With an academic background in classical music performance and international relations, Kate Ben-Tovim has combined her interest in arts and cultural exchange with projects in Australia, London, China and Papua New Guinea over the last ten years. She is a producer with specialist experience in music-based projects and cross-cultural collaborations. In her current role with Arts House, Melbourne, Ben-Tovim has produced two award-winning intercultural music projects that have toured nationally and internationally. She will undertake her residency in Yogyakarta at the non-profit arts centre Padepokan Seni.

Supported by The Australia Indonesia Institute and The Australia Council. 

Christen Cornell has worked as Rights Manager at the publishing house Allen & Unwin for three years, travelling regularly to international book fairs, selling foreign rights for books, and arranging for the export of Australian literature to the major Asian markets. She has lived and worked in China, and has an ongoing interest in contemporary Chinese literature and Chinese-Australian cross-cultural exchange. Cornell also co-runs a small, Sydney-based independent publishing company, Local Consumption Publications. She will spend three months working in China hosted by leading independent literary publisher, Shanghai 99, where she will develop translation projects with Chinese literary editors, and work with the major literary festivals in China.

Supported by The Australia China Council and The Australia Council. 

Melbourne-based curator and writer, Jeff Khan is currently Artistic Director of Next Wave, a biennial festival and artist development organisation. He has held positions at Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces (Melbourne), Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) and the John Curtin Gallery in Perth. Khan was a Curatorial Advisor for Rapt!, a major cultural exchange project between Australia and Japan in 2005-6. He is a founding board member of unProjects, an editorial committee member of unMagazine and has contributed to numerous magazines, catalogues and artists’ projects. Khan will undertake a residency at Art Cabinet Philippines, an organisation that works with emerging artists.

Supported by The Australia Council.

Steve Eland has worked in arts management for the past 12 years, including working in Maningrida, Arnhem Land, being founding Director of Mass Gallery, Melbourne, and Director of 24HR Art – NT Centre for Contemporary Art in Darwin since 2005. His time at 24HR Art has seen the development of a broad range of artistic projects. Eland will be based at Zendai MOMA, Shanghai, assisting with the project ‘The Edge – Contemporary Art from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea and Indonesia’, to further networks for developing exchange projects between the Northern Territory and Asia.

Supported by Arts NT, The Australia China Council and The Australia China Council.

Curator at Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Melissa Keys is responsible for curating and managing PICA’s exhibition, studio and public programs. Over the last ten years she has been employed in a variety of roles at Monash University Museum of Art and Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne. Throughout this time she has also been an active independent curator.  During her residency at KHOJ International Artists Association in New Delhi, Keys plans to research and develop a substantial understanding of local contemporary visual art and curatorial practice and to build professional/creative relationships, with a view to co-producing a curatorial project and a series of collaborative exchanges.

Supported by The Australia Council and The WA Department of Culture and The Arts.

An arts lawyer, Cass Matthews has advised artists through the Arts Law Centre of Australia for several years. Since undertaking a Masters of Arts Administration at the College of Fine Arts, Sydney, she has curated several exhibitions and worked on a number of international projects including The Armory Show in New York and the Biennale of Sydney. Matthews has previously studied at Yamanashi University and is returning to Japan to work with the fourth Echigo Tsumari Arts Triennial which focuses on strong community engagement with leading international and local artists. It takes place in the rural Echigo Tsumari region north of Tokyo.

Supported by The Australia Council.

Rebecca Pearce is the Program Executive for the International Theatre and Dance seasons at the Adelaide Festival Centre in South Australia. She has worked on a variety of international events including the OZAsia Festival, the Adelaide Festival of Arts, the Adelaide Fringe Festival, the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, WOMADelaide, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Australian International Documentary Conference, the Dublin Fringe Festival, and the Adelaide Film Festival, in areas such as programming, marketing and publicity, and project and event management. Her residency at The Singapore Arts Festival will be spent in the programming department.

Supported by Arts SA and The Australia Council.

Director of Lismore Regional Gallery, Steven Alderton has initiated a progressive program of contemporary Australian and international art exhibitions and digital media projects. While located with the Arts Council of Mongolia, he will develop exhibition projects with local and Australian artists, as well as a business model to promote the establishment of an arts centre incorporating studios, performance and gallery spaces. Alderton has developed a collaborative program with Shisha, a leading international agency for contemporary Asian crafts and visual arts, which will be supporting an exhibition from this residency.

Supported by Arts NSW and The Australia Council.

Frank Madrid has over a decade of arts management experience working closely with several international and Australian organisations in areas of audience development, arts and education, multicultural marketing, networking and strategic planning.  He has delivered artistic content to major festivals in Australia and overseas with direct responsibility for the selecting of programming, and devising effective communications strategies and marketing campaigns. Madrid’s residency at the Hong Kong Fringe Club will allow further expansion of networks and development of platforms for exchange, and sharing of knowledge and expertise.

Supported by The Australia China Council and Arts ACT.

Melbourne-based editor, bookseller and book reviewer, Kabita Dhara believes that Indian and Australian writers, publishers and readers deserve more direct access to one another. At Katha in New Delhi, she will work on literature that has been translated into English from India’s many regional languages, with a view to understanding the processes behind choosing a title for translation and assessing markets for it. She will also spend time with multinational publisher Macmillan, learning how they assess the suitability of titles from overseas markets for the Indian market and the channels of distribution available to international publishers.

Support by Arts Victoria and Australia India Council.