About Us

Metro Arts exists to ensure new art is created today, tomorrow and beyond. We champion all contemporary art forms (visual and performance) and the creation of thought provoking and exhilarating art. 

For over 40 years we have been the incubator and launchpad for some of Australia’s finest new artists. We support artists every step of the way – from the early development of ideas through to presenting and touring work. We program diverse works across visual and performing arts – including music, cabaret, comedy, dance, theatre and more… 

Ever forwarding Australia’s vibrant arts industry, Metro Arts provides much needed space (physically and figuratively) for Australian artists to grow, create, develop, experience and carve out a sustainable and viable arts practice.

BUILDING A LEGACY FOR AUSTRALIAN CULTURE AND STORYTELLING

We know that when artists are properly supported, they have the resources to create powerful work that expands and shifts hearts and minds. Investing in artists enables them to create, perform and present works that forge a new way forward.

Metro Arts believes in the capacity of arts and culture to connect and strengthen communities, to stimulate creative thinking and conversation. We advocate for the social and health benefits of the arts and its intrinsic value to our society. We acknowledge and honour the story-telling and art-making at the heart of First Nations’ cultures, and the enrichment it gives to the lives of all Australians.

ART IS WHERE WE LIVE

Every day within our galleries, theatre, workshops and studio spaces, there are artists taking risks, experimenting, developing and creating.

Today our head office is in West End, Brisbane, equipped with state-of-the-art galleries, artist studios and theatre facilities  – all located down the old Peters Ice-cream Factory Lane, within the thriving West Village precinct.

Our sister-workshop facility at Norman Park provides vital space for visual artists to create, build and experiment.

CELEBRATING ALL VOICES AND STORIES 

At Metro Arts, you’ll always be surprised, bewildered, entertained and amazed. The stories you see here – you won’t see anywhere else.

OUR BOARD

Dr Fiona Hawthorne

Chair
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Fiona started her career as a registered nurse in Brisbane. She has taught bioethics, clinical communication and preparation for professional practice in schools of nursing and medicine at various universities for a number of years, as well as working as a perinatal counsellor supporting families whose baby was likely to die shortly before, during or after delivery. Fiona completed a PhD in 2006 examining the construction of risk and sources of influence when contemplating pre-natal screening. From her PhD work, Fiona was fortunate enough to be awarded the Bob and June Prickett Churchill Fellowship to undertake an extensive study tour of the UK and USA investigating how a perinatal palliative care service may be developed for Australia. Fiona has worked as the Clinical Ethicist for a large metropolitan Australian hospital and in the healthcare context in Queensland, primarily in the area of adverse events and clinical incident management.

Currently, Fiona is the General Manager of Hummingbird House, Queensland’s only children’s hospice.

In 2018, based upon her work with Hummingbird House, Fiona was awarded an opportunity to participate in the Global Leadership Practices Program in India. This program, offered by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust of Australia, and Yellow Edge – Performance Architects, is designed to expose globally minded leaders to what’s going on behind the scenes in China, the USA and India. She is also a member of the Churchill Fellows’ Association of Queensland. Outside of work, Fiona sings loudly in her car and is trying to convince her husband and two children to worship her as a living goddess.

Paul Bowker

Treasurer
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Paul is a lawyer and CFO with an extensive background in corporate governance, equity markets and complex commercial transactions.

Alongside his current role as co-founder and Managing Director of Brick Lane Brewing, one of Australia’s largest independent breweries, Paul has held executive level roles in ASX listed companies, regulatory bodies and worked as a lawyer internationally for major law firms.

Paul has a passion for music and the arts and through his current executive role supports a number of music and arts initiatives across Australia. Paul is also involved and a supporter of the hospitality and events sector and as a side interest is currently completing a Diploma in Wine.

Naomi Blacklock

Naomi Blacklock

Director
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Naomi Blacklock is an artist based in Meanjin (Brisbane), Australia whose practice maps the nexus of embodied performance, cultural heritage and gender identity. Working across a range of media, from experimental sound and video installation to performance and sculpture, her work creatively examines the mythologies, archetypes and harmful histories of gender and cultural identity through an intersectional feminist lens.

In 2019 Naomi was awarded her Doctorate of Philosophy from Queensland University of Technology for her thesis Conjuring Alterity: Refiguring the Witch and The Female Scream in Contemporary Art. Her work has been presented at Hobart’s Art Festival, Dark Mofo and in numerous Galleries and Artist-Run Initiatives both locally and nationally. With broad experience in the Visual Arts sector, Naomi is a current Board Member of Metro Arts and has served as the Director of Boxcopy Contemporary Art Space and a Founding Co-Director of Clutch Collective ARI (2016).

Peter O'Sullivan

Peter O’Sullivan

Director
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Peter is an HR leader, business executive and lawyer with specialist skills in organisational culture, strategy, learning and leadership development. He is Chief People Officer at BDO and has served in a range of Board and Committee roles in both commercial and purpose-driven organisations. He has also been a member of BDO’s Global People Committee for over 10 years, providing an international outlook and lens to his work.

Committed to social justice, inclusion and wellbeing, Peter believes that engagement with the arts is integral to the development of good citizens, effective communities and a thriving society.

Tara Hastings

Tara Hastings

Director
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Tara has over 20 years’ experience practising law and runs her own consultancy, primarily providing commercial and governance advice to a range of clients. Prior to this Tara was a General Counsel for a number of commercial and government organisations including Racing Queensland, TAFE Queensland, Cricket Australia and Ramsay Health Care UK. Tara is also a Director of the Gold Coast Turf Club.

Tara has an equal love and passion for arts and sport and regularly attends both. Having lived 8 years in London, Tara has been lucky enough to experience theatre, arts and cultural events not only in Australia but in the UK, Europe and America. She believes strongly that the arts is a critical part of the make up of a society and community that needs to be valued, protected and promoted.

Natano Fa’anana

Director
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MEET THE TEAM

Gen Trace

Genevieve Trace

Executive Director
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Genevieve has been a staple feature of Metro Arts for the past 10 years, having worked with the organisation as an artist, producer, and on staff making coffees, selling tickets, in general administration and most recently in Partnerships and Development.  She is a QUT graduate with a Bachelor of Laws (Hons), a Bachelor of Creative Industries (Drama), and Master of Creative Industries (Arts Management and Creative Production).  Genevieve is driven to create meaningful relationships between the corporate, government and arts sectors, and continues to hone her legal and arts administration skills to this effect. She is inspired by the social egalitarianism offered by community driven contemporary art and enjoys working with Metro Arts artists to achieve this on a daily basis.

In a former life, Genevieve was a multidisciplinary contemporary performance maker. Her arts industry experience includes stage management, producing, curatorial management, directing for performance, lighting design, costume design, performing and facilitating performance workshops/lectures.

Shani Gould

Operations Manager
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Starting at Metro Arts in 2016 as an intern, Shani has since held a variety of roles across marketing, producing and ticketing. In her current capacity, she manages Metro Arts’ daily operations across venue, administration, ticketing, and our internship and volunteer programs.

Shani has a Bachelor of Entertainment Industries from QUT (2016) and a Certificate III in Visual Communication (Photo Imaging) from the Design College Australia (2013).

Sofie Ham

Head of Marketing & Development
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Sofie joined the Metro Arts team in 2022 and manages marketing, communications and strategic partnership development for the organisation.

Prior to this, Sofie worked in Australia and internationally across broadcasting, festivals, conferences and major events – (and even political campaigns) – working with the IAS, NYCPride, APAM, the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts  (AACTA), ABC, RMIT University, the Australian Government, and more. 

Sofie’s specialty lies in the realms of digital strategy and brand development. Her expertise spans diverse industries and leadership roles that encompass strategic marketing and partnership activation, business development, HR and resource management.

With a background in Journalism, Sofie is continually inspired by the incredible stories and creative work of artists. She is passionate about audience development – in making art more accessible to the wider public, helping arts venues cement their status as an invaluable space we can all go to connect with the world around us.

 

Ben Knapton_Metro Arts

Benjamin Knapton

Artistic Associate - Performance
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Benjamin Knapton is an independent Australian director who works across theatre, contemporary circus and film, as well as being the Associate Director of Brisbane-based Circa. With Circa Ben has created, directed and co-directed new circus works and large-scale events that have toured extensively to major international festivals and venues.

In his role as the Artistic Associate – Performance at Metro Arts, Benjamin will offer crucial support to artists, assisting them in the creative development process of new performance works in readiness for the stage and potential touring.

As an independent director Benjamin has worked with festivals and companies including Festival 2018, Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival, Brisbane Festival, Sziget Festival, The Barbican, Stalker, Brink Productions, Bleach Festival, HOTA and QPAC. Ben’s popular new creation Mallakhamb Mumbai premiered at the Commonwealth Games ‘Festival 2018’ and subsequently toured to India, Hungary and Mexico. The show has performed for 25,000 people including a sold-out-season at the Royal Opera House Mumbai. In 2019 Benjamin directed the inaugural ‘Calling Home’ concert at HOTA on the Gold Coast featuring William Barton, Yirrmal, Lior and Parvyn Singh. In 2020 Ben premiered a new 40-channel video installation called Ephemera for Brisbane’s Metro Arts.

Benjamin has also produced and managed a number of international tours and new projects, including projects with London Festival, Norfolk and Norwich Festival (How Like an Angel), International Dance Festival Birmingham (Wings of Desire), MA Scene National in France (Before Your Eyes / Devant Vos Yeux) and the film adaptation of Tim Winton’s The Turning. He holds a BA in Applied Theatre, an MA in directing, and a practice-led PhD in directing. Ben’s Masters won the prestigious Philip Parsons Prize.

Danielle Carney

Senior Producer
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Danielle joined Metro Arts in early 2021 as Lead Producer for Performance. Prior to this, she has worked across Brisbane as an Independent Director and Producer of theatre, Events and Festivals. Danielle holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama, a Diploma of Event Management, and five years of experience in the finance industry working as a team leader. With a passion for people management, creating immersive experiences and audience development, Danielle is committed to creating teams and work environments that facilitate meaningful collaboration.

Daniel Clifford_Metro Arts_Artistic Associate

Daniel Clifford

Artistic Associate - Visual Arts
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In his role at Metro Arts as Artistic Associate – Visual Arts, Daniel Clifford is dedicated to fostering impactful collaborations and commissioning opportunities between artists, commercial industry, and the broader community.

As a former Principal of Art + Design at UAP, combined with over 2 decades of experience, Daniel has played a key role in conceptualising major art and design projects – collaborating with artists such as Reko Rennie, Nike Savvas, Florentijn Hofman, Kehinde Wiley –  and is immensely proud to have contributed to culturally potent artworks such as “First Contact” by Laurel Nannup, “The Eyes of the Land and the Sea by Alison Page and Nik Lachajczak and works Sister Charm and Sister Crossing by Janet Fieldhouse.

With a commitment to prioritizing the utmost quality in visual arts commissions and installations, Daniel is devoted to nurturing critical awareness and motivating artists to challenge and enhance their creative practices in a collaborative, engaging and playful manner.

Annelize Mulder | Metro Arts

Annelize Mulder

Curator - Visual Arts
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Annelize joined Metro Arts in 2023, bringing over two decades of experience in the arts to the role as Curator. She previously served as the MAVA Pathfinders Producer at Metro Arts and held the role of Senior Governance Officer at QAGOMA. Annelize also completed her PhD in Fine Art at Griffith University in 2022.

With a background as an exhibiting artist, academic researcher, educator, program coordinator, and writer, Annelize is passionate about fostering arts communities and providing artists with the supportive environments to expand their artistic practices.

An artist herself, Annelize’s journey with Metro Arts commenced in 2018 when she was selected as an Artist in Residence. This transformative experience marked the beginning of her enduring connection with our organisation, instilling in her a profound appreciation for the value of nurturing spaces where artists can experiment and cultivate their creative efforts.

Bianca Bality

Venue and Events Coordinator
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Bianca recently joined the Metro Arts team in 2022 as Venue Hire and Events Coordinator. In this new role she will be assisting and facilitating hire for artists and general community alike, through providing support in bringing their ideas, celebrations and functions into Metro Arts’ unique and eclectic spaces. Prior to this, Bianca has been a familiar face around the local theatre industry, as a Front of House all-rounder, theatre maker, performer and playwright. She is also a co-founder, producer and core creative for independent theatre collective, The Naughty Corner.

Bianca holds a Bachelor of Arts in Contemporary and Applied Theatre from Griffith University, and is particularly passionate about the creation and production of new and evocative performance works within the independent sector.

Jean Eduardo

Jean Eduardo

Finance Officer
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Jean graduated in Accounting from the Federal University of Paraná, Brazil. With over six years of experience, primarily as an auditor, Jean now serves as a dedicated Finance Officer at our company. He is committed to leveraging his expertise to help Metro Arts achieve its goals and drive success.

Nathaniel Knight

Nathaniel Knight

Venue and Technical Coordinator
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Nathaniel joined the Metro Arts team in 2022 as a casual technician, stepping up to Technical Coordinator in 2023.

Managing the technical operations and aspects of Metro Arts Nathaniel has been involved with the performing arts since 2006 starting out as a performer.

Gaining his Bachelor of Fine Arts (Technical Production) in 2021, and his Certificate III in Live Production Services and Certificate II in Creative Industries in 2018 Nathaniel has since been guided towards the light behind the curtains and doors.

Since 2021 Nathaniel has been a part of numerous productions and venues. Although his background is in lighting and theatre he has worked in every production role from flashy cabaret to corporate events and Senior Vision Operator to Sound Designer.

Kelsey Booth

Kelsey Booth

Associate Technical Coordinator
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Kelsey has joined Metro Arts for 2024 as the Associate Technical Coordinator. They have experience as a technician and stage manager across a variety of productions including circus, dance and theatre.

Kelsey is committed to improving the accessibility of theatre and performance experiences for all those involved in the process, including audiences, artists and arts workers. They focus on working with the Deaf community, advocating for access and inclusion in the arts.

Kelsey holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Technical Production, and a Diploma of Auslan (Australian Sign Language).

Matthew Zaza

Graphic Designer | Digital Coordinator
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Matthew undertook a work placement through QUT during his studies, and soon joined the team as graphic designer/digital coordinator in early 2024. Matt holds a Bachelor of Business Marketing, and Bachelor of Creative Industries Interactive Visual Design in 2023. With a strong passion for graphic design, Matt loves all things visual, and is passionate about helping artists showcase their work and exposing audiences to new contemporary art.

Jenna Muir

Development Coordinator
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Jenna is a recent addition at Metro Arts, joining the team in 2023 in the capacity of Development Coordinator. In this role, she enjoys working collaboratively across departments to deliver creative fundraising strategy and build meaningful relationships to bolster the future of arts practice in Meanjin-Brisbane.

Since 2018, Jenna has provided curatorial and development support to local and international arts organisations including Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art and the University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane; Melbourne Art Library and Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Jenna brings fundraising, sponsorship, grant writing and event skills to the team, as well as a passion for sustainability and accessibility in the arts.

Chris Howlett

Chris Howlett

Workshop Manager
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Chris recently joined the Metro Arts team in 2023 to manage our Norman Park Artist Workshop. He has been a practicing artist since the mid-1990’s and holds a Doctor of Philosophy, Masters and Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts. His works have been exhibited in Russia, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, the USA and throughout Australia. As a practitioner interested in the complexities of studio production his diverse background in contemporary art draws from machinima, interactive game mods, site-specific sculpture, sound art, AI, performance, sculpture and painting. Chris is a graduate of CalArts and Queensland University of Technology.

chrishowlett.com.au

Lachlan Orton_Headshot_Metro Arts

Lachlan Orton

Visitor Services Coordinator
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Lachlan joined Metro Arts as Visitor Services Coordinator in 2023 after working as an Usher and Bar attendant starting in 2022.

Lachlan received a Bachelor of Acting and Performance from the University of Canberra.

After Lachlan’s graduation, he has performed in shows at Backdock Arts and even at Metro Arts with the Robert The Cat Collective.

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