Alicia Talbot - Senior Strategic Project Leader, City of Parramatta

Alicia’s experience spans artistic practice, programming and designing cultural strategy and cultural infrastructure for cities. Her expertise in developing collaborations across multiple sectors has seen her develop an impressive body of work that weaves together a deep interrogation of place, identity and story.

As an artist she has created iconic, critically and audience acclaimed new Australian works that draw on collaboration, conversation and consultation - often the result of long-term partnerships with Aboriginal, First Nations and culturally diverse practitioners and communities. Alicia’s projects have been presented to national and international audiences and festivals including Adelaide, Sydney, Yirramboi (Melbourne), Luminato (Canada) and LIFT (UK).

Over the past few years she’s turned her attention to creative place-making and city shaping projects, leading the ambitious re-visioning of the City of Parramatta’s cultural plan.

Alicia engages political, government, community, business, cultural, religious, heritage and educational stakeholders in partnerships that drive cultural action.

Vic McEwan - Artistic Director, The Cad Factory

Vic McEwan is the Artistic Director of The Cad Factory, an artist led organisation based near Narrandera in regional NSW, which creates an international program of new, immersive and experimental work guided by authentic exchange, ethical principles, people and place.

The Cad Factory places people at the centre of its arts practice, believing that if the arts is about an exploration of the human condition, then engagement with human beings is the best way to make meaningful work. Their programming is based on breaking down hierarchies and binaries that exist within our contemporary world; such as the division of regional and urban, man and woman or human and non-human. Understanding these realities as being in complex, intra-connected relationships, rather than in opposition.

Vic’s practice involves working with sound, video, installation and performance, with a particular interest in site-specific work. He is interested in creating new dynamics by working with diverse partners and exploring difficult themes within the lived experience of communities and localities.

Recent work includes a residency at The Tate, Liverpool, showing work in development from over 3 years spent exploring the role contemporary arts practice can play in trauma reduction within a hospital environment. He has exhibited and presented new work internationally including at the recent Big Anxiety Festival in Sydney.

Vic was the 2015 Artist in Residence at the National Museum of Australia and the recipient of the 2014/16 Create NSW Regional Fellowship. He sits on the NSW/ACT Arts/Health leadership group and is a board member of Music NSW and holds a Masters of Arts Practice (High Distinction).

Peter Denham - Director Curatorial, Collections and Exhibitions, MAAS

As Director Curatorial, Collections and Exhibitions, Peter Denham is responsible for ensuring the MAAS Collection, exhibitions and research reach the broadest possible audience.

Peter joined MAAS with over 25 years experience in the cultural sector. His curatorial experience includes roles at Queensland Art Gallery, Cairns Regional Gallery and National Gallery of Victoria. Prior to MAAS, Peter worked at the Museum of Brisbane since 2006. Under his Directorship the Museum won several exhibition awards and underwent a major building restoration and building project.

Peter studied at the Royal Society of Arts in London and holds a Master of Arts in Cultural Leadership from Griffith University, where he was awarded an Academic Excellence award. In 2015, Peter was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study new Museum approaches, which saw him travel to more than 100 museums around the world. Peter has a strong curatorial and publishing record and currently holds a position on the Advisory Board for the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research.