Mildura Arts and Culture Advisory Committee

Rohan Morris is a creative leader, strategist, and community advocate based in Sunraysia. With a career spanning the arts, events, fundraising, and regional development, he brings a collaborative and forward-thinking approach to his work. He is the Executive Officer of Creative Sunraysia, championing the idea of creativity as a form of primary production, and is also the founder and Director of Workspace 3496 + Gallery, a vibrant hub supporting local and emerging artists.

He is actively involved across multiple organisations, including the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show, Regional Arts Victoria, Red Cliffs Arts Inc., and GalleryF Creative Arts Inc., and serves as President of the Red Cliffs Focus Group.

Rohan has worked with leading organisations such as La Trobe University, Sydney Dance Company, and the Biennale of Sydney. Passionate about community, sustainability, and innovation, he is committed to building strong regional futures through arts, culture, and connection.

Dr Joe Simonetta is an academic, community leader, and arts advocate whose career spans health sciences, business, and social enterprise. Originally born in Mildura, he returned to regional Victoria after more than 40 years for personal reasons, bringing extensive national and international experience and a strong commitment to community development.

Joe holds a Bachelor of Science, a PhD in Physiology, and a Master of Business Administration. He has worked as a lecturer and research scientist at leading Australian universities and is currently based at Monash University’s Mildura Rural Health Campus as a Lecturer contributing to the education of future health professionals.

Following his return to Mildura, Joe applied his business expertise in the disability sector, helping develop social enterprises that create employment and strengthen inclusive communities. He is also curator of the N & M Simonetta Collection, supporting arts and culture as drivers of community identity and regional vitality.

Donata Carrazza is a founding member and former artistic director of the Mildura Writers Festival, which celebrated 30 years in 2025.  She has extensive experience in hospitality and an abiding commitment to the arts. Her work includes roles as gallery owner and curator, writer, teacher of English to migrants, bookshop owner and body worker. She has served on boards in Mildura and Melbourne, including six years with the State Library of Victoria. In 2025 she was the recipient of the University of Melbourne’s Dean of Arts Alumni Leadership Award. She has two children, Domenico and Claudia, and a granddaughter, Maia.

Kim Chalmers is a composer, creative director and arts leader whose foundational training in composition and digital arts has shaped a career grounded in interdisciplinary thinking, creative leadership and cultural strategy. Her early arts career involved directing significant creative projects, commissions and festival programs, building strong capability in vision‑setting, collaboration and delivery. Building on this foundation, Kim now leads the Chalmers group of integrated wine, viticulture and nursery enterprises with an ethos centred on innovation, sustainability and systems thinking. She brings substantial governance experience through senior board and advisory roles across arts, industry and government, and is recognised for connecting creative insight with long‑term cultural and regional impact.

Dr Nikita Vanderbyl is a historian, critic and researcher. Her research examines nineteenth-century Aboriginal art and cultural objects and she has published on Wurundjeri artist William Barak in The La Trobe Journal and Australian Historical Studies. Her research also examines Australia’s legacies of British Slavery, published in History Workshop Journal and Legacies of British Slavery in Australia and New Zealand (eds. Zoe Laidlaw and Jane Lydon). She publishes an art criticism newsletter called Slow Looking and is the current Narrative Strategy and Development Lead for the Birrarung Council, an independent statutory body speaking for Birrarung (Yarra River) as a living entity. Nikita sits on the Wentworth Shire Council’s History and Heritage Advisory Committee and volunteers with local Land Care.

Bob has been a resident of Mildura since 2011 and has over 40 years of teaching experience, specialising in the arts. He earnt his tertiary qualifications in Visual Arts at the Australian National University in Canberra.

Bob understands the benefits of creativity in inspiring ambition and building confidence. He is a strong supporter of local theatre and the performing arts, including the Red Cliffs Players and Mallee Arts coLab. Additionally, Bob is on the board of the Christie Centre and a dedicated film buff and committed member of Mildura Film Society. Currently employed by Mildura Specialist School, Bob’s extensive experience as a teacher of special needs students, combined with his recognition as a local artist, provides valuable and insightful perspectives to our Committee.

Alison is a lifelong creative with a deep interest in all artistic outlets. After studying music and working as a musician, she found her way into education, teaching instrumental music in rural and regional districts. Alison was encouraged as a child, to pursue creative endeavours and the habit persisted into adulthood. The childhood hobbies of dance, music, writing and drawing have led to work in the community and in schools as a musician and teacher, a variety of roles in community theatre (including acting, directing, sound and light design, as well as prop and costume making), the publication of several books, and the development of a weekly art-making practice. Alison currently directs several music ensembles and teaches brass and woodwind privately and in various local schools.

2025 Morrison Polkinghorne

2024 Terry ‘Moose’ McGowan

2023 Mary Briggs

2022 Libby Kennedy

2021 Willie Hannah-Rodgers

2020 Megan Sullivan

2019 David Searle

2018 Mavis Francis

2017 Henry Tankard

2016 Yvonne Hedley

2015 Leonard (Len) Krause

2014 Peta Lynne Buchanan and Janine Kerr

2013 Kay Sylvester

2012 Neil Fettling

2011 Shirley Bowie

2010 Mollie Kalms

2009 Neil Noyce

2008 Vaughn Stirrat

2007 Tom McCullough

2006 Des Tobin