rts Tasmania - New staff in the arts realm
Arts Tasmania is starting the year with three exuberant additions to the arts team, Helen Ransom, Laura Harper and Sara Wright.
Helen Ransom
Helen is the new Project Officer for Contemporary Music. Her major focus is co-ordinating Amplified '08, the popular music festival which includes showcases, workshops, seminars; songwriter speaks sessions, and much more, all aimed at the independent artist here in Tassie.
"I am a proud Tasmanian who loves original and live music, so Amplified and I seem a natural fit," Helen says. And we are sure that the arts community will be pleased to have her behind the wheel of this amazing music festival.
As well as being involved in this exciting event, Helen is also the Event Coordinator for The Falls Festival. One of the highlights of this position is coordinating the Showcase Events in both Hobart and Launceston, where local acts are chosen to play at The Falls Festival.
Prior to this she was Event Manager for The Antarctic Midwinter Festival in 2007, and also worked on the inaugural Southern Blues and Roots Festival (March 2007).
With an extensive history in administration and project management in both government and private sectors, Helen is excited to be working on Amplified 08, as music festivals are clearly her passion.
Helen Ransom can be contacted on:
Email: Helen.Ransom@arts.tas.gov.au
Laura Harper
Laura recently left the surf and sand of the sunny East Coast of Tasmania to join the Arts Tasmania team as the Administrative Assistant. Laura was previously employed at Break O'Day Council in a community development role and is looking forward to the year ahead. She is passionate about the value of art within the community for its ability to inspire and initiate change.
Laura Harper completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours in 2002 at the Tasmanian School of Art where she majored in sculpture and art theory. Since leaving university she has undertaken an assortment of jobs including sales and marketing, event promotion, tap dancing teacher, company director and arts facilitator to name just a few.
At Arts Tasmania, Laura will be responsible for the day-to-day smooth running of the office and will assist with projects, grant processing and anything that the arts realm thrusts her way. Laura will be a strong and valuable contribution to our ever growing team.
Laura Harper can be contacted on:
Email: Laura.Harper@arts.tas.gov.au
Sara Wright
Sara Wright is a truly talented artist and arts coordinator. As well as doing her own remarkable ceramic work, Sara was called to support arts@work in Tasmanian Living Artists' Week 2007 with the Botanical Art Exhibition, after providing administrative assistance to Design Island in 2007. Winning the Design Island New Horizons 2007 Peoples Choice Award was a great, exciting achievement.
She holds a BA from the Virginia Tech State University with a major in Fine Art (Ceramics) and a minor in Industrial Design. In 2003, she accompanied her husband to Newcastle, NSW, where she worked for Newcastle Regional Art Gallery. She has shown her work at Lake Macquarie Regional Art Gallery and Manly Art Gallery.
With 2008 looking to be another exciting year for the arts, Sara Wright is now entering the New Year as Program Officer for Design Island at Arts Tasmania. Sara Wright has proved be an invaluable and highly dedicated enthusiast for the arts and we are sure her contributions in 2008 and onwards will be outstanding.
Sara Wright can be contacted on:
Email: Sara.Wright@arts.tas.gov.au
It is with great anticipation and enthusiasm that we are looking forward to 2008 and all that the arts will offer.
[ IMAGE: Helen Ransom - click to view ]
[ IMAGE: Laura Harper - click to view ]
[ IMAGE: Sara Wright Photographer aliasx photography - click to view ]