Wakka Wakka textile artist and curator Dameeli Coates and Ngarrindjeri freelance writer and TikTok literary reviewer Courtney Jaye have been selected for the new round of the First Nations arts writing mentorship program.
Coates has – alongside her artistic and curatorial practices – 20 years’ experience as a human rights campaigner in Indigenous affairs and is a board member for two South Australian arts organisations.
Jaye has been a freelance writer for four years, and has published memoir and commentary in national literary magazines and anthologies. She has also fostered her critical voice with @sunnycaffeinereads – a literature-focussed TikTok account.
The mentorship is a collaboration between Arts South Australia and InReview. It is funded as part of the inaugural Arts South Australia Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Arts Strategy, which aims to create opportunities for professional development and cultural expression.
The program will connect Coates and Jaye with experienced First Nations writers, who will support the emerging writers to develop their skills while building a portfolio of professional, published work.
The mentors working with Coates and Jaye include Mirning artist, writer and academic Ali Gumillya Baker and Martu author and freelance writer Karen Wyld.
Jaye says the mentorship will help her gain valuable experience in writing across different forms, particularly arts criticism.
“While I enjoy writing commentary and memoir-style pieces, I am looking to broaden my experiences within different genres,” she says. “I am also an avid reader and am extremely passionate about discussing and analysing literature.
“I believe that the mentorship will be a great chance for me to increase my portfolio and assist me in going further with my writing.”
Coates says the program will help her add a new strand to her artistic career, bolstering its sustainability.
“I see arts writing as an important element of my future career as an artist, curator and academic,” she says. “I welcome the opportunity to improve my writing and build my experience and practice of writing and professional critique.”
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Coates and Jaye are the second cohort of First Nations mentees to take part in the program. The inaugural recipients were Kyron Weetra and Leesha Cole, who published articles covering film, music, literature and theatre while working with mentors Nancia Guivarra and Troy-Anthony Baylis.
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