Sonita Zainal was happily working at a local real estate agent and caring for her elderly mum when tragedy struck.

Jana Mourad has been a case worker for SSI but never thought she’d be a client.

Streamed via SSI’s YouTube channel, this year’s two performances will take place in November as part of SSI’s arts and culture program.

Along with a live performance from culturally diverse artists, audiences will be treated to behind-the-scenes, exclusive interviews that dive into the work, culture, minds and hearts of these major talents.

Event ambassador Shyamla Eswaran will be back to host the sessions. Shyamla is the founding director of South Asian fusion arts company BINDI BOSSES, a performance artist and a passionate advocate for culturally and linguistically diverse artists to be seen and heard.

Freedom Sessions origins

Freedom Sessions started in 2020 as a response to the pandemic to support culturally and linguistically diverse artists who were the hardest hit due to widespread cancellations of gigs, events and loss of income. It replaced SSI’s popular live event New Beginnings Festival when it was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to restrictions.

By popular demand, Freedom Sessions remains a key feature of SSI’s arts and cultural program today, with online events hosted annually that celebrate the artistic talent emerging from Australia’s multicultural communities.

Featured artists

Freedom Sessions 2022 with Putrika | November 18

Jakarta-born and raised Sydney-based music producer, singer and songwriter Putrika defines her music as alt-soul electronica with multi-layered vocals and synths, percussive drums and ambient soundscapes.

Her accolades include being named Independent Artist of the Week by FBi Radio (94.5FM Sydney) earlier this year. After the success of her two singles, Monologue (2021) and Rain on Tuesday (2022), she released her first EP, Silmara and will play both singles and other tracks during the one-hour performance.

In her session the artist will chat candidly to Shyamla about her early life in Jakarta, the music and sonic influences that shaped her talents, and her journey as a producer and solo artist. The conversation will also delve into Putrika’s migration experience to Australia and how exposure to the Sydney music scene has impacted her craft.

Sign up to the Facebook event for latest updates.

Freedom Sessions 2022 with Dyan Tai | November 25

Self-described as the Asian empress of the gay streets of Sydney, the second featured artist is Malaysian-born musician, performance artist and DJ, Dyan Tai.

Dyan Tai was recently awarded the prestigious 2021/2022 Generations Music Fellowship (by CreateNSW, Powerhouse Museum, Astral People) and shortlisted for Performance Space’s Queer Development Program.

He is described as a yin and yang blend of electronic music influenced by Asian instrumentation and culture, sonically paired with his expansive androgynous lithe vocals.

Dyan Tai will perform songs including Freedom, Unholy Monkey and Nightlife Medley at his Freedom Session. In between, he’ll chat to Shyamla about arriving in Australia as an international student and finding his tribe, and how he met and overcame challenges to write music in English and, eventually, to host events and radio shows.

Sign up to the Facebook event for latest updates.

How to watch Freedom Sessions 2022

These online performances are free so mark your diary now!

Freedom Sessions 2022 with Putrika

Friday, November 18 | 7-8pm AEDT | Sign up to the Facebook event for latest updates.

Freedom Sessions 2022 with Dyan Tai

Friday, November 25 | 7-8pm AEDT | Sign up to the Facebook event for latest updates.

Subscribe to SSI’s YouTube channel to watch the performances.

Freedom Sessions is an SSI initiative through its arts and culture program, run in partnership with the Australian National Maritime Museum.

It’s part of SSI’s commitment to fostering the creativity of emerging artists and sharing their talent with the broader community.

All Freedom Sessions are crafted in collaboration with each featured artist to provide a safe platform to share their work, views and lived experience on their own terms.

SSI also invites you to the New Beginnings Festival on Saturday, January 28, 2023. The impressive lineup will feature music and dance performances and a food and crafts marketplace that all celebrate the artistic vibrancy, cultural expressions and heritage of people from our diverse communities.

Afghan refugee Zabiullah Ahmadzai, a former NATO employee, recalls his first experience of Australia. Fearing for his family’s safety, Mr Ahmadzai left his home with five family members, arriving here in January this year.

Great brows don’t happen by chance, they happen by appointment! This could well be the catchline of Mary Logan’s fledgling business, Mary Logan Beauty.

A high-tech gaze-based communications device is making the world of difference to NDIS participant, Taylor Williams.

It was obvious from a young age that Tyler Stackman was artistic, but a chance meeting last year helped transform his talent into a business.

Mahsa’s death while in custody of the country’s morality police has sparked protests across Iran, as both men and women rally against a regime where a young woman can lose her life for failing to wear a hijab in public. These have fanned out to protests globally, as people around the world seek to stand in solidarity with the women of Iran.

As a social justice organisation, SSI has a deep commitment to human rights – to the right to live free from violence, oppression and discrimination. SSI stands with the women of Iran and supports their right to protest injustice and to seek to uphold their basic human rights.

Human rights are universal. They transcend race, culture and gender.

So what can we do to stand in solidarity with the women of Iran? We can educate ourselves about the situation unfolding in Iran. A great starting point is this article from Iranian journalist, Masih Alinejad. We can also use our voices – take to social media to show our support and to amplify the voices of Iranian women, including following the hashtag #Mahsa_Amini. You can also join some of the protests happening in your area.

We all have a right to live free from persecution. Those of us privileged enough to already do so have the right and responsibility to show we stand in solidarity with Mahsa, Masih and all the women of Iran in their fight for justice and equality.

When Ms Ong first married, her husband had a good job, played football and met his friends for occasional poker nights. He then started to bet online.

“In the beginning, it was harmless, just a little bet now and then,” she said. 

“But soon it became so frequent we didn’t have our nights together. Then I would catch him in the middle of the night, using two phones to place bets.”

Ms Ong is supported by Settlement Services International (SSI)’s  Multicultural Gambling Harm Prevention and Support Services (MGHPS).

The service is designed for those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and provides free support in-language to individuals, families and communities experiencing gambling harm in Victoria. Assistance includes one-on-one counselling, group therapy and community information sessions.

Ms Ong reflected how the family dynamic started shifting as her husband spent less time with the family and more time online.

“His moods began to change. He would lose money and not want to talk about it or win money and either spend it on himself or another bet. Soon he was deep in gambling debt.”

“He never wanted to talk about his gambling issue making me feel guilty, as though the problem didn’t exist, and it was all in my head.”

Ms Ong separated from her husband who continues to struggle with gambling.

Over the past two years, SSI’s MGHPS program has worked with 24 different community organisations across Victoria in 18 different languages, including faith communities and international student support groups, to help educate and raise awareness about gambling harm.

The theme of this year’s Gambling Harm Awareness Week is ‘Could gambling be affecting your wellbeing?’.

SSI Therapeutic Counsellor Jaynelle Samuels said that it’s important for stories like Ms Ong’s to be shared more widely.

“During Gambling Harm Awareness Week, we want people from diverse backgrounds to discuss the issue of problem gambling and the harms it can cause within our communities. We hope others speak out and ask for help.”

Individuals or families living in Victoria can access SSI’s Multicultural Gambling Harm Prevention and Support service on 1800 329 192 or via gamblingharmprevention@ssi.org.au. All calls are free and confidential.

If you live in another state, you can visit Lifeline’s problem gambling webpage or call on 13 11 14.

*To protect identities, pseudonyms have been used.

Arriving in Australia as a refugee last year, Hamid Ahmad Sarwary knew firsthand how hard it can be to settle into a new country.