Next Wave Staff

Jeff Khan, Artistic Director

jeff (at) nextwave.org.au

Jeff Khan is a curator, writer and arts administrator, and Next Wave’s Artistic Director. As Artistic Director of the 2008 Next Wave Festival, Jeff oversaw the development and delivery of a multidisciplinary Festival program which included 61 projects and nearly 400 artists from diverse backgrounds and artforms, from around Australia and internationally.

Originally from Western Australia, Jeff moved to Melbourne in 2003 to take up the role of Communications Manager at Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces. Prior to this, he held positions at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) and the John Curtin Gallery, and in 2002 undertook a six month internship at the Guggenheim R. Museum in New York. Over the course of his career thus far, Jeff has curated and developed numerous projects including exhibitions, publications, performances and special events with galleries and museums, performance spaces, artist-run initiatives, and unconventional spaces such as nightclubs, laneways and public spaces of varying description.

Jeff was a Curatorial Advisor for Rapt!, a major cultural exchange project between Australia and Japan in 2005-6. He is also a founding Board member of unProjects, and an editorial committee member of unMagazine. He was a member of the Midsumma Festival’s Visual Arts Working group from 2003 – 2006 and currently sits on the City of Yarra’s Arts Advisory Committee. As a writer he has contributed to numerous magazines and journals including Artlink, Photofile, RealTime and un Magazine as well as catalogue essays for the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, the Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art and numerous other galleries and artists’ projects.

Fiona Maxwell, General Manager

fiona (at) nextwave.org.au

Fiona Maxwell has been General Manager of Next Wave for the 2006 and 2008 Next Wave Festivals, including the Youth Program of the Cultural Festival of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Fiona’s background is in visual arts and festivals, having received a Bachelor of Arts – Visual Arts at QUT and a Masters in Arts Administration from the University of New South Wales. Prior to Next Wave she worked at the Monash University Museum of Art as Program Administrator, working on marketing and audience development strategies. Fiona was Systems Administrator for the 2004 Next Wave Festival and project coordinator for Free Play: The Next Wave Independent Game Developers Conference.

Previously, Fiona worked at the J.Paul Getty Centre in Los Angeles, the Biennale of Sydney, and the Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art. Her skills lie in administration, human resources management and project coordination. Fiona’s curatorial projects most recently include a Next Wave Kickstart exhibition, Uninhabited Territories, featuring new work by seven young South African artists. Fiona was also awarded one of the inaugural ABAF Margaret Lawrence Bequest Professional Development Scholarships to attend a leadership course at Melbourne Business School. Fiona is on the board of the Geelong Courthouse Youth Arts Centre, the Arts Industry Council and Artabase.net.

Ulanda Blair, Special Projects Coordinator

ulanda (at) nextwave.org.au

Ulanda Blair is an arts project manager, curator and writer. She received a Bachelor of Arts – Deans Scholars Program (Honours) from Monash University in 2003 and worked at Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces as Gallery Coordinator from 2004 to 2007.

At Next Wave Ulanda manages the Next Wave Festival’s keynote projects, which in 2008 included Unsheltered Workshops, Membrane, The Nightclub Project, Polyphonic and TEXT CAMP, and she also coordinates the organisation’s professional development program for artists, Kickstart. In addition to writing numerous catalogue essays for local and international exhibitions, Ulanda’s writing has appeared in Art & Australia, Art World, Artlink, Eyeline, Flash, Green Pages and un Magazine. She recently received an Australia Council RUN_WAY grant and will undertake a research trip to China, Japan and Singapore later in 2008.

Paul Davis, Marketing and Communications Coordinator

paul (at) nextwave.org.au

Paul Davis is an arts worker and illustrator, with more than ten years experience working in various arts environments.

Paul previously worked at the University of Melbourne with Asialink, and in 2004 he assisted in the set up and promotion of the arts precinct at the Abbotsford Convent Foundation in Melbourne. Paul trained as a teacher and taught for a number of years in Australia before working as a theatre manager/director in Ahmadabad, India. He returned to Australia and completed his Graduate Diploma in Arts Management at the University of South Australia.

Paul was Communications Coordinator as part of an AusAID-funded aid project in Vietnam and in 2000 and 2001 was Cultural Affairs Manager at the Australian Embassy in Hanoi where he worked to promote Australian artists of all types in Vietnam. Paul worked as a freelance illustrator in Tokyo before returning to Australia in 2004. In early 2007 Paul joined Next Wave, and he continues to work as an illustrator for magazines and newspapers worldwide.

Tamara Marwood, Associate Producer – Regional Projects

tamara (at) nextwave.org.au

Tamara Marwood is an artist and project manager based in central Victoria.

Tamara’s practice as an artist and producer is focused upon sustaining art practice and emerging art form within Australia’s regional landscape of geographical distance and divide.

Tamara was the founding coordinator of Allan’s Walk Artist-Run-Space Inc, established in Bendigo in 2000 (until 2008) and has produced numerous projects that examine and address regional emerging art practice including TEST MATCH (2007 & 2006); Allan’s Walk Talks at Heidi Modern Museum of Art (2007), Independently Speaking (2007) and Seven Days & Seven Suitcases (2005 & 2004)

Tamara’s stitch-based practice is primarily concerned with regional landscape and its constructed history. She has exhibited in group and solos throughout Australia including shows at the VCA Gallery (2007), Bendigo Art Gallery (2007), Breadbox (2005), Alluvial Gallery (2007) and Platform (2005). Tamara’s most recent body of work will be showing at Craft Victoria (2008) and TROCADERO Art Space and Ararat Art Gallery in (2009).

The 2008 Next Wave Festival T-shirt, in action.

Next Wave Board Members

Christopher Bell (Chair) – Member since December 2004

Christopher Bell is CEO of The Leadership Consortium. Founded in 1992 The Leadership Consortium brings together 18 of Australia’s premier organisations from both the private and public sectors to develop and promote the principles and practice of executive leadership. Chris has a history in corporate employee relations and training services, and worked within the Arts Industry as a writer, director and manager for a variety of theatre and opera companies. He has directed over 30 productions and worked with the Adelaide Festival of Arts, The State Opera of South Australia, South Australian Arts Trust and the Adelaide Fringe Festival, among others.

Jacqueleen Brown – Member since 2007

Jacqueleen Brown was Senior Manager in Marketing Communications with DiamlerCrysler Australia/Pacific. In that role she specialised in brand awareness building and has the significant task of formulating integrated marketing strategies for her company across the region. Jacqueleen holds a Master of Arts Communication with RMIT (2002-2004) and completed her Bachelor of Business (Marketing) at QUT in 1990.

Jacquie is now with the City of Melbourne working in Communications.

Robert Brown (Treasurer) – Member since August 2005

Robert currently works within the Private Equity division at ANZ bank. ANZ private equity takes ownership interests in private profitable businesses with a view to growing value through strategic expansion, operational improvement and leverage reduction. The division takes an active interest in the management of it’s portfolio businesses providing support in terms of strategic advice, attendance at board meetings and transactional support.

Prior to his role at ANZ, Robert completed over nine years with PricewaterhouseCoopers in several different roles including five years as an auditor and four years as a management consult delivering advice on finance, operations and project management. Robert has a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Accounting and is a qualified charted accountant.

Silvio Giorgio – Member since July 2007

Silvio Giorgio is a management consultant focusing on Finance Effectiveness with PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He specialises in Corporate Performance Management, working with clients to design, implement and maintain effective reporting frameworks and efficient management processes that support corporate strategy and business objectives. Silvio has ten years experience gained in a variety of disciplines including insolvency, financial reporting, taxation advice, external audit, project management and performance improvement. Silvio holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce and is a qualified Chartered Accountant.

Silvio has a keen interest in the arts, and looks forward to building connections between the arts and the corporate sector.

Kath Papas – Member since 2007

Kath Papas is Director of Ausdance Victoria. Kath curated the successful 5th Australian Youth Dance Festival in 2006. She has a broad understanding of issues and practices within the Victorian dance industry, including dance in the education and accredited training sectors. Kath holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Dance from Deakin University, and practices as a collaborator/performer in devised physical work.

Malena Roufos – Member since December 2007

Malena Roufos is Director of Human Resources with the Melbourne Business School, one of Australia’s pre-eminent provider’s of business education and management development. Malena brings to Next Wave a solid background in Human Resources having held various senior leadership positions within the corporate arena. Malena provides Next Wave with experience in performance management, change management, strategy development and leadership development and holds a Bachelor of Business majoring in Human Resource Management and Finance.

Kate Sulan – Member since August 2005

Kate is the founder of Rawcus Theatre Company, which develops new work with actors with disabilities. In 2002 Rawcus was awarded the department of Human Services Inclusion Award for Arts and Culture and has produced several acclaimed works including Flight, and Designer Child.

Sarah Tutton – Member since August 2007

Sarah Tutton is an independent curator, writer and project manager. She has held positions in numerous arts organisations in Melbourne including Visual Arts Program Manager at Asialink, Acting Artistic Director and Visual Arts Program Manager at the Next Wave Festival, Project Curator at Experimenta, Assistant Curator at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art and sessional lecturer in the Sculpture Department at RMIT. In 2004 Sarah edited Mesh#14, Experimenta’s annual online journal, and convened the Floating Worlds forum at the Sidney Myer Asia Centre. Sarah travelled to Bangkok in 2001 on an Asialink Arts Management Residency and in 2004 she was awarded a Gordon Darling Travel Grant to undertake research in regional Queensland. Some of her curatorial projects include I thought I knew but I was wrong: New Video Art from Australia (Asialink / ACMI touring exhibition), No Worries/Mai Pen Rai: Art from Australia and Thailand (Monash University Museum of Art), and Useby: Asia Pacific Artists’ Initiatives Project (Centre for Contemporary Photography / Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces / Melbourne Festival). Sarah is also a board member of Experimenta Media Arts.

Frances Wheelahan (Deputy Chair) Member since December 2003

Frances Wheelahan is a senior associate at Corrs Chambers Westgarth Lawyers. Frances works in the field of intellectual property and technology and is a volunteer lawyer with the Arts Law Centre of Australia, the St Kilda Legal Service and the Victorian Assocation for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (VACRO). She has also worked in a volunteer capacity with the Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service and the Public Defender’s Office in Bethel, Alaska. While studying her law degree Frances worked at the Performing Arts Museum and the Alfred Brash Soundhouse at the Victoria Arts Centre. Frances is a keen supporter of the arts and a practicing cellist.

Janenne Willis – Member since December 2007

Janenne is currently Founder and Managing Director of Undercurrent, a boutique company specialising in strategy, change and communications. She has an impressive corporate track record in both industrial and consumer environments based on strategic marketing and an ability to successfully drive change in teams facing uncertain conditions.

Janenne is an avid learner with a bank of formal qualifications including an MBA and awards in International Marketing and Business Planning. She is also a fellow of the exclusive Leadership Victoria’s Williamson Community Leadership Program, an intense course in community leadership that explores the issues facing Victoria in the next ten years.

Contact Next Wave

Next Wave Festival Inc.
Office 4, 5 Blackwood St.
North Melbourne VIC 3051 Australia
Tel: +61 (0)3 9329 9422
Fax: +61 (0)3 9329 8122
nextwave@nextwave.org.au

Getting to our office

Next Wave is located at the Meat Market, Corner of Courtney St and Blackwood St, North Melbourne.

BY TRAM
Catch either the 59 or 19 tram from Elizabeth Street in the city and alight at Blackwood Street on Femington Road, across from the SevenEleven.

BY TRAIN
Catch the train to Flagstaff Station, get on the 55 tram, then alight at Blackwood Street on Femington Road, across from the SevenEleven.

PARKING
There is limited on-street parking available around the Meat Market building.

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