GROUNDSWELL ARTS NSW


GROUNDSWELL ARTS NSW

MULTICULTURAL ARTS FORUM 2012 - SPEAKERS

Groundswell is delighted to announce the names of the speakers that have been confirmed for the Multicultural Arts Forum 2012.


KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Senator the Honourable Kate Lundy
Minister for Sport; Minister for Multicultural Affairs; Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation; Senator for the Australian Capital Territory


Senator Kate Lundy was first elected to the Senate for the Australian Capital Territory in 1996.  Following the 2010 Federal Election, she was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Citizenship. In February 2011, Kate’s title was updated to Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Multicultural affairs. This change followed the launch of The People of Australia policy and the announcement that she would have a renewed focus on multicultural affairs in her role as Parliamentary Secretary assisting the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.

In March 2012, Kate became the Minister for Sport, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation. Prior to the 2010 election, Kate was Chair of the Joint Standing Committee for the National Capital and External Territories, a long-standing member of the Senate Environment, Communications and the Arts Committee and one of the Federal Parliament’s representatives on the Advisory Council of the National Archive of Australia. Kate held many portfolios in Opposition including Information Technology, Sport and Recreation, Manufacturing, Consumer Affairs, Local Government and Health Promotion.


Mr Pino Migliorino

Chair, Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia FECCA

Pino has over 30 years involvement with and expertise in immigration and multicultural community affairs, including welfare, the arts and the Italian community. Professionally, Pino leads Cultural Perspectives and CIRCA Research and is a recognised expert in researching and communicating with diverse cultural and linguistic audiences. FECCA is the peak national body representing Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. FECCA's role is to advocate, lobby and promote issues on behalf of its constituency to government, business and the broader community.

PANEL SESSION - INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT


Lisa Andersen (Chair)
Lisa Andersen is Senior Researcher on the CAMRA cultural mapping in regional Australia Project, Manager of the Empty Spaces Project - which promotes short-term reuses of empty shops and spaces for creative development – and Community Engagement Coordinator for UTS Shopfront Community Program at the University of Technology, Sydney. Her research interests are cultural industries and regional development, community cultural development, audience and market development and community engagement.

Indu Balachandran

Indu Balachandran is the Manager, Creative Enterprise at Information & Cultural Exchange (ICE). With a long history in community development, and an old story in corporate finance, Indu has held a number of senior roles in NGOs in women's services, community development and international development. Her postgraduate thesis built on the work and experience she gathered in rural India with women's services. Her recognition in the sector includes the UTS Human Rights Award for Reconciliation, inclusion in the Fulbright Emerging Leaders Program, and shortlisting for the Women in Leadership Award by the Centre for Leadership for Women. Indu is a vocalist and plays the veena in the classical South Indian Carnatic musical tradition.


Tanya Bennett

Commenced as Director of Cultural Diplomacy section in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in February 2012, with responsibility for the Department's cultural focus country programs, film, music, visual arts and indigenous programs and the Australia International Culture Council grants process. Speaks Japanese and French, having recently returned from three years in Paris and previously working as First Secretary in the Australian Embassy in Tokyo. Previous experience working on Australia 's relations in South and North East Asia, as well as in the executive and corporate areas of the Department.


Justin Macdonnell

Justin Macdonnell has been employed in arts management, producing and consultancy for over 40 years. He has been General Manager of the State Opera of Australia, Director of the National Opera of New Zealand, Program Director of the Festival of Sydney, Executive Director of the Confederation of Australian Professional Performing Arts and Artistic Director of the Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. USA. As principal of Macdonnell Promotions he was for 20 years one of Australia’s leading arts management consultants to both the public and private sectors and to literally scores of arts organizations here and abroad. From 1992, through the Australia-Latin America Foundation, he ran an broad cultural exchange network between Australia and that region managing over 100 tours and exhibitions in that time. He is now Executive Director of the Anzarts Institute which, among other tasks, has undertaken a study of multicultural needs for the Australia Council (2009), a strategic and operational review for Kultour (2010) and the review of CafĂ© Carnivale for Arts NSW (2010). 


Peter Mousaferiadis
CEO Cultural Infusion (Vic)
Peter Mousaferiadis initially trained as a symphonic conductor in Italy, USA and Czech Republic. Today he has developed a reputation as a leading creative producer of large intercultural productions. He has directed the Australia Day Concert in Victoria since 2004 and produced opening, closing ceremonies and arts and cultural programs for the Parliament of World Religions, United Nations and other intercultural concerts in China, Philippines and Malaysia. In 2012 and 2013, Peter will be producing and directing the Red Earth Arts Festival in the Pilbara, WA which will be themed “Bringing the World to the Pilbara”.

PANEL SESSION - PRESENTATION PLATFORMS & DIVERSE PROGRAMMING

Jess Scully
(Chair)
Jess Scully has been sharing stories about creativity, and running projects engaging the creative industries of Australia and the Asia Pacific, for over 10 years. Jess is the founding creative director of Creative Sydney, part of the annual Vivid Sydney festival. From 2010 to 2011 Jess served as policy adviser to the NSW Minister for the Arts. In 2009 Jess developed and edited Creative Cities East Asia for the British Council, an online journal documenting innovative urban models across the Asia Pacific. From 2006 to 2010 Jess directed the Qantas Spirit of Youth Awards (SOYA), a national grant and mentorship program for outstanding artists, musicians, filmmakers, photographers and designers. Jess has edited arts and creative industries publications including SummerWinter, Yen and EMPTY. She studied journalism and law at UTS. She is currently writing a book about creativity and cities: a guide for governments, arts organisations and business who want to stimulate an inclusive, sustainable, creative economy. Strategies for the Creative Economy will be released in April 2012.


Jonathan Bielski
Jonathan Bielski is the Executive Producer, Sydney Opera House Presents. Jonathan is responsible for the artistic strategy and management of SOH’s own creative and entrepreneurial activities. With SOH since 2002 in programming and administration roles with a particular focus on commercial producing, Jonathan was appointed as Executive Producer in 2010. Prior to joining SOH, Jonathan was the Group Operations Manager for The Edge in Auckland for four years and before that with Village Force working at venues including the St James Theatre. He is a member of the Australian and Asia-Pacific Arts Centre’s Programming Groups, the Live Performance Australia Venue Infrastructure Taskforce, the Venue Managers Association and a past member of the Helpmann Awards Theatre Nominating Panel.
 
Frank Madrid
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Frank energies were originally split between cultural journalism and acting. His incursion in the field of arts management took place in 1993, working with the International Theatre Institute - UNESCO as programmer of international content for the Barcelona Festival of World Theatre. An alumni of the prestigious MAPD Program at RMIT, Frank has been a very active producer, presenter and programmer of cultural content in Australia and his contribution has been instrumental in the development of strong links between Australia, Latin America and Spain in his role of associate producer of the Australia Latin America Foundation. . In 2011 he produced Pura Vida Festival, a celebration of emerging Latin culture, touring bands from Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela and Uruguay as well as some of the most exciting talent of Latin origin based in Australia, visiting Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.


Jane Kreis
Dr Jane Kreis (PhD MA) is Regional Arts Development Officer and Executive Officer with Arts North West (the Regional Arts Board for the New England North West). Jane is an experienced arts and cultural development officer and with particular experience in Australian independent theatre and performing. Jane has a background in French and Journalism and has worked in cultural, educational, research and arts centres up and down the Eastern Australia coast and overseas. In addition to other executive roles with not-­‐for-­‐profits, previous incarnations include actor, director, researcher, editor, arts marketer, teacher and translator. 


Lisa Havilah
Lisa Havilah has recently been appointed Director of Carriageworks, Sydney. From 2005 – 2011 Lisa was the Director of Campbelltown Arts Centre. Under her directorship Campbelltown Arts Centre pioneered a multidisciplinary contemporary arts program, bringing together artists and communities across disciplines to examine ideas through the processes of producing contemporary art. Lisa was previously Assistant Director of Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre (1998–2004). Lisa specialises in the intersection between contemporary art and community engagement. She has developed and managed a range of national and international exchange, exhibition and residency programs. Curatorial projects include Anita & Beyond (2003), For Matthew & Others: Journeys with Schizophrenia (2006). What I think About When I think about Dancing (2009) and Edge of Elsewhere Edge of Elsewhere (2010-12), a three-year project produced for Sydney Festival that commissions artists from Australia, Asia and the Pacific to develop new work in partnership with suburban communities. She has lectured in Management and Organisation (Master of Fine Arts) at the College of Fine Arts, University of NSW. Previously she has been the Chair of Arts NSW’s Western Sydney Program which was responsible for the implementation of the State Government strategy to deliver arts and cultural infrastructure across Western Sydney. 
 
Chris Mead
Chris is artistic director of PlayWriting Australia. Positions held include: Literary Manager of Company B Belvoir St Theatre, Literary Manager Sydney Theatre Company, curator of the Australian National Playwrights’ Conference, and the Festival Director of the International Festival for Young Playwrights. Recent directing credits include Ian Wilding’s Rare Earth (NIDA 2011) and Quack (Griffin 2010), and Damien Millar’s The Modern International Dead (Griffin 2008) which won Best New Play at the Sydney Theatre Critics’ Awards and the WA Premier’s Literary Award. He has a PhD from Sydney University. His Platform Paper on institutional racism and outreach strategies was published by Currency House in June, 2008.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN OF CULTURALLY DIVERSE ARTS IN NSW
Speaker: Kim Hanna

Kim Hanna is an independent arts consultant based in Sydney and has provided services to Art Month Sydney, City of Sydney, the NSW Theatre Sector and Arts NSW.For 11 years he worked at the Australia Council for the Arts primarily in the Theatre and Market Development sections. He was formerly Artistic Director of Big Ensemble, Unley Youth Theatre (now Urban Myth Theatre of Youth) and the Melbourne University Student Union Theatre Department. He has recently received a Cultural Leader grant from the Theatre Board of the Australia Council to undertake research in cultural diversity programming.


PANEL SESSION - AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT


Cristina Dio
(Chair)
Best known for her worldbeat connections across the globe, Cristina Dio is a Uruguayan-born, Sydney-based creative writer, filmmaker and music presenter. She has worked alongside incredible international artists across documentary films and television series, tours, music releases, marketing and publicity. Her passion for world music first manifested itself in the founding of print publication Diaspora, which has morphed into a popular world music website and brand, with a music recording label in development.


Danielle Antaki

Danielle Antaki is the Artistic Director at Powerhouse Youth Theatre where she recently co-directed the multimedia Hero Project at the newly opened Bankstown Arts Centre and she also directed the Intergenerational Forum Theatre show See It My Way. Since graduating from UWS Nepean with a BA in Theatre she has had a wide and varied career as a performer, director, educator and writer. She is a member of Version 1.0, the contemporary performance ensemble, with whom she has performed and collaborated. She has taught and directed for Studio Q – the education/training arm of the Q theatre - and co-directed Destination: Where? a collaboration with Version 1.0 and the Q Youth Company at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre. She has also worked as a performer, writer and director with Milkcrate Theatre – using forum style theatrical productions to engage and collaborate with members of the homeless communities in and around Sydney. She has also directed and performed for a large number of companies in Australia.


Xing Jin

Xing Jin is an award-winning market development specialist with more than 15 years experience in the field of performing arts and education sector. Xing's career has ranged from audience development in the arts industry, to market consultancy with large corporate firms. Xing is a highly valued market development specialist who speaks at public events and consults on China-related products, services and events. Before joining the University of Sydney, Xing was the Multicultural Marketing Manager at the Sydney Symphony from 2000 to 2007. Xing's diverse Australian client experience includes work with the Sydney Opera House, Australia Council for the Arts, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Theatre of Image, Music Films, Dendy Cinema, Qantas and Medibank Private. Xing Jin holds a Master of Arts in Communication Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Language and Literature. Xing is also a Chinese freelance writer.


Jo Pratt
Director/Executive Producer, BEMAC (Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre)
Jo Pratt joined the BEMAC team in March 2009. BEMAC has a 24 year history of supporting multicultural arts and artists from diverse cultural backgrounds in achieving excellent performance outcomes. It has both a community engagement and development through the arts focus, as well as the mentoring, marketing, production and promotion of a variety of diverse arts, with a particular strength in world music and dance. Jo Pratt has over 15 years of community development experience with Indigenous and Pacific Island communities, and co-owns an artist and event management company which works primarily with Pacific Island and Melanesian contemporary musicians.

Jacquie Riddell

Jacquie Riddell has over 25 years’ experience in media management. She has managed television channels and radio stations; created new program formats and digital media concepts; developed world-famous marketing initiatives; and led large television productions. She has particular skills in media brand development and a track record building media brands. Jacquie created and established STVDIO, SBS’s subscription TV arts channel, and has a long history of involvement with the arts sector, particular contemporary music and performing arts.
Jacquie is currently the Director of Marketing at SBS, leading a division responsible for the brand management, creative direction, audience research, content strategy, advertising and promotion of SBS TV, radio and online. Her work at SBS has included development of the organisation’s brand platform Six/Seven Billion Stories and counting… and has won numerous international creative awards.


PANEL SESSION - ARTS PRACTICE

Dr Adrian McNeil
(Discussant)
Born in Melbourne, Adrian is Australia’s foremost sarod player. He was based in Calcutta, Mumbai and Dehra Dun for many years AND undergone intensive training according to the guru-shishya parampara (traditional methods) for more than twenty five years under Pandit Ashok Roy, Professor Sachindranath Roy and Dr. Ashok Ranade. Adrian regularly performs in major concerts in Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, Bangalore and in some of Sydney’s premiere bands such as Rasa and Duende where his playing attracts critical acclaim. He has appeared for National Television and Radio in India and has toured widely in Europe and Asia. Adrian is the Director of Higher Degree Research in the Department of Media Music and Cultural Studies at Macquarie University, where he convenes a Masters of Contemporary Improvisation and is Acting Director of the India Research Centre. He has been awarded a post-doctoral fellowship from the Australian Research Council and touring and development grants from Australia Council.
 

Dr Larry Buttrose
Dr Larry Buttrose is the author of sixteen books, including the novels The Maze of the Muse and Sweet Sentence, a graphic novel, two books of travel writing, and four volumes of poetry. His stage works include Kurtz, his adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, developed with NIDA, while his current project is a new stage version of Don Quixote, developed with funding support from the Spanish Ministry of Culture and ANU. The ABC has produced two of his radio plays, Santo, and Complaints. He has also written for film and video, nonfiction for Griffith Review and essays for the Sydney Morning Herald, and written op-ed pieces for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian. He currently teaches Screen Media and Scriptwriting for UWS, and Creative Writing for James Cook University.


Peter Kennard

Peter Kennard is a composer, producer and musical director with a career in theatre and musical performance spanning 20 years. He has composed and recorded countless soundtracks, and created sound designs and musically directed live performance for many of Sydney’s major theatre companies and high profile public events. Clients include Darling Harbour (SHFA) New Year’s and Australia Day Fireworks – Sydney Olympic Park, Theatre of Image, Legs on the Wall and Q Theatre. He tours internationally with Stalker Theatre Co. and for Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He has 10 CD productions to his credit and runs his own recording and post-production sound studio Different Drum, currently located in the Blue Mountains. Peter is a highly regarded as a percussionist in the Sydney “world music” scene – playing regularly with Lulo Reinhardt, Kim Sanders, Bobby Singh, Kurdish Turkish fusion band Heval and pioneering Australian “world folk” legends Sirocco. Peter is currently completing a Masters of Contemporary Improvisation degree at Macquarie University.


Nicholas Papademetriou

Nicholas Papademetriou graduated from WAAPA in 1984 and since then has had an extensive career in the industry as actor, director, teacher and mentor. His film and television work includes MI-2, The Night We Called it A Day, Death in Brunswick, Two Nights, Grass Roots, Stringer, Cyclone Tracy, Trick Business and Stark. In theatre he has worked for all the major theatre companies including STC, MTC, Company B Belvoir, Doppio Teatro, Ensemble, La Boite and State Theatre S.A. He has also had a major career in the independent sector producing, directing and acting with a focus on creating work for non-Anglo actors. Work includes Anna in the Tropics (B Sharp), The Importance of Being Earnest (Darlinghurst Theatre) and The Taming of The Shrew (Sidetrack). He has been on a number of committee groups facilitated by MEAA to address the issues facing non-Anglo actors in Australia, and has also been an MEAA mentor for younger actors.


Jiva Parthipan

Jiva Parthipan works on an Australia Council funded position of community cultural development amongst refugees at STARTTS (Service for the treatment and rehabilitation of torture and trauma survivors), Now’s largest refugee organization.Works developed through his parallel artistic practice have been presented internationally at festivals and venues including the Performance Space @ Carriageworks, Sydney, Tate Modern, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), National Review of Live Art, Royal Opera House, and Dublin Festival (all in the UK), Centre National de la Danes (Paris, France), IETM- International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts, (Dublin, Republic of Ireland), Bone Festival (Berne,Switzerland) and Jomba Festival, South Africa Jiva was an associate lecturer in performance at Central St Martins, University of the Arts, London.



THE CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

of the AUSTRALIA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS

Speaker: Ricardo Peach
Dr Ricardo Peach is the Acting Director of the Inter-Arts Office at the Australia Council for the Arts. He initiated the Council’s AlloSphere artist residency at the California NanoSystems Institute in the University of California, Santa Barbara; the Splendid Young and Emerging Artist initiative with the music festival Splendour in the Grass; and the first government supported artist residency in Second Life. He is also the coordinator of the Arts in a Multicultural Australia policy, one of five key areas within the Australia Council’s Cultural Engagement Framework. Peach was born in Mpumalanga in South Africa and moved to Australia in the 1980s.