Our Team

Michael is an accomplished strategist, arts producer and practitioner with over 25 years’ experience in creative strategy and place activations for Australia’s leading destinations and abroad. He is adept at collaborating with partners, community stakeholders and government to deliver world-class, creative landscapes that delight, inspire and attract global attention within budget.

As the Creative Producer, Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, Michael led the development of major cultural initiatives to revitalise Darling Harbour and The Rocks and attract over 40 million people annually. As the Creative Producer, UrbanGrowth NSW, he spearheaded placemaking and urban renewal strategies for Green Square, White Bay Power Station and Parramatta North. He also works as an artist and academic researcher.

Qualifications
// PhD, MA (with merit), Sydney University (Performance Studies)

Kim has over 20 years’ experience developing and implementing arts and cultural policy for the NSW Government.

At Arts NSW (now Create NSW) she led the team responsible for funding arts change through strategic programs such as the Aboriginal Arts and Cultural Strategy, the Arts and Disability Partnership, Art Central, Empty Spaces program, the NSW Health and Arts Framework and the Western Sydney Arts Strategy. Kim holds expertise in working with non-arts stakeholders to deliver their policy outcomes through arts and culture. These have included local governments across the state, statutory bodies such as Western Sydney Parklands Trust, UTS and government agencies such as NSW Family and Community Services.

Kim is experienced in place activation. She developed and led the NSW Government’s Empty Spaces program – the original investor in Renew Newcastle and the Pop Up programs for Lismore, Gosford, Parramatta and the Rocks.

Kim is respected in the professional arts sector for her deep arts knowledge and two decades of performing arts experience. She co-founded the award winning Western Sydney company Urban Theatre Projects and worked with Sydney Theatre Company, The Performance Space and State Theatre Company of SA. She has published books and articles on Australian theatre, was an associate for many years with the Centre for Performance Studies at Sydney University and continues to work as a dramaturg.

Qualifications
// BA (HONS) Sydney

// Dip Lib UNSW

Suhas has a Masters in Urban Design from the University of Sydney and a Bachelors in Architecture from Ahmedabad, India. He has over three years of diverse experiences as an architect in Ahmedabad across interior, architecture, and urban renewal projects. Along with conceptual design development and the preparation of technical drawings, he was also responsible for managing these projects. This involved liaising with different stakeholders and working closely with consultants and curators to develop innovative solutions. By consciously curating his academic and professional journey, Suhas has developed a sensitivity for community engagement and innovative thinking. As a project manager at City People, he is responsible for coordinating and creating strategic documents and programs on projects such as the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network, Liverpool Health and Academic Precinct, and John Hunter Hospital Innovation Precinct.

For Suhas, art has also been a longstanding form of personal expression. He has been exploring classical Indian dance forms (Bharatnatyam) and Hindustani music (Thumri) from an early age in spite of stereotypes. As the Managing Editor of CIRCA Journal – a student-led print journal at the University of Sydney – Suhas also discovered writing and visual arts as tools of expression and inspiration.

Qualifications
// M. UrbDes, USYD

// B. Arch, Ahmedabad

Dr Liza-Mare Syron’s clan is Biripi from the Mid North Coast of NSW.

Her qualifications include Doctor of Arts (Sydney University), Master of Creative Arts Research (University of Wollongong), and Master of Adult Education (UTS). She is currently Senior Artistic Associate, Moogahlin Performing Arts and Indigenous Scientia Senior Lecturer, UNSW School of Arts and Social Sciences. Her work history includes, Indigenous Research Lead (Macquarie University), Indigenous Research Fellow (Macquarie University), Senior Aboriginal Arts and Culture Officer (Arts NSW), and Head of Theatre (Eora College of Aboriginal Studies).

Liza-Mare has been an advisor on many boards and committees including, The City of Sydney Aboriginal Advisory Committee 2013-2017, Performing Lines (2014-2018), Australian Script Centre (2017-current), and Sydney Festival Advisory (2016). She is widely published in the area of Indigenous cultural arts practice and has received the following awards, the 2005 Phillip Parsons Prize for Performance as Research, the 2010 Marlis Thiersch Prize for research excellence in an English-language article, and a 2015 Rob Jordon award citation for a book chapter.

Qualifications
// D. Arts, USYD

// MCA-Res, UOW

// M. AdEd, UTS

Dr Peter Watts AM trained as an architect and landscape architect but for most of his career has been involved with organisations involved with building, landscape and garden conservation and the development of new museums. He was the Founding Director of the Historic Houses Trust of NSW (now Sydney Living Museums) from 1981 until his retirement in 2008. In that role he was responsible for developing and operating multiple museums including, Museum of Sydney, Hyde Park Barracks, Government House, Justice and Police Museum, The Mint, Elizabeth Bay House, Vaucluse House, Rouse Hill House and Farm, Rose Seidler House amongst many others. Peter has a particular interest in ensuring historic buildings are conserved and used in ways that make them relevant to the contemporary world whilst respecting their heritage.

Peter has broad interests in cultural infrastructure (galleries, museums, historic sites and performing arts venues) and continues to serve on the boards and committees of numerous cultural organisations. In addition, he consults on historic place conservation, interpretation and management, governance, museum management and policy development as well as mentoring future arts leaders. He recently prepared a new set of holistic proposals to reinvigorate Old Government House, Parramatta, and has prepared an assessment of the financial and human resource requirements of the Maitland Regional Art Gallery for the Maitland City Council.

Qualifications
// B. Arts, UniMelb

// Lscape Arch, RMIT