Professional Development

Presented as part of the Platform LAB program, our Professional Development series delivers monthly, online lectures led by guest practitioners working across Australia and internationally. Curated by Bureau of Works, these seminars are designed to build artists' professional capacity in curatorial practice, arts project management, community engagement and marketing. Professional Development is open to artists of all career stages, and particularly well-suited to early and mid-career artists.

Tickets can be purchased for individual sessions, or as a discounted session bundle. Program summary:


1. Thursday 7 July, 2022, 1PM - 3PM
Facilitated by Kelly Doley: Curatorial

Kelly is a visual artist whose practice encompasses drawing, painting, performance and curatorial projects informed by the lineage of feminist and queer art and activist practices. She has been working on Gadigal land in Sydney since the early 2000s, and has broad experience across government arts policy, curation, and an artistic practice both solo and within collectives. Kelly is an alumnus of the Australia Council Arts Leaders Program (2016) and a founding member of artist collective Barbara Cleveland. She is currently a resident of the NSW Creative Industry Residency Program at the Powerhouse Museum.

2. Thursday 28 July 2022, 1PM - 3PM
Facilitated by Jade Lillie: Community

Jade Lillie is known for her work as a cultural leader, executive, facilitator and specialist in community engagement. A history of excellent work in collaboration with artists and communities has led to Jade’s leadership in the field, continually shaping and articulating what contemporary models of creative and cultural development can be.  She has been recognised for her thought leadership in receiving the Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship in 2018 – 19 following her role as Director and CEO, Footscray Community Arts Centre (2012 – 2017).  Her most recent role was with the Australia Council for the Arts as Head of Industry Development (2020 – 2022).

3. Thursday 25 August 2022, 1PM - 3PM

Facilitated by Ben Starick: Marketing Your Work

Ben Starick is the Director of Starling Communications – consultants in marketing, communications, publicity, media relations, event and project management. A graduate in public relations from RMIT University, Ben has worked with many organisations – spanning the breadth of the arts and culture sector – offering services ranging from higher level strategic marketing and communications advice and planning to implementing comprehensive media and publicity strategies and campaigns.

4. Thursday 29 September 2022, 1PM - 3PM

Facilitated by Erin Milne: Establishing Your Community of Practice

Erin Milne is an independent producer whose practice is deeply driven by a passion for contemporary and experimental art that speaks to the here and now. She is a sought-after collaborator with some of Australia’s most distinctive and ambitious artists and companies, bringing a combination of strategy, insight and networks to create exceptional projects. Erin was awarded the 2021 Geoffrey Milne Award for Outstanding Contribution to Contemporary & Experimental Performance at Melbourne’s Green Room Awards, is a current International Society of the Performing Arts (ISPA) Fellow, and an alumnus of the Australia Council’s Arts Leaders Program.

5. Thursday 27 October 2022, 1PM - 3PM
Facilitated by Emily O'Brien: Risk, Safety & Production

Emily O’Brien is a Production Manager and Risk and Safety Consultant based in Narrm (Melbourne). She has worked extensively in production and risk across the fields of theatre, dance, cultural events and festivals. She holds a Bachelor of Dramatic Arts from the VCA and a Master of Arts Management from the University of Melbourne. She is currently undertaking a Master of Science in Crowd Safety + Risk Analysis at Manchester Metropolitan University. She is a co-founder of the production collective First In Last Out and a passionate advocate of emerging practitioners and of the independent and small-to-medium arts sectors.

6. Thursday 10 November 2022, 1PM - 3PM
Facilitated by Jessica Clark: Curatorial

Jessica Clark is an independent curator with a background in art history and art education. She is a proud Tasmanian Aboriginal woman, born in nipaluna, lutruwita (Hobart, Tasmania) and currently living and working on Wurundjeri Country in Naarm (Melbourne). Jessica is passionate about working with artists and connecting people with art, and conversation plays a central role in her curatorial practice that is focussed on expanding dialogues and challenging preconceived ideas/ideals about what Aboriginal art is and can be. Jessica recently joined the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) in the role of Yalingwa Curator.


7. Thursday 24 November 2022, 1PM - 3PM
Facilitated by Madeleine Flynn, Collette Brennan & Freya Waterson: Negotiating Successful Presentations

Madeleine Flynn is an Australian artist who creates unexpected situations for listening. Her work is driven by a
curiosity about sound in human culture and seeks to evolve and engage with new processes and audiences,
through public and participative interventions.

Collette Brennan is the CEO of Abbotsford Covent in Melbourne, Australia’s largest multi-arts precinct. She is
also a Board member and Chair of the Audit Committee of the International Society for the Performing Arts
and was the founding Chair of the Sunshine Coast Arts Advisory Board.

Freya Waterson is an Independent Producer based between Naarm/Melbourne and Meanjin/Brisbane. She
has held roles with presenting and producing organisations in the UK and Australia, working in music,
performance, film and cross-media contexts, most recently as Senior Producer for Chunky Move, where she
co-led the company from 2019-21.

Past facilitators of Professional Development include David Cross & Cameron Bishop of Public Art Commission, Vuth Lyno, Naomi Velaphi, Erin Milne and Fiona Lee.

Image: Patrick Callow