Carly Sheppard chosen for ACCELERATE

In September, Melbourne dancer and choreographer Carly Sheppard was announced as one of five outstanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts professionals to be chosen as a 2015 participant for the British Council’s annual leadership skills development programme, ACCELERATE.

In its sixth successful year, ACCELERATE provides Indigenous Australians working within the creative industries with the skills and networks to generate, take up and excel in leadership positions. The programme is aimed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders from across Australia who have at least five years’ experience in the creative industries and can demonstrate a bold vision for where they want to take their career and their community.

Sheppard, an emerging performance artist who studied at NAISDA Dance College and the Victorian College of the Arts and Music, will join other participants—Marcus Corowa (a musician from New South Wales), Emma Loban (a visual arts and museums curator from Queensland), Teegan Cowlishaw (a fashion designer from Western Australia) and Angela Flynn (a producer and arts manager from South Australia)—to travel to the United Kingdom for professional placements and mentoring.

Speaking about ACCELERATE at a special celebration held at Sydney’s Carriageworks in early September, IndigenousX creator Luke Pearson said, ““I believe that with opportunity comes responsibility. I see the ACCELERATE recipients as links in a chain – they have a great opportunity to go out and develop their skills on a global level but it is also important for them to then support the others that will follow them.”

Sheppard and the other four ACCELERATE participants recently participated in a leadership intensive led by visiting U.K. expert Mark Wright of People Create. This sought to enhance their understanding of their own leadership styles, as well as provide them with the practical skills necessary to develop their career pathways.

Choreographer, writer and 2014 ACCELERATE participant Jacob Boehme said the programme gave him a clearer sense of direction. “The ACCELERATE experience offered me time to really listen to myself and determine exactly what my truth is. It provided me with an opportunity to review and identify my goals, accessing steps and strategies to achieve them. I was guided to honestly examine limiting behaviours that were sometimes preventing me from standing in my truth.”

British Council Director Helen O’Neil stated, “Over the past five years, ACCELERATE has attracted some of the most diverse and talented individuals from the arts sector. Each year, we see participants successfully using their ACCELERATE experience to flourish in leadership positions, and I’m sure this year will be no exception. Marcus, Carly, Emma, Teegan and Angela are incredibly accomplished future leaders and we are extremely proud to welcome them to the ACCELERATE cohort.”

Lydia Miller, executive director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts at the Australia Council, said, “Indigenous cultural leadership deserves recognition and support because keeping culture strong is one of the most challenging, rewarding and universally important human endeavours. We are pleased to collaborate with the British Council in building this international relationship for creative and cultural leadership for Indigenous Australians.”

For further information, visit www.accelerate.org.au.

Photos: Carly Sheppard dancing and with the other ACCELERATE participants. Photos courtesy of Articulate PR.