The Australian Government today (15 July) appointed playwright, theatre director and respected arts figure, Professor Wesley Enoch AM – a proud Quandamooka man from Minjerribah – as Chair of the Australia Council Board of Creative Australia for a four-year term.
Most recently, Enoch served as Acting Chair of the Australia Council Board – which provides leadership to Creative Australia, the Government’s principal arts investment and advisory body – following Robert Morgan’s retirement as Chair in May.
As well as being the first practising artist to serve as Chair in more than two decades, he’s also the first First Nations person to hold the position.
As Acting Chair, earlier this month Enoch apologised to artist Khaled Sabsabi, following Sabsabi being controversially dumped as Australia’s representative at the 2026 Venice Biennale. He also apologised to curator Michael Dagostino, who, like Sabsabi, had his Venice invitation withdrawn in February this year.
‘I want to apologise to them for the hurt and pain they’ve gone through in this process,’ Enoch told Radio National Breakfast.
‘Though we will be stronger as a sector because of it, I know it’s come at a personal cost, not just to them, but also to a whole range of people in the arts sector.’
Sabsabi and Dagostino were reappointed to their Biennale roles earlier this month.
Read: Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino reinstated as 2026 Venice Biennale creatives
Previously, Enoch served as Deputy Chair of the Australia Council Board, a role to which he was appointed in August 2023.
Minister for the Arts Tony Burke MP said Enoch’s appointment would ensure Creative Australia can deliver for the arts sector.
‘Wesley has been instrumental during the transformation of Creative Australia and delivering on Creative Australia’s commitments under the National Cultural Policy – Revive,’ Burke said in a statement.
‘His wealth of experience as an industry leader and his knowledge of Australia’s creative sector will provide the Board with valuable leadership.
‘I’d also like to again thank Robert for his years of service to the Board and dedication to championing the arts,’ the Minister concluded.
A statement from Enoch was not provided in the Minister’s media release.
Who is Wesley Enoch?
Enoch has written and directed iconic Indigenous productions including The 7 Stages of Grieving, which was recently remounted in Subiaco by Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company, and praised by our reviewer for its exploration of ‘poignant themes – of loss, surveillance and control, juxtaposed with love, survival and strength’.
Read: Theatre review: The 7 Stages of Grieving, Subiaco Arts Centre
He has also written the plays Black Medea and The Story of The Miracles at Cookie’s Table, and directed productions of The Sapphires, Black Diggers, I am Eora, The Man From Mukinupin, Yibiyung, Parramatta Girls and Black Cockatoo.
Enoch has been Professor of Indigenous Practice, Creative Industries at Queensland University of Technology since 2021, and leads the national conversation on the place of Indigenous Australia within the creative industries through his unique First Nations perspective on learning, teaching and research, fostering career pathways and opportunities for students and professionals.
He was previously the Artistic Director of Queensland Theatre Company (now Queensland Theatre) from 2010 to 2015, and Artistic Director of Sydney Festival from 2017 to 2020. Enoch also served as the Artistic Director at Kooemba Jdarra Indigenous Performing Arts in the 1990s, and the Ilbijerri Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander theatre co-operative (ILBIJERRI) in the early 2000s.
Enoch was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Australia Day Honours in 2020, for ‘significant service to the performing arts as an Indigenous director and playwright’.
Discover more arts, screen and games reviews on ArtsHub and ScreenHub.
This article was edited after publication, at 3:56pm, to clarify that Enoch is the first practicing artist to sit as Chair of the Australia Council Board in more than two decades, following the dissemination of Creative Australia’s own media release about Enoch’s appointment.
