Public Art Advisory Panel

Felicity publishes widely on contemporary and public art. Recent books include Running the City: why public art matters (Sydney: NewSouth Publishing, 2017) and Curating in a Time of Ecological Crisis: biennales as agents of change (Oxford: Routledge, 2022). Her next book Shifting Ground: the evolving role of art in the Australian public domain, charts the emergence of new approaches to place-making and knowledge-sharing in Australian public art.

Tony Albert is a politically-minded artist provoked by stereotypical representations of Aboriginal people and the colonial history that attempts to define him, and what Aboriginality is, in the present. Tony has spent the majority of his life in Brisbane, but has strong family connections further north to the Girramay and Kuku Yalanji people of the rainforest region. In 2004 he completed a degree in Visual Arts, majoring in Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art, at Griffith University. Tony is a founding member of the Brisbane-based collective, proppaNOW, which was officially incorporated in 2006.  He is the first Indigenous Trustee for the Art Gallery of New South Wales and is also chair of the AGNSW Indigenous Advisory Group. Tony's commitment to connecting and collaborating with other Indigenous artists and the wider community within his practice, has made him an integral part of Australia’s visual arts sector and the wider Australian community.

Judith Blackall is an independent curator, writer and producer of contemporary art projects. She has held senior roles in galleries and art museums in Sydney since 2000, with expertise in Australian and international contemporary art, publications, audience engagement and artists’ projects in the public domain.

As Curator and Gallery Manager at the National Art School, Sydney (2013-2019), and Head of Artistic Programs at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (2000-13), Judith has worked directly on numerous major contemporary art exhibitions and projects, touring exhibitions internationally and producing a range of outreach initiatives. She has been a member of the City of Sydney’s Public Art Advisory Panel since 2007.

Judith was based in Italy from 1982 to 1997. She established an artist-in-residence program for Australians in Arthur Boyd’s Tuscan farmhouse, ‘Il Paretaio’ which she managed until 1990, and worked in contemporary art galleries in Milan and Florence, the Pecci Museum in Prato and the first Biennale of Art/Fashion in 1996, presented throughout the city of Florence.

Director, Aileen Sage Architects, FRAIA

Amelia is a co-director and co-founder of Aileen Sage Architects. Graduating from UNSW with the University Medal in Architecture and the NSW Boards of Architects Medallion, she went on to complete a MA in Architectural History and Critical Thinking at the Architecture Association in London. Prior to forming Aileen Sage Architects with Isabelle Toland in 2013, Amelia worked for several award-winning Sydney practices including Neeson Murcutt Architects (now Neeson Murcutt Neille), Architect Marshall and Tonkin Zulaikha Greer.

As Design Director, Amelia has a special interest in projects which span architecture, public art, heritage and landscape. Recent projects include Waterloo Metro Quarter, Corrimal Cokeworks, Marrickville Timberyards, Zetland Housing, Rosebery Seniors and AMRF Building 2 with roles that span architecture, public art, public domain and activation. She is an experienced project lead, adept at coordinating large consultancy teams and a proven track record of cross disciplinary collaboration.

Amelia has also worked in policy, including acting as a consultant to NSW Government Architect, developing the framework for the State Significant Design Review Panel.

She is actively involved in the architectural community and currently sits on the NSW chapter council of the Australian Institute of Architects. She was a Creative Director of the 2016 Australian Exhibition at the Venice Architecture Biennale with the multi-sensory installation “The Pool” and has served on the jury for a number of industry awards and prizes.

Director, Richard Johnson Architect

Richard Johnson studied Architecture at UNSW, gaining the RAIA Prize for Design, the RAIA Silver Medal, and the NSW Board of Architects Bronze Medal. He graduated with First Class Honours in 1969. He was awarded a Commonwealth Postgraduate Scholarship and in 1977 was admitted to the degree of Master of Philosophy following study in Town Planning and Urban Design at University College, London.

In 1976 he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for Public Service in the field of architecture. Richard was appointed as architectural advisor to the Sydney Opera House Trust 1998-2008. He was awarded the RAIA Gold Medal in 2006, a Life Fellow in 2008, a Life Governor of the AGNSW in 2012, and a distinguished Alumni Award from UNSW in 2013.

In 2014, Richard was admitted to the order of Australia for distinguished services to architecture, to the visual arts and the museums and galleries sector.

He is a founding director of Johnson Pilton Walker Pty Ltd, (2001-2014) a Professor of Architecture at UNSW (Adjunct/Practice/Honorary 1999-2021) and serves on the City of Sydney Design Advisory Panel and the State Design Review Panel.

Artist

Janet Laurence is a leading Sydney-based artist who exhibits nationally and internationally. Her practice examines our physical, cultural and conflicting relationship to the natural world. She creates immersive environments that navigate the interconnections between organic elements and systems of nature. Within the recognized threat of climate change she explores what it might mean to heal, the natural environment, fusing this with a sense of communal loss and search for connection with powerful life-forces. Her work is included in museum, university, corporate and private collections as well as within architectural and landscaped public places.

Janet has been a recipient of Rockefeller, Churchill and Australia Council fellowships; recipient of the Alumni Award for Arts, UNSW; is currently a visiting fellow at the NSW University Art and visiting fellow of the 2016/2017 Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg (HWK) foundation fellowship; and artist in residence at the Australian Museum; She was the Australian representative for the COP21/FIAC, Artists 4 Paris Climate 2015 exhibition and in 2019 she had a major solo survey exhibition at the MCA and in 2020 at the Yu Hsui Museum of Art in Taiwan.She is currently exhibiting in Know My Name National Galleru of Australia working on her second Echigo Tsumari Triennale project scheduled for July 2021

Anne Loxley is Executive Director of Information + Cultural Exchange in Parramatta. Specialising in socially engaged practice and deep collaboration, Anne has a strong track record as a writer and curator working with artists in and outside gallery contexts, in communities and in public spaces. From 2011 until 2019 Anne was Senior Curator, C3West, for Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art. In that role she developed innovative ways for artists to work with businesses and non-arts organisations to address strategic issues and engage with communities. With Felicity Fenner, Anne was programming associate, visual arts, for the 2017 – 2019 Perth Festivals. With Blair French she co-edited Civic Actions: Artists’ Practices Beyond the Museum (MCA Australia, 2017).

Previously she directed Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest, the Olympic Co-ordination Authority’s Public Art Program and the National Trust’s S.H. Ervin Gallery. A founding member of the City of Sydney’s Public Art Advisory Panel, a member of the City’s Eora Journey Working Group, and a former Sydney Morning Herald art critic, her work has attracted numerous awards.

Director, Stewart Architecture

Felicity is an architect and urban designer with a substantial portfolio of major projects, including urban design, architecture and interiors. She is the Sydney Director of Stewart Architecture, a multidisciplinary design practice founded in 1987.

Felicity is an established leader in the architecture and urban design profession, known for her commitment to inclusive city-making. She is dedicated to defending the public interest and creating innovative, high-quality design solutions that enhance urban life.

Felicity obtained her Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design at Columbia University NYC. She was the recipient of the NSW Board of Architects Graduate Medallion following her graduation from the Architecture program at UNSW and received First Class Honours and the University Medal for Architecture.

Felicity has taught at UNSW and UTS and has spoken at numerous public events, including Vivid Ideas. Felicity is a serving member of the National Capital Design Review Panel ACT and was a jury member for the NGA Architecture Commission in 2021.

Independent Arts and Culture Strategist

Dr. Mikala Tai works independently as a writer, curator, researcher and academic in the creative industries. She was the Head of Visual Arts at Creative Australia from 2020-2025 and previously the director of the 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney.

As a specialist in contemporary Australian and Asian art, she has collaborated with local, national, and international organisations to strengthen ties between Australia and Asia.

Tai has taught at Monash University, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne in both undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

Tai’s writing can be found in several exhibition catalogues in addition to magazines and journals. In 2015, Tai received her PhD, focusing on the influence of the global city on China’s local art infrastructure.

Artist

Louise Zhang is an Australian multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture and installation. Louise explores the dynamics of aesthetics, contrasting the attractive and repulsive in order to navigate the senses of fear, anxiety and a sense of otherness reflecting her identity. Her work is inspired by Chinese mythology and botany, adopting and placing symbols and motifs in compositions of harmonic dissonance.

Since graduating in 2013 from UNSW Art & Design, Louise has staged solo exhibitions and been awarded artist residencies in Australia and China, and undertaken public art commissions in Sydney’s Chinatown, across Greater Sydney and at Ngununggula, Bowral. She is represented by N.Smith Gallery.