Georgia Corowa - Singer
She was brought up within the congregation of the Assembly of God Church in Bowen, where singing in the choir, alongside the elders of the community, gave her a passionate and intense belief in song as a moral force for good.
Born in Maryborough in Queensland, Corowa moved with her family further north to Bowen when she was a child. The dominant key in Corowa's life is her adherence to, and love of, the church.
"The elders, the aunties and uncles, were my first influence," Corowa says. "I wanted to find out what it is about that, the nature of how they sing. They don't sing just to sing, but because they need to. They sing the spirit, and it's part of healing, coming from a real place. "It taught me that you connect when you really believe what you are singing."
She had the opportunity to develop her skills not only in singing and dancing, which she loves, but also in acting by finishing a 3 year course at ACPA in Brisbane. As part of the course, Corowa appeared in a production called Reflections, which took as its starting point the 1967 referendum for the Aboriginal right to vote. That show was directed by Leah Purcell, who is a resident director with ACPA. Having Purcell as a mentor has given the young singer "permission to say, you're allowed to succeed."