Let’s Talk…The Arts with Guyala Bayles
This week on Let’s Talk…the Arts, Rachael talks fashion, beauty, and Blak power with the extraordinary artist, poet, actress actresor, model, and singer/rapper artist, Guyala “Lala” Bayles.
Guyala Lala is a proud Birri Gubba and Wonnarua woman born on Yuggera country in South Brisbane, where she currently resides with her partner and family.
From her earliest years, Guyala Lala knew she wanted to be a model; that she wanted a chance to “show the world just how beautiful Aboriginal people and culture really is.” When she’s not walking catwalks or shooting for designer labels, Guyala Lala is a dedicated community organiser and activist, passionate about self-determination, land rights and justice for First Nations people.
In this chat, Guyala Lala and Rachael dig into the dark sides of the fashion industry, the challenges and joys of working as a model, and the importance of centering sovereign Blak voices & bodies in the arts. And they talk about the radical political power of Blak artists, and a long tradition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people using creative tools to assert their sovereignty & refuse colonisation: from the bookstore, to the stage, to the catwalk.
