CHAIR

Frankie Snowdon

Born and raised in Mparntwe/Alice Springs, Frankie is a VCA alumnae (2008). Frankie’s practice as a dance artist spans performance, choreography, teaching, community based work and large scale dance projects. As a dancer, Frankie has worked for choreographers including Gideon Obarzanek, Brooke Stamp, Martin Del Amo, Adam Wheeler, Kate Champion and Sara Black. Independently, Frankie has choreographed and performed for Lucy Guerin Inc., Next Wave Festival/Nat Cursio Co., Le Scratch and Harvest Music Festival, as well as choreographing, performing and producing 3 Independent works from 2009 to 2014 with Melbourne based collective 2NDTOE. 

Frankie has a large involvement in teaching and dance development, notably founding the Alice Can Dance performance education program in Alice Springs. Frankie is an alumnus of the 2017 Australia Council Future Leaders Program. Since returning to Central Australia, Frankie and long time artistic partner Madeleine Krenek have created and presented two full-length works The Perception Experiment (2017) and The Lost Dance Project (2018), alongside teams of national collaborators. The Perception Experiment will tour nationally and internationally in 2019 and 2020. In 2018, Madeleine and Frankie launched GUTS Dance // Central Australia: a new Alice Springs/Mparntwe-based contemporary dance organisation for dance investigation, creation, training and performance.

Frankie has a Certificate IV in Small Arts Business; has been awarded an NT Arts Scholarship, Ian Potter Cultural Trust international travel grant and ‘Dancer to Watch’ by the Dance Australia Critics Choice Survey; was a Finalist in the NT Young Achiever Awards and National British Council Realise Your Dream Award; has been a conVERGE Residency Co-Facilitator (Germany), 2017 Australia Council Future Leaders Program participant, 2018 NT APAM Delegate and Guest presenter at the 2018 Regional Arts Australia Conference; is a peer assessor for the Australia Council for the Arts and Regional Arts Fund; and is the co-owner and operator of The Goods Coffee Shop, Alice Springs.

TREASURER

Janet Wright

Janet is the CEO for Disability Advocacy Service in Alice Springs. She has lived in the NT for 23 years, living in Alice Springs, Adelaide, Ampilatwatja, and several other remote NT Communities and Darwin. Janet has qualifications in Business, Social Service, Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Governance. She currently sits on the Board of WTS, NT Shelter and the Life Promotion Network. She volunteers for Red Cross, the Food Bank in Alice Springs and the Salvation Army.

Janet has a Diploma in Business (Accounting) from Charles Darwin University and a Diploma of Social Services from RMIT; a Cert IV in Human Resource Management and Cert IV in Workplace Training and Assessment; accounting qualifications including MYOB Accounting Certification, Certificate in Profit and Loss/Risk Assessment, Payroll and Office Tax Procedures and Update courses; training in Management Systems Auditing, Remote 4WD Recovery, Cultural Awareness, Occupational Health and Safety Certification; she previously worked as the CEO at ASYASS working with young people in crises who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Bec Capp

Bec is a photographer/artist working predominantly with photography and has experience working in various arts industry positions. She has had her work exhibited in group exhibitions and published in photographic publications and journals across Australia and overseas. In 2016, Bec founded Junior Space, an artist-run-initiative consisting of an art store and gallery space in Fitzroy, VIC, and oversaw two years of exhibition program. She has worked with arts organisations in Melbourne such as MPavilion and volunteered with the Centre for Contemporary Photography and Amnesty International.

Bec completed a Master of Art Curatorship at the University of Melbourne in 2016. She has a Certificate IV in Small Business Management; is the co-owner of small business, Nice Paws; has several years experience as a graphic designer with a Bachelor of Design (Communication Design) at Swinburne University; worked as photographer and community manager for MPavilion, Melbourne; and previously worked at Papunya Tjupi Art Centre as Studio Coordinator in remote community of Papunya, NT. Bec is currently working at Tangentyere Artists in Alice Springs as Studio Facilitator. 

Mikaela Revell

Mikaela’s artistic practise encompasses drawing, painting, ceramics and textiles and sometimes events, interviews and recordings. She is interested in facilitating the telling of every-day stories, creating spaces and scenarios for people to share and contribute to a conversation.

 Mikaela has lived and worked in Mparntwe/Alice Springs since 2016. She is a secondary art teacher and has worked in primary schools as a classroom teacher. Mikaela was Acting Coordinator of Tangentyere Coucil’s Yarrenyty Arltere in 2018 before returning to casual work in hospitality and at the library so that she can focus more on her own arts practice and contribute her experience and skills to the arts community of Mparntwe/Alice Springs.

Mikaela has a Bachelor of Fine Art from Monash University completing her Honours course at University of Tasmania; a Masters of Teaching (Secondary) degree from Melbourne University; was a Tutor and Mentor at the Polly Farmer Foundation; previously worked at Larapinta Primary School as a Classroom Teacher and at Sadadeen Primary School and Bradshaw Primary School as aRelief Teacher; and currently works at The Goods Coffee Shop and Alice Springs Public Library.

Emma Franklin

Em's artistic practice embraces a range of mediums, including drawing, painting, printmaking and photography. Her current obsession is with clay and functional ceramics. She is particularly interested in art as a tool for nurturing community, raising quiet voices, and influencing social change.

Em has been involved in arts and social justice projects for over 15 years. She has been based in Mparntwe/Alice Springs since 2014, and has spent the bulk of her time between the NT and WA working with Arrernte, Martu, Ngaanyatjarra and Pitjantjatjara communities. She has worked in various roles supporting community members to create and exhibit their art, screen print apparel, paint public murals, produce picture books and bi-lingual educational resources, and develop grassroots social enterprise.

Em has completed a Bachelor of International Studies, majoring in Indigenous Studies and Political Science at the University of Sydney and studied at the Charles Darwin University doing Wheel Throwing, Hand Building, and Glaze Technology in Ceramics and Printing Intaglio Dry Point and Etching. She has previously worked at Children's Ground (Alice Springs) as a Social Enterprise Coordinator; Tjarlirli Art, Kaltukatjara Art, Martumili Artists,  Iwantja Arts, Mimili Maku and Tangentyere Artists as a Studio Assistant, Arts Facilitators and Project Consultant; as a Community Development Officer at Red Cross; Reaserch Assistant at University of Sydney; and Project and Campaign Coordinator at NSW Reconcilliation Council and ANTaR National, respectively. She currently work at Tjanpi Desert Weavers as the Creative Development Officer.

Eva Straulino

Eva has worked for several years as freelance artist, painting and drawing, before emigrating to Australia in 2000 and moving to Alice Springs in 2002. Since living in Alice Springs, she has worked as Class teacher and Specialist Art & Craft Teacher at the Alice Springs Steiner School, where she initiated and coordinated an Arts NT - Artists in Schools Project - “Wings and Roots“ with local artist, Henry Smith in 2003.

Eva was employed as Lecturer/Trainer in Adult Education at the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (BITE), the Institute for Aboriginal Development (IAD) and at the Alice Springs Language Centre, teaching German. Eva has skills and experience working in arts retail and sales at the Araluen Art Centre and the Mbantua Gallery in Alice Springs and in sales and marketing at the Tjanpi Desert Weavers. Eva has skills and experience in the art sector due to her previous employment as Art Coordinator at Bindi Centa Arts (2003), as Art Coordinator at Central Craft (2014-2016) and as Interim Manager at Papulankutja Artists for 3 month in 2017. She is currently working in the community sector as Senior Case Worker at the Alice Springs Women’s Safety Service Central Australia (WOSSCA).

James Young

James arrived in Alice Springs / Mparntwe as a cameleer in 2004. Since that time he has been self employed as a saddler and canvas fabricator, completed a Bachelor of Science degree and worked as a Zoologist and Land Manager for government and statutory bodies. 

James has three children with his partner Elliat Rich with whom he established Elbow Workshop in 2013 - a design studio and workshop where the two make and produce products for a local and national market. They also collaborate with other local, national and international artists and designers on work that has been seen in Central Australia and around the country.

James currently also trades as ‘James B. Young’ to make bespoke shoes and made-to-order leather goods. His shoemaking and leatherwork draws on his European and Settler-Australian artisan traditions and heritage with a focus on a new provinciality and materiality that emerged in colonial Australia. 

DIRECTOR

Zoya Godoroja-Prieckaerts

Zoya is an established artist and arts worker with experience and skills working in a variety of visual artforms including drawing, painting, printmaking, soft sculpture and installation. She has ample experience working in different positions in the art industry - nationally (Sydney) and internationally (Berlin) - in urban and rural settings. Her experience and skills combined with her dedication to the arts has seen her support hundreds of artists and their practices, believing strongly in the importance of art for cultural and social development.

Zoya has proven experience and extensive skills in applying for and securing funding through Major Arts Funding Bodies including Arts NT, Regional Arts Fund, Australia Council for the Arts, the Arts Trail Regional Stimulus Program, Creative Partnership Australia: Plus 1. Zoya completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts majoring in Printmaking & Drawing receiving First Class Honours from ANU; was awarded an EASS Patrons Honours Scholarship to undergo her Honours degree and a Max Hawke Travelling Scholarship to attend Rhode Island School of Design; previously worked as an Arts Administrator at RAFT artspace (Alice Springs) and DVIALDOV (Berlin); is currently a peer assessor for the Australia Council for the Arts, Regional Arts Fund, Red Hot Arts festival programming and Araluen Cultural Centre exhibition programming; has held 9 solo exhibitions and been in over 30 group and collaborative exhibitions and projects.

ASSISTANT / PROJECTS COORDINATOR

Mimi Catterns

Mimi is a multi-disciplinary artist working across film, television, documentary and community arts. She has worked on diverse projects across Australia and Timor Leste since.

Mimi has completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production) from The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). She has work experience in Media organisation – Central Australian Aboriginal Media Organisation (CAAMA), Indigenous Community Television (ICTV), and in the visual arts area – Raft Artspace and Chapman and Bailey Fine Art Framers. Mimi has recently completed a 6-part mini-series for SBS as Production Designer.