Louise Bezzina

This is Episode 1 of "Talking Out Your Arts" with Shock Therapy Arts. In this episode Sam and Hayden talk to Louise Bezzina, the Director of the Brisbane Festival and former Artistic Director of Bleach Festival about the the role of a major arts festival Director, about her journey and whether she considers herself an artist.

More on Louise;

Currently about to open with her second year at Brisbane Festival, Louise was the creator and inaugural Artistic Director of Bleach* Festival; the Gold Coast’s Festival. She created Bleach* Festival and built it from a pilot project to a major annual event that has reached over 1million people since inception. 2019 was her 8th and final Bleach* Festival, having led the organisation through the Commonwealth Games as part of the Creative Lead Team for Festival 2018 and establishing Bleach* as one of Australia’s leading site-specific contemporary arts festivals.

For Bleach*, Bezzina has commissioned more than 50 new works, from major outdoor spectacles to intimate dance and theatre productions from local, national and international artists. Under Bezzina’s direction, Bleach* Festival won the 2019 Group Award at The Sidney Myer Awards. In 2018, four Bleach* Festival commissions were nominated for Helpmann Awards, with TIDE by Gold Coast dance theatre company The Farm winning Best Visual or Physical Theatre Production. Bezzina also co-produced the inaugural Opera on the Beach by Opera Australia and is one of the curators of site-specific immersive arts experience Hotelling; a groundbreaking cultural tourism initiative of the City of Gold Coast.

In March 2019, Louise was awarded Gold Coast Woman of the Year. Bezzina was listed as one of 11 inspiring women of the Commonwealth Games on International Women’s Day in 2018 and has won several awards for her contribution to arts and culture in Queensland. She recently completed the Australia Council for the Arts’ Arts Leaders Program.

Prior to Bleach* Festival, Bezzina held a number of roles in Brisbane, including Program Manager for the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts; Producer at Brisbane Festival, including leading the opening of the cultural precinct (GoMA, QPAC and State Library of Queensland); and Director of the Mackay Festival of Arts.

Show Notes;

https://www.brisbanefestival.com.au/

The Mullet, Bleach 2015;

https://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2015/03/09/4193828.htm

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.