Creative Communities Council

Louise has been CEO of the Sydney Opera House since 2012, after careers as a lawyer and corporate adviser. In her time as CEO, Louise has delivered a far-reaching decade of renewal to open the Opera House up to more of the community, with a broader, more diverse range of programming and other experiences to welcome more visitors in person and online. Louise served as Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Panel for the Creative Communities policy prior to being appointed as Chair of the Creative Communities Council.

Nicholas Pickard is one of Australia’s leading creative and cultural industry policy experts. With experience in the UK, Europe and Asia Pacific he is currently the Executive Director, Public Affairs and Government Relations at APRA AMCOS, Australasia’s music rights organisation representing songwriters, screen composers and publishers. Prior to this he was the Director Corporate Affairs for Copyright Agency. A former theatre director, arts journalist, theatre critic and arts policy adviser to state and federal governments, Nicholas was central to the team that created, devised and launched Australia’s 2013 national cultural policy – Creative Australia. Nicholas is a board member for Screen Australia and a Fellow of The Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. He is a former Chair of the Australian Society of Authors and former board member of Regional Arts NSW.

Anne Loxley is an award-winning curator and writer specialising in collaborating with artists and communities to creatively address significant issues. In 2020 she joined Arts & Cultural Exchange as Executive Director. Previously Senior Curator, C3West, for Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, (2011-2019), also Program Associate, Visual Arts, Perth Festivals (2017 – 2019), Anne is an alumna of Creative Australia’s 2019 Leadership Program. She is Deputy Chair of the City of Sydney’s Public Art Advisory Panel, and a member of the Western Sydney Arts Alliance Working Group. A former Sydney Morning Herald art critic, she has published numerous essays and spoken at conferences nationally and internationally. She co-edited Civic Actions: Artists’ Practices Beyond the Museum (2017). 

Beau Neilson brings extensive experience across the arts, music and philanthropic sectors. Owner and Creative Director of The Vanguard, she leads the independent live music and performance venue in Newtown. Previously, as Creative Director and Executive Producer of Phoenix Central Park, she built and oversaw operations for the philanthropically funded Chippendale venue from its opening to the public.

Beau serves on the NSW Government’s 24-Hour Economy Advisory Council and is a Trustee of the Powerhouse Museum. She also sits on the boards of the Live Music Venues Alliance and MusicNSW, and is a Gifting Committee member for The Neilson Foundation. She is a former Non-Executive Director of Sydney Dance Company and a recipient of Creative Partnerships Australia’s Emerging Philanthropist Award.

Ben is a video game industry veteran with over 25 years’ experience, with multiple games and business success and failures. He has recently founded a new game studio, Little Blue Dragons, while also supporting Blowfish as Non-Executive Director. Throughout his career Ben has grown an extensive national and international network in the game development and publishing industries.

Dr Caroline Butler-Bowdon is the State Librarian for the State Library of NSW. She is a published author in architecture and urban history and has 20 years of leadership experience in public institutions, including Sydney Living Museums. Her career has been dedicated to leadership that connects citizens and visitors to special places, and culture through a broad range of statewide public engagement programs.

Before the Library, she was a Deputy Secretary for Cities and Active Transport for NSW Government, where she led policy and programs of investment in NSW addressing the walkability and activation in our streets, and civic places. She also serves on committees and boards to promote the power of place, culture, community and public space in Australia.

Darren has been a company director of Blackfella Films, Australia's premier First Nations production company, since 2000, and is now the company’s managing director. He has produced award winning drama, documentary and factual programs, including Total Control, Redfern Now, The Dark Emu Story and The Australian Wars. Darren is a Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. He is the Board Chair of the Sydney Film Festival and also serves on the boards of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and the Sydney Festival. He was previously on the board of Screen NSW, the Council of the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) and ACMI. In 2012 he was the recipient of the prestigious AFTRS Honorary Degree.

Dylan Goh (also known as ‘Arcai’) is an independent street dancer and producer. He is passionate about grassroots programming, cultural literacy and transnational artistic exchange. Dylan co-leads Palette Session, a not-for-profit experimental dance collective in Sydney and Seoul. He is a Co-Chair of Cypher Culture and the youngest trustee at the Sydney Opera House. As a dancer, Dylan’s artistry is rooted in the gay dance of punking which emerged from underground gay clubs of Los Angeles in the 1970s such as Paradise Ballroom and Ginos. Punking involves emotional storytelling, posing and whacking - or sharp striking motions with arms. He also leads community jam sessions and classes for punkers and whackers through Sydney City W_acking

Erin Madeley has been Chief Executive of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance since July 2022. She became a member of MEAA’s Equity section after graduating from the University of Western Sydney’s School of Contemporary Arts (Theatre Nepean) in 2005. Since then she has worked as an organiser, as Director of the Entertainment, Crew and Sport section, and prior to her appointment as Chief Executive as Director of Operations.

Julia Robinson is a seasoned leader in the music industry known for her dedication, pragmatism, strategic approach, and passion for music. With over two decades of experience spanning music policy, venue and event management, licensing and regulation, and stakeholder engagement, she has earned a reputation for her reliability and commitment to positive change. Julia's involvement in initiatives such as the Music Industry Review and the COVID-19 data capture project ilostmygig, underscores her passion for addressing critical industry issues at an ecosystem level. Currently serving as the Head of Policy and Advocacy at both ARIA and PPCA, Julia strives to advocate for industry interests with a focus on fostering collaborative partnerships and driving meaningful progress.

Melanie Hawyes leads the Department of Creative Industries, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport (DCITHS). She is passionate about the creation of vibrant, world class places, precincts and experiences that support the night-time, visitor and creative economies in NSW. She is a keen supporter of live music and the visual arts, and sees access to sport, culture and the arts as integral to the State’s identity, wellbeing and cohesion.

She joined DCITHS as Secretary in February 2026, having served as Deputy Secretary, Crown Lands and Public Spaces in the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure from 2021 to 2026.  In this role she managed a complex portfolio of land, assets, precincts and public spaces, including some of Sydney’s most loved and visited destinations, such as the Botanic Gardens of Sydney, The Rocks, Darling Harbour and Barangaroo.

Prior to that Melanie held leadership roles in the former Office of Environment and Heritage, the Department of Premier and Cabinet, and the Department of Justice. Her 25 year career spans social policy, land and natural resource management, and regulatory reform. She is known for her collaborative approach and ability to build partnerships across Government, industry and community, ensuring Government decision making is grounded in economic opportunity, social impact and the lived experience of stakeholders.

In leading DCITHS, she is committed to making NSW a fantastic place to live, work and visit. Her ambition is to foster tourism and hospitality operators and businesses, sporting organisations, our cultural institutions, artists and venues to create rich and varied cultural, creative and social experiences that everyone in NSW will love.

Melanie holds a degree in marine science and Masters in Environmental Law. She serves as a Board Member for the Sydney Institute of Marine Science and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
 

Michael is an independent director whose work spans several key sectors in Sydney.

He is the Chair of the Committee for Sydney, President of the Art Gallery of NSW and Chancellor of UTS. Michael also chairs Greater Sydney Parklands, Northwest Rapid Transit, and the Westmead Institute for Medical Research. He is also co-chair of Reconciliation Australia.

Tim Kurylowicz is the Manager of Museum of the Riverina, and a member of the NSW Government’s Creative Communities Council.

He has worked for local government, the not-for-profit sector and in the performing arts shaping community and cultural projects that break down barriers and bring people together.

In his previous role as Executive Director of Eastern Riverina Arts (ERA), Tim and his team led the establishment of The Station Creative Workspace, a creative hub in Wagga Wagga bringing creative people together to work, collaborate and do business. He also produced the Arbour Festival, a 50 day festival in a forest marking the first anniversary of the Dunns Road bushfires.

Tyson Koh is the Managing Director of fbi.radio, a community radio station that has been at the forefront of Sydney culture for 23 years. He is also an on-air presenter and was the former Producer of ABC’s iconic music video program Rage, shaping the show through the 2010s.

In response to the NSW lockout laws, Tyson founded Keep Sydney Open — an influential movement for nightlife and cultural vibrancy that later became a political party and contested the 2019 NSW election, helping pave the way for the laws’ repeal. He has since managed and consulted on state election campaigns and continues his advocacy, sitting on the City of Sydney Nightlife and Creative Industries Advisory Panel.