An interview with Grace: ENDOVIT Fest pioneer
A woman in chronic pain, paving the way for artists and audiences living with Endometriosis.
Happening on the 23rd of November, at 2pm sharp is ENDOVIT Festival, an all-inclusive music event, accessible to people living with endometriosis (endo). Independently founded in Naarm/Melbourne, circa 2024, by endometriosis sufferer-survivor Grace. The conception of ENDOVIT was driven by a deep frustration at the lack of diverse, accessible and supportive spaces surrounding chronic health. ENDOVIT Fest '25 is being held at the iconic Thornbury Bowls Club, a community-led venue that follows the festival's grass-routes energy.
The lineup features:
The Vovos · ViperSnatch · Annie & The Make Believe · Crushed Lavender · Operation Karma · Winksy · Clit Split · EN.V
@_crushedlavender @vipersnatchband @winksywinksywinksy @thevovos @clit_split @operationkarma @annieandthemakebelieve
Grab tickets for ENDOVIT Fest here.
ENDOVIT fests continuous championing of widespread awareness for endo is creating an online community for those that need refuge and solidarity. This interview shares with you the raw, real-life effects endometriosis has on a person's life, showing Grace's extremely complex battles within the medical system.
Endometriosis is not only a chronic health issue, it is a chronic inflammatory disease that is not specific to the pelvis. It has been found in the lungs, diaphragm, heart and the brain. I want to emphasise that people living with endo suffer severely and more times than not, their pain is dismissed. Although they shouldn’t have to be, people living with endo are warriors for persevering, in a system that perpetuates silence.
This interview is near and dear to me, as after a decade of pain, I have recently had surgery for endometriosis. Grace’s cause is not only educational but enormously inspiring for people with or without the illness. To share her story is a privilege, as she has done so much for our community. Platforming people like Grace is integral for widespread awareness, her passion and tenacity know no bounds. I thank her for the bravery and vulnerability she has shown in this interview.
AN INTERVIEW WITH ENDOVIT FOUNDER, GRACE.
Hi Grace, Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you’re feeling today?
Hello! Today, to be honest, I’m in pain and I’m exhausted. Right now, it feels like there are ten tiny men sprinting across my lower back, dragging barbed wire as they go. The pain near my ovary is sharp, like a blade slicing through muscle, and the cramping feels like lightning bolts shooting up my vagina every few seconds. My left leg feels like someone is banging out a tune on piano keys using a hammer.
I was officially diagnosed with endometriosis in October 2022, but my journey started long before that. I’ve been living with unexplained chronic pain, fatigue, and migraines since I was 13. It’s been a daily fight ever since. I’ve had 10 surgeries, seven of them in the past 18 months alone. This disease has left me disabled, mostly immobile, unemployed, and isolated. It’s affected my relationships, mental health, and sense of self.
I’ve undergone six laparoscopies, hormone treatments, induced menopause, pelvic nerve blocks, spinal nerve surgery, a single oophorectomy, countless ketamine infusions, and the list goes on.I’m currently recovering from my most recent surgery, where they removed more endometriosis, divided adhesions, and diagnosed me with endosalpingiosis. I’m working with my pelvic physio to rehabilitate damaged nerves and muscles, all while navigating a medical system that often feels dismissive, especially when it comes to chronic pain in patients who aren’t terminal.
But on a good day, I do what I can to connect with the people I love and get outside for a walk with my greyhound, Obi. He’s my little sidekick and a big part of my healing.
Explain to those that don’t know what ENDOVIT Fest is?
ENDOVIT Fest is Australia’s first and only music festival dedicated to endometriosis awareness - blending the energy of live music with education, empowerment, and community. It’s a grassroots movement that challenges the typical “awareness” model and creates a space for people living with endo to be seen, heard, and celebrated.
I created ENDOVIT at a time when I was deep in the trenches - going through diagnosis and IVF while desperately searching for connection. When I looked for endo related events, I mostly found high teas, luncheons, or formal talks with expensive tickets. While there were some picnic-style meetups, I struggled to find anything that was truly gender inclusive or representative of the queer and disabled communities or just something that didn’t feel overly feminine.
I’ve always been alternative, outspoken, and surrounded by people with endo who don’t identify as female. So I thought, “If I can’t find a space that reflects people like me, why not create one?” What started as an idea in my lounge room has become a vibrant, inclusive, and safe event that supports local artists and empowers people living with endometriosis and chronic illness.
As the founder, what does the event mean to you & for people living with chronic health issues?
Current statistics estimate that 1 in 7 people are living with endometriosis, a disease where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus and can implant almost anywhere in the body. Endometriosis affects women, people assigned female at birth, intersex individuals, and in extremely rare cases, cisgender men. It is debilitating, and its effects ripple across every area of a person’s life - socially, emotionally, financially, and professionally.
One of the risks that comes with laparoscopic surgery, often used to diagnose or treat endometriosis, is the development of adhesions (bands of scar tissue). Adhesions can mimic endo symptoms almost exactly. I’ve personally struggled with them for years, and they’ve left me in chronic, debilitating pain.
While endometriosis is finally starting to get the attention it deserves, there’s still a long way to go - not just for endo itself, but also for its so-called “ugly cousins”: adenomyosis, adhesions, PCOS, and endosalpingiosis. I happen to live with all four.
Living with endometriosis and related chronic illnesses is a lifelong battle, not just against our own bodies, but also against a broken medical system. We fight a system steeped in misogyny, a society that isn’t built for disabled bodies, and a culture that often doesn’t want to hear the truth.
Living in daily pain is hard enough. Add multiple diagnoses, limited treatment options, and trying to function in an able-bodied world, and it becomes absolutely exhausting.
How do you choose which bands play at ENDOVIT and the values they share with your cause?
We had an overwhelming number of artist applications this year, which made the selection process incredibly difficult. When reviewing each submission, the very first thing I look for is the artist’s personal connection to endometriosis.
At ENDOVIT, patrons are paying to attend a festival that reflects their lived experience. It’s essential that the artists on our lineup understand what it means to live with or be impacted by endometriosis. That doesn’t mean every performer has to have the disease themselves.
Representation is also a huge priority in our curation. I intentionally seek out artists across a range of genders, stages of endo, and lived experience, to ensure our lineup reflects the full spectrum of the community we serve.
Finally, I pay close attention to the language artists use. Inclusivity and correct terminology matter deeply to us. It’s essential that they align with ENDOVIT’s values of inclusivity, respect, and lived experience.
If you could say anything to people ignorant towards endometriosis, what would you say?
Endometriosis exists on a spectrum and it doesn’t discriminate.
One person might experience painful periods and heavy bleeding once a month, while their neighbour - diagnosed with the same stage of endometriosis, could be completely bed bound, unable to work, and undergoing surgery every six months… all without ever experiencing period pain.
That’s the reality of this disease. It’s unpredictable, complex, and incredibly misunderstood.
Endometriosis has been underrepresented and under researched for far too long. While it’s finally starting to receive more attention, much of the current awareness has been reduced to a surface-level message: that it’s just a “women’s period problem.”
How has music and organising ENDOVIT impacted your life?
Endometriosis took everything from me.
In what felt like the blink of an eye, the life I once knew as an able-bodied, independent, fun loving, hard working young woman was gone. I became disabled so suddenly that I didn’t even have time to process it. One day I was travelling, working, building a future… and the next, I was bed-bound, in constant pain, watching my world slip through my fingers.
There are no words to describe the emptiness and isolation that come with losing your ability to work, to earn an income, to support yourself. To lie in bed day after day, physically unable to move without feeling like your body is on fire. To watch friends, people you once considered family, slowly drift away because they don’t know how to talk to you anymore.
But advocating for this community helped me start rebuilding.
ENDOVIT became my purpose. Creating a live music festival where people felt safe enough to walk around with TENS machines on, where disability was visible, respected, and embraced - that has been the greatest accomplishment of my life. The fact that artists offer their time and talent to support this vision because they believe in what ENDOVIT stands for, is the biggest honour I could ever receive.
What can people do to support your cause & the people living with endometriosis?
Buy a ticket!
When you attend ENDOVIT Fest, you’re not just showing up for a music fest, you’re helping build a real, tangible sense of community, support, and visibility for people living with endometriosis. Your ticket purchase helps us keep this movement alive.
Change your language around endometriosis. Rather than saying women with endometriosis, saying “people with endometriosis” makes a huge difference in the fight towards inclusivity.
Check in on your chronically ill friends. Chronic illness often makes people feel like a burden, even when they aren’t. You never know what someone is carrying unless you’ve lived in their body. A small gesture of care can mean the world.
As Endovit is an Independent organisation, how do you differ from other organisations surrounding endo within Australia?
The main focus for ENDOVIT is to provide a safe space for all genders to attend an entertaining event with live music that is not only accessible but also inviting to people from all walks of life, levels of knowledge and identities. If any profits are raised on event day, they are put directly back into the ENDOVIT event to help us continue to put on these events for our community.
Do you have any new plans for the future of ENDOVIT?
I am currently working on developing a gig guide for chronically ill, disabled and endo affected artists to release once a month to help increase visibility for them. Anyone who can fight through pain and illness is a boss and they deserve to have the spotlight shone on them! Additionally, I am in conversation with a few key players around the country and am very excited to see where ENDOVIT will be taken next!
Grace's story is a deeply complex one that highlights the injustices of our current medical system. People should not have extensive hurdles when journeying towards healing from Endomitrisos. ENDOVIT sheds a much needed light on accessibility in the music community, placing value in independently led organisations.
If you can’t attend the festival in person and are in a position to donate, 100% proceeds will go towards paying the artists and any future events for ENDOVIT! Supporting Grace’s cause towards endo awareness, will greatly impact the future of those living with chronic illnesses.
Grace has kindly put together a list of online resources for people who are looking for resourceful, inclusive, up to date and factually correct information:
ENDOVIT Fest Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/endovit-fest/tickets
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/endovitfest/
Merch: Home | ENDNOBOSS
LINKTREE: linktr.ee/endovitfest