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Having worked briefly for the British Museum and Imperial College Library, Pat found her passion in arts management coordinating major exhibitions in Mayfair for the National Book League, most notably The Bloomsbury Group and Jean Cocteau. Then as Education Officer for The Poetry Society she delivered poetry programs for children across England, Scotland and Wales. Head of Marketing for Derby Playhouse, Co-Director of Buckinghamshire Arts Association and Senior Officer at Arts Council England followed, where she managed capital grants of up to £5 million each. In 2008 as Strategic Director to Milton Keynes Theatre and Gallery Company Pat spearheaded the campaign that raised £462,000 of new recurring funding during the recession which founded the now successful ‘IF’ International Festival in Milton Keynes.
Pat migrated to Adelaide in 2009. In 2010 she accepted the post of General Manager for Backbone Youth Arts, relocated to Queensland, and in 2012 was appointed Chief Executive of Access Arts. Pat is proud of the new arts opportunities for people with disability initiated by Access Arts over the past decade. In 2013 she established the partnership with KPMG Queensland that has resulted in a major exhibition for our artists each year, 2014 became the first year we delivered the annual Access Arts Achievement Award funded through private sector support, 2015 saw our inaugural biennial Undercover Artist Festival – Australia’s premiere disability-led performing arts and disability festival, 2018 we established our artists’ second major annual exhibition at St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital with sponsorship from MinterEllison, 2019 Pat led Access Arts’ transition to CPL opening a whole new world of opportunity for our artists, 2020 she ensured business continuity throughout the pandemic introducing online exhibitions and performance outcomes for our participants and an Undercover Artist:Online program, 2021 saw Access Arts delivering two new capacity-building programs in leadership for arts professionals with disability, and 2022 we piloted regional development in Townsville. 2023 sees us celebrating Access Arts’ 40th birthday.
Pat serves on Arts Access Australia’s National Leadership Group, Arts Health Network Queensland Strategy Group, Evolution of Disability Arts in Australia Steering Committee, and Mega Cooperative Research Centres Partner Engagement Forum co-ordinated by University of Queensland.
After graduating from the Australian Ballet School, Tim continued a dance and choreographic career at Queensland Ballet and Expressions Dance Company. He has created a work for The Australian Ballet and continues to work as part of Queensland Ballet’s education team. He has a Master of Business from QUT.
Tim has received professional development opportunities to travel to Asia and throughout Europe to continue to foster his creative practice. After producing and directing a successful season of the multi-arts cabaret ‘Salon’, Tim now focuses on working as an advocate for marginalised artists and members of the community.
Tim enjoys attending dance, theatre and community events as well as spending time at the beach.
Rachel Gaffney-Dawson, a Visual Arts Program Manager with Access Arts, facilitates the Brisbane Outsider Artists’ Studio and curates a range of exhibitions for the organisation.
She has worked with drawing, abstract drip painting, woodblock carving/printing, digital collage, video and sound art, and is currently working with oil paints to explore the relationship between self and nature.
Rachel has a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Arts) from Queensland University of Technology, and also has a background in singing, flute, piano and guitar, and writes original music in the genre of alternative/folk. Her music has been described as minimalist, ethereal, meditative and reflective.
Jasmin is an emerging visual artist from Brisbane, Queensland. Since undertaking a Bachelor of Fine Art at Griffith University, she has participated in many local and interstate exhibitions, both group and solo. Of particular note was her site-responsive installation Stabilisers, which opened in Brisbane before going on to tour nationally.
This talented artist has received funding through the Arts Queensland’s Career Development and Regional Arts Development Grants programs, and was a recipient of an Australian Council for the Arts New Work Grant (Early Career).
In 2013, she was selected as an Artist in Residence through Vegas Spray’s Sister City Artist Residency Program (SCAR). This residency was located in Chongqing, Southwest China.
Jasmin has extensive professional experience working within the visual arts and disability intersection. This work continues to have a significant impact on the conceptual drive of her artworks.
Carla Sanzone joined Access Arts in late 2017 as an Administrator supporting the Business Manager and the Arts Co-ordinators. She has an extensive professional background in the creative industries and the Queensland public sector. Through these roles, Carla developed her administrative and business practice in professional opportunities in Australia, Indonesia and Europe. She has also supported the Brisbane community through volunteering for the multicultural sector and for children’s support services.
Through Access Arts, she now works as a proud supporter of artists who experience disability and disadvantage in the Brisbane community. Carla has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland.
Carla appreciates plays, operas and other performance art. She enjoys learning languages and visiting the array of visual arts exhibited in Brisbane.
Since joining Access Arts in 2016, Mary Schneider has been responsible for the smooth running of the office and overseeing all aspects of social media. Previously, she was a communications consultant for CGIAR, a global research partnership that is dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services.
Mary also writes a weekly column for The Star, Malaysia’s largest English-language newspaper. She began writing for The Star more than twenty years ago and is one of the newspaper’s longest running columnists.
This former journalist speaks four languages, has acted in more than twenty plays, appeared in a movie with Glenn Close, and recently published her first book, ‘Not Tonight, Dear, I’m Defrosting’. Mary is also an accomplished speaker and an avid backgammon player.