About Me
I am a lover of all things Arts and Culture who has found my niche using my skills to help others' brilliant creative ideas to become a reality. I am also passionate about opening up access for more people to engage with arts and culture as creators, audiences and participants. I have worked in professional arts and cultural management roles in both Australia and the UK, including as a Relationship Manager, Theatre for Arts Council England, and as the Arts and Cultural Development Officer for Banyule City Council.
In 2022 my partner was offered a job based in Strathmerton. Never ones to turn down an adventure we decided to move our little family from our inner city flat in Richmond to the beautiful Murray River town of Yarrawonga!
I am currently working as a freelance producer and creative mentor, and work for Regional Arts Victoria where I manage sector development programs, evaluate creative projects and oversee the touring of performing arts shows to small regional communities. I have been blown away by the commitment to arts and culture in the regional communities I work with, and I love finding new ways to continue to support access to creative opportunities across the state.
A bit more about my skills and experience
I have an honours degree in Public Policy and Management and a Master’s of Arts and Cultural Management from the University of Melbourne.
Working for Arts Council England I gained extensive experience in grants management, project development, organisational development and creative project management. I worked with creatives across all different backgrounds and contexts, from individual artists applying for their first grant, to the executive teams and boards of large venues and producing organisations.
Through this work I have an in-depth understanding of the requirements grant schemes and funding bodies, and the strategic documentation and processes that help creative projects flourish and reach and inspire audiences and communities.
I also spent three years as the Arts and Cultural Development officer for Banyule City Council, a diverse role that included developing and managing two new arts and culture grant streams, supporting a wonderful network of local creatives through professional development, networking and project opportunities, producing a range of creative projects from community-let arts initiatives to contemporary music and theatre performances, programming a brand new exhibition and performance venue and commissioning temporary and permanent public art! I also worked with Arts Law to develop best practice contracts and ensure we were protecting the rights of all the artists I work with, and used my evaluation skills to develop a new program evaluation plan.
Through this work I have learned how best to support artists and performers from different backgrounds to develop their own practice, refine their creative ideas and find their niche with audiences and participants.
In my current roles for Regional Arts Victoria I work across the Touring, Regional Partnerships and Strategic Project Teams. In partnership with Moira Shire I support the development of Creative Hubs and the creative sector in my local Shire. I also provide professional development opportunities for community groups across the state, support shows to tour to small halls and community venues, and work with my colleagues to develop evaluation frameworks and reports.
In my freelance practice I work as a creative producer and mentor. Recent freelance projects have included:
- One-off and ongoing mentoring for artists and creatives
- Strategic planning for companies and community groups
- Grant writing workshops
- Grant writing support and mentoring for individual creatives and small organisations
- Co-producing community-engaged arts projects in regional locations
Mentoring
I have always enjoyed working one-on-one or in small group sessions with creative people – helping them to identify their needs and strengths, develop their skills and grow their practice. Recently I had the honour of being nominated to be a mentor in the DESIAP (Designing Social Innovation in Asia-Pacific) Women’s Mentoring Program 2022.
This was a 13 month transnational program involving creative women and female-identifying individuals from Australia, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan. The aim was to bring together people who are passionate about supporting their community and enabling social outcomes to share experiences and learn from and with women in other Asia-Pacific countries.
I was absolutely thrilled to be part of this program and I am now using what I learnt to inform my professional approach to mentoring - both as a mentor, and when setting up mentoring partnerships with external mentors. In particular I am now a firm believer in the value of non-hierarchical, cross-artform and reciprocal mentoring relationships.
How I can help you
I love working closely with artists and creatives to help develop ideas and make them a reality. I know that for individual artists and small companies that money is always tight, I’m happy to work with you on a one-off basis to provide as little as an hour of proof-reading, advice or administrative support. If you’re seeking more in-depth or long-term support then I can work with you throughout the life of your project as a project manager or producer.
With my extensive experience working for government agencies and funding bodies I’m also excited about the chance to work with different organisations on creative sector development and bringing arts and culture to diverse communities. I can develop and manage new grants streams from scratch using platforms such as SmartyGrants, develop and produce artist and community-led projects, program venues and support strategic planning and evaluation activities.
For further details about how we can work together please check out my services page here.
If you think I may be able to support you with your creative project or idea then please get in touch. I love discussing all ideas and hearing about exciting projects big and small, and if I don’t feel I have the skills to help you with a particular project or need then I may be able to suggest others who could be better placed to help.