22 April 2025
The Helpmann Academy has awarded eight emerging creatives with a place in the 2025 Creative Innovator Program, a comprehensive initiative supporting creative entrepreneurs to launch their businesses.
We’re thrilled to introduce the incredible participants pictured above left to right: Adrian Mitton, Cameron Rutherford, Chelsie Morey, Tony Saad, Josh Juett, Kyle Davison, Claire McKay – pictured here with Jane MacFarlane (CEO, Helpmann Academy) far left and Andrew Leunig (presenter) far right. As well as Katherine Shierlaw (not pictured).
Working in a vibrant mix of disciplines—including ceramics, design, literature, film, illustration, fashion design, painting, and glass—this year’s cohort showcases the diversity and creativity of graduate artists in our community.
This initiative is made possible through the support of the Government of South Australia through CreateSA, and generously supported by the K&S Langley Family and Perks Accountants and Wealth Advisors. The Helpmann Academy Creative Innovator Program is an eight–month tailored program empowering participants to develop their business model and hone their entrepreneurial mindset. Each participant will receive $2,000 seed funding, matched one-on-one mentoring from an established artist, workshops and masterclasses delivered by leading business professionals, contact with a pool of industry experts and business advisors, access to a co-working workspace, and networking and pitching opportunities.
The program then culminates in an event where the recipient/s of the major seed funding are announced.
On Tuesday, we kicked things off with a Program Welcome at LK Law, where this year’s participants came together for the first time with a session on Business Model Innovation, led by leading local expert Andrew Leunig.
It was a fantastic opportunity for everyone to connect and learn about what the program has to offer them. We’re looking forward to sharing their progress, ideas, and creative projects over the coming months.
The full list of Helpmann Academy Creative Innovator Program participants for 2025:
Adrian Mitton (Flinders University) is a queer emerging visual artist from South Australia working with ceramics and floristry. His art explores the connections between pottery, plants, and people, drawing on history to make sense of the present. Adrian is especially interested in how form and glaze interact in ceramics, and he uses storytelling to give lasting shape to ideas that might otherwise fade. His work turns fragile, fleeting moments into permanent objects, inviting us to see beauty in both change and preservation.
Cameron Rutherford (Flinders University) is a speculative fiction writer and founder of Reed and Storm Editing, where they offer editing, sensitivity reading, and creative writing workshops. They’re also the editor of Woven Webs, an online (un)literary magazine. Cameron’s short stories have been widely published, including ‘The Culinarian’—shortlisted in the Best Australian Yarn 2023—and ‘The Art of Robotic Burger Flipping’, featured in Voiceworks.
Chelsie Morey (University of South Australia) is a mixed media illustrator, visual artist, and educator whose experimental style blends 2D and 3D, digital and traditional techniques. Influenced by magical realism, she reimagines urban environments to spark curiosity in the everyday. Recently, her illustrations have taken sculptural form in public artworks for the Stobie Pole Project 2024 and in wood and metal works created during her fab Studios residency, exhibited at the Adelaide Fringe 2025.
Tony Saad (Flinders University) is a multimedia professional with a passion for sound and storytelling, with over two years of experience in sound recording, editing, videography, and photography. He is skilled in capturing and enhancing audio to enrich visual narratives, with two years of podcasting.
Josh Juett (University of South Australia) is an artist living and working in Tarntanya, Adelaide. Working primarily as a painter, Josh explores relational dynamics and self-inquiry. Drawn to sombre Dutch still life paintings of the 1600s, his own exacting and technically precise paintings excavate his childhood recollections.
Kyle Davison (Flinders University) is an up-and-coming filmmaker and award-winning sound recordist from Adelaide. Since graduating in 2022, he’s collaborated with top-tier practitioners on various film projects. Known for his raw, impactful approach, Kyle is also an emerging director, with notable works including My Father’s Son, Therapy (fan–made), and his upcoming project Tag!.
Claire McKay (Flinders University) is a fashion designer and editorial stylist who works on magazines, film, TV, and advertising. With a focus on adaptive fashion, her designs combine avant-garde style with functional, inclusive design. Holding an Honours degree in Creative Arts [Fashion], her major creative work involved developing revolutionary 2D and 3D adaptive avatars, accompanied by an interactive eBook and adaptive fashion database
Katherine Shierlaw (University of South Australia) is an emerging glass artist working primarily in kiln–formed glass. Her layered works play with light and perception, exploring how we see ourselves and the world around us. Based on the Fleurieu Peninsula, she holds a degree in Contemporary Art and is Chair of the Victor Harbor Regional Gallery.
Helpmann Academy Creative Innovator Program is supported by the South Australian Government through CreateSA, K&S Langley Family, and Perks Accountants & Wealth Advisers, with special thanks to Square Holes and Andrew Leunig.
