Led by creative director of internationally renowned, award-winning arts organisation Topology, this month Meeanjin-based musician, violinist, and advocate for cross-cultural artistic collaboration Christa Powell has launched a new groundbreaking approach to cross-cultural artistic collaboration.

The new initiative led by Powell transcends traditional tokenistic efforts and embarks on a path of genuine partnership and mutual learning – and it's getting great results.

As music has always been a pivotal medium for truth-telling, with First Nations artists like Archie Roach and Emma Donovan using it to express deep connections to country and culture, Powell wanted to build on this tradition, creating an innovative method that facilitates true collaboration, allowing First Nations artists to authentically express their narratives through music without imposing Western ideals.

"We take two different musical cultures, learn about each other and go to a third place together," she said.

"That's the way we view cross-cultural collaboration."

Since 2008, Powell has been perfecting this collaborative process, which she describes as meeting in a "third place" where cultures converge but retain their distinct identities.

This process is not about adapting First Nations musicians to Western music; instead, it's about creating a new, shared musical language that respects and celebrates both traditions.

One example of this approach was the "Three Generations, Three Songs" performance at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music on 3 August 2024.

The event showcased the stories of Palm Island through the voices of three generations of First Nations artists, accompanied by Topology's unique orchestrations, blending classical, jazz, hip hop, and reggae.

Growing up in a musical family with European heritage, Powell began playing the violin at eight and later studied with a Romani violinist in London.

In the late 1980s, she joined Brisbane's underground music scene with "Music and Heart for the Mind" and founded Topology, a genre-defying quintet.

Since 1997, Topology has released 16 original albums, toured extensively, and collaborated across art forms to create innovative music experiences.

In 2005, Powell has established an arts organisation around Topology, setting a ten-year vision.

Since then, Topology has become a broad-reaching advocate for creativity, aiming to create original music, connect artists, and enrich communities through shared creative adventures.

Powell developed a passion for cross-cultural artistic collaboration in her youth, having spent much of her childhood in the company of her cousin, Papua New Guinean-Australian drummer and percussionist Airileke "Airi" David Ingram.

Continuing this passion well into her adult life only felt natural for Powell.

Now establishing a groundbreaking approach to cross-cultural artistic collaboration which sees First Nations artists write original songs about their traditional and lived stories, Powell is proving just how powerful cross-collaboration can be.

The collaboration occurs in a safe environment created by Topology - with songwriting guided and facilitated by Yalanji & Bwgcolman singer/songwriter Deline Briscoe and performances enhanced by orchestrations created and played by Topology.

Powell has been involved in or overseen numerous cross-cultural collaborative projects with multiple standouts.

They include Normanby Station Creative Bootcamps, which were created as on-Country creative bootcamps held at Queensland's Normanby Station to mentor local emerging First Nations artists through the process of developing and recording new musical works.

The bootcamps have continued to be held regularly after first being held in 2008.

'Singing up Country' was a collaboration between Topology and First Nations musicians performed at the Sunshine Coast Chamber Music Festival in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

And next Month at the North Australian Festival of Arts (NAFA) in Townsville, 'Looking Forward, Looking Back' will celebrate the legacy of music and friendship shared by Slim Dusty and Australia's First Nations people.

The event will see original songs performed by emerging First Nations musicians, mentored and supported by acclaimed First Nations artists including Deline Briscoe, Jem Cassar-Daley and Emma Donovan.

For more fashion, beauty and lifestyle news subscribe for free to the Style Up newsletter.