OUR TEAM

Professor Katya Johanson is the Associate Dean, Creative Humanities at Edith Cowan University, where she oversees the staff and courses focused on creative production in the School of Arts and Humanities. Katya works with public arts and cultural policy agencies and arts organisations to create more and better opportunities for communities to participate in arts activities.

Professor James Arvanitakis is the Director of the Forrest Research Foundation which brings together the five Western Australian-based universities to attract world class early career researchers to the state, link with government and industry and confront the world’s grand challenges. He is the recipient of various awards including the Prime Minister’s University Teacher of the Year, Australia India Council Eminent Researcher and received an Excellence in Education Award by the Australian Financial Review. James is a Fulbright alumnus, having spent 12 months at the University of Wyoming. In 2021, he was appointed the inaugural Patron of Diversity Arts Australia and founded Respectful Disagreements, a brave spaces project. He sits on various boards including the Perth Festival, he is an Adjunct Professor at both the Institute for Culture and Society (at Western Sydney University) and Curtin University.

Clare Reid is the Founder and CEO of Longform Creative. Formerly the CEO of Lush the Content Agency, she has extensive experience in brand strategy and feature writing. Leading a deep-thinking communications agency, Reid is well-versed in the power of language and the impact communications can have on social narratives and cultural conversations. She has delivered communications for UWA, the Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Wadjemup / Rottnest Island, RAC, and Amazon Web Services. When she’s not putting pen to paper – or fingertips to MacBook – she conducts communication workshops in the art of effective writing. Clare holds a Master of English in Transnational Creative Writing from Stockholm University, was longlisted for the 2019 Fish Anthology prize and the 2020 First Pages Prize, and has two publishing credits to her name and a string of editorial by-lines. “Clare's knowledge into brand strategy and mass communications make her a formidable mind when it comes to the power of language. She has insightful commentary on the social impact of language and communications campaigns that are often taken at face value” - James Lush

Lauren Fane is an architectural practitioner and artist based on Noongar Country. She supports State Design Review and the Government Architect Western Australia at the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage. Her work engages with design, advocacy and cultural collaboration across State government, private practice and educational contexts. Lauren is also involved with EmAGN WA where she developed and leads the archiNATION portfolio, an inclusive industry support group that celebrates cultural diversity. At Cohen Connect, a not-for-profit network of built environment professionals, she assists in advocating for improving the general understanding of good design, and supports disadvantaged members of our profession, both students and practitioners, through mentoring and workshop facilitation. With experience in design review, policy, the design of supportive housing, community places and public art, Lauren views architecture and art as tools for civic storytelling. Her practice is guided by the belief that collaborative, interdisciplinary design can amplify underrepresented voices, of both people and place.

Daniel Giuffre is a designer, researcher, and educator at Curtin University with a Master's in Architecture. He is a Co-Founder at Intensive Fields, specializing in the creative application of advanced generative and computational design and fabrication technologies. Daniel actively pursues cross-disciplinary collaborations in public art and architecture, leveraging his expertise to foster innovation and creativity. His keen interest in technology and automation has led him to deliver lectures at professional offices, the Australian Institute of Architects, and the Engineering Institute of Australia, where he shares his insights and inspires the next generation of designers and engineers.

Associate Professor Paul Maginn is the Interim Director of the UWA Public Policy Institute and co-ordinator of the Administration and Governance stream of the Masters of Public Policy at UWA. Paul is an urban planner/geographer and has been at UWA since February 2007. He previously held positions at the University of South Australia and Edith Cowan University, having migrated to Australia in 2003. He has co-edited a number of books, his latest—Suburbia in the 21st Century: From Dreamscape to Nightmare? alongside Professor Katrin Anacker (George Mason University, USA)—published in 2022 by Routledge. Paul is also Editor-in-Chief of Urban Policy and Research.

Shauna is the Administration and Communications Coordinator for Creative Futures Academy in Ireland. She holds an MA in Art History from University College Dublin and has over 10 years of experience in the arts and cultural sector. She has previously worked for national and international organisations including IMMA, National Gallery of Ireland, Design & Crafts Council Ireland and World Crafts Council Europe. As a result, she has experience in complex, multi-disciplinary settings and has developed a creative thinking approach to problem-solving, driving results through partnerships and collaboration. Shauna has worked across and managed high profile, multi-partner European projects and successfully delivered projects and events in Ireland and abroad.

Molly Schmidt is a writer and journalist from Albany, Western Australia. Her debut novel, Salt River Road, was the recipient of the 2022 City of Fremantle Hungerford Award. While writing Salt River Road, Molly collaborated with Noongar Elders from Albany, with the goal of producing a novel that actively pursues reconciliation between non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal peoples. Molly is currently a Forrest Research Foundation Scholar in Creative Writing, completing her PhD at Curtin University.

Lindsay Vickery’s work as a composer, performer and academic explores: new forms of score presentation and generation; musical structure and environmental music; the nexus of electronic and acoustic music; composed, improvised and interactive approaches; and musicology - in particular the realisation of John Cage’s indeterminate scores. As a soloist, a collaborator and with innovative electronic/acoustic ensemble Decibel New Music, he has toured and presented his work internationally for the past 25 years. He recently co-edited and contributed to a collection of 12 essays by international Cage scholars, Actions | Remarks, to accompany the first complete recording of Cage’s 8 Variations by Decibel for Mode Records’ John Cage Edition. Vickery works at Edith Cowan University in Perth.

Dennis Power is a synthetic organic chemist with a BSc (Honours) from the University of Western Australia. During his postgraduate studies Dennis spoke on the global stage of TEDx UWA and worked abroad at the prestigious Leibniz Institute for Catalysis in Rostock, Germany. Four years of a PhD exploring nickel catalysis and the total synthesis of natural products led Dennis to discover his talent for science communications. In order to be an effective scientist, Dennis believes that one must also be an artist; to create something truly novel, you must think in a novel way. A pianist, songwriter, vocalist, and fire performer, Dennis lives this ethos as a successful solo artist, chemist, and ultimately, science communicator.