The Motherless Collective (MoCo) is comprised of Stone Motherless Cold (Arrernte, Stone Turner, she/they/re), Cerulean (Meriam Mir, Caleb Thaiday, they/them) and Mora Money (Wiradjuri, Elijah Money, he/him).
Emerging from 2019, this drag collective is entirely First Nations Trans/Gender non-confirming; they have been reclaiming space throughout the ever expanding drag scene. Drag is in dire need for Blak queer representation which MoCo provides while offering a wide range of refreshing acts. Each drag performer presents their own personal styles - an amalgamation of their art, history and Blak perspectives on popular
culture. Having worked on a series of collective projects over the years, the trio also collaborate in a variety
of ways whether it’s helping out backstage, creating artwork for an event, mixing audio tracks or MC-ing an opening night. This dynamic group This dynamic group are multi-faceted in their talents and endeavour to continue growing together for many years to come.
Caleb Thaiday
Caleb Thaiday (they/them) aka Cerulean (she/they) is one of Naarm/Melbourne’s most dynamic and vibrant drag performers bringing a cloud of excitement and pleasure to the stage. As the reigning winner of the national Miss First Nation pageant in 2021 and the Supreme Queen pageant at Sydney World Pride 2023, she’s set to propel her way into shaping the future of drag. With 4 years of drag under her belt, this full-time drag queen has performed and hosted at various festivals, clubs and community events around the nation. Caleb was a Producer and Production Coordinator at ILBIJERRI Theatre Company supporting the health works travelling into regional community centres, venues and prisons, focusing on community engagement, healing, education and health awareness, addressing issues such as family violence, HepC and trauma. They also produced the two streams of workshops for emerging writers through Blackwrights and young First Nations actors (14-24y) through the ILBIJERRI Ensemble.
Elijah Money
Elijah Money aka Mora Money (he/him) is a queer Wiradjuri brotherboy who was raised on Kulin Nations where he continues to reside. His broad creative practice includes visual art, writing, MC, workshop facilitator, drag performance and more. These are all ingrained with strong recurring themes of colonialism, assimilation, gender, mental illness, sexuality, climate change, stolen generations, identity as well as critiquing the Eurocentric western idealised structure that each person in so called “Australia” is forced to maintain.
Stone Turner
Stone Turner aka Stone Motherless Cold (she/they/re) is an Arrernte Sistergirl, born in Mparntwe in 1998. After living across so called australia, they emerged in the Naarm arts industry, with Stone Motherless Cold, their drag persona. They engage in performance art, visual art and writing. With drag as their main medium, they use the queer artform to reflect on their experiences and identity as an Arrernte Sistergirl, while centered around the values of Blak love, Blak joy, Blak rest and examining different presentations of drag. As a drag and events producer/programmer, they create spaces that centre and highlight Blak excellence and/or trans and queer artists. In 2020, she joined ‘the People of Cabaret’. A Naarm based organisation, designed to uplift and support other artists of Colour in the cabaret sector. On the executive council, she conducted consultations with producers, artists and creatives in the arts industry to work on developing safe spaces for Indigenous, Bla(c)k and People of Colour within their projects.
