FAMILIAR FACE
Your kids will know Zindzi Okenyo as one of the presenters on Play School, or perhaps as the narrator of children’s series Hoopla Doopla. But if you’re a bit older, you might know her for her RnB/hip hop career, performing as simply Okenyo.
As she works on her upcoming album, Okenyo has released a new single, Eyes to the Sky, which she describes as being about navigating ambition and striving to achieve.
And it is a fitting theme for the 33-year-old actor and musician, who has worked hard to achieve a great deal in a very short space of time, rising to become one of the country’s most recognisable faces – and voices.
Okenyo spent her formative years in Hobart, attending The Friends’ School before auditioning for the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) at 17, graduating from the prestigious Sydney drama school at the age of just 21.
After gaining valuable experience on the Sydney theatre scene, Okenyo auditioned to be a Play School presenter in 2012 and was thrilled to learn she had won the role, which is still considered to be one of the most prestigious gigs on Australian television.
And in 2013 she released her first musical single Broken Chest, following it up with a string of RnB/hip hop tracks, including the acclaimed Woman’s World, which was released in 2017 and garnered widespread praise for its themes of female empowerment and breaking gender stereotypes.
She has played gigs with Santigold and Billie Eilish, played at Splendour In the Grass and Sydney’s VIVID, and recently supported Christine and the Queens on her National tour.
Her latest single, Eyes to the Sky, is a potent tribute to her indomitable work ethic and a rallying cry to those who dream of big things, giving yourself permission to strive.
“Work hard, play hard and give it your best shot so you can look back and know you put everything into your endeavours.
“It’s easy to dream but you gotta hustle to make the dream a reality and sometimes the only person standing in your way is yourself.
“Also finding the right support from your team, family and friends is paramount.”
Okenyo is based in Sydney but her family still lives in Tasmania and she treasures her connection to the island.
For more information about Zindzi Okenyo and her latest single, visit her website at okenyo.com or listen to her music - including Eyes to the Sky - on her Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/ user/okenyo
NEW PAINTINGS
Jeff Raglus
Penny Contemporary
187 Liverpool St, Hobart Until February 7 Wednesday-Saturday 11am–4pm
Jeff Raglus has a distinct, recognisable style that he’s playing been with and refining for decades. There’s a surreal whimsy mixed in with a mutated 1950s aesthetic at play across this show, where there’s a hint of oddness, but only in the most playful sense. Raglus uses pastels that echo the kind of colour schemes one used to find in linoleum kitchen settings or on those cool old Laminex table tops — there’s something familiar about it all, but Raglus deploys his tones and exaggerates his forms just enough for a decent comic effect. There’s a strong sense of design underpinning everything — Raglus clearly knows his palate very well — but there’s also a very confident ability to really stretch out what he can do with the tools he has. This is assured work that knows exactly what it wants to do and be.