Sasha Kutabah Sarago is a Wadjanbarra Yidinji, Jirrbal and African-American woman.
A former model, Sasha grew frustrated by the invisibility of multicultural women in fashion and media. In 2011, she founded Ascension, Australia’s first digital lifestyle platform for women of colour. As a speaker, Sasha raises awareness around culture, diversity and equity in the business, media and lifestyle sectors.
Sasha’s TEDx talk, ‘The (de)colonising of beauty’, was selected as TED.com 2021 Editor’s Choice and has fuelled her passion for redefining beauty and sparking conversations around femininity and womanhood from a First Nations woman’s perspective.
As well as appearances on NITV Awaken ‘Black Is Beautiful’, SBS Insight ‘Growing Up Mixed Race’, and ABC TV’s The School That Tried to End Racism, Sasha has featured in BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, 10 Daily, Sydney Morning Herald, Frankie and Fashion Journal magazines and her writing has been published in the Guardian and SBS Voices. Sasha has also written and directed the documentaries Too Pretty to Be Aboriginal and InsideOUT, which premiered at the Melbourne Women’s Film Festival 2020.
Her first book Gigorou, published in 2023, explores First Nations Beauty and Womanhood. In a time where the patriarchy obstructs women from the divine feminine, and sexism, racism and ageism violate our sovereignty, Gigorou invites us to explore the interconnectedness of Aboriginal culture to resolve our relationship with beauty and ourselves.
Talking Points
Authenticity is the Blueprint
Sasha Kutabah Sarago knows the challenges of turning frustration into inspiration. In 2011, Sasha launched Ascension - Australia’s first digital lifestyle platform for women of colour. Stepping into the world of entrepreneurship without a blueprint, Sasha shares her start-up journey, taking you behind the scenes: how to turn passion into solutions, having the audacity to take up space and creating a business that evolves with you.
Authenticity is the Blueprint
Set Your Pace. Win Your Race.
Is the story you're telling yourself letting someone else set the pace in your life or business? We can get swept up in the day-to-day operations of our business or simply trying to balance our sense of self, family and relationships.Set Your Pace. Win Your Race.
The stories we tell ourselves profoundly impact what goals we create and the pace we set to achieve them. But if they are not authentic and do not serve us, why do we possess them?
Video
Pretty Hurts: It’s time to decolonise beauty | Sasha Sarago
You’re too pretty to be Aboriginal” is a shocking statement Sasha Sarago experienced at a young age. In this talk, Sasha shares how she reclaimed her femininity and Aboriginality by redefining beauty. By challenging our concepts of beauty through the eyes of a First Nations woman, she asks - does beauty liberate you, or is it time to decolonise beauty? Sasha Kutabah Sarago is a proud Wadjanbarra Yidinji, Jirrbal and African-American woman. Sasha’s traditional Country spans from Atherton Tablelands, Daintree to Tully, known as the Bama (Rainforest People) of Far North Queensland. A former model, Sasha Sarago, grew frustrated by the invisibility of multicultural women in fashion and media. In 2011, Sasha founded Ascension - Australia’s first digital lifestyle platform for women of colour. As a speaker, Sasha raises awareness around culture, diversity and equity in the business, media and lifestyle sectors. Sasha has appeared on NITV Awaken, SBS World News, SBS Insight, ABC News Breakfast, in the Sydney Morning Herald, Frankie and Fashion Journal Magazines. With articles published in The Guardian and SBS Voices. Sasha is also a filmmaker, writing and directing documentaries Too Pretty To Be Aboriginal and InsideOUT which premiered at the Melbourne Women’s Film Festival 2020.
