Welcome to Bradfield City’s First Building
It’s here we celebrate the spirit of Western Sydney, its creativity and promise for the future. In this space we are alive with ideas that will surprise and delight.
Today, we honour women; the trailblazers who often go unrecognised, and those who merge the worlds of STEM and creativity to shape moments of pride and progress.
MC’d by the wonderful Dr Kirsten Banks, First Nations Astronomer and Science Educator, who will bring together an artist and curator to share stories of their “sisters in science”. This panel will discuss women whose remarkable contributions deserve to be remembered, and explore how we can ensure their legacies endure.
In the afternoon, two Professors will take the stage: a psychology professor mapping creativity in the brain, and a engineering professor pushing scientific boundaries through risk-taking, proving that STEM is, at its heart, deeply creative.
Throughout the day, artists inspired by science will showcase how art and STEM together illuminate the human spirit and reveal the boundless potential of Western Sydney’s future, and we’re honoured you’re here to witness it.
The Women Who Launch team.
Our MC – Dr Kirsten Banks, and Welcome to Country – Jannawi Dance Clan
Introducing our MC – Dr Kirsten Banks
Dr Kirsten Banks is a passionate astrophysicist and Lecturer at Swinburne University of Technology, working with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) to connect cutting-edge research with the public. With a PhD in astrophysics and proud Wiradjuri heritage, Kirsten offers a unique perspective in her science communication. She captivates audiences worldwide with her infectious enthusiasm, sharing fun facts and leading workshops to inspire wonder in people of all ages. Join Kirsten on a cosmic journey to explore the wonders of the universe like never before.
Welcome to Country – Aunty Peta Strachen and the Jannawi Dance Clan
Jannawi Dance Clan, founded in 2008 by Artistic Director Peta Strachan, celebrates the strength, resilience, and artistry of Aboriginal culture through dance. The company blends traditional Aboriginal and contemporary urban styles, supported by Jannawi Song Women, and Song Man Matthew Doyle singing in Sydney languages.
“Jannawi,” meaning “with me, with you” in Darug, reflects the company’s dedication to revitalising language, culture, and stories. Performing at festivals, schools, and community events nationally and internationally, Jannawi inspires pride, cultural awareness, and connection. Its members are highly skilled artists committed to honouring ancestral traditions while creating pathways for future generations.
Our Exhibitions
Nancy Bird-Walton – Photoseries from the Powerhouse Museum
Image: Powerhouse Museum Collection. Gift of Mrs Nancy Bird Walton AO OBE, 1996.
This photo series from the Powerhouse Museum collection, celebrates the remarkable life and legacy of pioneering Australian aviator Nancy Bird Walton. Featuring rare archival images, the series traces her journey from a passionate young pilot to becoming the founder of the Australian Women Pilots’ Association. Through portraits, aircraft photographs, and moments from her trailblazing career, the collection captures Nancy Bird Walton’s courage and lifelong advocacy for women in aviation.
These photographs offer an intimate glimpse into the spirit of a woman who defied convention and helped shape the history of Australian flight, and is now the namesake of Western Sydney’s new international airport.
Anney Bounpraseuth – Built to Transform
Image: Anney Bounpraseuth, supplied by Artist
In this living, evolving, sustainable textile artwork, artist Anney Bounpraseuth harnesses the transformative power of the butterfly to reflect the journeys of women in STEM.
Drawing inspiration from Australian natural history illustrators – sisters Harriet and Helena Scott – and their detailed studies of butterflies, the piece is also shaped by its setting: a central atrium that echoes the feeling of a vast terrarium.
Themes of resilience, collaboration, and ingenuity are woven into the work. From the persistence of the caterpillar, through to the hidden power of the chrysalis, to the breathtaking brilliance of flight, the butterfly embodies growth, strength, and empowerment.
An interactive and self-guided component invites participants to mend a damaged part of the butterfly’s wing – reflecting the power of collaboration and creativity in overcoming obstacles and rising with brilliance.
About Anney
Anney Bounpraseuth is an Australian-born artist of Laotian heritage whose work explores identity, memory, and self-invention. Her vivid, kitsch aesthetic is deeply rooted in her childhood home, lovingly decorated by her mother with fake flowers, imitation antiques, and mismatched textiles. Drawing on these early influences, Anney reinterprets matriarchal traditions through drawing, painting, craft, and textiles as a way of asserting a self-defined identity. Her current practice centres on the joyful visualisation of secular spirituality, imagining a present-day paradise shaped by personal mythology and cultural reinvention.
Louise Whelan – Women in Space Industry Australia
Image: Louise Whelan, supplied by Artist
Women in the Space Industry is a stellar new oral history and photography collection. This significant project documented the lives and contributions of 24 women working in Australia’s space sector. It captures a pivotal moment when the space industry, both in Australia and globally, is advancing at remarkable pace.
The National Library of Australia commissioned oral historian and photographer Louise Whelan to interview and take accompanying portraits of the women between 2023 to 2025. The collection features in-depth whole-of-life interviews with women of different ages, backgrounds, and disciplines.
About Louise
Louise Whelan is an award-winning visual artist and oral historian whose multidisciplinary work explores memory, environment, and lived experience. Her oral histories and photographs are held in national, state, and local collections, including the State Library of New South Wales, the National Library of Australia, and the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register.
Her most recent project, Women in the Space Industry, documents women across Australia’s space sector through photography and oral history. The collection was exhibited at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Sydney and represents the first national archive dedicated solely to women in space. This year, her work was also exhibited at the Australian Embassy in Berlin and Liverpool Library in New South Wales curated by Casual Powerhouse.
Louise complements her photographic practice with exhibitions, workshops, published writing, and commissioned projects across Australia. She is the co-founder of the Orbit Collective, a group of artists working at the intersection of art, science, gender and space.
She is currently a Powerhouse Museum Resident Artist, Artist in Residence at Edie’s Place – a creative studio within a domestic-violence organisation and works one day a week with Insight Exchange as both a collaborating artist and Associate.
Tammy Dang and Thao Nhi La – Fruitful Home of Tomorrow
Image: Tammy Dang, by Anna Kucera, Thao Nhi La, upplied by Artist
In this vibrant vision of tomorrow, women lead with strength and joy to protect our planet, living in harmony with animals, insects, and the natural world. From the imaginative Watermelon House, where homes grow and breathe like living fruit, to We’re Going on an Adventure, celebrating women’s intergenerational wisdom and connection, these artworks radiate colour, wonder, and hope. Together they imagine a world where creativity and community flourish, where houses bloom, nature thrives, and humans live as part of the living earth, guided by the gentle but powerful guardianship of women.
About Tammy and Thao
Tammy is a multi-disciplinary artist and arts worker who has worked in film, theatre, photography, visual arts and community work. When she is not producing community arts events and programs, she is either taking photos and shooting videos, bustling around in the theatre or designing. She attended UNSW to complete her Law and Media (Screen and Sound Production) degrees and is currently co-running a photo and film production business called My Tiger Productions and co-runs an arts and stationery business with her mum, Little Paper Blossom. Tammy’s commitment to the arts awarded her as the Winner of the Mayor’s Award for Creative Arts in 2023.
Thao is a Vietnamese-Teochew professional artist & community arts worker who graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours from UNSW. She loves to work with community groups to create colourful and whimsical artworks displayed around Sydney, from local parks, schools, electrical boxes, town centres, libraries, plazas, hospitals and more. Over the span of her career, she had 9 solo art exhibitions and over 60 group exhibitions at galleries and museums across Sydney, so you may have seen some of her mosaics or paintings around the city! Thao also teaches and facilitates art workshops for the community around New South Wales and currently designs and co-runs an arts and stationery business, Little Paper Blossom.
Meet the Panellists
Panel One – On Honouring the History of Women in STEM
With Nina Earl and Louise Whelan
Images supplied by Panellists
Our city proudly bears the name of John Bradfield, celebrated as Lead Engineer on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. But history rarely remembers the women who, often invisibly, helped build, shape and push forward the scientific, engineering, and urban landscape of Australia. How do we uncover and honour the women in STEM who contributed to our city’s foundations and ideas, and what does it mean for the next generation if their stories remain untold?
About Nina
Nina Earl is a curator and science communicator at the Powerhouse Museum and a 2023 Churchill Fellow, working at the intersection of art and science. She is interested in how exhibitions engage communities and how they can empower all of us to navigate our increasingly complex world. Her portfolio spans themes of contemporary arts, culture, science, and technology, and her research examines how museums foster intergenerational conversations to build science and technology knowledge.
About Louise
Louise Whelan is an award-winning visual artist and oral historian whose multidisciplinary work explores memory, environment, and lived experience. Her photographs and oral histories are held in national, state, and local collections, including the State Library of New South Wales, the National Library of Australia, and the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register.
Her recent project, Women in the Space Industry, documents women across Australia’s space sector through photography and oral history. Exhibited at the International Astronautical Congress in Sydney, it represents the first national archive dedicated to women in space.
Louise is co-founder of the Orbit Collective and currently a Powerhouse Museum and Edie’s Place Resident Artist, working with Insight Exchange as a collaborating artist and Associate.
Panel Two – On Creativity and Risk-Taking in STEM
With Professor Veena Sahajwalla and Professor Kate Stevens
Images supplied by Panellists
Invention and discovery are fundamentally acts of imagination and creativity. How important is creative risk-taking in STEM, and what does creativity mean to you personally?
About Professor Sahajwalla
Professor Veena Sahajwalla is a globally recognised materials scientist, engineer, and inventor transforming recycling science. As Founding Director of the UNSW SMaRT Centre, she pioneered high-temperature waste transformation into ‘green materials’ and invented green steel technology using recycled tyres. She launched the world’s first e-waste and plastics MICROfactories™, advancing microrecycling innovation. Professor Sahajwalla leads the ARC Research Hub for Microrecycling and the NESP Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub. Her numerous accolades include NSW Australian of the Year (2022), Eureka Prize winner, ATSE Clunies Ross Award, and Officer of the Order of Australia (2025) for her leadership in sustainable materials and innovation.
About Professor Stevens
Kate (Catherine J.) Stevens is Professor of Psychology and Director of the MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour & Development at Western Sydney University. She holds a BA (Hons) and PhD from the University of Sydney. Her research spans music, dance, temporal cognition, and human–machine interaction, focusing on learning, perception, memory, and performance in non-verbal sequences. She has authored well over 100 scholarly works and has led major funding projects linking psychology, technology, and the creative arts.
Meet our Performers
Performance – The Sky Sisters, A Swinging Tribute to Nancy Bird-Walton
By Josipa Draisma, Mara Knežević, Sarah Gattellari and Sarah Homeh
Images supplied by Artists
Step back in time and soar through the skies with Sky Sisters, a lively 15-minute performance celebrating the life of Australia’s first female commercial pilot, Nancy-Bird Walton!
Set to reimagined Andrews Sisters-style swing hits, this trio brings you the story of a daring young girl who defied the odds, barnstormed across the country, became the beloved “Angel of the Outback” transporting sick children and nurses to remote communities, and inspired generations of women in aviation. From high-flying adventures to WWII leadership and beyond, every song tells a piece of her incredible journey.
Musical arrangement by Mathew Colucci.
Josipa Draisma
Josipa is an award-winning interdisciplinary performing artist and cultural leader working across theatre, music, cabaret, and comedy. Her original work has been programmed across national comedy and arts festivals in Australia including Sydney Comedy Festival, Melbourne Comedy Festival, Melbourne Cabaret Festival and Adelaide Fringe Festival, and has toured regionally across NSW.
Mara Knežević
Mara Knežević is a theatre-maker, performer, and singer-songwriter. She co-creates music under MARA DUKE and has released music on major platforms since 2015. She is an ongoing member of the female/non-binary collective All Girl Electronic based in Parramatta. Her credits include the Helpmann Award nominated dance-theatre work PLAYLIST, The Hen House, and most recently Kauboj at Riverside Theatres.
Sarah Gattellari
Sarah Gattellari is an Australian-Uruguayan-Italian artist born and raised in Western Sydney. With a passion for dance, acting and mindset, Sarah acts as a NSW Ambassador for the RISE Musical Theatre Program which places mental health and mindset at the forefront for young performers. Her theatrical credits include ‘Tuân’s Party‘, ‘Piano Lounge‘ and ‘Sitcom‘ at PYT Fairfield and in a stage adaptation of Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’ for Ruby Productions.
Sarah Homeh
Sarah Homeh is a multifaceted musician, composer, and lyricist, known for her skills as a bassist and vocalist. She is a music graduate with Honours (Class 1) from UNSW and has a Masters of Creative Industries from SAE. Sarah leads her own originals project, Monstress, who are known for their innovative nu-jazz sound. She primarily operates as a session musician, continuously engaged in studio recording sessions and live performances for theatre and artists such as Horroshow, Ayesha Maddon, Hermitude, and more. Notably, she has secured grants for projects that have contributed to the empowerment of marginalised voices in the music industry.
Meet our Workshop Facilitators
Self-Esteem Self-Portraits
Image supplied by Artist
Join artist and educator Anney Bounpraseuth for a creative workshop where portraiture meets blueprint design. Guided step by step, you’ll use rich blue paper and crisp white pencil to capture your own unique features, transforming them into a striking self-portrait. Along the way, you’ll uncover new ways of seeing yourself and celebrating the beauty in every detail.
Facilitator – Anney Bounpraseuth
About Anney
Anney Bounpraseuth is an Australian-born artist of Laotian heritage whose work explores identity, memory, and self-invention. Her vivid, kitsch aesthetic is deeply rooted in her childhood home, lovingly decorated by her mother with fake flowers, imitation antiques, and mismatched textiles. Drawing on these early influences, Anney reinterprets matriarchal traditions through drawing, painting, craft, and textiles as a way of asserting a self-defined identity. Her current practice centres on the joyful visualisation of secular spirituality, imagining a present-day paradise shaped by personal mythology and cultural reinvention.
Weaving with Malima
Image supplied by Artist
Join First Nations weaver Malima for a hands-on workshop that bridges past and present. Discover how the rhythms of the manufacturing hall echo centuries-old weaving techniques, and explore how machines draw inspiration from traditional craft. Create your own woven piece while connecting with a living legacy of storytelling, culture, and design.
Facilitator – Kodie Mason
About Kodie
Kodie Mason is a Dharawal, Ngarigo and Dunghutti woman with deep roots in La Perouse Aboriginal Reserve and Mission, part of a lineage spanning seven generations. Raised witnessing firsthand how social policy impacts Indigenous communities, she earned a Bachelor of Social Research & Policy (Indigenous Studies) from UNSW in 2023. Kodie serves as a Policy Officer at the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group and works as a casual academic at UNSW. She also runs Malima, a venture offering Indigenous weaving and educational workshops. Passionate about preserving culture, she aims to ensure Indigenous voices are central in education and policy.
Lumifold with STEAMpop
Images supplied by Artist
Step into the world of Lumifold, a workshop by Steampop that blends art, mathematics, and imagination. Discover how folding patterns draw on geometry, symmetry, and even the natural world through biomimicry. Explore the traditions of origami alongside contemporary engineering and scientific innovation, then create your own illuminated sculpture. Choose from a Lumiball, Lumitall, or Lumifive design, and experience how patience, play, and perseverance transform simple paper into glowing works of art.
Facilitator – Mel Silk and Annette Mauer
About Mel and Annette
Current Chief Academic Officer at Whitecliffe Institute of Creative Arts and Technology as well as Co-Director of STEAMpop, Dr. Melissa Silk works across a variety of learning contexts to enhance the status of STEAM. She is passionate about exploring connections between imagination, making and mathematics. Melissa is part of several unique collaborations, creating and writing about STEAM experiences while also engaged in higher education academia.
Annette Mauer believes that integrated STEAM programs will result in new ways of thinking and an increased awareness of the value of the arts in society. With a background in secondary education and museums, she has developed art, design, and creative thinking programs for primary and secondary students. During her time at Object: Centre for Craft and Design she facilitated design thinking programs for the corporate and cultural sectors.
MotherBoard with the STEAM Council
Image by Anna Kucera
Created by the Bradfield STEAM Council, this workshop celebrates the creativity and ingenuity of young makers who blend science, mathematics, and the arts. Participants will be guided to develop their own vision boards using mathematical prompts, then collaborate to create a collective vision board.
Facilitated by the Next Gen STEAM Council – Nargis Batoole Rezaie, Angeleeca Ali and Brandon Hornjik
About the Bradfield STEAM Council
The Bradfield S.T.E.A.M. Council is a dynamic collective of emerging creatives and STEM students shaping the city’s first new urban community in 100 years through arts, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Council members Brandon Hornjik, Nargis Batool Rezaie, and Angeleeca Ali bring diverse expertise, from astrophysics and cybersecurity to screen media, uniting technical knowledge with artistic practice. Together, they co-design programs, workshops, and public experiences that inspire curiosity, inclusivity, and bridge disciplines.
