Meet Emily Wells: a proud, Meanjin/Brisbane-based Kamilaroi woman and one of the 12 To Watch as an emerging playwright and producer who has worked in and around theatre and contemporary dance.

 Emily is passionate about using performance to spur conversation around and bring attention to First Nations matters. Emily also finds great joy in helping other First Nation artists to excel in their creative process pursuits.

 In 2019, she was selected for the Playlab theatre year-long script development program Sparks, and from there wrote her first play Face to Face – which premiered at Metro Arts West End in March this year. Face to Face is an intimate drama about two Indigenous women navigating the distress of disconnecting from Country and coming face to face with criticism from your community, your family, and – above all – yourself.

 As a producer for BlakDance, Emily has worked at length with First Nations choreographers across Australia. She has collaborated with local First Nations festivals, organisations and companies such as Digi Youth Arts, the ILBIJERRI Theatre Company and Karul Projects, where she led the world premiere of SILENCE: the first Indigenous contemporary dance work to be commissioned by Brisbane Festival.