Five young Aussie women to inspire you

Not just because it’s International Women’s Day. You can be inspired on another day if you like.

Sally Rugg

As Executive Director of Change.org, Sally is extremelyonline. She’s always working hard to ensure Australians can fight and win thepolitical battles that matter to them (before her current role, she led GetUp’smarriage equality campaign for five years). There are about a million awards onher mantelpiece for championing human rights and LGBTIQ rights and… hang on, aren’tthey the same thing? Anyway, here’s herTwitter, which is both informative and funny.

Moreblessing Maturure

Actor/writer/activist/model/slashie, Moreblessing founded FOLK Magazineto showcase Australian artists of colour and their work. As a writer, sheutilises various forms of linguistic expression ranging from poetic, dramaticand analytical writing. But her performing arts experience goes beyond thepage, encompassing devising, performance directing and producing. Oh, and advocacy,too – she’s always working to improve the state and nature of representation inour media and entertainment industries.

Issy Phillips

If you’re looking to get into comedy, Issy’s work is ripefor you to plagiarise on open-mic nights. It synergises contemporary cultureinto comedy and explores themes of the internet, youth politics and Australianidentity. It’s also really funny, which is important in a comedy show. Here’s her Insta, so you can lookat her photos and, like, see when her show ASMR is on (May 15 and 17 at the Sydney Comedy Festival).

Angelina Arora

Remember when you were 11 and found out single-use plasticbags were terrible for the environment and got real mad and maybe made a posterabout it? Well Angelina went a bit further than most of us, sustaining her rageand channelling it into the search for a better solution that would balanceconvenience with conservation. She developed a new toxin-free plastic made outof waste products such as discarded crustacean shells, which decomposes 1.5million times faster than conventional plastics. Yeah, and she’s 16.

Lupa J

A classically trained violinist turned electronic producerand songwriter, this Sydney-based artist has been making music for audiencessince she was 15. More recently (she’s 21 now), Lupa J has performed with Banoffeeand Grimes. Here’s her latest:

And here’sher Insta.