Annette Shun Wah (born 26 March 1958) is an Australian

freelance writer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

, director, actress, and broadcaster. she has an extensive career in the Australian screen and performance industries, particularly in television, film and theatre. Since 2013, she has been executive producer of the Contemporary Asian Australian Performance at

Carriageworks Carriageworks is a multi-arts urban cultural precinct located at the former Eveleigh Carriage Workshops in Redfern, New South Wales, Redfern, Sydney, Australia. Carriageworks showcases contemporary art and performing arts, as well as being use ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Early life

A fourth-generation

Chinese Australian Chinese Australians () are Australians of Chinese origin. Chinese Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Chinese diaspora, and are the largest Asian Australian community. Per capita, Australia has more people of Chine ...

, Annette Shun Wah was born in

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

, Queensland. She has an interest in Chinese Australian history, and her family's narrative is included in the National Archives of Australia (NAA) collection, ''Family Journeys,'' and featured on their website.

Career

Early in her career, Shun Wah produced and presented for a number of television series on the ABC and SBS. These include '' The Noise'', ''

Eat Carpet ''Eat Carpet'' was an Australian television series aired on SBS from 1989 to 2005. It premiered alongside '' MC Tee Vee'' and ''The Noise''. Each hour-long episode consisted of up to a dozen short films shot by amateur directors or film studen ...

'', ''

The Movie Show ''The Movie Show'' was an Australian film review program which was broadcast on SBS TV. Its history is divided into three parts, until it finally wound up in 2008. History The programme commenced on 30 October 1986 with David Stratton and Mar ...

'', '' Studio 22'', '' Media Dimensions'', and ''The Big Picture''. As well as television, she has appeared in a range of films, including documentaries. Her role in Clara Law's 1996 film '' Floating Life'' as a Chinese wife of a German national in Germany won her a nomination for an AFI Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. In addition, she was a writer and director for ''China Heart'', a mobile phone application and website that provided insight into the heritage of Sydney's Chinatown through a love/mystery narrative. Since 2013 Shun Wah has been Executive Producer with Asian Australian professional arts company, CAAP ( Contemporary Asian Australian Performance), which is resident at Carriageworks arts centre in Sydney. CAAP was formerly known as Performance 4A (which was created in 1997 along with Gallery 4A Note: This information is given in the audioclip, a few minutes in.), and is unique in generating opportunities for development and support for

Asian Australians Asian Australians are Australians of Asian ancestry, including Naturalization, naturalised Australians who are Immigration to Australia, immigrants from various regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants. At the 2021 Australian census, 2 ...

in the performing arts. CAAP was incorporated in 2004, and Shun Wah was a key member of its management committee until 2013, when she became the company's Executive Producer. Shun Wah is an active commentator on diversity issues in Australia's entertainment industry, and has been a keynote speaker at various academic and community conferences. In May 2020, Shun Wah was appointed director of the OzAsia festival in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, taking over from Joseph Mitchell. The festival in November 2020 was cancelled owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Australia. In 2021 it went ahead from 21 October to 7 November, though some shows were cancelled due to COVID-19.

Publications

Shun Wah's writing has appeared in several anthologies, including '' Growing up Asian in Australia'', ''Grandma Magic'', and ''Come away with me''. She has also published, with Greg Aitkin, a book on Chinese-Australian cuisine entitled ''Banquet''.

Awards and appointments

* Executive producer, Contemporary Asian Australian Performance (CAAP) (2013–present) * Board member,

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in the Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Theatre ...

(2018–present) * Artistic director,

National Theatre of Parramatta The National Theatre of Parramatta is a professional theatre company based in Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Syd ...

(2015-2017) * Nominated for an AFI Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for ''Floating Life'' (1996)

References

External links

Contemporary Asian Australian Performance (CAAP)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shun Wah, Annette 1958 births Living people People from Cairns Australian people of Chinese descent Australian film actresses Australian television actresses Australian children's television presenters Australian women television presenters