Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board


The Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board (TAAB) was established under the Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board Act (1975) to provide policy and funding advice to the State Government.

The Board comprises members from various sectors of the arts and the wider community, appointed by the Minister for the Arts. The Board provides advice to the Minister through recommendations for the expenditure of the annual arts grant and loan allocations.

Click here for TAAB Board Updates.

Vision

A robust, diverse, vibrant arts sector in Tasmania which is valued by Tasmanians and which is nationally and internationally recognised.

Mission

Through Arts Tasmania's grant funding programs, the Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board strives to support, facilitate, advocate and enable creativity, diversity, cultural excellence and quality arts practice in Tasmania.

The Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board acts as an advocate for the arts and cultural sector and provides broad policy advice on arts industry issues to Government.

Objective

The Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board will support activities which demonstrate excellence; which nurture talent across the span of careers; and which express the unique perspectives of Tasmanian artists in a global context.


Goals

  • To support and develop the skills, potential and viability of our artistic talent and product; and support and strengthen the management of our arts organisations.

  • To broker opportunities for the arts by leveraging Tasmaniafs unique identity.

  • To increase accessibility, engagement and participation in arts and cultural activities.

  • To increase the cultural and economic value of the arts to the Tasmanian community and strengthen the connections between artists, arts organisations, business and the broader community.


You can find the members of the panels and advisory group here:

Individuals Panel
Organisations Panel
Small Museums and Collections Panel
Aboriginal Arts Advisory Committee
Arts and Disability Panel


The members of the Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board are listed below:

Damian Bugg
Chair

Damian Bugg AM QC was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of Tasmania in 1969. He was a Senior Litigation Partner in the Hobart law firm Dobson Mitchell and Allport when he was appointed the first Director of Public Prosecutions for Tasmania in July 1986. He took silk in 1994. On 2 August 1999 Mr Bugg was appointed the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions and held this position until 12 October 2007. In 1998 Mr Bugg was made a Fellow of the University of Tasmania and appointed Chancellor in 2006.

Nicki Fletcher
Member

Nicki Fletcher is the Community Engagement Officer for the Cradle Coast Campus of the University of Tasmania and coordinates the Campusfs cultural program. Nicki is a former Tasmanian Regional Arts board member and from 2003 to 2007 held joint positions as arts@work Project Officer with Arts Tasmania, and Cultural Tourism Officer with the Cradle Coast Authority. Nicki has been seconded to the University from Women Tasmania, where she holds the position of Regional Manager North West. She has a background in community development, marketing and journalism and is currently studying a Post Graduate Certificate in Business at the University of Tasmania.

Lucy Frost
Member

Lucy Frost is a writer and researcher whose most recent book, Abandoned Women: Scottish Convicts Exiled Beyond the Seas, was published in February 2012. She is a member of the Board of the Female Factory Historic Site in Hobart, convenor of the Female Convicts Research Group, and Vice-President of Convict Women’s Press. She is the editor of Convict Lives at the Ross Female Factory, published in November 2011.  

Clayton Hawkins
Member

Clayton Hawkins has an MBA from the Southern Cross University amongst a number of other qualifications. An elected representative on the Waratah-Wynyard Council, Clayton works as a Lecturer for the University of Tasmania's Institute for Regional Development at its Cradle Coast Campus in Burnie and has a long history of community involvement. He has previously been a musicians' agent & event promoter.

Jeannette James
Member

Jeannette James is a traditional Tasmanian Aboriginal shell necklace stringer. In 2000, Jeannette  was a prize winner in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Telstra Art Award and again in 2001 and 2007, she was selected as a finalist. Jeannette has exhibited her work locally, nationally and internationally. Her work is featured in the permanent collections of the National Museum Canberra, Queensland Museum, South Australian Museum, Darwin Museum and Art Gallery and at the Queen Victoria Museum and Arts Gallery, Launceston. Jeannette's work is also held in private collections around the world. From 2003-2006 Jeannette sat on the Arts Tasmania Aboriginal Steering Committee and in 2007 she was appointed by the Australia Council for the Arts to the national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Advisory Board.

Andrew Legg
Member

Dr Andrew Legg is the Deputy Head of School and Director of Contemporary Music at the University of Tasmaniafs Conservatorium of Music. Andrew is the pianist, founder and director of the ARIA nominated Southern Gospel Choir. Andrewfs areas of speciality include the piano and choral director in particular within the African American contemporary gospel music tradition.

Laura McCusker
Member

Laura McCusker is an international award winning furniture designer and maker based in Hobart, Tasmania.

She has exhibited regularly since completing her training in Fine Woodworking in 1996, at venues as diverse as the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney and the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts in Hobart. Her work is featured regularly in Australian and international interior design publications and she has taught Furniture Making, Design and Contemporary Art & Craft at university, TAFE and secondary school levels.

Ian Roberts
Member

Ian Roberts is the Executive Officer of the Harold Mitchell Foundation and Managing Director of I D Roberts Pty Ltd, an arts and cultural industry consultancy company. Ian was General Manager of the Melbourne Festival for six years and General Manager of the Geelong Performing Arts Centre for five years. Ian's professional Board memberships include Chair of International Concert Attractions Ltd, Chair of the Australia Day Committee (Vic) and Vice Chair for the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. Ian who is an exhibiting photographer, launched his first solo exhibition 'Plottings' in Melbourne in 2006.

Lynne Stacpoole
Member

Lynne is a Board member of the National Trust of Australia (Tasmania) and has been a Company Director of Stacpoole Enterprises Pty Ltd a state-wide family business, for over 30 years. She has had strong volunteer, cultural and community involvement over the last decade. Lynne is the Chair of the Small Museums and Collections Panel.

Catherine Wolfhagen
Member

Catherine Wolfhagen holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Tasmania, and a Graduate Diploma in Museum Studies from Deakin University. She is College Archivist at Scotch Oakburn College in Launceston and has an extensive history in management of public and commercial art spaces and curatorial practice, having worked for organisations such as the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery and Sherman Galleries, Sydney and curating exhibitions in events such as Ten Days on the Island.

 

Nominating for the Board and its Panels

The Minister for the Arts encourages you to self-nominate or to nominate others to the Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board and its Panels. Board and Panel members are in the unique position of providing policy advice and funding recommendations to the Minister and play an instrumental role in helping to shape the arts in Tasmania.  

Whilst nomination does not guarantee a position all nominations are considered.  The Minister for the Arts is responsible for all appointments.

TAAB Nomination Form - MS Word (223 KB)