New live event series The Courage Collective to celebrate diversity in the arts

Brisbane based industry bodies Zoe Maras and Jesa have announced The Courage Collective, a new event celebrating women and non-binary people in the arts industry.

Aiming to represent a safe, diverse and inclusive space for artists and ticketholders alike, the event will take place at Brisbane live music venue The Zoo on Sunday, August 8th.

Held as part of the Brisbane City Council and QMusic Winter Sessions Festival, The Courage Collective is set to feature an industry panel, as well as live art and performances.

On top of that, music industry organisation Support Act will provide mental health resources on the night, in order to facilitate conversations around the mistreatment and collective struggles minorities face within the creative arts field.

The event’s panel will include a number of key industry members like NightLife Music and QPAC’s Leanne De Souza, Souls Has No Tempo Records’ Ali Tomoana, Peace Run Records’ Andrea Kirwin, non-binary artist Damien Johnson and Zoe Maras of 97 Joyride Agency and The Courage Collective. 

As if that wasn’t enough, the night will also see exclusive performances from artists including B.B.T.K, Cheap Date, Ivey, JESA and Marloe. 

The Courage Collective is the brainchild of 97 Joyride Agency’s founder Zoe Maras and artist and educator JESA, who are both advocates for equality inclusivity for women and non-binary people within the creative arts.

“The Courage Collective is a conceptualised safe space that celebrates us as creatives and allows us to find empowerment and joy through community. It’s about story-telling, expression and release through music, art and conversation,” said Maras.

“Zoe and I created The Courage Collective as a response to a repeated conversation we kept having as women in music. These conversations centred around our negative experiences in our workplace, in our art and in our careers. We have both felt the impact of the male domination and lack of safe spaces for women and non-binary people to truly feel acknowledged,” JESA added. 

“Essentially we created The Courage Collective as a live event series that focuses on honouring the beautiful diversity in arts where we can come together in unity and feel seen, heard and acknowledged.” 

Tickets for The Courage Collective will be available for $20 online or $30 at the door unless already sold out.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.