Sam Cook

An Australian arts and entertainment professional now USA based, Sam Cook is cross-artform practitioner, educator, arts manager and leader in Indigenous Arts. A retired musician, she was the Director of The Dreaming Festival and a programmer of the Woodford Folk Festival. Artistically, Sam is a playwright, writer, visual artist and graphic designer. Administratively, Sam started working in Aboriginal publishing, ahead of becoming the CEO of a leading Aboriginal Theatre Company Yirra Yaakin, before launching her company The KMBAgency. Recipient of the UK Arts Council Fellowship in 2007 and 2011, winner of National Aboriginal Youth of the Year in 1999 and Broome Aboriginal Artist of the Year in 1998, Sam was the founding Aboriginal columnist for Artshub and Tracker, founder of Australia’s Blak History Month and co-founder of a multi award-winning tech start-up Kaltja (pronounced Culture). Sam is passionate about positive disruptions to elevate underserved communities and in 2015 led a significant social change movement #SOSBLAKAUSTRALIA. She from the Nyikina Nation and grew up in a small remote Aboriginal community in Western Australia. www.kmbacreative.com