Richard Gerver

Richard Gerver has been described as one of the most inspirational leaders of his generation.

Richard began his career as an actor, moving to teaching in 1992. He has achieved great success in education, being considered one of the most outstanding teachers in the United Kingdom by 1997, and winning the prestigious "School Head Teacher of the Year Award" at the British National Teaching Awards 2005 for his work in leading a school on the brink of closure to becoming one of the most innovative in the world.

In 2006 Richard's work was celebrated at the UNESCO World Arts Education Conference in Lisbon, Portugal and in the same year he was invited to Shanghai to speak about education transformation to members of the Chinese Government. 

Richard's work and philosophy have been widely reported in international media in the USA, Russia, Australia and the Netherlands.

Richard now works around the world, sharing his expertise and experience on cultural and organisational transformation, human development, leadership, creativity and innovation. He has worked with some of the world's largest organisations.

Richard also works closely with Sir Ken Robinson on developing awareness of human potential and creativity and features in Robinson's new best-selling book, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything. Richard's first book, Creating Tomorrow's Schools Today, deals with education transformation; his second, scheduled for release in 2011, deals with human capacity and the nurturing of talent.

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Claire Eva

Claire Eva is Head of Marketing and Audiences for the Tate galleries in the UK. Claire has worked with Tate for nine years and leads the planning framework for audiences across all main channels (four galleries, online and partnerships) to ensure audiences are at the heart of business planning and programme choices.

Claire oversees marketing strategy and research as well as working on innovative ideas for exhibition and collection campaigns at Tate Britain and Tate Modern in London. Claire’s team manages a large range of projects each year, including blockbuster shows such as Gauguin, Rothko, the Turner Prize, as well as other ticketed exhibitions, free displays, collections, events, online projects and campaigns to develop new audiences.

Claire also oversees the development, implementation and understanding of the Tate brand across all platforms, embracing digital media and the online channel in Tate's marketing.

Previously, Claire managed marketing for the Hayward Gallery and National Touring Exhibitions in London and marketing for Arnolfini, Bristol. She studied Art and Related Arts at the West Sussex Institute and Communications, Advertising and Marketing with the CAM Foundation. 

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Andrew McIntyre 

Director, Morris Hargreaves McIntyre

Andrew is one of the UK’s leading authorities on audience and organisational development. His work focuses on helping arts organisations to understand, build relationships with and deliver outcomes for their audiences.

With Morris Hargreaves McIntyre (MHM), Andrew has made a major contribution to the way the arts sector thinks about audiences through original qualitative and quantitative research. MHM’s clients include the UK government, major funding bodies in several countries and over 100 theatres, orchestras, opera companies, museums and galleries around the world. Clients range from large-scale super-brands like Tate to small, innovative contemporary music organisations. 

Andrew has created bespoke audience segmentation systems that combine data mining of box office ticketing histories with audience research, work that has been used by clients including the UK's National Trust and London’s Southbank Centre. In New Zealand, Andrew has led Move on Up, a strategic organisational development programme run by Creative New Zealand.

Andrew teaches and lectures widely, with international engagements in Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Russia and the United States.

He is author of a number of papers and articles published in sector journals, including Never Mind the Width, on measuring outcomes for visitors. He is co-author of a series of papers to be published by the British Museum in 2010.

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James Ashcroft

Artistic Director, Taki Rua Productions

James Ashcroft (Ngati Kahu/ Nga Puhi) has been the Artistic Director of Taki Rua Productions, New Zealand’s leading national, professional Māori theatre company, since 2006. During his time with Taki Rua he has produced nine works including the award winning Strange Resting Places and Te Karakia that have toured throughout Aotearoa as well as London, Singapore, America Samoa and Australia. He is a graduate of Victoria University and Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School. In 2009 Taki Rua were part of the Move On Up programme and have found great inspiration in developing the company from this ongoing experience.

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Philip Aldridge

Chief Executive, Court Theatre

Philip was a music scholar at school and after university trained as an actor at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He has worked in the UK in theatre and television, appearing in Eastenders, The Bill, KYTV and Emmerdale. Philip also performed in a wide repertoire of classical and contemporary plays and musicals on the stage.
Philip later worked in corporate finance in the City and on Wall Street and held various company directorships before moving to New Zealand in 2002. He has been Chief Executive of The Court Theatre since 2005.

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Ross Gumbley

Artistic Director, Court Theatre

In 1985 Ross became a trainee actor at The Court Theatre. Since then he has appeared in over 100 productions and broadened his skills to include writing and directing.
Through the late nineties Ross held an Associate Directorship at Centrepoint Theatre. During this time he also anchored his own radio show for Classic Hits and co-wrote six plays with Alison Quigan, many of which have been staged at The Court and throughout the country.

Ross was appointed Associate Artistic Director of The Court in 2004. His first solo venture as a playwright HAPPY COUPLING premiered at The Court in 2006, the same year that Ross became The Court Theatre’s Artistic Director.
As Artistic Director, Ross is responsible for the selection of productions for the main season at The Court and at The Forge, and he also oversees the artistic development and growth of the company as a whole.

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Jenny Harper

Director, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu

Jenny Harper has been director of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu since late 2006. Prior to that she was at Victoria University of Wellington where she was head of art history and, latterly, assistant vice-chancellor (academic). She has been a curator and administrator in art galleries, including the National Gallery of Australia, Queensland Art Gallery and the former National Art Gallery in Wellington. She was the last director of the National Art Gallery, working with the Director of the then National Museum to establish the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. She was Commissioner for New Zealand's representation at the Venice Biennale in 2009, and has been appointed again for 2011.

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Garry Nicholas

General Manager, Toi Maori
(Te Atiawa, Ngati Ruanui, Taranaki, Ngaiterangi and Ngati Ranginui)

Arts administrator and advocate, Garry has over 20 years experience in contemporary Maori arts. He has a keen interest in indigenous arts networks and in 1987 was appointed Executive Officer to the Maori and South Pacific Arts Council (MASPAC). 

In 1995 he as awarded the Fellowship to the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. He was interned to Museums, art galleries and community arts organisations at the department, with responsibility for African American, Mexican, Latino and Native American communities. 

In 1997 he was seconded to Te Papa as Iwi Exhibition Concept Developer, and after a brief return to Creative New Zealand as Maori Arts Adviser, he took up his current position as General Manager of Toi Maori.

Under Garry's leadership, Toi Maori has lifted the profile of contemporary Maori arts, with a number of successful international exhibitions as well as cross-cultural ventures with the NZ Olympic Committee, the All Blacks, Air New Zealand, New Zealand Post and Tourism New Zealand.

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Tamahou Temara

Operations Manager, Toi Maori

Tamahou Temara began his career at the National Museum and Art Gallery in 1992 while completing his Bachelor of Arts degree at Victoria University. He is a nationally acknowledged expert in Maori customs, traditions, language and history. On completing his BA (Hons) he was appointed Collections Assistant and Supervisor for the Goldie Exhibition.

In 1999 he joined Te Roopu Whakamana Māori and was appointed ‘Manager Māori Projects’ then ‘Strategic Advisor Iwi Relationships’ at Te Papa. Tamahou was instrumental in many of Te Papa’s significant achievements in the repatriation of tipuna from overseas and to iwi.

Tamahou joined Toi Maori in July 2006 as Operations Manager. The relationships Tamahou has built and maintained with the many individuals, iwi, and organisations from all over Aotearoa and beyond are an invaluable asset to Toi Maori and the Maori art world in general.

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Jill Rawnsley

Artistic Director, Auckland Writers & Readers Festival 

Jill Rawnsley is the Artistic Director of the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival - the largest annual literary festival in New Zealand. The festival celebrated its tenth anniversary in May 2010, and Jill has worked there for nine of those ten years, becoming Festival Director in 2003 and Artistic Director in 2009.

The festival invites around 20 international and 80 local guest writers and speakers to take part in a programme of over 70 individual festival events over five days. The festival audience has grown by 295% during her time, from 6,500 in 2001 to a record 25,500 in 2010.

Jill initiated a two-day Schools Programme for intermediate and secondary school students in 2009, a development which has added enormously to the value and vitality of the festival, bringing an entirely new audience to the event.

Jill has worked in publishing in New Zealand and England and has an MA in English (First Class Honours) from the University of Auckland.

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Kate Montgomery

Director of The Physics Room

Kate Montgomery is Director of The Physics Room, a contemporary art project space based in Christchurch. Kate has a background in art writing and criticism having previously been a regular contributor to Art New Zealand and The Press, and earlier this year served as a member of the jury for the 2010 Walters Prize.

Prior to her involvement with The Physics Room Kate chaired the Board of Trustees for the artist-run space HSP and co-ordinated HSP's involvement with Melbourne's Next Wave Festival in 2006. Since taking up her position at The Physics Room Kate has had the pleasure of working with a wide range of national and international artists and in 2009 coordinated Thomas Hirschhorn's Poor-Racer commission for the One Day Sculpture series.

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Emere Wano   |   Wharehoka Wano

Emere is an event management specialist with 12 years in the industry. She is co-founder of Tihi Ltd and is currently Programme Director for WOMAD New Zealand Festival. Emere's experience spans corporate events and conferences to festivals and productions in the arts. In Aotearoa she has produced Sounds Aotearoa, the New Zealand Music Expo, the Puanga Kai Rau Festival (Taranaki), the Taranaki International Arts Festival and the New Zealand Festival of the Arts.

Emere has also produced events overseas, including Womex World Music Expo in Spain and the Commonwealth Festival in Melbourne. Emere was a co-selector and coordinator of Maori performing arts delegations to the Japan World Expo.

Emere has received numerous awards for her work, including the MWDI Maori Business Award for Best Regional Business (Taranaki/Wanganui Region), and a highly commended for the MWDI Maori Business Award – Maori Women in Management in 2007.

Wharehoka is co-founder of Tihi Ltd. In his role as Managing Director he is responsible for overseeing, managing and delivering education contracts, participating in public relations activities including building tribal, business and personal networks locally and internationally, and managing and delivering events. Wharehoka also manages cultural awareness programmes for corporate clients.

Wharehoka's arts experience spans television, film, events and writing. His credits include Te Hikoi Mahanga (on Maori TV), the ‘Talent for 2’ series of 13 programmes each, Te Tangata Whai Rawa o Weneti, talent for Maori language movie, MC and front coordination of many national and local events, writing waiata that have been publicly performed in kapahaka regional and national competitions and the publication of learning media.

With a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Education, Masters of Education and a Diploma in Secondary Education, Wharehoka includes Maori language and education development, learning and teaching waiata, showcasing Maori visual and performing arts as some of his personal and professional interests.

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Robyn Archer

Robyn Archer AO is  currently Creative Director of the Centenary of Canberra ( 2013) , and Artistic Director of The Light in Winter which she created for Federation Square, Melbourne. In June  2010 the latter launches the first major public art installation by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer in Australia. She is also currently advising on important projects for the National Gallery of Victoria and the International Federation of Arts Councils. Robyn is also a singer, writer, director, artistic director and public advocate of the Arts. In all these roles her reach is global.

Having set an international benchmark in the 1980s for English language interpretation of songs by Brecht/Weill/Eisler, she has most recently performed this repertoire in Honolulu ,and will soon appear at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival and Port Fairy International Music Festival. She has been invited to sing next year in Augsburg ( Brecht’s birthplace) and Dessau. Her recent public speeches and keynote addresses have been enthusiastically received and have just been published by The University of Western Australia Press under the title Detritus; in March 2010 she gave the keynote for the 30^th anniversary of the National Review of Live Art in Glasgow and will soon speak in Melbourne, Christchurch , Canberra , Sydney , Auckland , Mildura and Mackay.

Robyn has performed worldwide ( including London, Paris, New York, Berlin, Amsterdam, in every corner of Australia, as well as Mexico, Bogota , Honolulu, Thailand , Singapore, and Slovenia) and has been the Artistic Director of the National Festival of Australian Theatre (Canberra), the Adelaide Festival of Arts, the Melbourne International Arts Festival, Ten Days on the Island ( which she created for Tasmania), and for two years the European Capital of Culture. She has also been formally mentoring Arts Mildura in recent years, and informally a number of individual artists and younger artistic directors. She was a mentor at the European Festivals Association’s Atelier 2009 in Varna ( Bulgaria) and recently made a film for AUSAID and the ABC about Vanuatu.

Robyn was Chair of the Australia Council’s Community Cultural Development Board, on the Boards of the Victorian College of the Arts and the Adelaide Festival Centre, and is currently patron of the Arts Law Society, the Australian Script Centre, The Australian Art Orchestra, Brink Productions, the Experimental Arts Foundation ,the International Women’s Development Agency, co-patron of the Institute for Postcolonial Studies and maintains links with RMIT’s Globalism Institute.

Robyn Archer is an Officer of the Order of Australia, Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France), Officer of the Crown (Belgium) and holds honorary doctorates from the Flinders University of South Australia and the University of Sydney. In 2009 she was awarded the Dame Elisabeth Murdoch ABAF Award for Cultural Leadership

Full details of her very full career , past and present , can be found at the depArcher lounge www.robynarcher.com.au

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