Claire Watson is a passionate contributor to the arts community through her role on boards and advisory committees, as a judge for industry prizes, a writer, and lecturer. Her professional experience includes serving as an advisor on the Touring Panel for Creative Victoria (2014-2016), board member of the Public Galleries Association of Victoria (2017-2019) chairing their Advocacy and Research Committee; and a range of senior roles at arts organisations including BLINDSIDE, Asialink, Gippsland Art Gallery, and Bundoora Homestead Art Centre. Claire has curated over 100 exhibitions including the Artspace Mackay touring exhibition Violent Salt co-curated with Yhonnie Scarce; NETS Victoria/BLINDSIDE touring exhibition Synthetica (2015-2016); and the Asialink/BLINDSIDE touring exhibition Vertigo (2014). She has been a guest speaker at the Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei; Galerie Soemardja, Indonesia; and the TransCultural Exchange Conference, USA. Claire is an Affiliate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a member of the National Association of Visual Arts, an advocate for inclusive practices and a lover of innovation.

Photograph: Kate Longley

Sherryn Vardy is a dedicated conservator and arts administrator who has held various roles including at Latrobe Regional Gallery, Cowwarr Art Space, Gippsland Art Gallery and McClelland Sculpture Park+Gallery. In a previous position at NETS Victoria she curated and developed the touring exhibition Made to last: The conservation of art. During her time at ACMI she was Exhibition Project Coordinator and Assistant Registrar in the national and international touring team and travelled with major exhibitions. At AMaGA Victoria Sherryn was both a Museum Accreditation Program Manager and Regional Digitisation Officer – Bushfire Recovery Project where she worked with small museums and communities. Sherryn holds a Bachelor and Graduate Diploma of Visual Arts from Monash University and a Master of Cultural Material Conservation from the University of Melbourne. She is on both the National Council and Victorian Branch committees of the Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material (AICCM) and currently operates a private conservation practice in Gippsland.

Isobel Morphy-Walsh is a proud Nirim Baluk Woman from the Taun Wurrung (Taungurung) people. She is a lover of anecdote, an artist, activist, educator, curator, storyteller and weaver.

Isobel’s creative practice is wide ranging and includes: weaving, lino printing, painting, fabric creation, woodwork, cultural objects and adornments, and more recently metals.

Isobel’s curatorial practice extends to education and has a strong and deliberate focus on First Nations narratives. She supports the need to decolonize, particularly through the treatment and interpretation of artworks, objects and images, with a focus on the communities they come from and approaches taken in development. Isobel embeds the values of her culture and ancestors in all that she does.

Photograph (detail): Victoria Morphy

Elsa Ch’ng is an arts professional dedicated to creating and supporting unique, innovative and relevant contemporary arts experiences and the care and management of Collections. Previously, she worked as the Manager of External Relations at TarraWarra Museum of Art and as the External Engagement Coordinator at McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery, where she also provided curatorial and exhibition support. Additionally, Elsa served on the Nillumbik Arts Advisory Committee. Prior to moving into the arts sector, Elsa worked in the NGO sector and academia.

Elsa is committed to supporting art that reflects and resonates with today’s society. She believes in the power of art to provoke thought, inspire dialogue, and foster social change and through her work strives to make contemporary art accessible and relevant, nurturing a vibrant cultural landscape.