Immerse yourself in all things creative, inspirational and practical at this annual symposium for people interested in and passionate about galleries, libraries, museums, cultural development, public art and everything in between.
Keeping it Real is a forum for regional cultural workers and volunteers, offering an eclectic mix of presentations and workshops. What makes Keeping it Real different is that it provides affordable access to current cultural practice, workshops and the opportunity to engage, be inspired and implement ideas in the workplace.
Chris is President of Public Libraries Victoria and the CEO of Casey Cardinia Libraries. He has extensive experience working in leadership roles across business, community and government. Chris is a Graduate, Australian Institute of Company Directors; was a Finalist in the 2012 Melbourne Awards for Individual Contribution to Melbourne’s profile; and has served the visitor industry in a voluntary capacity as Adjunct Professor, College of Business, Victoria University. Chris believes that public libraries play a vital role in sharing information, inspiring creativity and building community resilience.
Georgia is the Gallery Director at the City of Casey’s new $125m cultural precinct, Bunjil Place. Georgia joined the Bunjil Place leadership team in 2017 to establish the team, build the creative program and prepare for the ongoing operations of the newest premier arts and cultural precinct in Melbourne’s south-east. Prior to this Georgia held senior positions in the not-for-profit visual arts sector, most recently as Director National Exhibitions Touring Support Victoria. In 2006 she was the recipient of an Australia Council Skills and Development (Emerging) grant where she undertook an internship with Artangel in the UK.
Ian is a freelance director of theatre and festivals, based in Melbourne, Australia. His practice veers between programming festivals, directing theatre and participatory "things’. Ian's collaboration with Bec Reid and Kate Macdonald, Everybody Now, has created social dance works all over the country, including a large scale commission for the Commonwealth Games Festival 2018. Ian is Artistic Director of the new music and arts festival The Lost Lands, a two day rock and roll festival for families. He co-directed PASSENGER with Jessica Wilson, which had a hit season in Melbourne and will be seen at London's Greenwich and Docklands Festival in 2019. His work tends to be musical, accessible, playful and genre hopping, and is regularly seen throughout Australia and in Europe and Asia.
