This special panel discussion explores the vital role played by the creative sector in helping communities navigate an uncertain future. In this case the uncertain future is made obvious by the unprecedented floods of 2022 and the clear need for a substantial change in how we prepare for and manage floods and other hazards in the Northern Rivers. Lismore is in the midst of a massive reconstruction effort, and this includes the major cultural institutions based there. This panel will explore how these organisations see their role in this moment in this community and will look at the decisions they have made regarding their own programs, infrastructure and future plans.
Panel
Jane Fuller, Executive Director, Arts Northern Rivers
Betty Russ, co-founder and director of Elevator ARI
Libby Lincoln, Executive Director, NORPA
Cherine Fahd, Associate Professor, School of Design, UTS
Ashleigh Ralph, Director, Lismore Regional Gallery
MC
Dan Etheridge, Engagement Director, Living Lab Northern Rivers
Jane Fuller (she/her) is a diverse mixed Australian-born heritage of Latvian, Irish, New Zealand and lives on the Bundjalung Nation. Coming into the arts through her father who was a touring ‘carnie’ with pantomimes, theatre shows and musicals, Janes first ‘job’ was to help out with the costume changes in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Palais Theatre in St Kilda, Vic. Jane is currently the Executive Director of Arts Northern Rivers, the peak body for arts & culture in the region, and leads a talented team of producers, programmers and connectors to develop and deliver engaged public and sector programs that support the development of the creative industries in the region. Jane has worked extensively in the Northern Rivers region as an independent producer, Placemaking Producer and Festival Producer for the Boomerang Festival (Bluesfest). Previously holding leadership positions with BlakDance – the national Peak Organisation for First Nations dance, Executive Producer for Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM) and the Associate Producer for the Australian Cultural Festival, Australian Embassy, Jakarta, Executive Producer for the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, Bali and international program Director for the Hong Kong Fringe Club.
She is passionate about supporting creatives to take agency of their own creative and their communities’ cultural development. She strongly believes in the power of a creative community bringing value and vibrancy to our shared experience.
Betty Russ is an artist and arts worker living on Bundjalung country (Lismore). Working across sculpture, assemblage, installation, sound, and embodied research, her practice ferments between and around the philosophies and renderings of eschatological terror, speculative +/ science fiction, hauntology, the-weird-and-the-eerie, and myriad modes of spirituality. Material manifestations protrude from hypnagogic fantasy, nightmare, horror and absurdity, while searching for psychological mitigation to the abject shock of the past, and sweaty white-knuckled fear of the future.
Betty completed a Bachelor of Art and Design in 2020 at Southern Cross University, Lismore, and has recently exhibited with Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Lismore Regional Art Gallery, Firstdraft, Metro Arts and Dark MOFO. Amongst a dedicated personal practice, Betty is also a Co-Founding Director of Elevator ARI and is committed to her active role in supporting regional experimental practice and creating springboard opportunities such as Groundfloor. Groundfloor was co-founded with June Golland in 2022, to expand the networks and opportunities for regional artists, and the reach of metropolitan organisations.
Libby Lincoln has undertaken leadership roles in producing and curating major cultural projects and managing diverse arts organisations for the past 32 years; and is considered one of the most experienced arts leaders in Australia.
Through her senior management roles in numerous artistic organisations, Libby has curated and implemented a range of artistic projects from international collaborations and commissions; to large-scale community projects; to initiatives that develop and profile local artists and arts organisations. Partnerships, artistic exchange and collaborations have been a major theme throughout her career.
Libby has implemented benchmark models through long-term partnerships with government, including regional Councils, and funding bodies. Through her arts development roles, she has provided leadership for local artists, strategies for art form and audience development, and developed education initiatives.
From 2017 to 2022, Libby led arts and cultural transformation for the City of Gold Coast. As custodian of the Cultural Strategy 2023, she was responsible for arts development and cultural growth in the City. She worked closely across all areas of council to embed the cultural strategy priorities into destination and attraction policies.
The 2022 floods were a calling for Libby to work with the community in which she lived. In November 2022 she was appointed as Executive Director of NORPA – Northern Rivers Performing Arts and is now co-leading the company in its recovery and rediscovery of its role as a theatre maker. Libby possesses a Masters of Fine Arts in Cultural Leadership through NiDA.
Cherine Fahd is one of Australia's leading photographic artists. For over twenty years, she has exhibited, written and curated works that focus on photography and video performance. Her projects often incorporate members of the public, her immediate family, friends and the artistic community. Cherine is interested in how photography brings people together and how we use photography to perform, connect and tell stories. Her work has been commissioned by major cultural institutions in Australia, including the Sydney Opera House, Carriageworks, Performance Space and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. She holds a PhD from Monash University Melbourne and is an Associate Professor at the University of Technology Sydney.
Ashleigh Ralph is the Director of Lismore Regional Gallery. Before this, she has been Assistant Director, Development and Operations at the Institute of Modern Art, Assistant Curator at UAP and has worked at Griffith University Art Museum, Edwina Corlette Gallery, and the University of Queensland Art Museum. She is also the Founder and Director of Innerspace Contemporary Art. Ashleigh holds a Bachelor of Arts, Art History with First Class Honours from the University of Queensland.