Emma-June Curik (she/her)

Emma-June Curik is a theatre-maker, director, and creative producer working across live performance, disability arts, and access advocacy. With a background in music theatre from NIDA and a BFA (Drama) from QUT, her work weaves together storytelling, music, and accessibility to explore themes of rest, resilience, and the nuances of lived experience.

Her practice is inherently collaborative — grounded in co-creation with D/deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent communities — and defined by a desire to transform conventional spaces into inclusive environments for connection, reflection, and possibility. She is particularly drawn to the in-between spaces: between artist and audience, between sleep and wake, between rehearsal and revelation.

In 2023, Emma-June premiered Sleep and the City at the Undercover Artist Festival — a cabaret work based on her lived experience with narcolepsy. Dreamy, melodic, and imaginative, the piece exemplifies her unique approach to performance-making: one that values inclusion, emotional resonance, and play.

As a creative producer, she has worked with organisations including HOTA, Placemakers*, Queensland Music Festival, and Aha Ensemble. Her work across these roles often involves delivering access training and support, and advocating for more inclusive creative processes across public programs and festivals.

Emma-June describes herself as curious, collaborative, and a little bit cheeky — a self-proclaimed theatre nerd who thrives on process and possibility. Through this program, she hopes to generate bold ideas, deepen her collaborative network, and push her practice further into unconventional and accessible realms.

Her favourite places to unwind on the Gold Coast include lakeside walks at HOTA and the breezy coastline of Kirra and Coolangatta — places where inspiration can move slowly and softly.