Louise Partos - Executive Officer, Darwin

Louise Partos began as Executive Officer of Artback NT: Arts Development and Touring in June 2007. Louise has an extensive background in the not for profit arts and culture sector including project management and cross cultural development. She has worked for many years within communities, particularly Aboriginal and within the museum sector. Previous roles have included: Producer, Bunjilaka Aboriginal Centre; Melbourne Museum, Curator and Project Coordinator; Indigenous Cultures Department, Museum Victoria; and Art Coordinator, Ernabella Arts.

In 2009, Louise Partos won an AbaF Margaret Lawrence Scholarship which enabled her to undertake professional development at Melbourne Business School, Mt. Eliza Campus. In 2010 Louise won the Deakin Ticketmaster Arts Management Alumni Prize through which she was able to enrol in the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, to complete a course entitled Leadership for the 21st Century: Global Change Agents.

Both courses were perfect as Louise embarks on broadening the scope and delivery of Artback NT: Arts Development and Touring.

Angela O'Donnell - Performing Arts Touring Manager, Darwin

Angela joined Artback NT in 2009 as performing arts touring manager. Her background spans education, community cultural development, project management and multimedia. She has experience working and living in remote Aboriginal communities and alongside diverse groups within Australia. Angela has a strong commitment to cross cultural understanding and a belief that the arts can be a tool for change as well as a way to explore and express our own unique challenges and joys.

In her current role she is focused on developing opportunities for the sector and delivering outcomes for artists and audiences in the NT.

Simha Koether - Visual Arts Development and Touring, Alice Springs

Simha Koether was engaged in the position of Visual Arts Development and Touring Manager in June 2011. As a former Art Coordinator of the Hermannsburg Potters Aboriginal Corporation she looks forward to applying her local knowledge of the Indigenous visual arts sector and expanding into the dynamic visual arts touring arena.

Simha completed qualifications in Art Restoration and Conservation, Jewellery Design and Production Methods in Florence, Italy and Barcelona, Spain from 1998-2001. In 2010 she completed a Diploma in Financial Services from the Australian Institute of Financial Services and Accounting. Simha is involved in the vibrant visual and performing arts in Alice Springs where she enjoys delivering workshops in Jewellery making and engaging in local theatre productions as a set designer and coordinator.

Neridah Stockley - Visual Arts Project Officer, Alice Springs

Neridah Stockley is a practising and exhibiting artist represented in Darwin and Sydney. She trained at the National Art School and has a Batchelor of Fine Arts, Painting major. Neridah has extensive employment experience in Art Centres and Tertiary Education in Central Australia in both remote and urban settings.

Vanessa Hutchins - Music Touring Manager, Darwin

Vanessa Hutchins has been in the entertainment Industry for over 18 years and has a broad range of skills including production and project management, design and creation. Originally from Newcastle, Vanessa gravitated north in the early nineties and has worked Territory wide since. A local fixture at Territory events, from mixing small bands at Brown's Mart, to follow spot operator on Angus at the ACDC Mararra gig in 1997, Vanessa has spent lots of energy on staging events. These include Production Manager for the Indigenous Music Award 2007 & 2009 and the National Aboriginal & Islander Art Award for the past four years.
Vanessa has additionally worked outside the Territory as Production Manager for: Legs on the Wall, Stalker Stilt Theatre and the Marrugeku Company; Bangarra Dance Theatre; Performing Lines; Yirra Yaakin; and Major Australian Festivals. With these companies Vanessa has toured widely, including China, America, UK, Europe, South America, and Japan as well as out of reach Australian venues.
 
She returned to Darwin in 2006 to produce and coordinate the 2007 Arafura Games Opening Ceremony. In 2008 she event managed Bjork for the Sydney Festival on the Opera House steps and in 2009, All Tomorrow’s Parties, curated by Nick Cave for the Sydney Festival on Cockatoo Island. Vanessa has toured music throughout the Territory through her position as Artback NT Performing Arts Manager and is uniquely positioned to take up the challenges of the music touring program.

Renita Glencross - Indigenous Traditional Dance Project

Renita Glencross is a cultural community development consultant who joined Artback NT in 2008 as DanceSite Coordinator and has continued part time to assist development of the Indigenous Traditional Dance Project.

Renita originally completed an Arts degree in WA before taking on the challenge of a Masters in Community Development. She has also worked internationally as a cross cultural consultant on sustainable livelihood enterprise projects.

Since 1995 Renita has worked in Australia with many remote Indigenous community councils and organisations as an Arts Projects Coordinator, including NPY Women's Council in an administrative management role and PY Media as a communications project manager. As a cultural community development consultant with extensive experience in remote Indigenous communities throughout the NT, SA and WA, Renita continues to consult to federal and territory governments on Indigenous communications, media and arts policy.

Rose Graham - Indigenous Traditional Dance Project

Rose Graham started work with the Artback NT ITDP in June 2011 as Cultural Support Officer based in Tennant Creek.

Rose is a Warumungu woman who has worked in performance, arts and tourism since 2003. For six years Rose was the Cultural Liaision Officer for Nyinkka Nyunyu Culture Centre in Tennant Creek, and she has worked with language and health centres in Alice Springs and Tennant Creek for decades before that.

Rose will be promoting and supporting cultural maintenance of traditional dance in the Barkly Region as well as performance development and showcasing at community & regional events. She is really looking forward to DanceSite this year after the successes of 2010 and 2011 and hopes to build the event as a permanent local calendar fixture in Tennant Creek as Wurrpujintta Anyul Warlunjajjiki - Coming Together to Dance.

Robyn McLean - Communications Manager, Darwin

Robyn joined Artback NT in February 2012 as Communications Manager, having migrated from the adjoining office in Darwin, where she was Executive Officer of the NT Writers’ Centre in 2011, and Office Manager in 2009/2010. Other places Robyn has worked include Ernabella Arts, Spencer and Narungga Institutes of TAFE (Kadina and Point Pearce, SA) and The Australian Institute for Social Research (Adelaide University).

Robyn is a freelance editor, writer, designer and fibre artist. Her passions include short fiction, basketry, fabric design and printing, spruiking the merits of Artback NT, and the correct use of apostrophes.

Faye McAleenan – Anchor Tenant for Frog Hollow Centre for the Arts

Faye, originally from Sydney, moved to Darwin in 1996 after experiencing the relaxed lifestyle whilst on holiday in the Northern Territory. Faye is an experienced bookkeeper and she has worked for many of the arts organisations in Darwin.

Faye will now be kept busy looking after the maintenance and concerns of the tenants of Frog Hollow Centre for the Arts.