Digital diversity
Morwenna Collett: Arts, diversity and inclusion consultant
An accomplished leader, consultant and facilitator with 15 years experience in government, arts, not for profit and university sectors, Morwenna has worn the hats of CEO, senior management team member, project manager, lecturer, researcher, trainer and advisor.
Deeply committed to diversity and inclusion, Morwenna is sought after for her expertise in the fields of the arts, disability and accessibility, with her work influenced by her own lived experience as a musician with disability. She has helped transform approaches to diversity for a wide range of organisations, including the Unlimited Commissions Programme (UK), Sydney Film Festival, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Art Gallery NSW, Museum of Contemporary Art, Blacktown Arts Centre and the Australia Council for the Arts. She has also developed national programs and initiatives, contributed to significant pieces of national arts and disability policy, raised funding from new revenue streams and expanded organisations into new areas.
Morwenna currently lectures at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, consults to various arts organisations and is an accessibility advisor for the City of Sydney, Sydney Festival and Perth Festival. She was previously the CEO of Accessible Arts, the Chair of the Sydney Arts Managers Advisory Group and has held senior management roles at the Australia Council. She recently completed a Churchill Fellowship, exploring inclusive music programs, venues and festivals which actively engage disabled people across the USA, UK and Ireland.
Bec Reid:
Bec is an Australian-based performer, producer, director, choreographer and engagement specialist. Together with Tristan Meecham, Bec leads All The Queens Men, is a founding member of Everybody NOW! with Kate McDonald and Ian Pidd, and regularly collaborates with acclaimed Australian artists Madeline Flynn and Tim Humphrey. In 2017 – 2018, Bec was a Fellowship recipient from the Australia Council for the Arts. For 20+ years, Bec has served on arts boards, and regularly mentors young and emerging artists both formally and informally. Bec’s true loves are Italo Disco, Ceilidhs and Staffordshire Bull Terriers.
Tristan Meecham
Tristan is an artist, performer and the Co-Artistic Director of All The Queens Men. Previously, Tristan was Artistic Director of Give it up for Margaret, a month-long festival inspiring innovative arts philanthropy, Creative Lead for Going Nowhere, a sustainable international arts exchange at Arts House, and Artistic Associate and Philanthropic Manager of Aphids. Tristan is the recipient of the VCA George Fairfax Memorial Award, British Council’s Realise Your Dream Award and the inaugural Richard Pratt Scholarship.
Damien Webb: Manager of the indigenous engagement branch at the State Library of NSW
Damien Webb (Palawa) is currently the manager of the indigenous engagement branch at the state library of NSW. His previous work with the State Library of WA focused on digital keeping places and the return of Aboriginal collections through the successful Storylines project.
With an academic background in Human Rights his passion is ensuring that archives and libraries are equipped to decolonize and interrogate their collections, and to work with Aboriginal communities to ensure their voices and collections are recognised and preserved. Recent work with the State Library of NSW has included the launch of the NSW Australian Mukurtu Hub, as well as recent major exhibitions which foreground Aboriginal knowledge and authority.
Damien is the current co-chair of the National State Libraries Australiasia Aboriginal Working Group, and convenes a national Indigenous support network for ATSI library staff
Ian RT Colless: First Nations Capacity Building Project Officer
Ian is a from the Dharabuladh (Therabluat) clan of the Gundungurra people, and a mixture of Irish and Walsh heritage. He is the Grandson of the late Aunty Dawn Colless who made many milestones, awarded the Australian Centenary Medal (a Federal award to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government), and chosen to be a torchbearer for the 2000, XXVII Olympiad in the Blue Mountains.
Ian is a graduate of Newtown High School of the Performing Arts (NHSPA). He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) Creative Industries. A Bachelor of Arts (1st Class Honours) from Edith Cowan University’s, Western Australian Academy of the Performing Arts (WAAPA), and a Masters of Arts from New York University’s (NYU), Steinhardt School of Culture Education and Human Development. At NYU Ian completed an Independent Study and designed a curriculum, through full-time study, coursework and participation with the American Ballet Theatre (America’s National Ballet Company) and observation of The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School (NYC).