Reflections of Home

Artist Bios

Laura Case is a proud Wiradjuri woman and lecturer in musicology at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She completed her PhD at the end of 2023 and is passionate about using music to reframe Indigenous histories and reclaim Indigenous knowledge. Laura is a classical violinist with over 25 years of performing and teaching experience. She has performed with pioneering Indigenous hip hop artist Rhyan Clapham (DOBBY), Aboriginal country singer Uncle Roger Knox and is a member of Deborah Cheetham Fraillon's Ensemble Dutala - Australia's only Aboriginal chamber ensemble. In 2024, Laura performed on stage with Ensemble Dutala at the annual Garma Festival in East Arnhem Land.

Kaleena Briggs-Smith is an Indigenous Australian singer and songwriter, renowned as one half of the acclaimed duo Stiff Gins, alongside Nardi Simpson. Born in Melbourne, Kaleena hails from the Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta peoples of southern New South Wales and northern Victoria. Formed in 1999, Stiff Gins have garnered recognition for their unique blend of stunning harmonies and insightful songwriting. They have released several albums, including "Origins" in 2001 and "Kingia Australis" in 2005, both showcasing their deep connection to their cultural heritage.

Ellatronix is the sonic alias of Thalia Skopellos, a First Nations composer, music producer, and sound designer crafting soul-infused electronic music that explores healing, emotion, spirituality, and transformation. Blending textures, ambient soundscapes with synth-driven and cinematic atmospheres, she creates compositions that awaken the senses and stir the soul. Ellatronix composes for screen, immersive art spaces, audio visual productions, and solo projects, using sound as a bridge between storytelling worlds.

Nicole Smede is a multidisciplinary artist of Warrimay and Irish ancestry, living and creating on Wadi Wadi Dharawal Country. Working across sound, voice, poetry, and installation, her practice explores the interrelationship between land, language, and memory, guided by ancestral knowledge. Through immersive soundscapes and poetic works, she invites deep listening as a form of connection and return to Country.
Her compositions have been commissioned by leading festivals and ensembles including Canberra International Music Festival, Ensemble Offspring, and River City Voices. Her voice features on award-winning soundtracks such as Goldstone and Black Cockatoo Crisis, and her poetry appears in Guwayu: For All Times and Australian Poetry Journal, amongst others. In 2025, she premieres Nyiirun Yiiga, a mass choral work in Gathang language, and presents her solo exhibition Bagandha yanggamba-ngga at Shoalhaven Regional Gallery. Nicole is a member of Mudjingaal Yangamba choir, and her works are held in national collections.

Peta Strachan is a descendant of the Darug people, Booroberongal clan, of New South Wales. She became a member of the celebrated Bangarra Dance Theatre in 2000, appearing in the Opening Ceremony for the Olympics Arts Festival, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and dancing in Skin, Corroboree and Walkabout. Since leaving Bangarra Dance Theatre, Peta has worked as a freelance Performer, Choreographer, and Dance Teacher, and a Designer for costumes, props, and scenery. Her extensive credits include: Sydney Dreaming Festival, Rugby World Cup, Sydney Swans Reconciliation Match, Canberra’s World Leaders Conference, Woodford Dreaming Festival, various Woggan-ma-gule ceremonies, the opening of the Musée du quai Branly in Paris, the launch of Jannawi Dance Theatre, and the Utzon Memorial Ceremony.

Matthew Doyle is a Muruwari/ Yuwalaraay Performing Artist , Born on and raised on Gadigal and Dharawal Lands in Sydney. I am a Dancer Yidaki player, songmaker and teacher of Cultural knowledge. I've performed all over the world at many major events and I'm passionate about both Cultural revival and maintenance particulary here in Sydney. My current role part time is the Uncle in Residence at NIDA.