Helen Musa OAM

Helen Musa is an art journalist and critic. She is currently the arts editor for the Canberra CityNews magazine.

Over the years, Helen has worked tirelessly in the arts space. She studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and started working in theatre arts and lecturing in drama.

She transitioned into arts journalism beginning as an editor of the now-defunct Muse magazine in the 1990s. From there, she went on to work for for 11 years at the Canberra Times as the arts editor before moving on to the same role at CityNews.

Helen is also the founder and convenor of the Canberra Critics Circle and a consultant at the Asia Pacific Journalism Centre.

In 2015, she was recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours and presented with an Order of Australia Medal for her service to the performing and visual arts as a critic and magazine editor.

Helen is the mother of ANU alumnus and award-winning author, poet and rapper Omar Musa (BA Hons '06).