JOSIPA DRAISMA

Josipa Draisma is an award-winning and critically acclaimed multidisciplinary artist, writer, theatre-maker, creative producer, and cultural leader. Her work spans contemporary theatre, music, cabaret, visual art, film, and improvisational comedy, and is grounded in a fierce commitment to equity, originality, and collaboration.

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Josipa holds an MFA in Cultural Leadership from NIDA and is the 2023 recipient of the Lynne Williams AM Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cultural Leadership. She also holds an MFA and BCA in Performance and Music with Distinction from the University of Wollongong. Her extensive training includes performance and vocal pedagogies in Australia, the UK, and New York, with leading practitioners in Improvisation, Bouffon, Clown, the Uta Hagen method, and the Ivana Chubbuck Technique. She is an alum of IETM Campus, Playwriting Australia’s Directors Studio, Improv Theatre Sydney, 16th Street Actors Studio, Movement Theatre Studio NYC, HB Studio NYC, and AFTRS.

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As lead artist, Josipa has developed and performed original live performance works across major venues and festivals including Melbourne Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival, Adelaide Fringe, Perth Fringeworld, Sydney Fringe Festival, Riverside Theatres, Casula Powerhouse, The Art House Wyong, Orange Civic Centre, Chatswood Concourse, and Melbourne Cabaret Festival. Her work Ljubičica – Wild Violet was awarded Best Music Show at Sydney Fringe Festival. She was also selected by Sydney Comedy Festival as a Best Emerging Comedian under their FRESH Artist program.

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Josipa is the founder and Artistic Director of In Wild Company, an independent music-theatre company creating bold, female-driven stories and reclaiming marginalised histories. In 2023, she co-created and led the company’s co-presentation of The Hen House, a critically acclaimed rock musical about migrant female factory workers. Described as “original and eclectic” (Artshub) and “bold, hyper-intelligent, moving and fun” (Sydney Morning Herald), the show was developed with a powerhouse team including PYT Fairfield, Sime Knezevic, Mara Knezevic, Anthea Williams, Isabel Hudson, Emma Saunders, and Zeljko Papic.

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In 2024, Josipa undertook two major creative residencies: at Campbelltown Arts Centre, developing Diva, a contemporary musical interrogating ageing, ethnicity, femininity, and pop music culture; and at Griffin Theatre as a Griffin Studio Artist, where she wrote her new play In Echoes under the mentorship of acclaimed playwright Mary Rachel Brown. Griffin Studio is one of Australia’s leading professional development programs for theatre-makers shaping the future of the national arts landscape.

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Beyond her artistic practice, Josipa brings over 15 years of leadership across government, commercial, and community arts sectors. She has delivered content for major broadcasters including ABC, Disney Channel, ITV Studios, and Essential Media, and led significant cultural programs and infrastructure projects for Create NSW and other arts institutions. Her experience spans project and partnership management, artist development, and policy-informed strategic planning.

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A fierce advocate for cultural equity, Josipa’s research on systemic barriers faced by culturally diverse women in arts leadership was recognised with the Lynne Williams AM Award. She is currently developing INTERSECT: The Multicultural Women in Arts and Cultural Leadership Summit, a national initiative to drive sectoral change and expand leadership pathways for women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in Australia’s arts and cultural sectors.