Kia ora, hello.

If you’re looking for some crisp new ideas - and someone to make them actually happen - for your creative organisation or project, you’re in the right place.

I’m currently available for project work and consultations.

I have around 18 years experience working across all sorts of different creative organisations and projects, including:

being the co-director and artistic director of the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival, a large scale festival that attracts around 40,000 people annually;

image credit: Sunset Symphony, photo by Mark Hamilton Photography

producing and curating public programmes at Auckland Live, including starting now long-running programmes and creating an award-winning access programme that gave birth to much wider access programmes across the city

image credit: Auckland Live marketing collateral

creating and advising on a variety of placemaking projects;

Credit: Māngere Bridge bus stop, created by Charles and Janine Williams

working as an arts and events broker for Auckland Council, supporting hundreds of community based arts projects and events;

image credit: Stash exhibition, Peter Lange

co-founding NZ’s only (and multiple award winning) theatre company for people who are vulnerably housed;

image credit: That’s What Friends Are For, Hobson Street Theatre Company

A face painter is sitting at a table in the foreground, surrounded by a group of children and parents. In the background are long strips of brown paper, hanging down from the ceiling, which have photos and captions attached to them

undertaking a large scale community consultation for a new library and community hub in Ormiston;

image: Family fun day and exhibition of research project from five different local schools

A yellow shipping container has a banner stretched across it, the banner reads "Wild Streets, a festival of play"

producing street games festivals and a games conference;

producing theatre shows in site-specific venues such as a strip parlour and a newspaper warehouse;

image: Famous Flora, by Elisabeth Easther, photo by Paul Lambert Photography

being the acting executive director of Arts Access Aotearoa,

and a quite a bit more, including working on projects and events for new pieces of public art; fixing costumes in West End theatres, and teaching theatre in prisons.

Much of this work has involved creative direction, strategic planning, funding and budget management, canny marketing thinking, and team management.

What can I do for you?

Artistic direction, planning and programming

I’m not interested in cookie cutter programming; I always think deeply about why and how a particular work fits within a programme and what the bigger picture is. I’m known for programming compelling work that might otherwise not be seen, and thinking about how an artistic programme connects to a sense of place. I’m particularly interested in work that encourages us to see the everyday in a new light, work that incorporates new technologies, and how I can support the work of indigenous artists.

 

Community outreach and development

I have long experience connecting arts organisations and projects to a wider community, and I’m especially interested in work that involves community artists. As the co-founder and artistic director of Hobson Street Theatre Company, an multiple-award winning theatre company that works in partnership with the Auckland City Mission, I have active and practical knowledge of what it takes to run a community based arts project well. I am deeply committed to best practice in this area and will be rigorous about making sure your project is using best practice principles.

 

Project and event management

I’ve managed large scale, multi-day, multi-event, arts festivals that receive consistently high marks for audience satisafaction; I know how to manage budgets and financial processes, and are used to leading programming, front of house, production, site, and artist liaison teams so that everyone hums along nicely. I’ve also negotiated with sponsors and funders to make sure things go well for them and us.

I also have designed and taught event management 101 courses for beginning event managers.

Strategic and operational planning

I have worked with multiple boards and management teams to create strategies for organisations; whether its planning for organisational change and development, or for long term sustainability, I am keen to get a plan that balances aspiration and practicalities.

 

Funding planning, advice, and mentoring

I’m adept at finding every possible funding option for creative projects; at this point I’ve successfully written hundreds of applications for all sorts of things. I’ve also assessed funding applications, and managed a funding programme for Auckland Council, where I mentored a number of people through the funding process. I can speak “funder language” and am always keen to work with others so they learn to do this, too.

 
A photo of the head and shoulders of a Pākeha woman, behind her on a wall is a painting of a chair next to a window.

A New Zealand and Irish citizen, I’m in Auckland, Aotearoa / New Zealand, but I’ve been using online tools to connect with people across the world for a long time. Time zones hold no fear.

I’m currently working on an outreach programme for Hobson Street Theatre Company, an interactive theatre show around public policy (I promise it’s more fun than it sounds), and managing public art works for the Link Alliance, and open to working on other projects too.