OUTSPOKEN is a platform for bold voices, featuring spoken word, storytelling, and lyrical expression that shatters the silence around taboos.
Embracing and expressing the power of being unapologetically big, brave, and OUTSPOKEN
Sharing stories with others can be a powerful step toward healing and that's exactly what we aim to facilitate through events like 𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗞𝗘𝗡, creating a safe and supportive space where sharing is normalised.
We’ll shatter the silence, toss shame aside, and let our unfiltered selves shine.
OUTSPOKEN is happening at:
Performers
Spoken Word
TARIRO MAVONDO
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Tariro’s poetry is somatic, an eruptive invitation to enlist oneself to presence as the passageway into experiencing the sensorium of human and non human kinship. Tariro is the essence of an artist, her life work which includes creative workshop facilitation and executive arts leadership is tethered to re-villagising, unifying through difference and remaking a post humanist world by staying with the trouble.
Nominated for an Aria Music Award in 2021 with her collaboration with The Australian Art Orchestra for Best Jazz Album last year and won an APRA AMCOS award for Work of the Year: Electroacoustic/Sound Art, for Closed Beginnings.After living in Barbados, an island in the Caribbean for a year. Tariro returned to Australia to co-direct Maxine Beneba Clarke’s theatrical production of The Hate Race which premiered at Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne in 2024 and was the associate director of Outer Urban Project’s production ‘The Audition’ which had a season at La Mama Theatre and toured at Bunjil Place and The Bowery Theatre. After nearly five years away from the stage as an actor Tariro was an actor in La Belle Epoque a Black Australian love story of a Congolese man reconciling his present life in Australia with his heritage in the heart of Africa where its children are exploited in the West's scramble for the DRC's natural resources and minerals premiering at Theatreworks.
To see more work and offerings from Tariro follow:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tariro.mavondo
Photo credit: Naga Sonu Kasu
Story-telling
ERI MCGINNISKIN
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Prepare for an unforgettable, raw journey as Eri dives into the depths of a deeply personal and shame-laden story. Normally seen on stage in her bold, quirky, and sexy burlesque performances, Eri now brings a different kind of vulnerability to the stage, shedding costumes and humour to reveal the raw realities beneath.
Through visceral storytelling, Eri will guide you through a tale of trauma and survival patterning, unraveling the mechanisms we create to endure and push down pain, only to find them erupting in ways that drive us to feel ashamed, as though we've failed ourselves and those that have got caught in the cross fire. Known for wearing her heart on her sleeve, Eri brings an embodied, heart-wrenching honesty to the stage, sharing her experience with profound openness and vulnerability.
Eri is dedicated to creating inclusive, vibrant spaces where authenticity thrives. She delves into the heart of who we are, weaving together stories about the intricate patterns of human psychology and relationships. There will likely be tears, heartache, and cathartic truth as she sheds light on the burden of unspoken shame.
To keep up to date with more of the events and activities that Eri and Nathan are running for Giddy Garden follow: https://www.instagram.com/giddy.garden (https://www.instagram.com/giddy.garden)
Photo credit: Nathan Power
Spoken Word
ALl SHAMSAHMADI
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Ali was born in the land of poetry and pomegranate where the voices of Hafiz, Rumi, Rudaki, Ferdowsi, and Sa’di echoed through their lives. These legendary poets were woven into the fabric of his upbringing in Iran. Ali began writing his own poems around the age of 10 or 12, and he was already late to the game! Over the years, he filled countless notebooks with his words, many of which remained hidden away, unread. Poetry, along with his passion for theater (acting on stage), was his way of expressing his-crazy-self during those years.
However, when Ali moved to Australia 20 years ago, he lost touch with that raw side of himself. It wasn't until recently that he found the courage to feel his heart and write his very first poem in English. He is excited to be sharing this piece with you at Outspoken.
Photo credit: Nathan Power
Clowning
EZEL DORUK
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Tantra and Clowning both alike in fare Naarm where we lay our scene. Ritualistic dialectics, conjoined at the hip, separated at birth, reunited in adolescents and sufferers of the Westermarck effect as adults.
What could this all mean? Ezel Doruk and his mash up of tantric truths hidden under a veneer of charming tomfoolery hopes to question some of the answers.
Keep track of Ezel’s latest ventures at: https://www.instagram.com/ezldrk/
Song-writer
MILBAGS MAGEE
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Meet Milbags Magee, a soulful singer-songwriter and deep storytelling vocalist, who has been lending her talents to Dane Blacklock & the Preacher’s Daughters for the past eight years. Her voice is a blend of raw honesty, vulnerability, humour, and sincerity, making her a wonderful addition to OUTSPOKEN.
Equipped with her saxophone and a loop pedal, Milbags’ musical style is both unconventional and irresistibly versatile. Expect a mix of heartfelt with a splash of silly, including playful nods to the taboo.
Offstage, she teaches music one day a week at a special needs school and brings her love of spontaneous music to the campgrounds, where she’s known for improvising with friends under the stars.
You might have caught her performances at the Costume Courtesan Cabaret or CAMP, where her storytelling leaves the audience hanging on every word. We’re excited to see what she creates for us for this event!
Follow what she is up to at: https://www.instagram.com/amso18
Photo credit: Tom Lee Christen - https://www.instagram.com/tomleechristen
Storyteller
PHOEBE BOND
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Phoebe Bond is a word nerd, a sex-positive adventurer, and a devotee of clean armpits and organised spaces. So why does she keep diving headfirst into the sweaty, manky chaos of festival sex?
Prepare to be dragged into Phoebe's tent. Scrabble for the zip if you like, but you won’t escape her unfiltered, claustrophobic, kaleidoscopic take on the spaces where desire, filth and wet wipes collide.
Spoken Word
ANDREW G ROSE
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Spoken word artist Andrew G Rose turns the stage into a bedroom, where queer identity and sexuality are flaunted without shame.
Andrew has previously performed on stage in the irreverent comedy Eat My Cake, a production by Scratch Arts, during Melbourne's Midsumma and Southside Festivals. He now turns to poetry.
Andrew is a gay man reclaiming the power of his own narrative. With unflinching honesty and raw vulnerability, he delights in playing with his audiences. In these poems Andrew kicks down the privacy screen to expose our desire as very real.
See what Andrew is working on at https://www.instagram.com/yourenotlaughingbutiam/
Photo credit: Brendan Bonsack
Storyteller
MARANIA BUNTON
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Marania is a trauma informed Somatic & Energy Worker who's passionate about exploring embodied paths to growth, remembrance of one's true essence and breaking intergenerational and ancestral patterns of trauma, pain and dysfunction.
A lover of storytelling and the stage, she also presents as Wild Velvet, creating impactful performances and events that promote shame-resilience and sex positivity. Her work challenges societal taboos, celebrates vulnerability, and fosters a community where all parts of the self are welcome, especially those shadowed in shame.
Marania also has a wonderful event Church of Sluts coming up that is about liberation from shame on Saturday 23rd. You can buy tickets through her instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/wildmoon.au
Photo credit: Vas Chak Photography (https://www.instagram.com/_vaschakraphotography_)
Hip Hop Artist
PHYLO
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We’re thrilled to welcome a new addition to our already incredible lineup—Phylo! Belting out soulful hip hop, Phylo invites the listener to tune into the present moment, cry, laugh, stomp, and to forget how they look while doing it.
With raw, powerful, and deeply insightful lyrics, Phylo has a way of putting into words the feelings that so often linger in our hearts but remain unspoken. Their performances are more than just music, they’re an emotional journey that will leave you feeling seen, understood, and moved. Prepare to feel all the feels as Phylo brings their authentic energy to the stage, creating a space where it’s safe to be vulnerable, real, and fully alive.
Find our more about their work:
Your organisers
Eri and Nathan are thrilled to bring OUTSPOKEN to life, and to you. They bring a wealth of experience collected from countless workshops, books, podcasts and events over many years. Read more about their experience below:
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Eri (she/her) is an ENM individual embracing her queerness, dedicated to fostering inclusive spaces where people can freely express their true selves in all their vibrant hues. Her passion lies in understanding the intricacies of individuals, unraveling their quirks and passions. She finds joy in human interactions where she observes them discussing the topics that light up their faces.
Initially drawn to a career in helping others, Eri spent a decade practicing Osteopathy before embarking on a journey to explore her artistic side. Returning to university, she delved into costume and fashion design, confronting the sustainability challenges within the industry. In 2022, she founded Costume Courtesan, offering upcycled costume commissions using pre-existing materials, along with group costume styling experiences, costume rentals, and cabaret events. The shop itself, adorned with a Dr. Seuss-inspired, vibrant forest installation, was meticulously crafted using 80% recycled materials by Eri, her Artist-Carpenter friend Mark, and partner Nathan.
Active in Burner theme camps like Kamp Kraken and Syncity, Eri has contributed as a Stage Manager, Decor Lead and Performer at festivals and events like Rainbow Serpent and Comfort Creek. She played a key role in the team responsible for the Kraken Submarine, an art car prominently featured at diverse festivals and events. This mobile creation functions as a dynamic stage for performances and music. Additionally, she served as Decor Coordinator for Celebrating Sexuality Festival (affectionately known as Sex Camp) for three consecutive years. Renowned as a burlesque artist, she captivates audiences with her distinctive storytelling, infusing each performance with a blend of humor, allure, and eccentricity with her performance group, GoGo and the Peacocks. (Insta: @gogo_and_the_peacocks).
Driven by a love for self-discovery and personal growth, Eri has attended numerous health, wellbeing, and sex-positive workshops and festivals. She co-organises “Sexplorers”, a smaller sex-positive weekender event, and aims to continue creating workshop festivals with exceptional facilitators to guide individuals on their journey of self-discovery.
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Nathan (he/him) is an open-minded, authentic, kind-hearted individual with a passion for curating memorable experiences that foster community, creativity, play, and meaningful connections.
With a robust 20-year career in IT, he has dedicated his expertise to creating and managing applications while leading teams to successful project outcomes. Beyond the tech realm, Nathan is a skilled audio-lighting artist, DJ and musician, contributing his talents to numerous performances, festivals and art installations over many decades of performing and creating.
Known among friends as Swiss Army knife (or Leatherman), Nathan fearlessly dives into diverse projects, showcasing his versatility as a builder, artist, tech whiz, and creative mind. Whether immersed in spreadsheets, construction or organising, he wears many hats with ease.
Nathan played a pivotal role in the creation of the Kraken submarine, a mutant art car doubling as a dynamic stage for performances and music at various events. He has left his mark on the live music and performance scene, particularly recently through his work on lighting and audio design for cabarets hosted by Costume Courtesan, Syncity, and Kamp Kraken.
Moreover, as one of the co-creators of Sexplorers, he actively contributes to an annual, sex-positive weekend event focused on workshops, connection, and play. The initiative aims to cultivate a supportive community, encourage self-discovery, and dramatically reduce sexual shame.