Associate Artists 2025
Geelong Arts Centre is thrilled to announce Bron Batten and Keziah Warner as this year’s Associate Artists.
Now in its second year, this industry leading artist development initiative will support Bron and Keziah to develop their new performance-based work, engage in an intensive period of research and to share their new work or project with local audiences and beyond.
Under the program, both artists will receive more than $40,000 in financial support including an artist fee and budget towards their project to engage mentors and collaborators or for other project expenses, as well as an allowance towards travel and accommodation.
KEZIAH WARNER
Keziah is a playwright and dramaturg. In 2025, her play WHAT’S YOURS will premiere at Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre, which was developed as part of their Ink new writing program. She will also continue to develop POSSESSIONS, her commission for the National Institute of Dramatic Art.
Previously, she has won Sydney Theatre Company’s Patrick White Playwrights Award, been nominated for an AWGIE Award, shortlisted for the Shane & Cathryn Brennan Prize, the Griffin Award, the Martin-Lysicrates Prize, the Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award, the Max Afford Award and the Lysicrates Prize, highly commended in the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards and longlisted for Soho Theatre's Young Writers Award.
Her writing credits include: HOUR OF THE WOLF (Malthouse, 2023), NOSFERATU (Malthouse, 2023), POONA (Next Wave, 2021), CONTROL (Red Stitch Actors Theatre, 2019), HELP YOURSELF (MTC's Cybec Electric, 2019), LUNA (VCA, 2019), and HER FATHER’S DAUGHTER (Hotel Now, 2018). NOSFERATU and CONTROL are published by Currency Press.
Keziah has worked as a dramaturg across independent and mainstage theatre. She is currently New Work Associate – Script Development at Malthouse Theatre.
BRON BATTEN
Bron Batten is a multi-award-winning performer and theatre-maker who creates contemporary performance in collaboration with non-artists and audience members.
Her work has toured throughout Australia, New Zealand, the USA, France, the UK, Germany, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Romania and has been presented at venues and festivals such as The Soho Theatre London, Komedia Brighton UK, Summerhall Scotland, The Neo-Futurists Chicago, The Prague Quadrennial, Performing Arts Festival Berlin, RISING, Darwin Festival, Brisbane Festival, Dark MOFO and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Past works include Waterloo (2019); Onstage Dating (2016); The Hole (2015); Use Your Illusion (2014); The Dad Show (2014); Sweet Child of Mine (2011) and The Last Tuesday Society (2008-15).
She has received Australia Council support and fellowships from the Ian Potter Foundation to undertake professional development in Zurich, New York, Chicago, Avignon, London, Glasgow and Hong Kong and in 2015 Bron was an artist in residence at the Cite des Arts Internationale in Paris.
Most recently, Bron has been an instrumental contributor and performer in major festival works OH DEER! by APHIDS and Multiple Bad Things by Back to Back Theatre.
