NSW Producers Exchange 2026

Building from the success of our inaugural NSW Producers Exchange last December, we’re delighted to announce that we’re returning with another edition in June.

DATE: Wednesday 10 June 2026
TIME: Doors open at 5:30pm for a 6pm start
DURATION: 45-minute panel discussion, followed by networking
LOCATION: PACT Centre for Emerging Artists, 107 Railway Parade, Erskineville NSW

Drinks and light snacks provided.

Please note this is a free event, but RSVP is essential as capacity is limited.

Panel Discussion

Risky Business and Safe(r) Spaces

It’s a no-brainer that we all aim to provide spaces free from discrimination and harassment for our artists, artworkers, and audiences. Producing difficult work has always required an environment that promotes safety while cultivating courage and risk.

Yet, it seems that the current terrain has shifted. So has the pressure.

Phrases like “Cultural Safety”, “Social Cohesion”, and “Community Standards” are not neutral phrases and increasingly producers are finding these phrases invoked not to protect artists, arts workers, and audiences from genuine harm, but to soften, delay, or kill conversations that challenge, provoke, or unsettle.

So, what does it look like when that pressure arrives? What’s the relationship between social cohesion and our instinct for comfort, with the freedom of artistic expression and our fear?

Are we conflating comfort with safeness?

What does creating safe spaces actually mean?

Where does responsibility lie when art provokes?

Join us for a discussion facilitated by Wanyika Mshila and featuring Kween G and Brooke Webb GAICD, sharing what they’ve learnt the hard way: the situations they didn’t see coming, what worked and what didn’t, and what they think producers need to know right now.

Wanyika Mshila is a Kenyan-born Australian community changemaker with over 15 years of experience at the intersection of arts, corporate, and community spaces. Renowned for her ability to bridge cultural divides and foster inclusivity, Wanyika’s work centres on empowering marginalized voices, celebrating diversity, and driving meaningful social change.

Wanyika has led initiatives that create accessible cultural experiences for diverse communities. Her commitment to inclusivity is further demonstrated through her consultancy for impactful productions, like:

Sydney Opera House: “Hot Brown Honey”, “All About Women; Community Champions” “Homelands (collaboration with SSI and CuriousWorks)
National Theatre of North Parramatta and Griffin Theatre Co “Orange Thrower”,
Belvoir Theatre Co: “Black Brass”,
Darlinghurst Theatre Co (Sydney) / La Boite (Brisbane). Malthouse (Melbourne): “7 Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner”
Old Fitz Theatre: “Chewing Gum Dreams”
Belvoir St 25a “Snakeface”

She has done public programming for: Art Gallery of NSW, Open Inner West and STARRTS / MAV

And has built long term relationships with community organizations such as STARTTS, SSI, Blue Peony Foundation, Inner West Council, African Women’s Dinner Dance, Africultures Festival, CuriousWorks, DARTS to name a few.

She currently sits on the Board of African Film Festival Australia.

Kween G is an experienced cross- cultural communicator and facilitator, in demand as a host and performer. Kween G is an Afro-Australian icon, often described as ‘consciousness- raising.’ The Sydney hip hop artist released Sensible Rebel, an EP informed by her own lived experience and an interrogation of the current socio-political climate. You can catch Kween G with Senegalese master drummer & dancer, Yacou Mbaye, at Lazybones in Marrickville, in the Afro-fusion band Afrombollo.

Brooke Webb GAICD is Chief Executive Officer of Sydney Writers’ Festival. Over a 29-year career spanning Australia, North America, South America and the Middle East, she has led major festivals, theatrical productions and live events for some of the world’s leading cultural and entertainment organisations. Her previous roles include Artistic Director with Cirque du Soleil, Executive Director – Concerts and Touring at Universal Music in New York, Festival Producer at Sydney Opera House, Executive Producer of Woolworths Carols in the Domain and Festival Director of The Taste of Tasmania. In 2024, Brooke was appointed to the State Library of NSW Council.