Artistic Director

Tessa is a theatre director, dramaturg and collaborator who has worked extensively across theatre, performance, dance theatre, live art and socially engaged projects.  

She was Griffin Theatre Company’s inaugural Associate Artistic Director from 2020 until 2022 where she directed the world premieres of Merlynn Tong’s Golden Blood and Kendall Feaver’s Wherever She Wanders to great critical and audience acclaim. Tessa is also a founding member of Adelaide-based theatre company isthisyours? for which she has directed Angelique by Duncan Graham and David Williamson’s The Club (An all-female, 3 actor version) as well as directed and devised #Youwannatalkaboutit, Best We Forget, and Make Me Honest Make Me Wedding Cake. 

 

Chair

Elaine Chia, whose career spans music, theatre, visual arts and festivals, is a passionate advocate for the arts. Former roles include CEO of City Recital Hall, Sydney, and Executive Director, Adelaide Festival. 

Deputy Chair

Elizabeth Pakchung is a company director, lawyer, and supporter of fashion, art and architecture. She is currently a Director of H&M Australia & NZ (part of the global fashion H&M Group), Oranges & Sardines Foundation, Gallery 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, and Contemporary Asian Australian Performance.

Secretary

Karilyn Brown was appointed Course Leader, NIDA MFA (Cultural Leadership) in January 2019.

Prior to that, Karilyn was the CEO of Performing Lines (2013-2018) and General Manager of the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture (2009-2013).

Treasurer

Gary is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants has been partner of the accounting firm, Rosenfeld Kant & Co since 1994. Gary provides accounting, audit, taxation and financial planning services to a diversified range of clients including many in the arts industry.

Ien Ang is Distinguished Professor of Cultural Studies at the Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University, of which she was the founding director until 2014. She gained her PhD from the University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands).

Ien’s internationally acclaimed books include Watching Dallas: Soap Opera and the Melodramatic Imagination (1985), Desperately Seeking the Audience (1991) and On Not Speaking Chinese: Living Between Asia and the West (2001).

 

Simon Chan is the Director of Art Atrium, an art gallery exhibiting contemporary Australian, Asian and Aboriginal art with a special focus on cross cultural collaboration and expression in art as a reflection of our multicultural society in a globalised world. Simon is also a practising architect and Director of SCA Architects.

Linly has worked in various roles in the arts across festivals, theatre, music and dance for the past 12 years. Since 2016, she has worked at City Recital Hall initially as Marketing Manager before moving into her current role of Producer.

Prior to this, she held marketing positions at Sydney Writers’ Festival, Darwin Festival, Darlinghurst Theatre Company, Sydney Festival and The New Zealand Dance Company. At Sydney Writers’ Festival, Linly also programmed and managed the Festival's education, children's and young adults, and suburban and regional event programs.