Culture Club: Get To Know Tamara Montina

Tamara Montina is helping shape Adelaide's creative scene. As a writer, creative producer and co-runner of Opinionated Club, she's building community and creating space for people to connect, share ideas and make things happen. We catch up to talk book recs, her perfect day and making time for her own work while helping bring other people’s ideas to life.

Tell us about your creative practice. What do you do?

I'm a writer and creative producer based on Kaurna Yerta. I co-run Opinionated Club, a grassroots initiative focused on championing Women of Colour creatives and allies through community events like reading groups and coworking sessions. I sometimes dabble in writing screenplays and creative non-fiction, conducting interviews and curating festivals!

What inspired you to start Opinionated Club?

Opinionated Club was co-founded with Olivia De Zilva, a stellar local writer, to connect with local writers and readers during a time when third spaces were having a resurgence. As a Filipino-Australian who grew up in a predominantly white setting, I was constantly seeking bubbles of community. After noticing the absence of safe spaces for people of colour and allies, I decided to work with my network to create something tangible and accessible. Through its evolution, I've discovered that Opinionated has become a conduit for connections between like-minded strangers across an expanse of creative practices, not just the literary scene. The conversations I have had with women (who I would have never met otherwise) is something that will continuously energise me to do more on a grassroots level.

As a creative producer, you’re shaping ideas into stories that connect with people. What do you think makes an idea resonate with an audience?

I think great ideas speak to the human condition and familiarity. Nobody wants to feel othered, so you deliver a message through conveying a feeling that is accessible to the general psyche: joy, grief, or anything in between. It's a shared experience. Storytelling has always been necessary for connection, however, we've now shifted from a verbal to visual vehicle to express and interrogate ideas together! Ultimately, I think paying attention to cultural moments and understanding how discourse can play a part in media reception is key to resonating with any audience.

Alongside producing, you're also a writer. How do you make time for your own creative practice, and where do your ideas usually begin?

As a creative who has frenetic and often impulsive momentum for motivation at times, I've realised that establishing rituals in my daily life has been the most rewarding conditioning to maintain my personal practice and sanity. I'm still developing this fine-tuned rhythm of work and play (as a true sceptic of 'work-life balance') and will often succumb to working on my creative projects as my five-nine after my nine-to-five. Inspiration attacks me from all angles! I often want to create after I've experienced or consumed a great piece of media or artwork, whether it's a film, a photograph, an Instagram reel, a poem or a conversation.

If you were curating the perfect day in Adelaide, what would it include?

A slow morning at Sani Bakehouse with an iced Earl Grey matcha and enough time to work on my writing; a sneaky stroll between shelves and an impulsive purchase at Dymocks; a generous restock of incense sticks at Three of Cups Teahouse; a happy happenstance of bumping into a friend I haven't seen for a while in Rundle Mall; enough time for a nap before grabbing dinner in the Rundle Street East foodie hub and wrapping up the night with intense karaoke and soju.

If you could put one book into everyone's hands this year, what would it be and why?

Without a doubt, Sick Note by Olivia De Zilva needs to be in everyone's hands. With poem titles like 'An ode to the G10', 'M Doubtfire' and 'Li Shang', it’s an incomparably clever, offbeat and culturally rich collection which speaks to Olivia's unique command of words and storytelling.

Stay up to date with Tamara @tamaraamontina and @opinionatedclub.