Creating Community AQUA x NGV For Coming Out Day

Bryan Andy (he/they) is a Yorta Yorta – Yullaba Yullaba man from Cummeragunja. He identifies as gay. He has been a writer, radio broadcaster and theatre maker for over 20 years and has been published by Lonely Planet, Guardian, Meanjin, ABC, Witness Performance and Artlink. Bryan performed as an actor in Andrea James’s Yanagai! Yanagai! (2003) and Ilbijerri Theatre’s The Dirty Mile (2014). In 2023, Bryan was Dramaturg for the Griffin Theatre/Blakdance development of swim by Ellen Van Neerven. In April of this year, the critically-acclaimed work VIGIL, co-written by Bryan with Patricia Cornelius, Sahra Davoudi, Kush Kuy, Samah Sabawi, and produced by Outer Urban Projects was presented at the Arts House, Melbourne. Bryan holds a Master of Theatre (Writing) from Victorian College of the Arts/ University of Melbourne.

Angela Bailey (she/her) is a curator, photographer and creative producer whose practice actively explores and interprets our rich and diverse queer histories and culture by creating exhibitions, installations, discourse and public programs of engagement. Her experiences as a young activist participating in the fight for gay law reform in Queensland continue to inform her work with LGBTIQ+ communities. Angela is a curator at State Library Victoria, has a Postgraduate Degree in Fine Art, a Masters of Art Curatorship and is currently a PHD candidate in curatorial practice at Monash University and Vice President of the Australian Queer Archives.

Mel Deerson (she/they) is an artist, writer and teacher. They work in experimental video, performance, poetry and drawing, and occasionally collaborate on creative and curatorial projects. She has published books with Stray Pages and 3Ply (co-edited with Spiros Panigirakis), and has presented work at the Derek Jarman Lab (London), the Ruskin Gallery (Cambridge), School of Visual Art (New York), Monash University Museum of Art, UNSW Galleries, Liquid Architecture, Gertrude Contemporary, West Space and other artist run spaces. Mel is currently a PhD candidate in Fine Art at UNSW, researching medieval dream poetry and its intersection with contemporary practice.

Martha Fooks (she/her) is a Naarm-based queer landscape architect, community advocate, passionate environmentalist and Director of MTLD Studios. Her work explores how design can advocate for communities, respond to the climate crisis and challenge the status quo. With local and international experience across complex public projects, she is interested in collaborative design ecosystems that elevate diverse voices. As the founding Chairperson of AILA Queer Vic, Martha works to build connections between queer communities, place and the environment. Inspired by Edna Walling’s contribution to Australian garden design, she is interested in how gardens can foster community and belonging. Through her practice and advocacy, Martha hopes to create space for future queer practitioners.

Meg Slater (she/they) is Curator of International Exhibitions at the National Gallery of Victoria. Since 2017, Meg has worked on many of the NGV’s major international exhibitions, including MoMA at NGV: 130 Years of Modern and Contemporary Art, 2018; Keith Haring | Jean Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines, 2019/20, and Yayoi Kusama, 2024/25. Meg was also one of the five curators who organised QUEER: Stories from the NGV Collection, 2022. In 2021, Meg completed a Master of Art Curatorship at the University of Melbourne with First-Class Honours.