Messengers Tutors

Penny has many years of experience in the government and non-government arts and community sectors and has worked at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre for over 5 years as the Messengers Manager. She studied at the ANU School of Art in painting, printmaking, glass and book making and brings these skills when tutoring in the classes. She now combines both her passions for the arts and the community sector in the Messengers Program. Penny values the capacity for art making to heal and encourage social interactions and community building and brings this philosophy to the Messengers Program. She enjoys the energy and creativity of today’s teenagers and young people and looks forward to the world they will create in the future.

Kelsey has been with the Tuggeranong Arts Centre for five years and as youth support worker for the Messengers Program she is responsible for engaging and supporting young people through the program. Kelsey holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a major in Counselling from the University of Canberra. Recently she completed her fourth-year psychology thesis at the University of New England in which she investigated emotional intelligence and formal help-seeking for anxiety disorders.  In Messengers, Kelsey works creatively to engage young people back into their communities, build support networks, address challenges, and encourage young people to reach their goals. Kelsey is passionate about working with and empowering young people who experience mental health issues to reach their goals and she appreciates the powerful positive impacts that the arts have on personal wellbeing and mental health recovery. 

Sui Jackson is a mixed-media visual artist who is driven by a desire to express the natural world in a mass-produced environment, often using found or recycled materials and industrial processes to create pieces in glass, paper, print, cast metal and ceramic. He holds a Bachelor of Visual Art (Glass) from the Australian National University and has exhibited his work in Australia, Shanghai and Singapore. He has many years’ experience teaching visual arts to people of all ages.

Bryce was a participant of the Messengers program for two years as a teenager and has been further developing himself as an arts assistant in the program. Bryce is an emerging artist specialising in printmaking, painting, drawing and mixed media street art.  In 2018, he was the recipient of the Rotary Youth Art Award. As part of Tuggeranong Arts Centre, STILE Mentorship Program he developed and facilitated two successful street art workshops with young people in Woden.

Blaide is excited to be the Woden Arts Officer and is committed to creating community led accessible arts experience to enrich audiences in the Woden district. This will be achieved through community workshops, exhibitions, performances and pop up events with local artists to create a vibrant and dynamic exchange with residents and businesses. Blaide is looking forward to hearing the voices of the Woden community where they can share their stories and create positive experiences. Blaide is an artist who works across a range of mediums. She is interested in creating an accessible multifaceted arts experience where audiences are often invited to participate and generate the evolution of the work. Since finishing a Bachelor of Visual Arts at the Australian National University in 2003, Blaide has worked at the National Gallery of Australia.