Because We Can: Every Story Belongs
My name is Kelly Drummond Cawthon, and I am the Creative Director of Second Echo Ensemble.
Kelly Drummond Cawthon performs in Relâche: The Last Dance on Earth. Photo by Jesse Hunniford
Every day, I have the privilege of witnessing something extraordinary - people discovering their voice, claiming their space, and creating art that changes how we see the world.
At SEE, we believe you can’t be what you can’t see. Visibility matters. Respect matters. Autonomy and belonging matter. Because when you walk into a studio and see artists leading their own creative journeys - people who have been told too often what they can’t do - and you watch them do it anyway - it changes everything.
Mentoring, in this space, isn’t about teaching from above. It’s about walking alongside. It’s about learning together, sharing risk, celebrating courage and holding space for every kind of brilliance to emerge.
Paul McPhee and Kelly Drummond Cawthon in The Adventures of Peacock, Chicken and the Pony They Rode Upon. Photo by Pete Mellows.
I was a Tasmanian kid who loved to dance - the kind who turned lounge rooms into stages and dreams into choreography. My parents believed in me, even when others didn’t quite see where art could take a kid from here.
I was fortunate. I had support. But as my world grew, so did my awareness.
The stages I danced on were full of people like me.
And I couldn’t help but ask, ‘where was everyone else?’ That question became my compass.
After a professional career across the world, it led me back home to Lutruwita/Tasmania and Second Echo Ensemble, a place where the arts look and sound like the world we actually live in. Where people of every background, every body, and every story can take the stage - not because someone made room for them, but because they belong there.
A scene from The Adventures of Peacock, Chicken and the Pony They Rode Upon. Artists from left to right include: Oliver Williams, Lady Kylie Heart, Paul McPhee, Kelly Drummond Cawthon and Dave Montgomery. Photo by Pete Mellows
When we performed at the Sydney Opera House, I looked around and thought, ‘we are here because we can’. Not because we were invited as an act of charity or inclusion, but because we earned our place as artists. We went there as equals, with a story that only we could tell.
Second Echo Ensemble has always been about more than art. It’s about building a culture of radical equity, where art is the vehicle for belonging, respect and transformation. Every donation keeps that door open. It keeps artists on the floor, stories in motion and dreams visible for the next generation to see.
A scene from Relâche: The Last Dance on Earth, performed by Second Echo Ensemble as part of their 20th Anniversary Season. Pictured left to right are SEE artists Nicole Simms-Farrow, Elise Romaszko, Willam Webster, Kelly Drummond Cawthon, Dave Montgomery, and Anna-Maria Väisänen. Photo by Jesse Hunniford.
Because every story counts. Every artist matters. And we all belong.
So please, if you believe in a world where everyone can take centre stage, donate to Second Echo Ensemble today. Help us keep creating, mentoring, and making visible the truth we live every day:
“We went to the Opera House because we can - and because every story counts.”
Every Story Counts. This #AusArtDay on 23 October, you can support artists shaping the future of Australian arts. Your donation - big or small - helps Second Echo Ensemble sustain bold, artist-led work that brings together artists with and without disability. Every contribution fuels collaboration, touring, and performances that celebrate visibility, connection, and belonging.
Second Echo Ensemble is proudly supported by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, the Tasmanian Government via Arts Tasmania, the Department of Social Services, our donors and volunteers. Our internet partner, Aussie Broadband, keeps us connected, while GoTransit Media Group supports the marketing of our 20th Anniversary season.
#EveryStoryCounts #CreativeAustralia
