Sydney Unlocked: Charting A Course For Sydney's Creative Future

Jan Fran hosts The Feed on SBS2.  She also writes, produces and presents everything from long form documentaries to comedy segments for the show.

Before that she was a TV journo-turned-VJ who shot and produced stories from all over the world.

She's lived in Lebanon, France, Bangladesh and Uganda and speaks three languages. Most of them terribly. Jan has been nominated for many awards but - in what can only be described as an outrage - has won none.

She's a Sydney-sider but can't tell whether thats a good or bad thing.

Lisa Havilah is the Director of Carriageworks, Sydney, which is the largest and most significant contemporary multi-arts centre of its kind in Australia.  

It produces and presents a contemporary multi-arts program that engages artists and audiences with contemporary ideas and issues. The Centre’s program is artist led and emerges from its commitment to reflect social and cultural diversity.  

Previously, she was the Director of Campbelltown Arts Centre in NSW, where under her directorship, the Centre pioneered a multidisciplinary contemporary arts program, bringing artists and communities across disciplines together through the process of producing contemporary art.

She was Assistant Director of Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre (1998-2004). She has been Chair of Arts NSW’s Western Sydney Program, which was responsible for the implementation of the NSW Government strategy to deliver arts and cultural infrastructure across Western Sydney.

She has been named one of the top 100 influential people of Sydney and in 2013  was awarded FBi’s prestigious SMAC of the Year.

While completing his Bachelor of Commerce at the University of New South Wales, Matt worked in marketing for Heineken as they expanded their operations in Australia. The experience whet his appetite for marketing and business growth strategies.

After starting at IBM Australia, he was quickly offered roles in corporate and brand strategy at IBM Asia Pacific, tasked with developing the advertising and media activity. He was then asked to run brand, advertising and media for all emerging markets. This role covered operations in over 16 markets such as China, India and Brazil, management of a 40-person team and a budget in excess of US$100M. During this time he helped develop the IBM Smarter Planet strategy and activity that would make it the second most valued brand globally.

Joining The Monkeys in 2011, Matt now serves as the Managing Director. He works across both planning and content management, working extensively with Telstra and Qantas, and is also heavily involved in campaigns for MLA, IGA, The University of Sydney, and Intel.

Whilst still relatively young, The Monkeys has captured the imagination of Australian advertising, and were named Mumbrella Agency of the Year for 2015 and won the 2015 Ad Campaign of the Year for the MLA Australia Day Campaign. They have also won 2015 Agency of the Year for Creative Brief, AdNews and B&T amongst other industry accolades.

Artist, entertainer, activist and therapist. Jamie is somewhat of a Sydney institution and true crusader of DIY underground culture. Jaimie has been involved not only in the creative arts for many decades but also in welfare work on the front line in Sydney.

He originally started as a nurse, then a detached youth worker, he ran a C.Y.S.S centre, became a therapist in aged care and also drove a Missionbeat van assisting the homeless.

He was the star of SBS documentary "Love & Anarchy", Co-host of SBS "Movie Show" and co- presenter of FBi Radio's infamous radio show "The Naked City".  

Currently he is running two weekly musical events in the city, "Toho Nights" at Goros & "Viva la Vinyl " at the Darlo Bar but you may also remember him from the legendary nightclub "Sounds of Seduction".

Hugh Nichols is the City of Sydney’s Strategy Advisor for Live Music and Performance.  He was the project manager of the City’s Live Music and Performance Taskforce, and co-authored the resulting Live Music and Performance Action Plan.

In his current role, he provides guidance to the sector on regulatory and governance matters, and is responsible for internal process reform, strategic research, sector development projects and advocacy to other levels of government.

Outside of his work at the City of Sydney Hugh has been a freelance arts and music writer with work published in Un Magazine, Ampersand, Kill Your Darlings and others. He was also Chair of Accessible Arts’ Supported Studio Network and an Editor at Das Platforms. He is also a board member of Brand X.

Jordana Maisie is an artist and designer based in New York City. In her eight years of creative practice, Maisie has worked across disciplines, scales, contexts and continents. From gallery works and large-scale public art commissions, to architectural and lighting design projects, at the heart of her work is a profound commitment to finding innovative design solutions, with a dedication to artistic thinking and the latent potential of materials,craftsmanship and technology.

Maisie is a graduate of the Master of Architecture and MFA in Lighting Design from Parsons School of Design in New York City, as well as a Master of Digital Media specialising in video production and sound engineering from the College of Fine Arts in Sydney, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography, from the College of Fine Arts in Sydney and the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland. With a background spanning photography, video production, sound engineering, interactive installation, architecture, and lighting design, Maisie brings a fresh approach to user experience within a traditional architectural context.

Commercially, Maisie has made work for clients such as Vogue, IBM and FEIT and in 2014 she was invited to The White House in Washington DC as part of a design team tasked with creating a series of temporary installations for an event hosted by The First Lady, Michelle Obama.

Maisie’s most recent project: Volume and Void, designed for FEIT’s West Village location, was announced as a finalist in the 2016 Architizer A+ Architecture Awards.

Ianto Ware currently works in Cultural Strategy at the City of Sydney. He was previously the founding director of Adelaide’s Format Collective, producer of the Festival of Unpopular Culture, and a founder and CEO of Renew Adelaide.

In 2012, he was appointed National Live Music Coordinator, going on to become Co-Director of the National Live Music Office. He also holds a PhD in English, and his first book was published by Hunter Publishers in 2014.

Ianto has a particular interest in regulation, cultural participation and social justice, and has worked extensively with small creative enterprises negotiating building, liquor licensing and planning laws.

Professor James Arvanitakis is the Dean of the Graduate Research School at Western Sydney University, where he also lectures in Humanities and is a member of the University's Institute for Culture and Society.

James is internationally recognised for his innovative teaching style and was the recipient of the Prime Minister's University Teacher of the Year Award in 2012 and an Eminent Researcher Award in 2015 from the Australia India Education Council. He is a regular media commentator appearing on ABC TV and recently launched Sociologic (the book) and the podcast with FBi Radio.

His research areas include citizenship, resilience, piracy and the future of universities and he blogs at www.jamesarvanitakis.net.

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