Myki Jay / Artlands 2023

Arts worker, activist and storyteller Myki Jay is an intersectional transgender and non-binary artist based on the Widjabul Wiabul land of the Bundjalung people. At the age of 25, Myki has worked for the past eight years as an independent artist, event producer and project manager. Starting as a musician in 2017 as ‘Myki Jay’, Myki has performed alongside notable Australian folk artists such as William Creighton and Isobel Caldwell. Now also performing as Meraki Mae, myki has been nominated for the environmental music prize alongside notable Australian musicians Midnight Oil, Tash Sultana, Mo Ju, Flume and more.

Growing up in regional Australia (Lismore, NSW) Myki has a huge passion for supporting and uplifting regional arts. In 2019 as Meraki Mae at age 21, Myki recorded their debut album aiming to employ only artists from their region. This project employed over 20 musicians of all ages based in Lismore and surrounds and was released in 2021. In 2020 Myki founded a small production collective called ‘By Candlelight Concerts’, a series started to help support struggling regional artists and create intimate, alcohol-free spaces that were accessible and community focused. Currently working as the Place making officer for the Lismore Regional Gallery Quadrangle, Myki works with musicians and artists across the region of the Far North Coast to create new art opportunities for practitioners and the broader public. Myki’s work is focused on the intersection of uplifting diverse voices including First Nations and LGBTQIA+, captivating, and inspiring youth to be involved in and develop new bodies of work, creating sustainable work opportunities for musicians in regional Australia and activating both public and private spaces that work to empower their community.