Blak Futures is set to return in 2025, offering vital support to South Australian Blak artists. Caleena Sansbury and Rikki Wilson have been announced as the recipients of the prestigious Blak Futures Residencies, a collaboration between Australian Dance Theatre, BlakDance, and Adelaide Festival, supported by Arts South Australia.
Responding directly to the impact of its inaugural gathering, Blak Futures 2025 will provide Sansbury and Wilson with resources to develop ambitious new choreographic works. Both artists are driven by a shared ambition: to illuminate intricate Black histories through a distinctly feminine perspective, bringing the stories of remarkable women to the forefront.
Sansbury's Mulammar and Wilson's I Am Pirbilya are deeply personal, poignant, and complex portrayals of First Nations resilience. Each work-in-development promises to be a powerful testament to the strength and enduring spirit of First Nations people and artists.
The residencies will offer each artist a fully subsidised studio space, technical support, mentorship from ADT and BlakDance, access to Cultural Eldership, and $10,000 to further develop their projects.
Mulammar: Unveiling Mary Cooper’s Story
Caleena Sansbury’s Mulammar, in collaboration with Adrianne Semmens and Kaine Sultan Babij, aims to create a rich, multidimensional exploration of her great-grandmother Mary Cooper’s life. Blending storytelling, physical movement, and projection, this creative development will investigate the personal and systemic challenges faced by Aboriginal people in the 1940s, highlighting their resilience and cultural significance.
Caleena Sansbury is a distinguished First Nations artist and cultural leader, with Ngarrindjeri, Narungga, and Kaurna heritage. Her work spans choreography, performance, and arts management, drawing from her cultural roots to explore identity and storytelling through contemporary performance. A graduate of NAISDA Dance College, Caleena has worked with renowned figures in Australian performance, including Vicki Van Hout, Thomas E. S. Kelly, and Karul Projects.
Her diverse career includes acting and physical performance in productions such as InSite Arts' Saltbush and Our Corka Bubs, and Polyglot Theatre's Tangled. Caleena also showcased her talent in the physical theatre work, The Man with the Iron Neck (Legs On the Wall).
Beyond performance, Caleena is a producer and arts leader, having contributed to the Melbourne Fringe and toured with works like Jacob Boheme’s Gurranda and Taree Sansbury’s Mi:wi. Currently, she coordinates the First Nations Dance Program at The Mill. As a lead artist, Caleena is dedicated to creating spaces for authentic Indigenous storytelling, guiding emerging dancers, and contributing to the ongoing conversation about cultural resilience and the future of Indigenous art.
I Am Pirbilya: A Journey Back to HERstory
Rikki Wilson's I Am Pirbilya embarks on a profound journey, reconnecting the past with the present by tracing the matriarchal lineage of her Wirangu bloodlines. Guided by ancestors, the work delves into HERstory, exploring the branches of the family tree and bringing forth the powerful women who shaped her heritage.
The production brings forth the powerful women of her line, who come together to retrace, converse, and share the wisdom of culture, stories, and knowledge honouring the womb from which all were birthed.
From the rocky country to the soft sands and saltwater, I Am Pirbilya traces the veins of the land, revealing connections to each other and to self. It is a celebration of the Matriarch, a testament to strength, resilience, and heritage.
Wilson, a proud Narungga, Adnyamthanha, Wirangu, Kokotha woman, draws deeply from her cultural heritage. Her work is informed by mentorship from established dancers, composers, and cultural authorities, allowing her to seamlessly blend contemporary dance with the rich traditions of her lineage. Her experiences include work with Tjarutja Dance Theatre Collective, Dance Rites, and ADT's Raw.