Xenia Hanusiak Executive Director
Xenia Hanusiak is a festival director, curator, cultural diplomat, and executive who has directed and curated performance programs, literary festivals and ideas summits for every major Australian festival, National Sawdust (New York), Film Society of the Lincoln Centre, Skirball Centre (New York), Beijing Music Festival, Singapore Arts Festival and the Melbourne Recital Centre. She has held Executive roles for the Foreign Press Association (New York), Honens International Piano Competition and Festival (Canada), Australian Consulate General (New York), and the World Federation of International Music Competitions (Switzerland).
Sarah Newall Creative Producer
Sarah Newall completed her PhD thesis, ‘New still life,’ in 2010. It investigated the placement and role of still life in contemporary art. In 2013 Sarah and partner Jane Polkinghorne created and ran the ARI (Artist Run Initiative) Marrickville Garage out of their suburban garage.
Since 2014 the focus and direction of Sarah’s practice has been on sustainability. She is trying to live by the zero waste principles of refuse, reduce, recycle, reuse, and rot. In line with this she is rethinking her wardrobe to bring it in line with sustainable principles, and to bypass the possibility of buying unethically produced clothing that is poor quality ‘fast fashion’. Sarah creates seasonal wardrobes called ‘Fashist’ out of used and recycled clothes, as well as acquired materials from Reverse Garbage, fabric remnant shops, donated materials and wool from family and friends. Fashist will now be forever ongoing and evolving.
Bridget Chappell Venue & Project Coordinator
Bridget Chappell is Arts Mildura’s newly-arrived Project & Venue Coordinator. They’re excited to be overseeing the new Creative Incubator program that will see the establishment of a new co-working space, artists studios, residency program, and professional development workshop series at Arts Mildura.
Bridget’s own creative background is in sound art and radical pedagogy. They DJ and produce dance music; organise concerts and raves in dam, drains, and other natural amphitheatres; compose and perform works for cello, and create sound art installations that interrogate policing, climate change, and colonial responsibility. Their award-winning organisation Melbourne Sound School centres young, queer, POC (people of colour) and Indigenous voices and skills in electronic music through a busy workshop program. When not at Arts Mildura they can usually be found outside somewhere with their dog, bike, and field recorder.
Kaneesha Petersen Gallery Assistant