New York USA
YOUTH & WISDOM MELODIE WAGNER from our Y&F team sits down for a conversation with MI-KAISHA MASELLA a young artist full of talent, wisdom and grace.
community, both in church and in the Indigenous community, I wouldn’t have been afforded many of the opportunities I have had to explore, develop and have fun with my creativity. Ultimately, my creative journey is a result of others’ generosity.
This interview took place in January 2020 and was originally published in Issue 2 of Artists Still Live Here Magazine. Melodie: So, you’re a key part of the City Campus and are well-loved in our Youth and Young Adults community. For anyone that hasn’t had the opportunity to meet you yet, would you tell us a bit about yourself and what you do?
Melodie: In 2019 you moved to New York City to study at the prestigious Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. Tell us what it was like uprooting life as you knew it and pursuing your dream?
Mi-kaisha: My name is Mi-kaisha Rose Masella, but my friends call me Kaisha or just Kaish. I am 20 years old. I am a Sydney girl, born and raised. My mum is Darumbal Aboriginal and South Sea Islander, and my dad is from Tonga. I am a singersongwriter and love learning and studying. (I’m currently completing my undergrad degree majoring in Music and minoring in Indigenous Studies).
Mi-kaisha: It was always my dream to study at Clive, but I’m a homebody and love my family and community in Aus so deeply, which made leaving a super bitter-sweet experience. Something about moving to the other side of the world is that you’re almost completely disconnected from everything you’ve ever known and it’s just you, God and a very big city with a lot of strangers. The most beautiful (and challenging) part about moving to NYC was having all the ‘things’ stripped away. I felt God constantly asking me, ‘Who are you without all of the labels? Without all of the worldly things that you often identify with?’ It forced me to truly surrender and grow into a new level of dependence on God that I believe can only come from those
Melodie: What has your creative journey been like and how did you come to be the promising young creative you are today? Mi-kaisha: I stand on the shoulders of giants and can wholeheartedly say that without my 76
