‘A deep regard for creative endeavour’: meet the new Australia Council CEO

Diversifying the arts, working with government and finding new ways to talk about the relevance of the arts in our lives: Adrian Collette shares his ideas and insights.
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Adrian Collette AM, the newly appointed CEO of the Australia Council for the Arts, is quick to assure the sector that his loyalties don’t lie exclusively with the major performing arts (MPA) companies, despite 16 years as the CEO of Opera Australia.

‘I spent a decade in publishing because of my passion for writers, literature and books. I spent 16 years running the Opera because fundamentally I’m passionate about music and theatre and live creative expression. But it hasn’t been just about opera. And now I’m deeply immersed in the museums and galleries of the University [of Melbourne]. I feel strongly about the arts,’ he stressed.

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Richard Watts is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM, and serves as the Chair of La Mama Theatre's volunteer Committee of Management. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and was awarded the status of Melbourne Fringe Living Legend in 2017. In 2020 he was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize. Most recently, Richard was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Green Room Awards Association in June 2021. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts