“A fabulous, feminine force”
-S. Sadiq Ojibara
Writer.
Visual Artist.
Holistic Wellbeing Advocate.
Dorcas Maphakela is a South African-born Mopedi woman who got her first taste of the dynamic Australian creative culture in 2006 while based at Craft Victoria as an Intern in Arts Management. She ultimately relocated to Melbourne by choice in 2007 and became a citizen in 2012.
Dorcas is a multidisciplinary creative combining writing, visual arts and holistic well-being advocacy, to share knowledge and inspiration on living a full life. In response to an irrefutable gap between how people of African descent are represented in the Australian media and the potential of these citizens holding key influential positions, she founded the award-winning OZ AFRICAN TV (OATV) in 2016; a digital platform that celebrates African diaspora people in Australia. Through OATV Dorcas became the first African-born person to produce & present a lifestyle show on Australian TV.
At the 2019 C31’s Antenna Awards, OATV won an Outstanding Contribution to the Community by a Program award. Her work as founder, producer and presenter was acknowledged with a Media Award from the Victorian Multicultural Commission for “outstanding reporting on issues of importance to diverse communities and reporting which contributes to Victoria’s cross-cultural understanding” (VMC).
A dynamic doer whose interest in the creative industry led her towards the Film/TV industry; Dorcas has fulfilled an array of roles including but not limited to Director, Producer, Head of Department (Costume Dept.), Production Assistant, Production Researcher, Art Department personnel, Stylist and Actor.
Among many prominent TV/Film productions in South Africa and Australia, she also worked on the set of one of Australia’s biggest exports, Neighbours, for 7 years in the costume and digital department(s).
The University of Melbourne commissioned a team to co-create Screen Futures: Power and Lens, a subject designed to give students a solid basis to engage with creative and cultural practices that challenge the dominant values and practices of screen culture. Dorcas co-lectured this subject.
Some of her other recent work includes Creative Producer and Cultural Agency Manager at Multicultural Arts Victoria (MAV), Lead Mentor and Program Manager leading the African Australian Stream at AIME Mentoring, Creative Mentor at Testing Grounds where she provided professional and creative advice to art industry practitioner(s), Lead facilitating Artist at the City of Melbourne’s Signal working with creative young women to create a Talk Show. Others include Community Engagement Manager at C31 Melbourne and Geelong; a Victoria's non-profit, open-access community television station where she facilitated the development of outreach programs to better engage multicultural and under-represented communities as well as assist program makers to continue to produce content that is relevant to their communities and the wider Victorian audience.
Dorcas holds a Master of Arts (Writing) from Swinburne University of Technology and has studied for a Degree in Visual Arts from the University of Johannesburg.
Dorcas is a multidisciplinary creative combining writing, visual arts and holistic well-being advocacy, to share knowledge and inspiration on living a full life. In response to an irrefutable gap between how people of African descent are represented in the Australian media and the potential of these citizens holding key influential positions, she founded the award-winning OZ AFRICAN TV (OATV) in 2016; a digital platform that celebrates African diaspora people in Australia. Through OATV Dorcas became the first African-born person to produce & present a lifestyle show on Australian TV.
At the 2019 C31’s Antenna Awards, OATV won an Outstanding Contribution to the Community by a Program award. Her work as founder, producer and presenter was acknowledged with a Media Award from the Victorian Multicultural Commission for “outstanding reporting on issues of importance to diverse communities and reporting which contributes to Victoria’s cross-cultural understanding” (VMC).
A dynamic doer whose interest in the creative industry led her towards the Film/TV industry; Dorcas has fulfilled an array of roles including but not limited to Director, Producer, Head of Department (Costume Dept.), Production Assistant, Production Researcher, Art Department personnel, Stylist and Actor.
Among many prominent TV/Film productions in South Africa and Australia, she also worked on the set of one of Australia’s biggest exports, Neighbours, for 7 years in the costume and digital department(s).
The University of Melbourne commissioned a team to co-create Screen Futures: Power and Lens, a subject designed to give students a solid basis to engage with creative and cultural practices that challenge the dominant values and practices of screen culture. Dorcas co-lectured this subject.
Some of her other recent work includes Creative Producer and Cultural Agency Manager at Multicultural Arts Victoria (MAV), Lead Mentor and Program Manager leading the African Australian Stream at AIME Mentoring, Creative Mentor at Testing Grounds where she provided professional and creative advice to art industry practitioner(s), Lead facilitating Artist at the City of Melbourne’s Signal working with creative young women to create a Talk Show. Others include Community Engagement Manager at C31 Melbourne and Geelong; a Victoria's non-profit, open-access community television station where she facilitated the development of outreach programs to better engage multicultural and under-represented communities as well as assist program makers to continue to produce content that is relevant to their communities and the wider Victorian audience.
Dorcas holds a Master of Arts (Writing) from Swinburne University of Technology and has studied for a Degree in Visual Arts from the University of Johannesburg.
Image by @wild_hardt