, choreography and community programs, shaped by training with leading global choreographers
