Executive Director
Libby Christie
At university I studied "Arts" which in my case meant Literature in all its forms. My poetry tutor was David Malouf. How lucky was I! But I’ve also had a long love affair with music – I remember "Schools Concerts" in the Sydney Town Hall and sleeping on the footpath to get the best opera tickets. I am more an enthusiastic consumer of music than a performer. I’m happy now to leave that to the professionals. I did learn the piano until I was about 16 and I sang in the school choir but gave up aspiring to any form of performance "greatness" long ago!
I have worked in arts administration for 10 years now. Before joining the Australia Council as Executive Director of Arts Funding, I was the Managing Director of the Sydney Symphony. I have loved every minute of these roles. Working in partnership with passionate, creative people is tremendously fulfilling. As I also have quite a few years of experience in the fields of education and technology, I find I have lots to offer in terms of strategic planning and advocacy and in financial and operational areas. Finding the balance between artistic aspirations and organizational stability can sometimes be a challenge but the results make it worthwhile every time. Because in the end, the only thing that matters is the art.
The Australia Council is all about celebrating and supporting the arts and creativity. Working with artists to support their projects, their organisations and to connect artists and audiences is tremendously satisfying. I know I am very fortunate through my role at the Australia Council to have a nation-wide view of artists working in all areas of practice. It makes me very proud to see the brilliant work our artists are creating and to know how much impact they have on the lives of all Australians.