ANDREA JAMES is a Yorta Yorta/Kurnai woman and graduate of VCA. She was Artistic Director of Melbourne Workers’ Theatre 2001-2008, where she is best known for her play Yanagai! Yanagai! The play premiered at Playbox in 2004, was remounted in 2006 and toured to the UK. Relocating to Sydney, James was the Aboriginal Arts Development Officer at Blacktown Arts Centre 2010-2012 and Aboriginal Producer at Carriageworks from 2012-2016. She was a recipient of British Council’s Accelerate Program for Aboriginal Art Leaders in 2013 and was awarded Arts NSW Aboriginal Arts Fellowship to write a play about Wiradjuri tennis player Evonne Goolagong. James performed in and co-wrote Bright World with Elise Hearst by Arthur Productions at Theatreworks April 2015 and directed her play Winyanboga Yurringa at Carriageworks and Geelong Performing Arts Centre in August 2016. Her short play Blacktown Angels premiered at Sydney Festival 2016 for Urban Theatre Project’s Home Country. She was a collaborator in Moogahlin Performing Arts’ Broken Glass which she performed in at the Sydney Festival in 2017. Her most recent work is a play entitled Bukal for JUTE Theatre that tells the inspirational story of Yidinji woman Henrietta Fourmile Marrie.
