The UNSW Art & Design Advisory Council's role is to advise Professor Ross Harley, Dean UNSW Art & Design and to advance Faculty initiatives. Members of the Advisory Council are creative, business and industry thought leaders who act as public advocates for UNSW Art & Design and supporting meaningful pathways for Art & Design leadership, researchers, staff and students be connected to broader creative networks.
The UNSW Art & Design Advisory Council Members are:
Natalia Bradshaw (Chair), Art Consultant, Curator and Art & Culture Advocate
Natalia is Chair of UNSW’s Art & Design Advisory Council; a Trustee of the Australian Museum Foundation; named as one of ‘The Most Powerful People in the Australian Art World’ in 2017; Immediate past Chair and Director of the Australian Art Events Foundation (Art Month); 2015 Venice Biennale Champion; Australia Council Peer sitting on the first six year funding review; past Director Glenorchy Art and Sculpture Park (GASP!); 350.org Steering Committee; Advisory Board member of the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize for five years; Member AGNSW CCB Committee for over a decade.
Natalia has a rare mix of curatorial and art expertise combined with a sound strategic mind and a facility to work with people – evidenced by her having chaired a major arts festival, on the boards of several leading arts and cultural bodies, Curatorial Manager of Australia’s first ever group exhibition in Latin America in 2016, maintaining private and corporate client relationships over many years and was the ‘go to’ person for many years dealing with VIPs for Australia’s leading art fair.
Abdul Abdullah, Artist
Abdul Abdullah (b. 1986) is an artist from Perth, currently based in Sydney, who works across painting, photography, video, installation and performance As a self described ‘outsider amongst outsiders’, his practice is primarily concerned with the experience of the ‘other’ in society. Abdullah’s projects have engaged with different marginalized minority groups and he is particularly interested in the experience of young Muslims in the contemporary multicultural Australian context, as well as connecting with creative communities throughout the Asia Pacific.
His works are included in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, The Art Gallery of Western Australia, The Gallery of Modern Art, Artbank, the University of Western Australia, Murdoch University, The Islamic Museum of Australia and The Bendigo Art Gallery. In 2015 Abdul exhibited at Primavera at the Museum of Contemporary Art, and at the Asia Pacific Triennial at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, in 2016 he exhibited at the Australian Centre of Contemporary Art and in 2017 he showed at PATAKA Art Museum in New Zealand and with Yavuz Gallery at Art Basel Hong Kong and the Asia Now Art Fair in Paris. Most recently Abdul exhibited at MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum in Chiangmai, The National Gallery of Australia as part of Infinite Conversations, and was shortlisted along with his brother Abdul-Rahman Abdullah to represent Australia in the 2019 Venice Biennale.
Brendan Harkin, Founder, X Media Lab
Brendan Harkin is the founder and director of X Media Lab. X Media Lab brings outstanding international mentors to work with local companies on their own creative digital media ideas across entertainment, education, information, communications and the arts.
Previously, Harkin created the "Interact Asia Pacific Multimedia Festival" in Australia; was Australia's first General Manager for Information Economy Public Awareness at the National Office for the Information Economy; and created the nation-wide "Online Australia" program in 1999. The Australian Government awarded him an Australia Day Gold Medal for his efforts in this role. In 2016, the Australian National Film and Sound Archive recorded Brendan’s oral history in recognition of his contribution to the development of Australia’s interactive media industry.
Harkin has been appointed to the Review Board of the Interactive Entertainment Summit (Sydney); the Advisory Board of the Digital Interactive Media Entertainment & Arts conference (Bangkok); the Executive Board of the Asia Games Developers Summit (Singapore); the International Jury of the interactive Emmy Awards (Cannes); and as a Foreign Expert Advisor on digital media industry development by the Beijing Municipal Government. He was awarded the highly prestigious Gehua Foundation award for International Contribution to the Creative Industries in China.
Clare Holland, Head of Culture, Red Bull
Clare Holland is a strategic and dynamic leader with over 10 years’ experience specializing in the creative industries. Clare has built a career on, and reputation for, identifying and cultivating talent and championing new directions for contemporary culture in Sydney and Australia. As the Head of Culture for Red Bull, Clare builds awareness and brand equity amongst customers through Red Bull’s involvement in music, art, dance and social innovation.
Clare has also held leadership roles with FBi Radio and Underbelly Arts.
David Redhill, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Deloitte Consulting
David Redhill is Global CMO at Deloitte Consulting, a $15 billion network active in digital transformation, technology design and implementation, human capital and strategy & operations consulting. His 16 years with Deloitte follow a diverse career in branding, marketing, advertising, video production, music composition, photography and journalism in Australia, Spain, the US and UK, including stints at Landor, Price Waterhouse, iXL, BEA Systems and as a freelance consultant. His work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times, Times of London, The Guardian, Journal of Brand Strategy, Creative Review, The Australian, and La Vanguardia along with books, magazines, news sites and radio stations in several countries.
David has won awards at the Cannes Lions, New York Telly Awards, the iPhone International Photography Awards and the IABC. He was named Australian Marketer of the Year by the Australian Marketing Institute in 2013.
Dr Dick Quan, Managing Director, Holdsworth House Medical Practice and Collector, Board Director & Advisor
Dr Quan has been a director at Holdsworth House Medical Practice since its inception in 1992 with a clinical focus in sexual health, HIV, Hepatitis and virology.
Dr Quan has served on many HIV and sexual health committees including the Anabolic Steroid Reference Committee at the NSW Health Department.
He created Holdsworth House as a facility that embraces integrated health using a care team approach and supports ongoing education by speaking at conferences and tutoring at UNSW.
Dr Quan has diverse interests and is a passionate collector of Australian and international contemporary art. He serves on numerous art advisory boards and is currently a member of the MCA Foundation.
Jess Scully, Councillor, City of Sydney and Independent Curator
Jess Scully is a curator, cultural strategist and creative industries advocate who is passionate about cities and city-making.
From 2009 to 2017 Jess was the founding director of Vivid Ideas, Australia's largest creative industries event, and has curated creative sector events including Junket, TEDxSydney and Curating Participation. Jess was a founding contributor to the Sydney Culture Network, launched in late 2017.
In 2016 she was elected as a Councillor for the City of Sydney as a member of the Clover Moore Independent Team. Jess is the co-chair of the Nightlife and Creative Sector Advisory Panel and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Panel, chair of the Curatorial Advisory Panel, deputy chair of the Cultural and Community Committee, and member of the Audit Risk and Compliance Committee.
Jess is an advocate for the knowledge economy, creative and cultural sector, and encouraging participation in politics, creativity and enlivening our public realm. As a public art curator, her projects included Green Square Library and Plaza. She has served as an arts policy advisor to the NSW Minister for the Arts, directed the Qantas Spirit of Youth Awards and the Creative Cities East Asia project, and began her career as editor of a number of creative industries publications including Yen, Empty and Hotpress.
Matt Wacher, Investment Professional
Matt has a keen interest in supporting the arts in Australia and aims utilize his skills and experience to achieve this.
Matt is a senior investment professional with more than 25 years’ experience and currently works for Cambooya Pty Ltd, joining in February 2015 as Chief Investment Officer. Cambooya is the Family Office for the Vincent Fairfax Family.
Between 2003 and 2007 Matt worked for a number of arts organisations including the Visual Arts Board of Australia Council for the Arts, Belvoir Street Theatre and the Australian Chamber Orchestra in finance, corporate sponsorship and philanthropy roles.
Matt holds a Masters of Business Administration (Executive) from the AGSM, a Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) from UNSW and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).
Michael Rodrigues, Managing Director, Australia, Time Out Digital
Mike believes in the inspirational power of cities and spends a good amount of time encouraging anyone in his orbit to get out of the house, to know their city and to have more fun. While working as a lawyer in the Middle East, he spotted an opportunity to launch global lifestyle brand Time Out in Sydney in 2007 to achieve these aims.
In 12 years at the helm of Time Out Australia he has grown the brand across print, digital, event and social channels, which now reaches 1,000,000 Australians monthly.
In recent times, and prompted by the challenges facing Sydney's night time economy, he has focussed his efforts on aligning and empowering industry to intervene in the political process in order to effect change. This saw him take a leading role in launching an independent bars association for Sydney in May 2018. In November 2018 he also launched the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) of which he is the inaugural chair. The NTIA's membership spans arts, culture, entertainment and hospitality.
Nicole Monks, Artist & Creative Director
Nicole Monks is a trans-disciplinary artist of Yamatji Wajarri, Dutch and English heritage. Living and practicing in Redfern, Monks is informed by her cross-cultural identity and her work takes its focus from storytelling, as a way to connect the past with the present and future. Her designs take a conceptual approach, often embedded with narratives, and aim to promote cross-cultural understanding and communication.
A designer by trade, Monks crosses artforms to work with furniture and objects, textiles, video, installation and performance. Across these varied forms of contemporary art and design, her work reflects Aboriginal philosophies of sustainability, innovation and collaboration. With adeptness and sensitivity, Monk’s practice weaves together Aboriginal history and philosophy with contemporary Western thought and resonates with a wide Australian audience.
In addition to her solo practice, Monks is also well known for her success as a collaborative artist and as founder of blackandwhite creative.
In 2016, Monks won the Marika Memorial 3D Art Award at the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards in Darwin, Northern Territory, and is the recipient of the 2016 Arts NSW Design Mentorship Program. She is currently on the Design Advisory Panel for the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS) and has been Committee Member and President on the Art Gallery of New South Wales’, Young Members Committee.
Sally Breen, Board Director & Gallerist
Sally Breen is a gallerist, curator and board director. She established BREENSPACE as a gallery and project space in 2007 and served as the organisation’s Director until 2013.
BREENSPACE represented a diverse stable of artists including Janet Laurence, Mitch Cairns, Simryn Gill and Tim Silver.
Sally continues to undertake independent curatorial and public art projects. She holds a Bachelor of Art Theory from UNSW Art & Design.