Unfinished Business

Michelle is an award-winning former ABC journalist with more than thirty years’ experience in television, film, radio, print and digital media.

A proud Yamatij storyteller, she is passionate about sharing the stories of First Nation people, and they have formed the basis of many of her creative projects, including short stories, publications and plays.

Michelle’s role at CAN is to look for opportunities to platform CAN’s work and partner with like-minded organisations so we can continue to deliver transformative arts and cultural development programs with communities.

When not working for CAN, Michelle volunteers on the board of 100.9FM Noongar Radio, Seesaw Magazine and As One Nyitting and is a member of the Kalamunda Arts and Culture Advisory Committee.

In 2019 Michelle was featured in the SBS series Every Family Has a Secret which explored her Mother’s stolen generation experiences of removal as a child. She also discovered her Grandfather was sent from England to Australia as a child migrant.

Rebecca is an artist and arts worker. Often working collaboratively, she has shown, facilitated and worked on outcomes across the country for a range of galleries, festivals and artist-run spaces. Working from her position as English/settler-descendant she is interested in work that confronts the complexities of the present and the role of art in shaping how we see and imagine the world.

Rebecca is a Project Producer for Unfinished Business, assisting with project facilitation under the lead of Executive Producer Michelle White.

Coming from a family of marine biologists, Rebecca loves to dive, swim and spend time offshore.

Noongar Elder Winnie McHenry, was born on November 11, 1935 on Badjaling Mission. Mrs McHenry both lives and works at the Badjaling Aboriginal Community, 10kms east of Quairading. Winnie is dedicated to sharing Noongar stories and culture and she has played a critical part in preserving the history of Badjaling.

She has worked with Wheatbelt NRM, Northam Health, Murdoch University, UWA and CAN to name a few, to ensure Noongar culture is shared and held for future generations. A natural and generous storyteller, it was Winnie McHenry who came up with the concept of delivering a community arts project called Bush Babies to collect the stories of the Noongar babies born in the bush.

As a member of the Stolen Generation who grew up in the New Norcia Mission School much of Sharyn Egan’s artwork is a commentary on her life as a Noongar woman and the associated trauma, emotions and deep sense of loss and displacement experienced by Aboriginal people.

Sharyn is a highly respected Noongar artist whose work is held in National and State collections. She works in numerous media, including painting, sculpture, woven forms and site specific installations, often using natural materials such as ochers, resins and grasses that connect to the land.

Yabini Kickett (Esther McDowell) is a descendant of the Kickett and Hayden families of the Bibbulmun/Noongar Nation. Having grown up with an artist and poet mother, as well as a photographer and land conservationist father, her practice is heavily rooted in language, endemic plants, family, totemic relations and found objects from country.

Yabini has strong family connections to the Kellerberrin, Quairading and Badjaling areas.

Tace Stevens is a Noongar and Spinifex woman from Western Australia. She is a documentary photographer and emerging filmmaker, who has just moved back home to Perth, after ten years in Sydney. Tace wrote and directed her graduate film, To Be Silent, a short documentary about identity and code-switching, told through animation and poetic live action re-enactments.

With a background in community development and education, Tace wants to be a part of stories that challenge, educate, and entertain. She wants to tell stories that are authentic and reflect the diversities of the communities she lives in and beyond.

Hugh is an award nominated Australian photographer specialising in both digital and film.

By employing his innate appreciation for the natural world and emotionally provocative imagery, he seeks expression through lifestyle, portrait and travel content.

Hugh’s meticulous application of composition and compelling narrative translate into candid and authentic moments that invoke a desire for exploration.