Who we are:
Born from philanthropy and made with love
Created by community for community
SeedArts was founded in NSW Northern Rivers in 2018 by Jacqui Levy and Simone O'Brien, two professional contemporary circus performers, bound by a common passion for creating change through the arts, evidenced by over thirty years experiencing the power and benefits of social circus for communities across regional and remote Australia and East Timor.
SeedArts’ vision draws from and is shaped by the power of resilient, creative, communities. Our mission is to co-create socially-engaged arts experiences with, by and for regional communities celebrating local stories, people and places. We serve the people living on Bundjalung country by engaging local artists to work with Indigenous and non-Indigenous children and young people, and the communities in which they live. SeedArts co-creates projects with local artists and organisations using social circus, dance, visual arts, movement and site-based events. Our projects encourage participation and engagement in arts activities that promote social inclusion, collaboration and diversity.
We make art where we live, on unceded Bundjalung country. We pay our respects the three thousand generations of traditional owners, elders, artists, families and custodians who have been caring for country for over sixty thousand years.
Our Team
Simone O'Brien - Co-Artistic Director/CEO
Simone is a producer, director, teacher and performance maker, who has specialised in circus and physical theatre for over 30 years, with a fondness for making extraordinary work in ordinary places. In 2018, Simone co-founded SeedArts with Jacqui Levy, to create a community arts organisation focused on the Northern Rivers of NSW. Simone was Creative Director for Spaghetti Circus, 2014 – 2017. Simone’s recent work for SeedArts includes ‘The Xrossing’ writing, co-directing and producing a large-scale tightwire project celebrating Lismore as the birthplace of Aboriginal tightwire legend, Con Colleano.
Simone teaches physical comedy with Sprung!! Integrated Dance and has worked with the ABC TV, Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Arts Northern Rivers, Ghurrumbil Dreaming Indigenous Corporation, Roundabout Theatre, Splendour in the Grass, Bibi Bulak in East Timor (Asialink Residency), Circus Oz, Legs on the Wall, Force Majuere, Stalker and UTP amongst many others. Simone is interested in the intersection of circus and some other street.
Tora Crockford - Co-Artistic Director
Tora has a BA in Creative Arts and Dance from Deakin Uni and WAAPA. Her dance practice explores the deep expressive language of the body, seeing it as connective, revealing and socially regenerative. Her movement based practice is informed by range of Contemporary Dance and Improvisation techniques and embodiment practices.
Tora is passionate about designing and delivering socially inclusive and connective movement experiences and events, and providing dance and performance training for people with disability.
Tora has worked for Sprung Dance Theatre as creative facilitator, community programs manager and assistant director of Dance Education; performed with NORPA in the theatre in education programs; Autism Camps Australia and as a teacher and workshop facilitator at We Move Dance Studio in Mullumbimby.
Board
Fiona Toy, Treasurer is a seasoned professional with extensive strategy and development experience across a range of public and private sector organisations in Australia and abroad. In addition to her corporate experience, Fiona has also worked in arts administration, music supervision and independent filmmaking. She brings a unique blend of business skills to the cultural sector. Currently serving as Chief of Staff for boutique consultancy, The Partnership, Fiona is also pursuing postgraduate studies at Deakin University
Sarah Ma, Secretary I am currently the Operations Manager for Sprung Dance Theatre. My role is mainly consists of overseeing policies and procedures, HR and financial tracking.
I was the Programs and Operations Manager with the Byron Writers Festival, the major literary arts festival in Australia, for 13 years fulltime. During that time my role and responsibilities grew exponentially with each passing year, working with five different directors. I have contributed to the growth from being a three person organisation to its current state of seven arts workers and oversee a team of more than 30 contractors.
Prior to the Festival I worked as a travel agent at Jetset, Byron Bay where in addition to holiday and corporate travel arrangements, ticketing for the Byron Writers Festival while also managing the travel arrangements for over 120 writers.
I moved to Byron Bay from Sydney in 2003 to specifically work at the SAE College, I had been working in film and television prior to relocating.
Aleshanee Kelso is a graduate of Spaghetti Circus Mullumimby, 2006 - 2016, performing with Casus in Tolu Ma for Woodford Folk Festival. She graduated wit a BA in Circus Arts from the National Institute of Circus Arts and (NICA) 2017 - 2019. She has worked with A Good Catch Circus in ‘Casting Off’ at Brunswick Picture House and ‘Airborne’ at Borderville Festival, Albury. She has produced and co-founded 3 circus companies including:
Akin Circus - co-developed a show with Spaghetti graduates, toured around regional NSW to aged care homes etc. Performed at Splendour in the Grass Festival 2016, 2017; Statera Circus - co-developed our SYAI program supported by Stonnington Council, co-created and performed BOOP at Chapel Off Chapel, performed Adelaide Fringe 2021, 2022, and 2023, slow toured across regional NSW for three months 2023, co-developed our First Eyes program collaborating with Gasworks Arts Park 2021-2022; 13 EGGS - Trialed the SYAI program as a participant, co-created and performed Space Between at Chapel Off Chapel, was nominated twice for Best Circus at Melbourne Fringe, performed Adelaide Fringe 2024
Chelsea Jewell lives and works on the unceded land of the Yugumbeh Language Nation (Gold Coast) and is a graduate of the Byron School of Art’s three-year Contemporary Visual Art Program (2020-2022). In her emerging art practice, Chelsea leverages her background as an architect and designer, to expand on a spatial and structural literacy, exploring a rich affinity with line as object, surface, descriptor, and spectacle.
Chelsea has shown work regularly over the past three years on the Gold Coast and in Northern New South Wales. Since graduating from BSA she has been involved in numerous local arts events, performances and invitational workshops. Currently Chelsea is under the mentorship of Lincoln Austin (represented by Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane) and is collaborating with Geraldine Balcazar (performance artist & choreographer, Tweed Shire) on performative modes of practice for temporal multidisciplinary art works in the public realm.
Geraldine Balcazar is a contemporary movement artist, choreographer and mother artist.
She is the recipient of the 2023 Regional NSW Choreographic Research Fellowship from Critical Path. In 2023 she is collaborating with Ira Ferris and Stella Chen to explore what a new relationship to time offers her practice and a different way to make work. Asking, “Can time be decolonised while working with the body in performance?” What shifts/transformations in the individual and social body could occur through a shift; if we decolonise time and slow down - as an innovative approach to choreographic practice?.
Born in Chile with a history of Chilean Ancestry. Balcazar’s roots with Chile are strong, a place she feels ongoing connection and disconnection with. Her memories of the country she grew up in are alive, vivid and clear. In late 2022 Gabriela Green Olea invited Geraldine to share, connect and exchange with their living Chilean Ancestry in Gabriela's Ready Made Works Residency.
Tracy Durheim, Chair is an accomplished educator and project manager with deep expertise in analysing information and data to make informed decisions that positively affect student outcomes. With over 30 years’ experience in senior leadership positions in the private and public education sector, Tracy has been recognised by the Australian College of Educators for her contribution to school development and improvement.
As a founding member of SeedArts, Tracy believes small organisations can do unique and creative things that make a difference for others. Tracy lives and works on Bundjalung land and enjoys camping and walking on beautiful coastal tracks.