To be eligible for the Alumni Award for Cultural Contribution, nominees must:
I do not think I have done anything counterintuitive - except for the mistakes I have made when I have not followed my gut instincts.
David Handley AM is the founding director of Sculpture by the Sea, a globally renowned public art initiative that transforms coastal landscapes in Australia and beyond into accessible outdoor galleries.
Having begun a career as a solicitor, David made the daring move from Sydney to Prague in 1993 with no job lined up and $1000 in his pocket. That sense of conviction and daring eventually led to the launch of Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi in 1997. With just a $400 marketing budget, the inaugural one-day exhibition attracted 25,000 people. In the years since, Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi has grown into one of Sydney’s most beloved cultural institutions, and the format has been replicated across Australia and internationally. David’s visionary cultural leadership has supported local artists and engaged diverse audiences through innovative and inclusive programs.
Recognised as a Member of the Order of Australia in 2016 for his significant service to the visual arts, David has also received numerous accolades for his social entrepreneurship and creative impact. He is one of Australia’s most influential cultural figures and a passionate advocate for accessible public programming.
I loved my time at the University of Sydney and believe passionately in the benefits for individuals and society as a whole of a wide ranging education for as many people as possible. I mourn how HECS has eroded this.
The subjects in my Arts degree encouraged my critical thinking about life in general and the search for a path that I wanted to follow. This helped me realise I needed to create my own path that in its own small way might make this wonderful but sometimes dreadfully unfair and hard world a slightly better place.
I wasn’t a conscientious student at Law School but the education I received gave me what I wanted - and needed - which was a sufficient understanding of the law to help me in whatever business I chose to do when I started working for myself. This has been invaluable, especially given the number of companies that have tried to unfairly benefit from the work of the artists and our not for profit organisation over the years.
While some of my major decisions could be seen as counterintuitive by others, such as leaving work as a solicitor in Sydney to move to Prague with no job and $1,000 in my pocket in 1993; or starting Sculpture by the Sea as a free to the public cultural event, when I had no experience, no contacts or funding in place; or turning Sculpture by the Sea into a not for profit organisation, most of my major decisions have been based on intuition. Despite a lot of tough times brought about by biting off more than I could chew, especially from a financial and work-load point of view, following my gut has been the right thing to do. Though being an unintentional ‘disruptor’ (before the term was coined) in the cosy world of public sector visual arts funding has been a 30 year nightmare but that’s another story.
My time in Prague was not just fascinating, living the period of historical change after the fall of communism, but the small film sales agency and wine important distribution agency I started in Prague, as well as producing a photography exhibition, gave me confidence to embark on new endeavours from scratch.
Sculpture by the Sea was born from a strong sense that our overly commercial world needs more free things. Free to the public community events add to our sense of community while increasing social good will. This is even more so than the nearly 40 years ago when I first developed this conviction.
As Sculpture by the Sea has never made anything you would call a profit, the decision to change the legal structure from a company to a not for profit entity in 2003 did not have any negative financial consequences. But by making this change I would no longer be in charge and would have to report to a Board. However, both personally and as a organisation there are huge advantages to having a good Board. Most notably in terms of advice based on experience, constructive criticism, accountability and extended networks.
So, I do not think I have done anything counterintuitive - except for the mistakes I have made when I haven’t followed my gut instincts. To follow my gut instincts I do a bit of self-critical thinking, arguing as a devils advocate against what I think I would like to do. Having good colleagues alongside me day to day and a Board requires me to test ideas a bit more robustly than I did in my twenties and early thirties.
Kip Williams is an award-winning writer and director of theatre and opera. Kip has revolutionised the stage with his ‘cine-theatre’ productions including the hugely critically acclaimed gothic trilogy of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde and Dracula, which have been seen to date by a global audience of over 300,000 people.
Kip started writing plays in early childhood and began directing them in his early teens. His passion for theatre continued during his university studies where as a member of the Sydney University Dramatic Society (SUDS) he took part in over 20 productions, directing, writing, acting, designing sets, rigging lights and running front of house. Following his studies at Sydney University, he was accepted into National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA), where he completed an MFA in Directing.
At age 25 he was appointed Resident Artist at Sydney Theatre Company (STC) by then Artistic Directors Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton. At age 30 he was appointed as the Artistic Director of STC – the youngest person to hold the position in the company’s history - a role in which he served for 8 years. In this time he transformed the company’s production of new Australian writing, with over two thirds of the 101 shows he programmed written by Australian writers, whilst also achieving gender parity for writers and directors across all seasons for the first time in the company’s history.
With a career spanning over five decades, Imants Tillers has left an incredible mark on the world of art. He was born into a Latvian émigré family in Sydney and found his artistic calling while studying a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. Since then, his work has appeared widely in international exhibitions and events, and has been the subject of solo retrospectives nationally and internationally. He represented Australia at the prestigious Venice Biennale in 1986. Imants has also fostered a profound connection with Indigenous Australian artists, offering a bridge between contemporary art and First Nations artistic practice, most notably through his 20 year collaboration with Warlpiri artist Michael Nelson Jagamara. He has won many prizes and awards, including the Grand Prize at the 1993 Osaka Triennale and the Wynne Prize for landscape painting at the Art Gallery of NSW in both 2012 and 2013.
Today, Imants is generous with his time, serving on the board of the Power Institute and participating in mentoring programs through Sydney College of the Arts. He was a Trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales for 9 years from 2001–2009. Imants is an influential advocate of conceptual art and postmodern discourse, and recently published an anthology of his writings on art from 1982 to the present, titled Credo.
Suhanya has over 30 years of experience as a museum curator and leader. She was previously Deputy Director of the Art Gallery of NSW, where she was responsible for all curatorial areas including Australian and international art. She also worked on the AGNSW’s expansion project with the architecture firm Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates (SANAA.)
She was at the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane until 2013, where she held many senior curatorial positions, including Deputy Director of curatorial and collection development from 2010 and Acting Director in 2012. She was instrumental in building its contemporary Asia Pacific collection and led the museum’s international position through major curatorial projects such as the Andy Warhol exhibition (2007–2008), The China Project (2009), Surrealism: Poetry of dreams (2011), Matisse : Drawing life (2011) and Portrait of Spain : Masterpieces from the Prado (2012).
Suhanya is currently Museum Director at M+ Hong Kong at the West Kowloon District. M+ is a major new museum of modern and contemporary visual culture designed by the eminent Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron and opened to the public in November 2021. Suhanya has delivered a construction program while building an eminent team of museum professionals as well as establishing unique founding collections. She leads M+ as a whole and oversees all museum activities, including acquisitions, programming, collections care, development, research, institutional collaborations, and museum operations. Since joining M+, she has led the museum’s mission, broadening its international reach and championing its deep connection with its local community.
Suhanya is on the Board of CIMAM, the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art. She is also a member of the Bizot Group. She is a Trustee of the Geoffrey Bawa Trust and the Lunuganga Trust, Sri Lanka since 1994.
Previously, she was a member of the Asian Art Council at the Guggenheim Museum, New York and served on the boards of the Australia–China Council, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Canberra and the Griffith University Asia Institute, Brisbane and LendLease Public Art Advisory Committee.
Suhanya was awarded the 2020 Republic of France Chevalier dans l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
Growing up in Australia during the time of the white Australia policy has shaped Lindy Lee as an artist and had a profound impact on her sense of self, and cultural identity. Much of her art explores notions of authenticity and selfhood, exploring what it is to be Australian and part of the Chinese Diaspora. As a first-generation Chinese Australian, her practice reflects and explores both Eastern and Western influences. Lindy is one of Australia’s most acclaimed contemporary artists and her work has been exhibited widely nationally and internationally.
Her work is held in most of Australia’s major institutions, including the Australian National Gallery, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Art Gallery of Western Australia, the Art Gallery of South Australia as well as numerous corporate and personal collections.
Lindy has also served as a board member of Artspace, the Australian Centre of Photography, President of the Asian Australian Artists Association, Deputy Chair of the Visual Arts and Craft Fund, Australia Council, and trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales for nine years. She continues to serve on the Asia link Visual Arts Committee.
More recently Lindy has worked on two major projects that connect with her Chinese heritage: New Century Garden in Chinatown commissioned by the City of Sydney and The Life of Stars, Tinghsin Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Lindy is a much admired, artist, mentor, and teacher. She has made an extensive contribution to the Australian cultural landscape and continues to develop works that engage with the history of art, cultural authenticity, and personal identity.
Born in Iran, Dr Akram Omeri OAM was the first to establish the discipline of Transcultural Nursing in Australia with the aim of ensuring every person can access culturally meaningful and appropriate nursing, healthcare and social welfare services. Her contributions have resulted in her receiving the Leininger Transcultural Nursing Award and the Nursing Scholar Award from the Transcultural Nursing Society. In 2012, she was awarded an OAM for her services to nursing in Australia.
Explore the annual Alumni Awards, featuring six Graduate Medals and six Alumni Awards.