Amanda Sutherland is a Tasmania-based artist, actor and creator whose work explores visual art, theatre, storytelling and lifelong creative discovery.

Curiosity Has Always Been the Constant

If there is one thing that has shaped my life, it is curiosity.

Long before I thought of myself as an artist, I was someone who enjoyed asking questions, learning new skills and working out how things fit together. Whether I was creating costumes and props, solving business challenges, exploring technology or experimenting with creative projects, I was always driven by a desire to understand how things worked and what might be possible.

That curiosity continues to guide everything I do today.

I am a Tasmania-based artist, actor and creator whose work spans visual art, theatre, storytelling and creative experimentation. While these areas may appear very different on the surface, they are connected by a shared interest in learning, exploration and personal growth.

Learning Through Different Chapters

My professional journey began in the business world.

In 2009, I graduated from the University of Southern Queensland with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBAd). Over the following years, I worked across administration, business operations, systems development, project management and community organisations, helping people transform ideas into practical outcomes.

For more than three decades, I built experience in problem-solving, planning, communication and supporting others to achieve their goals.

Although creativity was always present in my life, I viewed it as something separate from my professional identity. Looking back, I can see that creativity was already influencing the way I approached challenges, developed solutions and connected ideas.

I just had not recognised it yet.

Returning to University

Returning to university in my fifties became a turning point.

I am currently studying a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a Theatre and Performance major at the University of Tasmania.

What began as a decision to learn something new quickly became an opportunity to re-examine how I saw myself and the role creativity had always played in my life.

Studying visual art and performance has encouraged me to embrace experimentation, develop new skills and give greater value to the work I create. It has also reinforced something I continue to discover through both art and life: growth rarely comes from certainty.

More often, it begins with curiosity.

What I’m Exploring Now

Today, my creative practice includes painting, theatre, acting, storytelling and creative experimentation.

Through my theatre studies, I have also developed a growing interest in lighting design and sound design. While acting places me on stage, lighting and sound allow me to help shape the audience’s experience from behind the scenes. Together, these disciplines have deepened my understanding of how stories can be told through performance, atmosphere and creative collaboration.

Alongside my creative studies, I continue to undertake selected business and community projects, including the production of corporate video content. These projects provide another opportunity to combine storytelling, communication and technical skills while helping organisations share their own stories and ideas.

I am particularly interested in the process of learning through making. Rather than focusing solely on finished outcomes, I enjoy exploring how skills develop over time and how creativity can become a tool for discovery.

Current projects include:

• The Aurora Project, an ongoing painting series documenting artistic growth through repeated interpretations of the same image.

• Theatre and performance work developed through my Fine Arts studies at the University of Tasmania, including acting, lighting design and sound design.

• Corporate and community storytelling projects using video, creative content and digital media.

• Creative projects that explore curiosity, experimentation, self-acceptance and personal growth.

You can explore more of my current work through the Creative Practice page and The Aurora Project.

Across all of these projects, I continue to ask the same question:

What becomes possible if we allow ourselves to try?

Where I’m Headed

I am currently building a creative practice centred around art, performance and storytelling while continuing to draw upon the knowledge and experience gained through a long career in business and community work.

Rather than seeing these experiences as separate paths, I see them as different chapters of the same story.

Each chapter has taught me something valuable about learning, resilience, creativity and connection.

My long-term goal is to create work that encourages curiosity, sparks meaningful conversations and helps people see new possibilities in themselves and the world around them.

I do not know exactly where that journey will lead.

And that is part of what makes it exciting.

After all, half the fun is in the trying.