Creative Director Kelly Drummond Cawthon shares her response regarding the future of the Australian Cultural Policy, calling for a shift from rigid systems and sector silos towards interconnected creative ecosystems. Drawing on regional, disability-led and community practice, she argues that culture is not simply an industry, but a way of understanding, imagining and shaping the world.

Second Echo Ensemble artist Elise Romaszko shares her response to the National Cultural Policy consultation, calling for a shift beyond inclusion towards genuine cultural leadership. Her submission explores access, regional practice, community-led art and the role disabled artists play in shaping Australia's creative future.

Second Echo Ensemble’s submission to the National Cultural Policy consultation argues that the future of Australian culture depends on more than inclusion. Drawing on over twenty years of disability-led and regional arts practice, the response calls for investment in access, workforce development, community-led practice and cultural systems that recognise artists as leaders and authors of change.

When Second Echo Ensemble’s artist Elise Romaszko and creative director Kelly Drummond Cawthon returned from Canberra after a national consultation, around equity and the future of Revive, they reflected on the experience and what it means for disabled artists and arts workers.

What does Radical Equity actually look like? Second Echo Ensemble’s General Manager, Jude Abell describes SEE’s purpose as both an insider and an outsider.

Right now, our film Relâche – The Last Dance on Earth is screening at the Liminal Dance Festival in Washington, D.C., placing a disability-led Tasmanian work on an international stage. There’s a myth in the arts that progress is a ladder, a hierarchy to when people should be given opportunities based on assumed experience or time served. Emerging to mid-career to established. But a practicing artist or arts worker knows the process doesn’t move in a single trajectory or skill set. It connects us.

The National Director of Arts and Disability Network Australia says there will be no more decisions about us without us.

Article by Sarah-Mace Dennis, Arts Hub

After a milestone year, SEE is taking the time to listen, breathe, and let the next works emerge through care and conversation. 2026 is about the foundations -  the artist development, partnerships, and slow-built trust that shape everything we create. Here’s what’s growing next.

Tilley, musician and artist used the used the residency to work on the development for a future touring, collaborative show, creating a space for people to be with grief in community, guided by music and art. To gather material for the project, she invited ten artists and community members in to share about their experiences of grief in conversation.

At Second Echo Ensemble, art isn’t just what we make, it’s how we live. Creative Director Kelly Drummond Cawthon reflects on visibility, courage and belonging, why representation on stage matters, and how radical equity is built through shared creativity. Because when every artist can take the stage, every story counts.

Ursula Woods shares why it’s hugely important to support independent artistry. She reflects on how dedicated space, time, and resources enable artists to take creative risks, build new work, and contribute to a thriving arts community.

Nicole Simms-Farrow reflects on why it matters to keep artists on the floor at Second Echo Ensemble. From collaboration to bold new ideas, she shares how time in the studio gives artists the chance to experiment, connect, and create work that pushes boundaries.

Michael Fortescue reflects on the role of artists to inspire and provoke. He shares how Second Echo Ensemble creates work that challenges perceptions, sparks dialogue and invites audiences to see the world through new perspectives.

Elise Bagorski is an emerging talent evolving their practice through stage management with Second Echo Ensemble. Their experience highlights how supporting new artists to develop their creative and technical skill contributes to unique opportunities and purpose.

The Peacock, Chicken and the Pony They Rode Upon. Review by Anica Boulanger-Mashberg, Stage Whispers, 27 September 2025

Anica Boulanger-Mashberg is a Hobart-based writer, editor and reviewer.

Photos by Pete Mellows

From Fine Arts student to cosmic costume maker – Lou-anne Barker shares her journey from UTAS industry placement to building spinning solar system headpieces for The Adventures of Peacock, Chicken and the Pony They Rode Upon. Her story captures the collaborative heart of Second Echo Ensemble’s creative process.

Twenty years ago, a small performing arts company was born in Tasmania. It brought together people with and without disability, eventually evolving into a community program within a theatre company that prides itself on exceptionalism.
Danielle Kutchel from Link Disability Magazine reports.

It's called Second Echo Ensemble (SEE).

Annalise Haigh beams as she shares her pride in working on The Adventures of Peacock, Chicken and the Pony They Rode Upon. As a self-described ‘backdrop diva,’ she loves moving sets and keeping the show alive alongside artists with and without disability. Performing at the Sydney Opera House, Annalise proves that true confidence comes from stepping forward and shining together.

Nicole, Dave and Annalise from Second Echo Ensemble step boldly onto the world stage in The Adventures of Peacock, Chicken and the Pony They Rode Upon. Together with Midnight Feast and composer Mia Palencia, they’re taking their Tasmanian-grown creativity to the Sydney Opera House for the first time - showing what’s possible when local artists dream big.

Performer Nicole Simm-Farrow shares what it means to bring The Adventures of Peacock, Chicken and the Pony They Rode Upon to life at the Sydney Opera House. From the freedom to be truly herself to the power of collaboration across Second Echo Ensemble and Midnight Feast, Nicole reflects on the creative courage and radical trust that have shaped this bold, joyful production - and how standing on one of the world’s great stages validates a life spent staying true to her art.