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I didn't know Akala Newman's full story before we sat down to yarn. And I think that's exactly why this conversation hit me the way it did.

Akala is a proud Wiradjuri and Gadigal woman from Sydney. A performer, songwriter, educator, and cultural producer who has been creating on her own terms since day one. She opened the Sydney Opera House New Year's Eve fireworks with her song Calling Country and is the founder of Gili Gatherings.

But this yarn wasn't about any of that. Not really.

It was about duality. About what it costs to move between worlds every single day. About the exhaustion of code-switching, of always being surveilled, of being Black no matter how light-skinned you are or how many spaces you are invited into.

It was about her dad, and the sacrifices he made. About the nephews and nieces she wants to look up one day and think, I can do this too. About art as the thing that holds it all together when the cycle of trauma feels impossible to break.

Akala Newman is on a rise. And this yarn is just the beginning.

Resources and Links

Akala Newman — akalanewman.com
Gili Gatherings — follow @giligatherings on Instagram

Website: www.blackmagicwoman.com.au

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