Australian South Asian Centre

03/08/2026

Nayonika and Anusha, two of our members got to see S. Shakthidharan and Eamon Flack’s The Jungle and the Sea at Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney last week. Here’s what they had to say.

And while the play’s time in Sydney has come to a close, it’s now heading to Melbourne Theatre Company from 14 August to 12 September. So make sure to grab your tickets.

P.S. One of the many excellent perks of being an ASAC member is that we often get invited to see South Asian theatre makers and artists at work. Nayonika and Anusha were the ones who put their hands up for this one. If you want in, make sure to head to the link in our bio and join Australia’s best club 🫶🏽

17/07/2026

When was the last time you saw a list of entrepreneurs in mainstream media that has 75%+ women on it?

I never have.

I’m so over the moon to see this list feature over 75% women. I’m even more stoked that 20 entrepreneurs on this list are members + supporters of Australian South Asian Centre and several who are former finalists from our Stellar South Asian Women Awards that we ran for 4 years.

We’ve been working hard behind the scenes advocating and amplifying women of colour, especially South Asian women who represent such a large % of our community here yet are under-represented.

Having worked in the startup accelerator space for 6 years, there is such an emphasis on celebrating valuations and venture backed “tech” businesses yet so many self funded good businesses get overlooked (many go on to scale significantly, but at a more sustainable pace for the founder). Small businesses make a massive impact, reach thousands of customers and deserve celebration and this list doesn’t overlook them.

A shout out to Himangi Singh the journalist behind this piece who made it her mission to search for more women and proactively reached out to us contribute. And to our amazing volunteer committee who keep the wheels turning at ASAC Sehar Gupta Rumali Kularatne, Navpreet Kaur & Priyanka Kaur

17/07/2026

We’re so stoked about this!

We’re looking for storytellers, poets and spoken word performers who are interested in performing at Brown Women Comedy at Melbourne Fringe this year.

After 2 years of shows this will be our debut at the fringe. We couldn’t possibly just choose one date so of course we said why not do 5 shows, 4 will be predominately in English and 1 will be in Urdu/Hindi/Panjabi (for the first time!!)

Expressions of interest are open and *closing on 27th July* and show dates are *October 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 15th & 16th.* link in bio

Tag someone you think should apply.

14/07/2026

Saris, suits and legengas carry history, weddings, borders that got redrawn, and a lot of cultural commentary (as do womens bodies).

This Saturday we’re getting into all of it.

Join us for the Sari Soiree, part of The Offbeat Sari exhibition at Bunjil Place 📍 Narre Warren. Three women who’ve built their careers around South Asian fashion, Huda Cadekiwala (Qaim), Priya Ravindra Kalyanimath (Punar) and Srishti Nagpal (Veira Boutique), sit down for a conversation on each of their fashion businesses, diving deeper into history on what Partition actually did to how we dress, exploring the idea of owning vs renting and how it relates to status and ethics / sustainability - why we should be asking for makers to be paid fairly.

Moderated by Devni Vihara an award winning advocate and creator focused on gender equality, colourism and equity.

10am exhibition opens
2pm - 3pm panel conversation
3:30pm - 5pm workshop by Lajeen Artistry on how to drape a sari, Haffsah is a renowned makeup artist and stylist

We’ll also have a lovely photographer Sanya | Melbourne Photographer with us to capture the afternoon, so come wearing your favourite South Asian wear. Bring along your mother, aunty, sister or friends.

Registrations are open and free, we have capacity for the panel though the workshop is fully booked. Curated by Australian South Asian Centre

Join a panel at Bunjil Place, Fountain Gate exploring South Asian fashion, including saree styling and contemporary trends.

16/06/2026

The Offbeat Sari is worth checking out - it’s on every day (except Monday) till 30 August at Bunjil Place 📍 Narre Warren and it’s free.

We’ll be hosting a special public panel on 18 July during South Asian Heritage Month exploring 3 womens evolving relationship with South Asian fashion, sustainability and identity.

We’ll also explore pre-partition textile history and shared South Asian clothing culture that borders later fractured. Register at the link in our bio.

📸 Article by Angelica Silva for ABC.

12/06/2026

We’re looking for bold, funny and smart women of colour who are interested in learning how to do stand-up comedy in a very supportive environment over eight weeks.

You will be taught by the formidable Annie Louey who has performed at several international comedy festivals and makes regular appearances on television with guest teachers in improv Hayley Tantau and clowning Mel McGlensey and your hype girl Daizy Maan ਡੇਜ਼ੀ

Registrations are open for only two more weeks or until all the places are filled. There are exactly five spots left and we’re super keen to have more women from the City of Casey apply. Whether you live, work, or volunteer in the City of Casey - you’l be eligible for a special scholarships thanks to our partners at Bunjil Place 📍 Narre Warren City of Casey (Official) .

Forward this to all the hilarious shameless women of colour you know - we’re here to back them to take up space.

29/05/2026

Our member Sita Sargeant took her mum to go see The Supposed to Be at as part of .melbourne

“This was the first time in my life (and in my mother’s, as she confirmed) that I had seen the story of a Tamil woman in Australia told on a stage.

When we don’t put these stories on our stages, we don’t just close a door on the future; we decide these aren’t Australian stories, and the people in them aren’t quite Australian either.”

In this review, she reflects on the experience.

27/05/2026

I seriously love hearing these stories from our members! Building a community takes time, consistency and showing up - these stories of genuine connection make it so worth it.

Congratulations to on launching 👏🏾 we’ll always be here cheering you on.

29/04/2026

Did you know we have a membership offering? There’s a reason we’ve lasted 5 years. Membership means we can be sustainable but also it’s jam packed with value. Here’s a sneak peak of what’s coming up and we’re curating a few more intimate gatherings over the next 3 months that will be announced in our WhatsApp group 🫶🏽

21/04/2026

Where ambition meets heart. Where brown women building big dreams come together to break bread, build bonds, and open doors for one another. Whether you’re a long time Australian South Asian Centre (ASAC) member or just joined and craving connection - you’ll find your people here.

Hosted by

📍 Godby Hotel at 6:15pm on 12 May

Limited to 8 people
Registrations essential
Link in WhatsApp group