Laura Strange is a multidisciplinary creative who loves bringing art, design and community together. With over a decade of experience in the health, arts and design sectors, she has worked as a visual designer, studio manager and creative producer. Now, she focuses on integrating the arts into health settings, advocating for creativity as a tool for connection, healing and engagement. Beyond her work in health, she has helped shape creative initiatives like IncStamp, St. Thomas Studio, Art-Work Studios and SOAP creative meetups. As curator of Creative & Connected, Laura hopes to design workshops that are playful, practical and educational – showing how art-making can help people de-stress, connect and support their mental wellbeing.

Hayley Stanich is a Gold Coast-based multidisciplinary artist, educator and wellness advocate passionate about using creativity for self-expression and healing. Her work blends intricate yet whimsical designs, celebrating colour, imagination and childlike wonder. Originally trained in biomedical science, Hayley turned to art to navigate mental health challenges, later founding Smilefully Art to inspire others. Through exhibitions, creative workshops and wellness-focused art experiences, she encourages people to embrace creativity as a tool for joy and connection. Currently studying a Master of Secondary Education, Hayley continues to expand her practice, fostering community through artistic exploration.

Kate Constantine (Konstantina) is a proud Gadigal woman of the Eora Nation and a neo-contemporary Indigenous artist. Through her practice, she reimagines the traditions of her Peoples’ dot painters, offering a modern narrative that invites all Australians to connect more deeply with First Nations Culture and identity.

As a direct descendant of the Gadigal, Kate is passionate about revitalising and honouring her ancestral language, stories, and cultural knowledge, much of which has been lost, silenced, or manipulated since colonisation. Her work is deeply rooted in connection to her Mob and their oral histories, interwoven with the findings of her academic research. Each piece she creates becomes a living document, a physical manifestation, of memory, history and ongoing cultural strength.

Kate’s distinctive style has earned her national and international acclaim. She is represented by galleries in Paris, London, Sydney, Melbourne and Margaret River, where her solo exhibitions have consistently sold out over the past decade. Her works have been selected as finalists in more than twenty major art prizes and featured at international art fairs, on television and in the collections of celebrities, top restaurants and corporate clients.

In recent years, Kate has expanded her practice into the public realm, transforming shopping centres, parklands, and office buildings with her signature contemporary designs. She creates bold works that continue to honour her culture, connect community and make space for stories that have always belonged here.

With his head in the clouds and his feet planted firmly on the ground, Claudio Kirac’s work investigating themes of nostalgia, shared experience and joy. 

Known for his bold use of color and expressive mark-making, he explores these themes through layered and energetic abstract paintings and portraiture, often drawing inspiration from nature, landscapes and gardens, as well as pop culture and the everyday.

Over a career spanning 25 years, Kirac’s work has found a home in prestigious collections including HOTA Home of the Arts, the National Library of Australia, the New York State Library and Louis Vuitton Asia Pacific, as well as in private collections worldwide. 

Recently, he was selected as the Jumbled Art Superstar (2024), recognised as a finalist in both the Harden Landscape Prize (2024) and The Darling Portrait Prize (2024), and featured in HOTA’s Gold Coast Triennial: Here & Now.

Michelle Le Plastrier is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on hand-built ceramics exploring identity, socio-political and environmental issues all in her signature candy coloured style.

Michelle teaches introductory ceramics across South-East Queensland and has exhibited and produced workshops for galleries, councils and businesses across Australia.

Michelle was an artist-in-residence through HOTA’s inaugural ArtKeeper program in 2021-22 and exhibited her body of work Dopamine Days at HOTA 2023-24. She won the Environmental Art Award at the 2023 Queensland Regional Art Awards and was a finalist in the 2024 North QLD Ceramic Awards at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery.